The quick guide to shoe care

Not sure how to look after your shoes? This guide will give you a quick overview on caring for your shoes, what to do and what to avoid.

Treated right, a good pair of shoes can last a lifetime. While any pair of shoes will benefit from being cared for properly, leather shoes in particular benefit from good care. Most shoe care focuses on removing dirt and water, adding hydration and being gentle with your shoes.

Whether it's your first pair of leather shoes or 100th, here's a refresher on how to look after your leather shoes and keep them like new!

Do:

• Use shoe trees. This will prevent moisture and odour building up. We find cedarwood shoe trees work best.

• Wipe any dirt off the shoes after wearing, such as mud, snow, salt or water. This prevents staining.

• Moisturise the shoes with shoe cream. This prevents the leather drying out or becoming cracked. It can also reduce blemishes such as scuffs and small scratches. Our Saphir Creme Surfine care kit includes shoe cream, a brush and polishing cloths for this.

• Resole the shoes when the soles are becoming worn. Don't wait too long to do this, as damage can build up and become irreversible. If you have HDSCo. shoes, we offer a shoe repair service.

• Replace the laces when they wear out. You can also use different lace colours to create new looks.

• Have breaks from wearing the same pair of shoes. Having multiple pairs of shoes on rotation allows each pair to have a break.

• Use a shoe horn to put shoes on. Forcing the shoe open with your hands can damage the shoe and create creases. You can buy a wooden shoe horn here.

• Use the correct type of brush or cloth. Only horse hair brushes and cotton cloths should be used on hand dyed shoes.

Don't:

• Store the shoes near a heater. This will dry the leather out.

• Use direct heat to dry wet shoes (heaters, hairdryers, etc.) as it will damage the shoes. If your shoes are wet, insert shoe trees or paper and allow them to air dry.

• Use cheap replacement soles when resoling. Beautiful shoes deserve beautiful soles!

• Wear new, non-waterproof shoes in wet or muddy conditions, especially leather shoes. Consider rubber soles if you need a more hard wearing, robust shoe.

• Leave your shoes in direct sunlight. This will bleach the colour out and can damage the leather.

There are more in-depth guides on each part of shoe care, but this should provide a good start. We recommend Saphir for your shoe care accessories. Their website also provides more in-depth info on how to clean and maintain your leather shoes.

Thanks for reading! We hope your shoes last a lifetime!