Care for your Leather Shoes like a Pro

Whether or not you’re rocking one of the five leather shoes every man must own, we know you’ve spent a lot of time hunting down the perfect leather shoe. Shoes that are made out of real leather can cost hundreds of dollars, so it’s important to protect this investment by caring for you kicks after bad weather. Winter grime can be deadly for leather, and one season can be enough to totally destroy even the most resilient shoes.

Imagine walking into your next board meeting in these
John Lobb City II Leather Oxford Shoes. They may be pricey,
but caring for them properly can make them last.

There’s nothing like the smell of brand new leather, but the material can get old fast. Leather is prone to drying, cracking, and peeling—that means shoe polish just isn’t enough to keep leather fresh.

Because dryness is the foremost type of damage to leather, a good shoe-shiner always keeps leather conditioner in their toolbox. Conditioner (with no color) will help keep good leather supple and fresh even during the driest winters.

Huberd's has a whole line of shoe care items. What's your
 favorite shoe shine product? 

If your leather kicks start to scuff you’ll need more than conditioner before wearing them to the next big meeting. Use colored shoe polish to fill in the holes between the leather. The polish will even the face of the shoe and hide scuff marks.

Accidentally power walk into a puddle? With leather, water isn’t a problem. Simply let the shoes dry naturally and recondition the leather. However, most puddles aren’t just water—they contain high amounts of salt from street treatments (especially in the winter). Salt sucks the life out of leather, so it’s important to wash down leather shoes in uncontaminated tap water after walking in slush.

For extra treatment  mix together 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 cup of water, then use a clean rag to dab your leather shoes until the salt is removed. 

There you have it! You now have the knowledge to defend your leather shoes from slush, salt, puddles, and scuffs-- not to mention a cool talking point for those holiday parties.