Category
To not forget taking care of the sole and heel edges is something that I often talked about here on the blog. One way to do this, which also can be extra easy to get good protection and a nice shine, is to use dried wax polish.
For those who continue their shoe journey into finer footwear, many eventually end up with lasted shoe trees, usually for RTW shoes but perhaps later on also for MTM or bespoke shoes. An image many have is that lasted shoe trees should completely fill out the shoes so that there’s no space whatsoever, and think that something is wrong when this isn’t the case. Fear not, this is normal, here I explain why.
We live in an age where soft sneakers is the norm on people’s feet, and unfortunately this cushioning slowly seem to gain traction also in the classic shoe world. The problem is that our feet are not built to be walking around in that environment, and this risk leading to serious feet health issues.
Some think boots in general are the most comfortable footwear there is, while many others dislike them especially for creating discomfort around the ankles and lower leg. For the latter group of people, here’s a simple, logic yet still not commonly used solution for how to make the shaft of lace-up boots more comfortable: skip lacing the last pair of eyelets.
From time to time I see big misconceptions on the waterproofing preferences of welted shoes, like how stitched rubber soles lead to water coming into the shoe or how closed channel leather soles are much more waterproof than open channel soles, and similar. This is wrong – here I explain why.
Articles continued:
For those who enjoy themselves with polishing up a proper spit shine on their shoes, a problem often arises. Traditionally, the polishing equipment consists of a horsehair brush, but when you apply a spit shine to your shoes, and especially to the toe area, using a brush with horse hair bristles causes problems: tiny, tiny scratches form on the glass-like surface. The horsehair is simply too hard, and scratches the polish surface. However, there is an excellent solution to this: a super soft goat hair finishing brush.
Using old deposited pantyhose from your girlfriend/wife to polish up the last shine on your shoes after they’ve had some coats of wax polish is a tried and tested method. What is less known is that the nylon stocking also is a brilliant tool for restoring shine and removing minor marks before use between polishing sessions.
In many ways it’s quite surprising that a fundamental thing like how you lace and tie your shoes are given such a little attention in many cases. Most do what they’ve always done, tie their bow the way their parents though one to do and let the lacing be the way it was when you picked the shoes out of the box. It’s in many cases a big mistake. Now this is of course partly a subjective topic, but here I share what I think is the optimal way to lace your somewhat formal shoes, and the objectively best way to make the knot on all shoes, both when it comes to function and appearance.
Broken laces is a problem many experience every now and then, but some experience it way more often, and they often break laces on boots the most. The reason usually is the way the laces are tightened when the boots are put on, here’s how to tighten boot laces properly and avoid broken shoe laces.
Sometimes forgotten areas when polishing shoes, such as the sole edge and the gap between the sole and upper have been highlighted here on the blog before, now to focus a bit extra on another part of the shoe where it’s common that people miss giving it regular care: the tongue.
