We treat our shoes a lot more roughly than we treat our clothes. 涼鞋 This is practical from a certain perspective because shoes are made to handle impact and direct content with the ground. Shoes are also made from stronger materials than your clothes. But if you believe about the cost of an excellent pair of shoes, the time it takes to get them, and the attachment we often feel to them; then you recognize that it doesn’t make sense to take care of our shoes so poorly.
I’m not suggesting that you build your shoes a shrine or spend every second trying to avoid grass, mud or scuffs. What I’m suggesting is that you see your shoes being an investment and as a significant part of your wardrobe. If you look at them this way, then it seems sensible to provide them more care.
A shoe-lover or a cobbler can talk about a half-dozen elements of the shoe (or more), but for our purposes you only need to think about 3 parts: the sole, the outer shell and the inner shoe. Invest the a look at each of these areas and do a little maintenance, in that case your shoes will last much longer and look great whenever you need them.
The Sole of the problem
The sole of the shoe is the part that you walk on. It takes damage each day. It absorbs the friction of concrete, the impact of stairs and the stabbing of rocks, glass and other stab-y things you walk on every day. Maintaining the soles of your shoes may be the key to protecting the bottoms of one’s feet.
For Soles, you should look at 2 things:
The wear of the only real: How thick is the sole, is the thickness even, are there any holes or chunks missing?
The attachment of the sole: Is the sole flopping off, will there be a gap between it and the rest of the shoe?
Your soles are going to wear down over time. And when your sole was glued on or the stitching is weak, then you are going to see your soles start to come off over time. Luckily, both of these issues could be repaired for much less than the expense of buying a new footwear.
For athletic shoes, there is not much that you can do because these soles are usually all rubber plus they are not designed to be repaired. However the soles on men’s and women’s casual and dress shoes (including heels) can be repaired. Often it’ll only take one hour at a shoe repair place to have your old sole stripped off and a new one put on. The price is generally only 20-40 dollars.
In the event that you check the wear and the stitching on your own shoes every 2-3 months, you’ll catch the damage before it gets too bad and you will get it repaired at low cost. This could be the difference between buying a new pair of shoes every 18 months and buying a fresh pair every three years. That difference in replacement times will save most people hundreds of dollars per year and much more if you have a large shoe collection.
Taking a Look Outside
The outside of your shoe is the part that everyone sees and that you are judged by. The key thing here is to ensure that remove scratches, replace the laces and keep them polished.
With non-athletic shoes, most outer damage originates from either the elements or shoe connection with surfaces. The main things to do are pretty simple.
Put your shoes away when you get home. Don’t just stick them under the bed or throw them in a closet. In the event that you put your shoes on a shelf or at the very least place them within their own space, then they are less likely to get damaged by other shoes and things falling in it. You will discover inexpensive shoe organizers that may enable you to protect your shoes and save space.
Wipe your shoes down a couple of times a week or any time you walk through mud, dust, grasses, etc. This can keep carefully the elements from permanently discoloring your shoes and also make it better to see scratches and scuffs.
Work with a protectant spray on leather, nubuck, felt or suede. Be equipped for the coloring to change slightly, so you should test on a little area on the trunk of the shoe before applying everywhere. You can get protectant for canvas and other materials, but animal materials tend to take the most damage from moisture.
Polish and shine your shoes at least one time per month. You don’t need to get the specific color shoe polish to fit your shoes, simply by neutral polish. The keep thing with polishing is applying adequate polish and buffing them to a high-shine. Make sure to by a good brush or cloth for applying the polish and a have a strong towel for buffing.
If you have deep scratches or scuffs, then take the shoes to a cobbler. With regards to the damage, they can usually the scratch, so it’s unnoticeable.
It’s What’s inside That Counts
The inside of one’s shoe seems like the area that you’d be most alert to, but many people don’t think about it unless they will have a pebble in there. You can keep the feet comfortable, dry and stink-free with several simple moves.
Rotate your shoes – This really pertains to all parts of the shoe, but the more you wear a set of shoes the more damage they take. If you rotate through two or three 3 pair through the month, they will all last longer.
Use shoe trees – Your shoes will stay comfortable longer should they retain their shape. Use shoe trees (cedar works best), to keep the shoe in shape.
Air them out – Remove your laces and grab the tongues of the shoe everyone occasionally, so the shoe will get some air. You need to definitely do this whenever moisture gets in the shoe.
Use powder or special insoles to lessen the smell – that is more about hygiene than aesthetics. If you keep the shoes dry and work with a powder like Gold Bond, then you are much less more likely to get athletes foot or other foot ailments.
Give Your Shoes Some TLC
Not long ago i threw out about 5 pairs of shoes that I’d have anywhere from 2-6 years. Some of them were gym shoes that I’d gotten good use out of, but a few them were shoes that I just didn’t take proper care of. It pained me to realize that I’d spent money on these shoes and had enjoy them, but hadn’t been conscientious enough to help keep them from looking terrible.
If you have shoes you would like to hold onto or simply want to save money, then this article can help you. A little TLC and preventive care will let you keep your favorite shoes in rotation for years.