It’s time to qualify for The Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026, with the final taking place at the Super Trunk Show x Stitchdown Expo in Chicago on Saturday, November 7th. During 20 minutes three finalists will polish one factory new shoe as shiny and lovely as possible.
This year marks a significant change for the competition. After hosting the U.S. Championships of Shoe Shining at the New York Super Trunk Show, we are moving the event to Chicago, joining forces with Stitchdown Expo, and expanding qualification beyond the United States. The competition is now open to entrants from across the Americas, including North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
The championships will be presented by Saphir Médaille d’Or, the world-renowned French shoe care company that has supported the competition from the beginning. The finalists will battle for the title, prizes, and the opportunity to showcase their shoe shining abilities in front of one of the largest gatherings of quality footwear enthusiasts in North America.
The Super Trunk Show x Stitchdown Expo
The Super Trunk Show x Stitchdown Expo takes place on Friday, November 6th, and Saturday, November 7th, 2026, at Artifact Events in Chicago.
The collaboration brings together two sides of the quality-footwear world. Stitchdown Expo has built an incredible event around boots, leather, tanneries, repair, makers, and well-made goods, while the Super Trunk Show has traditionally focused more heavily on classic shoes, bespoke shoemaking, shoe care, tailoring, and elegant menswear.
So much great footwear and craftsmanship will be showcased at the event.
The Super Trunk Show section is curated by Justin FitzPatrick of The Shoe Snob, Jesper Ingevaldsson of Shoegazing, and Kirby Allison. Alongside the exhibitors, demonstrations, and other activities taking place throughout the weekend, one of the main stage events will be the first edition of The Americas Shoe Shining Championships.
Read more about the event here in this article.
The Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026
The Americas shoe shining shampionships is organized in collaboration with Saphir Médaille d’Or, which will provide the shoe care products used during the live final.
The purpose of the competition remains the same: to highlight the extremely high standard of shoe shining found throughout this part of the world and to give talented shoe shiners a platform on which to promote themselves and their work.
The contest is open to professionals and amateurs alike. Patina artists, professional shoe shiners, cobblers, and regular shoe enthusiasts are all welcome to enter. The deciding factor is the quality of your work, not whether or not shoe shining is your profession.
The final will take place on 3pm on Saturday, November 7th, at Artifact Events in Chicago. Three finalists will compete live, with each contestant polishing one shoe as beautifully as possible within the allotted time. The competition shoe will be a dark brown Bridlen plain cap toe oxford.
From last year’s final in New York.
The jury will not simply be looking for the highest possible mirror shine. The most beautiful and complete polish job will be rewarded, including how much of the shoe has been shined, the depth of the shine, the overall execution, and any attractive color variations created during the process.
Each finalist will have one can of Saphir Médaille d’Or Pâte de Luxe and one can of Saphir Médaille d’Or Mirror Gloss, in the colors of their choice. They will also have water, a shoe brush, a polishing cloth (which they may bring themselves) and a nylon cloth. The contestants will have 20 minutes to shine their shoe. It is a short amount of time, but previous editions have shown just how much can be achieved by a talented shoe shiner under pressure.
How to Qualify
To qualify for The Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026, send in three photographs of one pair of well-polished shoes. The purpose of the photographs is to show as much of the completed polish job as possible. Vary the angles between the three images and consider including a close-up that properly shows the depth and quality of the shine.
What will be judged is how well the shoes have been polished. This does not necessarily mean that the pair with the highest mirror shine will qualify. The jury will also consider the depth of the shine, the overall beauty of the work, any attractive color variations, how much of the shoes have been polished, and the same general criteria that will later be used during the live final.
Only one entry may be submitted per contestant. That entry must consist of three photographs of the same pair of shoes. There should be no more than one pair of shoes in the photographs. Please do not submit an image of an entire shoe collection or several different polished pairs.
All entrants must be able to attend the live final in Chicago on Saturday November 7th.
Example of an earlier entry shot.
The contest is open to residents of the Americas. This includes entrants from North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Both professionals and amateurs may participate.
You are permitted to make minor adjustments to the photographs using software such as Photoshop. More significant alterations, strong filters, or any digital changes that misrepresent the appearance of the polish are not allowed. The entries may be examined by a professional photographer. Should we suspect that the photographs have been manipulated in violation of the rules, the entrant may be disqualified.
Remember that it is the beauty and quality of the polish job that will be judged, not the beauty of the photography.
The Jury
The preliminary jury for The Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026 consists of:
Preston Soto, The Elegant Oxford
Levi Elliott, Levi’s Shoe Shine
Justin FitzPatrick, The Shoe Snob
Jesper Ingevaldsson, Shoegazing
Kirby Allison
Ben Robinson, Stitchdown
Tom Costin, Saphir
Each jury member will award points from one to five to their five favorite entries. The three entries receiving the most points will qualify for the live final in Chicago.
Justin FitzPatrick will be the only person who knows which entrant submitted each set of photographs. The other jury members will judge the entries without being given any information about the people behind them. In the case of a tie, Kirby Allison holds the deciding vote.
The jury’s decision is final and cannot be overruled.
Prizes
The three finalists will compete for the title of Americas shoe shining champion 2026, along with medals, winner gets the Bridlen shoe he/she has shined and its sibling, and the three share a prize pool of $800 ($500 to the winner, $200 to second and $100 to third) given by Saphir.
Lots of elbow grease is needed to take the title.
Send in Your Entry
Send three photographs of one pair of well-polished shoes to justin@theshoesnobblog.com no later than August 23. Enter “The Americas Shoe Shining Championships 2026” in the email subject field.
Please also include your full name, where you are based, and confirmation that you can attend the live final in Chicago. The finalists will be contacted after the qualification period has closed and will then be announced publicly in our channels. For any uncertainties concerning the rules or your eligibility, send us an email, and we will be happy to help.
Good luck to everyone who enters! We are very excited to expand the competition across the Americas and see the level of shoe shining talent that emerges for the first Chicago final.
