- A question that often came up from many since we started both Little Lusso and The Dapper Assembly.
Well, we rounded up some of the most common questions we have fielded so far in the below few succinct points, and we hope it can serve as a useful starter for anyone who loves their leather shoes!
(1) Identify Leather Type and Grade
Not to deep-dive too much at this point, but it'll still be useful to know that different animal hides possess differing qualities and thus, used for different applications.
This means that our leather shoes can be made of a variety of hides and will need slightly different kind of attention and care, for example, cowhides, calfskins, pigskins, etc. Once you have identified the leather type of your shoe, we are well set to the next point - Determining leath-er grade.
You'd probably heard of confusing terms such as full-grain, top-grain, bonded leather and the list goes on. What this means is the type of cut and the works that have gone onto raw hides in the beam houses, the tanneries to give you the different level of leather durability, characteristics and looks, etc. Needless to say, it affects the pricing of the leather shoe you wish to buy too.
(2) Remember the Basic's
No matter the types of leather shoes you have. There are definitely some basics that will help us a long way to come. Here are our top 5's.
- Feed me - Leather, like skin, can be prone to dry-out. Hence, making sure they are "well-fed" and sufficiently nourished from time to time is essential. Cracked out leather shoes don't look good, trust us.
- Stay in shape - Cultivate a habit to insert a shoetree in the shoe will help it maintain its shape for a long time to come. It's also worth noting that it will reduce the onset of creasing too.
- Keep the back up - Helping your feet to glide smoothly into the leather shoe - use a shoehorn. It may seem cumbersome for some, but wait, lest it's going to help you keep the heel of the shoes nice and crease-free!
- Dirt-free - There'll always be dirt, so you need to give your leather shoes a bit of TLC by making sure you give it a good brush off any embedded dirt, grimes, etc. with a horsehair brush.
- Off the elements - Keeping your leather shoes away from excessive heat and also water is definitely a good idea. If you are caught in a rain, make sure you attempt getting them dry out (not sun-dry or near a heater please) to rid the excess moisture quickly.
(3) Determine your care objective
We all have a purpose when doing something. And, it's quite the same with leather shoe care. It boils down to what you wish to achieve. Whether it's regular routine, or slight repair off scuffs, etc, or even to make it shine better. There is a way that you can achieve that with the right process, tools and also leather care solutions.
We encourage all our shoes aficionados to also have a think about the ingredients in shoe care products. We have some customers who don't mind what is in the care products, but some wish to have an all-natural, organic ingredients-stuffed care products. There's absolutely no wrong in wanting the best for your leather shoes and also what you like.
It's not a long list, right? But this is where we think many beginners, like ourselves, years ago, can start thinking about before deep-diving into other areas such as the shine process, care routine, etc.
Drop us a line at info[at]thedapperassembly[dot]com[dot]au anytime and we'll be more than happy to answer your questions - Till then, we'll write again soon!