New Leather Shoes 7 MUST DO'S Before Wearing [0:00:00]
Congratulations! You just bought a new pair of dress shoes. But, are they ready to be
worn? There are some really bad advice out there on how to prep your shoes before wearing.
Oh, my goodness! Now, I get it. He’s trying to create traction on the leather soles to
prevent slipping. And that’s not the only problem you got to deal with. New leather
shoes, they don’t come with a water resistant seal. They are susceptible to water and salt
damage. And, let’s not forget about breaking your shoes in. Failure to do this, you could
have blisters all over your feet. Tip number one. Wear your shoes around the
house. There is no substitute for actually wearing the shoes to truly determine if you
have a good fit or not. The issue here is if you wear them outside, you wear them on
concrete, you’re going to scratch the sole. And most companies won’t take these shoes
back. So, the way to get around this is to wear your shoes in the house on carpet, so
you don’t damage the sole, but you could very quickly determine how is the fit on these
shoes. All right. So, if you got a perfect fit, congratulations.
But, what if you don’t have a perfect fit? Now, if it’s a minor fit issue like they’re
just a little bit too tight or maybe there’s a hotspot over on the heel, you can actually
fix some of these using heat, which I’ll talk about in a second. But, if it’s a major
concern like they’re a size too large, guess what, guys? You can send them right back.
Protip. Did you know different shoe companies use different lasts a.k.a. the foot mold for
their sizing? So, one company size 9 is not going to fit the same as another company’s
size 9. What I would focus in on is finding a brand whose sizing works for you.
Tip number two. Use heat to get rid of tightness and hotspots. Now, when it comes to new shoes,
they can be very stiff when you first start to wear them. The way to get rid of the stiffness
is to leverage the power of heat. Use a hairdryer and run it over the shoes
for a few minutes especially in the hotspot areas. You’re looking to warm up the leather
and make it more pliable. Putting on your warm leather shoes, you should find that they
fit a bit better and as you wear them throughout the day, you’re going to find that they’re
going to adjust better to your feet. Next up. Create traction on your leather soles.
So, at this point, you’re sure you want to keep the shoes. Now, it’s time to deal
with those slippery leather soles. So, why even bother with leather soles? Why
would you even want them? Leather soles, gentlemen, are a sign of quality. And, historically,
they are found on the high-end shoes in the menswear world.
Now, the problem with leather soles as anyone who has ever fallen in them can tell you whenever
you step on water, ice, they give you no traction. Simply rough up the sole, you want to create
a sole that actually is going to be able to give you traction.
Now, you don’t want to do this with a knife. No, that damage the sole by cutting too deep
into the leather. Instead, just use 80-grit sandpaper and go over the sole roughing it
up. Don’t have any sandpaper? Well, let’s
make this easy. Go out to your sidewalk, then drag your feet around to create little cuts
little grooves that are going to give you traction.
Still too slippery? You want more traction? Well, gents, I got you covered. So, just go
to your local box store, maybe your local cobbler, or look online for rubber shoe grips.
With a little bit of adhesive, these rubber shoe grips attach to the bottom of your shoes
and they will give you traction and prevents you from slipping and sliding all over the
place. Next up, buy a shoe horn. So, did you know
that most men put on their dress shoes incorrectly? Yeah, they just shove their foot right in
there and they damage the back of the shoe. To prevent it from bending and deforming over
time, you need to start using a shoe horn. Now, when you’re buying a shoe horn, you’re
going to see tons of options out there; 6-inch plastic horns, 12-inch metal horns, 24-inch
horns made from horn. Which one should you go with? Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter just
simply use a shoe horn and you’ll protect the life of your shoes.
The next tip, gentlemen, buy backup shoelaces. Shoelaces seem to break at the worst time,
minutes before that interview, minutes before you’re about to go on stage and give the
presentation of your life. Gents, be prepared, buy backup laces. Whenever
you buy new shoes, what you’re looking to do is just make it easy for yourself in the
future. Whenever you’ve got one lace that breaks, you only have to replace that one,
not worry about actually matching them up because they’re made from the same manufacturer.
Next on the list, buy cedar shoetrees. This is the one piece of advice that most people
ignore. And, unfortunately, it leads to the premature death of their shoes. You see, your
brand new dress shoes, they may look beautiful now, but they’re not going to stay that
way if you don’t take care of them. Cedar shoetrees are amazing because they help
your dress shoes to maintain their natural look when you don’t wear them. You see,
when you wear dress shoes, you sweat in them, you reshape them whenever you bend them again
and again. Shoetrees go in there and they maintain the shape and they prevent creases
from appearing. [0:05:07]
Gents, when you’re not wearing your leather dress shoes and within hours of taking them
off, you want to store them with cedar shoetrees. They’re going to maintain the shape, maintain
the look, maintain your investment. Apply leather conditioner. So, leather conditioner
is a lotion that penetrates the leather and can help to make it softer. This is great
by the way if you’re dealing with fit issues. If the shoes are a little bit too tight, there
are some hotspots, guess what? You can use a little bit of leather conditioner to make
the leather more malleable. Now, throughout the life of your shoes, you
do want to apply leather conditioner at least once a season. Why? Well, if you live in a
dry environment, let’s say the desert, you’re going to find that your leather can become
brittle. It can become too dry and crack unless you put on a leather conditioner.
Or if you live in a wet area, oftentimes the water will penetrate and then leave, and when
it leaves, it pulls out a bit extra and this can lead to water damage. Leather conditioner
will go through and actually prevent that. Next up, apply a wax polish. Applying the
wax polish to your shoes kills two birds with one stone. First, it gives your shoes that
lovely shine, catches people’s eyes and gets you tons of compliments.
Second, that thin layer of wax creates a protective layer. When you get scuffs and scrapes, it’s
going to be the wax that is scuffed and scraped. And, it’s going to provide a thin layer
of water resistance. Now, when it comes to matching the wax color
with your shoes, try to get them as close as possible. If you can’t find anything
that works, then go with a neutral wax. A neutral wax is still going to provide a bit
of shine and most importantly the protection. Next, apply a water proofing spray. Now, that
layer of wax does provide some protection. But, gents, if you’ve got light-colored
shoes if you’re running through the slush and snow, no, you want more protection.
What you want to use here, gents, is a silicone-based water proofing spray. Now, before spraying
it all over your shoes especially light-colored footwear, make sure to test it on the tongue
to see if it darkens the shoes. After the test, using light strokes, you want
to go ahead and spray the entire shoe. Let the shoe sit for a couple of hours and then
apply a second coat. You’ve now got a hydrophobic layer all over your shoes to repel moisture.
Now, when you buy dress shoes, they already come pre-laced. Gents, what we’re looking
to do what we’re looking to bring in here is bar lacing. This lacing style creates a
very sleek, streamlined, and dressy look that works perfectly.
Gents, check out this video where I show you how to lace your shoes.
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