Shoe Care Necessities: Basic Shoe Care Set

If you’ve been reading regularly, you’ll know I often extol the virtues of proper garment care. There is no point spending time and money on buying shoes, clothing, trips to the tailors etc., and then not looking after your new purchases properly. Aside from anything, it will make your items last longer, especially shoes. This brings me to the next part in my necessary accessory series, the shoe care set.

The number of shoes that I regularly see which are crying out for a good polish is insane. Scuffed, dull shoes or shoes with salt marks from the rain can ruin an otherwise good outfit. It will make you look untidy and also, a little careless. 

The good news is that it really isn’t difficult to keep your shoes in tip-top shape. With a few sensible investments and a little effort, you can constantly put your best foot forward. 

You’ll need to invest in a couple of horsehair brushes, one light one for your brown shoes and a darker one for your black shoes. I recommend you get them from here. You can buy some shoe brush sets with daubers for applying shoe creams and polishes, but I find it easier to control how much I apply by using a piece of cotton cloth, so save your money and just buy the two brushes. 

Next, as an all-round cleaner and polisher, Saphir’s ‘Renovateur’ is unbeatable (you can buy it here). At £14, this is the most cost-effective thing you can buy to look after your shoes. I bought a pot a while ago and I still have loads left. Apply some sparingly every two-to-three wears, buff it off and it will keep your shoes nourished and supple. It even gives a nice soft shine.  

If your shoes are scuffed, you’ll need to invest in a coloured shoe cream to recolour and to properly shine them, polishes but I’ll cover more advanced techniques in future posts.  

Below are pictures of my shoes before and after applying Renovateur.

As you can see, my shoes are well taken care of so they look good but now look at the after picture…

The shoes are nourished, conditioned and look so much richer in colour.

You can see the difference that only one application makes. It only takes 5 minutes too, so there’s really no excuse not to do it. 

Be sure to subscribe for future updates. I’ll be posting more in-depth articles for proper shoe care including creams and polishes. I’ll also be posting tutorials on how to strip back and shine your shoes properly.  

Thanks for reading,
Terry