Top 5 Shoe Care Items for Dress Shoes

Dress shoes are an important and expensive part of any wardrobe. Even a very expensive suit presents poorly if the shoes do not look right. To properly maintain and care for these shoes, shoe care items are important; they can keep the shoes looking good for a longer period and extend the useful life of the shoes. Before one tackles the task of procuring these items, it is wise to learn a bit about what shoe care items are the most useful and which provide the greatest return on investment. Performing this basic research and due diligence pays off through the extended life of this important wardrobe item.

1 Polish

The savvy shopper knows that dress shoes that can be polished lasts longer than those that cannot. The simple act of regularly polishing shoes can extend the life and maintain the lustrous appearance of dress shoes indefinitely. A quality polish like Kiwi should be used as years of research and experience have produced a high-quality polish designed not only to beautify, but also to preserve.
The process is simple. Start with clean shoes, free of debris and dirt, and apply a liberal amount of polish with a brush or soft cloth. Apply the polish evenly as it darkens the shoe as more polish is applied. It is helpful to remove the laces first if the shoes are so designed. Apply polish to the shoe only, leaving the edges of the sole and heel alone. Next, take a brush and with one hand in the shoe and the other working the brush, vigorously brush the shoe to bring it to a brilliant shine. Repeat the process if needed.

2 Edge Dressing

Edge dressing is a common product in some environments, yet many have never heard of it. Edge dressing is a liquid compound designed specifically to keep the edges of shoe soles and heels looking new. Shining shoes are great, but if no attention is paid to the heel and edge of the sole, the job is only half done. The product comes in a small bottle, usually a few ounces in size. When using the product, one should do so with the shoes placed on some old newspapers or outside as any drips of the dressing stains permanently. The cap of the container is equipped with a steel rod that extends into the bottle to just above the bottom of the container. On the end of this steel rod there is a cotton applicator. One need only dip the applicator into the dressing and carefully apply the liquid to the heel and soles of the shoe. Given time to dry, and the areas treated appear almost new.

3 Shoe Taps

Once one has worn out a set of dress shoes, it is easy to see which parts of the heel wear more than others. Depending on how a person walks, the left, right, or center portion of the heel wears more that the other parts of the heel. This is a natural occurrence and not a cause for major concern, beyond how it affects the life of the shoe. Equipped with this knowledge, one can perform a bit of preventive maintenance on new shoes to extend the life of the heels. Heel and sole replacement is an expensive process that is desirable to avoid for as long as possible. Shoe taps are small kidney-shaped protective coverings that can be attached to shoe heels to prevent wear. These inexpensive items can prolong the life of the heel of the shoe at a fraction of the cost of heel replacement. One simply tacks the tap onto the heel in the appropriate location to absorb the wear that would otherwise abrade the heel.

4 Shoe Trees

Shoe trees are adjustable inserts, and high-quality models are made of cedar that fill the void within the shoe to maintain the shoe’s perfect shape. Depending on where the dress shoes are stored and the manner for which they are cared, they can lose that perfect shape present at the time of purchase. One need only imagine a pile of dress shoes tossed carelessly into a closet to visualize the effect on the shape of the shoe. Dress shoes are far too important as a part of the wardrobe to be treated in such a way. Shoe trees are shaped in the form of a foot, a foot that is adjustable in width and length. When fashioned out of cedar, the shoe tree naturally promotes a pleasant aroma and absorbs moisture. By inserting and adjusting the dimensions of the shoe tree to fill the void of the shoe completely, the shape and appearance of the shoe remains intact.

5 Suede Shoe Brush

In the case of suede dress shoes or shoes made of other material that does not allow polish, a stiff brush is necessary to maintain the nap of the material. Suede is the split hide of an animal, usually a kid, with the flesh side of the leather brushed to form a smooth nap, pleasant in appearance and to the touch. Over time this nap can become compressed and dirty. A stiff brush made of plastic or brass is appropriate to restore the nap to the suede. By gently rubbing in a single direction with the brush, affected areas of the shoe can be restored to a pleasant state. Cleaning products specifically designed for the material comprising the shoe can be used to clean dirty areas of the shoe.

How to Buy Shoe Care Items for Dress Shoes at Landesmanbros.

Once the right product is found, purchasing the product is equally simple; 

Dress shoes can be very expensive, but there are many things that can be done to prolong their life cycle.
The use of proper shoe care items can keep one’s dress shoes looking good and extend their useful life indefinitely. Regularly-applied polish, edge dressing, and taps keep the shoes looking their best. Shoe trees maintain the shape of the shoes and can absorb moisture if the shoes are made of certain materials. Suede dress shoes can be maintained with appropriate brushes and cleaners.

Busy people are normally great time managers, and lamdesmanbros is an island park business that can save a lot of time when researching and purchasing items. There are a variety of useful products that can be quickly selected, paid for, and delivered to your door. This convenience allows even very busy people the time to shop for the products needed in a fraction of the time it could take using other methods.

Tags: PolishEdge DressingShoe TapsShoe TreesSuede Shoe Brush
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