Leather Shoes and Making Them Last

FOOTWEAR · GLOBAL

Leather Shoes and Making Them Last

Construction methods, breaking them in, polishing and resoling

Leather shoes either last a season or a decade, and the difference is mostly construction and care rather than price alone.

Construction

Goodyear welted shoes have the upper stitched to a welt and then to the sole, which can be replaced several times. Blake stitched shoes are lighter and more flexible and can also be resoled.

Cemented shoes are glued, which is cheaper and generally not resoleable. Check which you are buying, since it determines whether the shoe is worth maintaining.

Breaking them in

Leather moulds to the foot over weeks. Wear them for short periods at first, and never use heat or water to speed it up, which damages the leather.

Anything that hurts in the shop will hurt in six months. Length, width and instep should all be right from the start.

Shoe trees

Cedar trees absorb moisture and hold the shape as the shoe dries, which prevents the creases from becoming cracks. Insert them after each wear, once the shoes have cooled.

Rotate between two pairs so each dries fully. This does more for longevity than any polish.

Cleaning and polishing

Brush off dirt, use a cream polish to feed and colour the leather, and a wax polish for shine and water resistance at the toe. Condition every few weeks for regularly worn shoes.

Dry wet shoes slowly at room temperature, stuffed with paper, never by a radiator.

Resoling

Have soles and heels replaced before they wear through to the welt, which is when a repair becomes impossible.

Fit

Try shoes at the end of the day with the socks you will wear, standing and walking rather than sitting. Both feet, since one is almost always larger, and fit to the larger one.

Width matters as much as length — going up a size to gain width makes the shoe too long and the foot slides forward.

Formal and casual

Oxfords are the most formal, derbies slightly less so and more forgiving on a high instep, loafers and chelsea boots more relaxed. Black for formal, brown for almost everything else.

Buying

Check the construction, the leather type and whether the shoe can be resoled before comparing prices. A resoleable shoe at twice the price is frequently cheaper over a decade.

End-of-season sales are when good shoes are affordable, and classic styles do not date.

Storage

Shoe trees in, laces loosened, and stored somewhere dry rather than in a plastic box, which traps moisture and grows mould. A shoe bag protects them in a case.

Rotate pairs so each has a day to dry fully, which matters more than any product.

Suede

A brush, a protector spray and no polish.

WHERE TO BUY

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