|
|
|
|
How to care for your new shoes:
|
If you consider a pair of Australian designer shoes to be an investment then you
won't mind spending a little time and attention on their upkeep. By considering
how you will use your shoes and what they were made for, you can vastly extend their
life.
Please keep in mind that you have purchased leading design fashion shoes. In order
achieve certain aesthetics like low profiles, sharp toes and thin soles, certain
sacrifices have to be made in durability. Your shoes are extremely well made...they
just need the consideration they deserve.
If you occasionally polish your shoes you are already doing more than most people.
Properly caring for your shoes is a little more involved than that. It is a four
step process: cleaning; conditioning; polishing and; weatherproofing.
|
|
|
|
Step 1.
|
Clean the surface of the leather to remove surface
dirt, just as you would wash a car before you wax it. Use a soft cleaning cloth
or clean old rag that will not scratch the leather surface. You can dampen the cloth
slightly if dirt has dried and caked on.
|
|
Step 2.
|
After cleaning you should condition the leather.
Conditioners soften and lubricate leather, keeping if feeling soft and looking new.
|
|
Step 3.
|
Once the shoes have been cleaned and conditioned, then
it is time for polish. Polishes may contain dyes,
pigments, waxes and conditioning agents. Dyes and pigments renew colour and cover
scuffs. If your shoes are not a standard colour (like black), you may feel more
comfortable using a dye and pigment-free polish that is lanolin based. Waxes provide
shine and protection. Conditioning agents moisten and renew the leather. To be safe,
ask your local shoe repairer what's best for your particular leather.
|
|
|
|
|
There are three standard types of polish. These are liquid, cream and paste. Liquids
are the easiest to apply, followed by cream and paste. Ease of application however
is inversely proportional to wax content and the staying power of the polish. Pastes
are the most durable. Creams are easier to apply than pastes, hold up longer than
liquids and come in a variety of colours.
|
|
|
|
Step 4.
|
The final step is weatherproofing. Though polishing
provides some sealing qualities, if you live or work in a wet, muddy or oily environment,
the added protection of weatherproofing is a must.
|
|
|
Other must-dos are:
|
|
1.
|
Use a shoe horn when putting on your shoes, always!
It protects the heel from unnecessary wear and will prevent the leather at the back
from ripping.
|
|
2.
|
Always use wooden shoe trees after wearing. They
are designed to absorb moisture and maintain the regular shape of your shoes.
|
|
3.
|
Allow shoes to completely dry inside and out, by not wearing the same pair of shoes
on consecutive days. I know it's hard because you want to wear them every day...resist!
|
|
4.
|
Wear anti-microbial socks. This will prevent your
shoes from smelling bad. If you don't know where to get this kind of sock from,
please ask us.
|
|
5.
|
When traveling, put your shoes in shoe bags. They
protect the leather from being scratched.
|
|
6.
|
Don't wear your shoes in the rain! Seriously.
Have and old pair or a pair of rain boots stored in your car boot for such occasions.
If you are unfortunate and get stuck in the rain, immediately wipe off the water,
stuff them with tissue paper to absorb moisture and fill out the shape. Then leave
them in a dry ventilated area for a couple of days. Replace the tissue paper as
necessary.
|
|
7.
|
If your soles are wearing through, take them down to your local
shoe repair shop and have them apply a rubber tread. It won't affect
the look of your shoes but it will give you plenty more wear. Best of all, it will
probably only cost about $20.
|
|
|
Foot odour and smelly shoes:
|
The usual culprits in foot odor are sweat-eating bacteria.
Mainly corynebacteria and micrococci. It is important to realize that bacteria cover
every surface of your skin and are inside your pores and sweat glands. Bacteria
are in the air and on everything you touch. Bacteria are
not necessarily bad.
The problem begins when bacteria become attracted to the sweat on your feet and
start feeding on it. You have purchased genuine leather shoes with leather lining
which is a great start because leather is a natural product that absorbs and wicks
moisture away from your feet. By not wearing synthetic shoes you are avoiding creating
the hot and moist environment that bacteria love.
The bacteria's excretion has a strong odor that causes your
feet to smell bad.
Since each foot has over 250,000 sweat glands in it, and produces over a pint of
sweat a day there's a lot for the bacteria to eat.
What makes the situation worse are shoes and socks which trap the sweat on your
skin. Now the bacteria have their favorite kind of environment: warm and dark and
damp, causing them to go into a feeding frenzy. More waste is excreted, and when
you take off your socks and shoes, your nose is presented with the results!
Why do some people's feet smell more than others? The simple answer is, some people
sweat more than others. That's also the reason why your own foot odor can vary.
You might sweat more at different parts of the day. The more you sweat, the more
your feet will smell.
Aside from bacteria, if you don't regularly wear or wash your socks, fungi can rot
the dead skin that has fallen from your feet. This decomposition process smells
bad. Your skin naturally turns over every 28 days. A new cell starts on the bottom
layer of skin, then another skin cell forms underneath it. The process continues
until the bottom cell reaches the top and is sloughed off as dander or dandruff.
If you don't wear socks, your old skin deposits in the shoes where it rots and emits
an offensive odor. Socks prevent the old skin from getting into your shoes and washing
socks gets rid of the old skin and prevents them from smelling.
|
|
|
To avoid smelly shoes and feet:
|
|
Always use wooden shoe trees after wearing. They are designed to absorb moisture
and maintain the regular shape of your shoes.
|
|
|
Allow shoes to completely dry inside and out, by not wearing the same pair of shoes
on consecutive days. I know it's hard because you want to wear them every day...resist!
|
|
|
Wear anti-microbial socks. This will prevent your shoes from smelling bad. If you
don't know where to get this kind of sock from, please ask us.
|
|
|
Put on a fresh pair of socks after lunch. They will be dry and ready to absorb more
sweat.
|
|
|
Wear socks made from natural fibers like cotton or silk.
|
|
|
Always wear shoes made from genuine leather that are also leather lined.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
