When you're dressed to the nines, you cannot afford to be let down by your shoes. A premium pair of leather shoes is the 'foundation' of your outfit and speaks volumes about your sartorial quotient. So when you've spent a fortune on your Ferragamo lace-ups, Louis Vuitton pumps, Tod's Loafers, or any other worthy brand of leather soles, it's important you also learn to respect them. With a little bit of TLC (tender loving care), your shoes could easily be your faithful companions for a decade! Expert shoe designer Rohan Arora gives us a lowdown on how to take care of your favourite pair:
The first tenet for maintaining leather shoes is to keep them away from water. This means puddles and poodles!
> To stall creasing caused due to moisture (a common problem with leather), let your shoes breathe once you take them off. Keep them in the open for at least two hours before you rack them in.
> Polish your shoes at least thrice a week. If it's a lace-up, make sure to open the laces before you polish.
> If you don't wear your leather pair often, invest in a good shoe tree that costs between Rs 2,500 - 5,000 to prevent them from ageing. While cedar is the best option, even mahogany wood works.
> Always use a shoehorn to slip your feet as that prevents the back of the shoe from creasing.
> Leather is not weatherproof. Hence, if your shoe ever gets even slightly wet, put it out in the sun for at least a day to dry.
> Always sit and wear your shoes. If you stand and try to slip in, you run the risk of spoiling your shoes' shape.
> A sure-shot way of increasing the longevity of leather shoes is by wearing them as much as possible. It's like a car; the more you use them, the better they work. So there it is: Respect your shoes so that your shoes respect your feet!