Top-quality shoes demand and deserve special care to keep their outstanding aesthetic traits in prime condition over time.
Ensure they are always shined and follow a few basic rules to make them last, but also to enhance their appeal as time passes.
Although this section is dedicated to practical advice, we thought you might enjoy this interesting story: years ago some of our customers would have their shoes "worn in" by young, reliable students, to dull the brand-new shine, as it was thought it detracted from true elegance.
Others confessed that before they wore their new Barretts, they would polish them ten times over, leaving the shoes out in mild morning sunshine after each polishing. Sure enough, this technique does add intense nuances, especially with brown shoes.
Without suggesting you go to these lengths, we might remind you that only scrupulous care will safeguard the shoe's softness, pliability and best shine.
Polishing
First of all, perfect polishing means using different brushes for each colour of shoe, so that different shades of polish do not mix and leave undesirable traces on the upper.
The best brushes have natural bristles that should be tall and soft. If you are unable to find this sort of brush, you can use a cotton cloth, preferring white.
It is equally important to use a cream as close as possible in colour to that of the shoe.
For "handcrafted" leathers, the "antiqued" look can be best maintained by using a shade of polish than is slightly darker than the shoe.
For these types of leather it really is best to avoid using neutral polish as in the long run this will grey the upper.
The first thing to do is brush the uppers to clean them well.
Then spread polish all over the shoe leather in sparing, even layers. It is important not to use too much polish. Once polish has been properly spread, leave the shoes for about fifteen minutes. This is about the right amount of time to allow the polish to sink in, although some people leave it for up to an hour.
At this point, after a final touch of the brush, the upper can be polished with a soft cotton cloth to achieve a high gloss. Again, it is a good idea to use different cloths for different colour leathers.
When cleaning suede shoes choose pure bristle and rounded tip brass brushes, using them very gently.
To keep leather soles clean and polished, we recommend rubbing in some lukewarm linseed oil with a cloth, when necessary.
Ideally, when storing shoes for long periods, they should be placed in bags (only wool or cotton) and left in shoe racks in an cool, airy part of the house.
Also, the shape of the shoe should be safeguarded by using a shoehorn when putting them on and a shoe-stretcher when they are not being worn.