Shoe Trees

By taking care of your leather your maintained your initial investment, especially if you paid for a great brand or designer quality shoe.

Buying shoe trees (Nordstrom or Cole Haan cedars or even plastic ones from ikea), will alone make your shoes last 5 years. The cedar ones run anywhere from 20-26$ depending on brand, men’s or women’s’ shoe, and materials. Cole Haan’s are similar to Nordstrom’s in that they are both made from 100% cedar and have a unique musky smell to it. Your body and more specifically, your feet sweat a little over a pint of sweat per day. The moisture from your feet disperses to two different places, your SOCKS and your SHOE. Now if you’re like me, I always try to have a fresh pair of socks on. Through the course of the day, your socks will only absorb about 20% of the perspiration-the other….in your shoe. The problem with leather shoes is that the moisture actually grasps the leather’s natural lotions out. Shoe trees act as a sponge against your bodies sweat if you insert them immediately after you take your shoes off. They absorb the sweat, keep your shoes smelling fresh, and maintain the shoes shape.

Suede, exotic, nubuck, or athletic shoes will be covered in posts to come. Focusing on more common smooth leathers, we’ll create a good habit that can later be transferred to your more difficult leathers.

There are 3 keys to maintaining your leather shoes

• 1.      Don’t let them sit- wear your leather shoes, if you’re not wearing them with your outfit, wear them at home for an evening. Its just like a motorcycle. My roommate Patrick has a bike and it sat in the garage for 2 months. He decided one, overdue, sunny day in Portland to ride it and it took him a good hour to start. 
• Use a simple leather conditioner and cleaner. You can go with a generic brand from Target or you can spend the same amount at a fine shoe place such as Nordstrom’s or Cole Haan. Cole Haan’s product care is one of the best and waxes and cleaners range from $4.50 -$12.50
• Try things you’ve never done but are easy on the wallet. Things like a new pair of laces, same color or different. Style is constantly changing, don’t be left behind. Use such product care as Heel dressing or Carbona polish. Both these come in various shoe colors and even neutrals. The heel dressing takes that dusty, dirty, scuffed heel and brings back the shine. The Carbona polish acts like a car wax. After you wash and dry the car, you use your Turtle wax. Your leather shoes need a wax job every other month or so.