Leather Care Guide
Burnished Calf
- Firstly, insert your shoetrees, then remove any dirt and dust by brushing the leather with a horsehair brush. This prevents particles of dirt from being rubbed against the delicate leather of the shoe during polishing and causing damage to the shoe.
- Apply a simple shoe cream that will nourish the leather and keep it supple. Apply a thin coating all around the shoe with a cloth and rub it in well. Usually, we would use a neutral cream so that you do not alter the colour of the shoe, however, if you want to darken the colour, you could use a slightly darker cream. It can be very unpredictable what colour the shoe will be and although you can darken a shoe it is very difficult to lighten it if you make a mistake so please be very cautious. An added factor to remember is that leather is very absorbent so it will look darker when you apply cream due to the cream being absorbed into the shoe.
- Always allow the shoe 20 minutes or so after applying cream to see what change of colour there may be.
- Apply a wax polish, the best contains beeswax, with a cloth and allow to dry for 5 minutes or so. The shoe will probably look fairly dull at this stage so now you can use a fine horsehair brush to polish the shoe by rubbing backwards and forwards. This action causes friction between the brush and the polish making it melt - this is what makes it seem to shine. You can apply a second coat of wax for a deeper shine and polish as before.
- As a final touch, you can either use a soft cloth and rub the shoes down to get rid of any small bits of wax that are left or, even better, use a nylon rag such as an old pair of tights as they will bring the shine out even more.
Full grain European calf skins, with the subtle pull up and rich depth of colour of our “classic calf” finish of natural oils and waxes, available in a range of rich aniline dyed colours the shoe surface is bruised to achieve an antiquing effect of the leather.
This is a chrome leather with a veg retan.
Keeping your shoes clean will prolong their life and improve their appearance The polish and creams that you use to keep them looking great also protect the leather from water damage and nurture the leather, keeping it supple.
Espresso Burnished
Sharon from our Shoe Room provides her hints and tips
Espresso Burnished
Sharon from our Shoe Room provides her hints and tips
Chesnut Burnished
Back again, this time for chestnut on a loafer
Chesnut Burnished
Back again, this time for chestnut on a loafer
1001 Burnished
Finally our 1001 on a town shoe
1001 Burnished
Finally our 1001 on a town shoe