How do I take care of leather dress shoes in a snowy, salty environment?
I bought a pair of florsheim dress shoes as a starter pair of shoes for the office.
I dont know how to maintain them and it would be best to learn now so when I buy a better pair down the road I can properly maintain those
I also live in Calgary so 4-6 months out of the year the sidewalks have snow and salt.
I heard that i can use saddle soap to clean any dirt off the leather and then leather conditioner to buff the shoes. Is this correct? What leather conditioner should i use? Preferably from amazon canada.
Also, how often should i clean dirt off them with saddle soap/brushing dirt off with a horsehair brush? Calgary right now has very messy sidewalks, which I try to steer clear of but it's not always possible to prevent stuff from getting on the leather upper part of the shoes.
Should i stay away from mink oil? I heard it’s for heavy duty leather boots and will ruin dress shoes.
Finally, if I do get water on them from the snow and dirt, should I carry around a small rag to wipe off my shoes when I enter the building so the water doesn't stick and potentially damage the leather?
12 Replies
Not too experienced with leather but iirc you shouldn't need to condition your boots more than once or twice per season since the conditioner penetrates into the layers pretty thoroughly; probably safe with just wiping them down
saphir renovateur is the standard
thanks! I'll pick up some of that brand of leather conditioner
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This video's quite good imo
comments has some clarification on the mink oil question
https://burk.blog/posts/shoe-care-without-being-a-nerd/
this blog post gets linked around a lot as well. I am also not an expert but the gist that I've gathered so far is that it's a sturdier material than people give it credit for and you shouldn't worry about it too much.
Shoe Care Without Being a Nerd
Inspired by How to Love Cast Iron Without Being a Nerd About It by Internet Shaquille .
Shoe care can seem really daunting and difficult. You’ve heard all about this “Goodyear Welt” thing and finally sent it and spent more on a pair of shoes than you thought was humanly possible. They’re supposed to last, but what do you need to do to get the be...
of course for dress shoes that you want to keep more pristine it may be different, but this blog even addresses that
That’s my blog post!
I generally just like having separate shoes/boots for poor weather. If you work in an office I think it’s a great idea to just keep a cheap pair of loafers or something in your desk so you’re not clunking around in boots all day.
Other than that it’s kinda up to you. Do you want to keep these shoes really nice? I’d avoid wearing them in really bad weather until you decide otherwise. Care products can do a lot and it’s pretty hard to mess up shoes with them.
Most days it'll be manageable, but maybe during snowstorms i could bring a pair of boots and then change out to my dress shoes
Thats a good idea. It’s what I do if there’s a lot of snow or rain
might be worth investing in shoe rubbers if you're going to be commuting on foot often, in addition to the other advice given
My dad wore galoshes 30 some years ago, and besides seeing them for sale online I don't think I've seen any in the wild since. Seems like a good solution
Wore galoshes when it was snowing in NYC around Christmas. I can 100% vouch for its effectivity. Pretty convenient just leaving them in your bag as well if ever the weather in your area is unpredictable.