Extra care with expensive shoes?

[lee_44106]

Having seen luk-cha's post on the Koji Suzuki shoe (fantastic, by the way), as well as seeing the shoe Appreciation posted regularly by the fanatics on this forum, I'm just wondering if special extra care are taken by those who own these beautiful shoes. When you wear >$1K on your feet and going about your everyday life, are you constantly on the lookout for puddles of water, dog poo, other people's careless placement of their feet/shoe....etc?

With my less-than-retail AE's/C&J's/Santoni's/Tramezza's I try not to scuff up the leather, but otherwise pay little attention. I shudder to think what I'd do if my MTM Lobb or EG is assaulted by a piece of carelessly placed used chewing gum or stepped upon by an idiot in the elevator!

 

[argoth]

Wear the shoes, don't let them wear you.

Arg

 

[Dragon]

...lookout for puddles of water, dog poo, other people's careless placement of their feet/shoe....etc?

Nice shoes seem to be a magnet for these things.

 

[amerikajinda]

I am more careful when wearing Lobbs or EGs than when I'm wearing tennis shoes, for example. I only wear my "good" shoes when absolutely necessary. And of course it's vitally important to take care of your shoes after wearing them (i.e., regular polishing, shoe trees, etc.)

 

[odoreater]

It shows a serious lack of sprezzatura if you're walking on eggshells all day - regardless of how expensive your shoes are. In fact, the more expensive your shoes the more of a badass you look like if you walk around in them like you don't care. If you walk around in your $1000 shoes and you look like you are trying to avoid every little possible spot where they could get a bit dirty or whatever, it makes you look like you had to skip a mortgage payment to buy those shoes (i.e., like you really can't afford those shoes).

 

[Holdfast]

Encounters with the various shoe destroyers in life can't be helped and it's a bit, well, precious, to obsess about avoiding them.

Just do the best to recover the shoe after an encounter and if the shoe is lost, c'est la vie. I had to chuck a pair of nice Ferragamos earlier this year after a dog left them a present that I just couldn't get rid of...

... well, as they say, $hit happens...

 

[Tomasso]

I try not to expose my better shoes to inclement weather if at all possible, either by wearing rubber soled shoes or by wearing over-shoes(rubbers). I start each the day with the Weather Channel.

 

[arenn]

I must confess I do treat my nicer shoes better than I do my everyday shoes (which are Allen Edmonds, predominantly). A few differences:

1. I don't wear them as frequently.

2. I don't wear them in bad weather (rain or snow)

3. I polish them myself

At the end of the day though, if you are too uncomfortable in any article of clothing for whatever reason, it will show. I must admit I typically am a bit ill at ease in any brand new clothing item, but after a few wears feel a lot more comfortable in it.

 

[chobochobo]

I think that shoes should be enjoyed, my JL Cheslands are currently my favourite 'roughing' it shoes/boots - comfy and easy to slip on and off.

I still take care of my shoes of course - shoe trees (just bought a whole load of wooden full shoe trees), cleaning/polishing. I do have a few that I reserve for 'special' occasions rather than wear day to day for work etc. It's all too easy to 'hoard' these, so I make an active effort to put as many as I can into the 'rotation'.

 

[edmorel]

I keep my shoes in tip top shape by never wearing them. My "wearing" shoes are Kenneth Coles, everything else I just keep in my closet and take them out every once in a while to photgraph them.

 

[chobochobo]

Originally Posted by edmorel

I keep my shoes in tip top shape by never wearing them. My "wearing" shoes are Kenneth Coles, everything else I just keep in my closet and take them out every once in a while to photgraph them.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I treat mine all the same way.

 

[josepidal]

Originally Posted by edmorel

I keep my shoes in tip top shape by never wearing them. My "wearing" shoes are Kenneth Coles, everything else I just keep in my closet and take them out every once in a while to photgraph them.
Aportnoy?

Seriously, one thing is that better shoes hold up a lot better. Try scuffing an EG as opposed to a Made in India Cole Haan.

 

[Artisan Fan]

I use better polish on all my shoes these days but I do tend to wear my bespoke pairs on sunny days generally.

Better shoes do last better in all conditions of course but there is a tendency to treat them better due to the cost.

I tend to wear boots in very rough weather and rubber soles in rain.

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Better shoes do last better in all conditions of course but there is a tendency to treat them better due to the cost.

Actually, I wonder how much of better shoes lasting longer is a product of treating them better while wearing them. Same thing with any article of clothing actually. If you have a $1000 sportcoat that you only wear standing up and always hang up on your best hanger, it should be no suprise that it lasts longer than a $100 sportcoat that you wear while rock climbing and partying that ends up on the floor of somebody's apartment for the night.