If you want to use as much as possible out of your designer shoes, knowing how to care for your investment is a must. Different shoes require different types of care, and if you do it wrongly—particularly those made out of luxurious materials like satin, leather, and suede—can cause great damage.
So what’s the best way to care for your expensive shoes? Having a professional cleaning service on hand to do the big stuff doesn’t hurt, but observing proper preventative care at home is the key as well. Keep reading to learn helpful tips on how to clean, store, and even preserve designer footwear.
Here are four helpful tips to follow to care for your expensive shoes:
Brush, Polish, and Store Men’s Shoes The Proper Way
Men’s dress shoes can still look their best for years with the right amount of TLC. Follow a multiple-step process to avoid possible damage from frequent use from brushing the shoes regularly to prevent a buildup of dirt. An ideal for this is a horsehair brush as it is durable and gentle for all types of expensive shoe materials. From there, shine your designer shoes at least once a month to maintain their finish, and store them correctly using a shoe tree to help keep the shape intact.
Wipe Down Heels After Use
Don’t let the look of your red bottom
heels ruin by the dirt. Women’s dress shoes, particularly women’s heels, benefit more from spot cleaning after every use. This also goes double when you live in a city. Wipe the heels using a pencil eraser if the material is for suede (make sure it is already dry before you start wiping) and a dry microfiber rag for satin and leather. Preventing build-up will help extend the look of your heels.
Keep Your Shoes Off The Floor
Preserving designer shoes is as much about how you store them as to how you clean them. And while tossing your shoes straight on the floor of your closet may save you some time, it makes it more likely that your expensive shoes will get scuffed and beat up. The best alternative way to keep your shoes off the floor is to invest in some shoe storage—shelves, cubbies, and clear boxes are all good ways to go. Avoid wire shelves and metal shoe racks, though, as they don’t provide proper sole support to your shoes.
Tackle Moisture the Best Way
It’s almost inevitable that your expensive shoes will also get wet at some point. Depending on your care techniques, this does lasting damage to your shoes. To prevent that from happening, use a spray protector to form a barrier on your suede and leather shoes, which will go a long way toward mitigating moisture damage. And wipe them down with a dry rag and let air dry whenever your luxury shoes do get wet. Don’t apply heat to your expensive footwear to help it dry to avoid the material to warp.
