There is an official answer to how to care dress shoes, but I think there are two problems in this answer. One is that it only cares the upper, not the sole, not to mention the midsole; and the other is that it takes a lot of time and energy. So I think it is more a process for shoeshine enthusiasts, and I personally don’t follow.
Then my situation is a little special, that is, I travel a lot. Every time I travel for more than a week, I don’t want to carry my suitcase, so I always wear one single pair of shoes for 10-15 days. I know it’s bad for the longevity of shoes, but I don’t like carrying things around.
But as a person who loves shoes, when I get home, my care is comprehensive.
Check out my special shoe care routine.
Insert Shoetree
Inserting shoetree can keep the leather shoes from upturning, and then it can smooth the wrinkles, which is for better cleaning and care.
Vamp
After inserting the shoetree, I use a large horsehair brush to remove dust as a whole, and then use conditioner to moisturize the leather.
I apply it everywhere except the toe and heel, but in terms of dosage, the vamp area will be significantly more than other places.
Because the leather here is the most bent and needs the most care, then it is also the place where people pay the most attention when they look at the quality and luxury of leather shoes.
Mirror Shine
I don’t mean make the toe a mirror here, it can be achieved, but it takes longer time and better technique. I just put several layers of wax on the toe and heel. It is like making the “shell” of the toe and heel thicker.
Many people were shocked when they first came into contact with the mirror shine! It turns out that the toe cap can really be the mirror, which is awesome! But they all ignore its strong practical function, that is, protecting leather from being damaged by bumps.
It is common for the toe and heel to bump into something, but if there is a “shell”, just use a hair dryer, or BootBlack wax remover, or even RenoMat to dissolve it, and then make up a few more layers, and it will be as good as ever.
Welt
My job is to visit many factories, and the dust falls everywhere, including the welt for sure. I use a small brush to remove the ash inside.
When you look at your shoes, if the welt is gray, there is probably very thick dust.
Outsole
It’s very common to meet rainy days during the 10 to 15 days trip, so the leather sole must have been soaked in water.
I have explained many times that leather is not afraid of water. From the chemical perspective, water is a very mild solvent. However, when the water vaporizes, it takes away the oil out of the leather, which makes the leather dry and reduce its fibre roughness, so it cracks.
I use Leather Honey to condition the whole sole, and I feel very secure.
In this way, my whole process is over. About 10 minutes is definitely enough. Even though I don’t have real mirror shine, I still apply many layers of wax and use water to smooth it up to form a better light reflection. If you don’t care whether the toe and heel are really high shine, this time can be even shortened by a few minutes.