Nothing looks more unprofessional than a great outfit paired with old looking, stained and scuffed shoes. Spending money on fabulous shoes is just not worth it if you don’t know how to properly keep them. Each type of shoe fabric should be treated differently in order to get maximum life out of your shoes.

When you first buy a pair of shoes and before you even wear them, protection is key! There are pre-spray treatments for most types of shoe materials, so make sure you spray your leather and suede pairs especially. This will help prevent any stains, dirt or marks, but must be done before wear, or else you will just trap the problems on the shoe.

Already damaged or scuffed your favorite pumps? Leather shoes can be spot cleaned with baby wipes if it’s raining. If you have already scuffed shoes, there are shoe care polishes that can be matched to the color of your shoe in order to covered scuffs and make them disappear. Also, everyone hates salt marks but they are so hard to avoid. In order to rid your shoes of these ugly marks, use a bit of distilled white vinegar on a cloth and wipe the marks away. If you’re shoes are patent leather, try nail polish remover on cotton ball and rub the surface to remove the stains and polish the shoe simultaneously. Do not try these tricks on fabric or suede shoes, and always be sure to spot-test first on any type of shoe.

Removing stains from suede shoes is different than from leather, so don’t try shining polishes or liquid-based treatments- they will further damage your shoes. There are still protection treatments for suede, so use them, but if they are already spotted with a stain, use an emery board. Surprising, right!? Don’t use one that is too rough, and lightly rub the stain back-and-forth. Taking care of suede shoes is important from the beginning, so before dirt and stains happen, frequently use a suede brush in order to keep the material looking new.

Storing shoes correctly always helps prevent creases and damages, so using cedar shoe tress will help tremendously in order to keep the shape and reinforce soles and heels. Also, don’t through them in a pile in the closet! This will just let them get scuffed and crushed. Hope these tips help, and be sure to practice them in order to keep those babies sparkling clean in order to keep your entire look together and polished. Besides, nothing gives you more confidence than walking into the office in a brand-new looking pair of leather pumps and AprilMarin’s Grace Suit! (Sorry, I just HAD to!  )

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 2:53 pm and is filed under Shoes, suits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.