Top Ten Tools of the Stylish Man: #3 A Shoe Care Kit
Caring for your shoes costs money, but it’s worth the investment. Leather is a durable material, but untreated it breaks down quickly. Treat it well and it looks beautiful and lasts for years.
So get a shoe care kit. A good kit is comprised of the following things:
-A cream/paste polish or a wax polish (we prefer cream)
-A horsehair brush
-Sponges to apply the cream polish
-Rags to rub the cream polish in
When choosing between cream polish or a wax polish, consider the places you will be wearing your shoes. Cream is a leather moisturizer. It essentially makes your leather supple and not oppressively rigid. It also increases breathability. So if you’re in a dry environment, cream may be a good choice. Wax polish does a better job shining but because it is a sealant, it often inhibits any moisture getting to the shoe and causes them to overdry. This is good for a damper environment. Some ask about liquid polish. It’s a big no — it shines your shoes up but totally destroys leather.
In the end, we like cream because it just does the best overall job of protecting, treating, and shining. And for a classic and reliable cream, we turn to Kiwi. Which explains why we love their kit so much. It has all the elements necessary and is a mere $47. So snag that here.
And once you grab it, here’s some shoe shining tips:
Or you can do the Prepidemic shoe shine:
(1) Remove any laces on the shoes, but keep the shoetrees in there.
(2) Clean shoes down with a cloth to get rid of dirt, etc. If you haven’t used soap on them before, now’s a good time, especially if they’re really dirty.
(3) Make sure your polishing cloth is tightly stretched and that no stray cloth will touch your shoes.
(4) Use a cream polish.
(5) Apply the polish gently in a circular motion from heel to toe on one side, around to the other side of the toe, and then back to the heel on that side.
(6) Make sure you use no more than the minimum layer of polish or they won’t dry fast and you’ll get polish buildup quickly.
(7) Allow to dry, but assuming you’re using cream, it can’t stay on too long or it will stick. If you use wax, give it a lot of time so the leather soaks it up.
(8) Once dry, buff the shoe with a horsehair polishing brush, like this one for just $10. Make small circular motions again.
(9) Now do a final buff with a clean rag.
2 Responses “Top Ten Tools of the Stylish Man: #3 A Shoe Care Kit ”
Subscribe to Prepidemic!
There was another version of this post with a video of a man doing a shoe shine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io2KFwZ5B8w). Anyone know anything more about the stuff he uses in this video?
He uses a combination of Japanese products that are only available in Asia and French Saphir.