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HeeeresJohnny

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Hi all,

I have been a bit of a lurker here recently, in pursuit of some very specific guidance, which I haven't yet found. Apologies if my search has overlooked the answer somewhere and I'm repeating a question that has been asked before. It is a little similar to Harba's question a few posts above, but not quite similar enough.

I have recently treated myself to some Loake Hydes in dark brown for work - they're a really great-looking boot and my first foray into what you might call "proper" footwear. They fit well (I think), although they feel a little clumpy compared with what I am used to, and are a little stiff for now, which is to be expected, but my question relates to colour and care.

They were rightly sold as "dark brown", but my boots are quite a lot darker than the pictures I had seen floating around the web before I bought them, and perhaps look slightly lifeless, too. In pictures I had seen, most of the upper seemed a lighter shade of brown, with the toe a tad darker, which was very attractive. Does anyone have any advice or tips on whether the colour will alter over time, or how I might look after the leather to get more life into them? What, in your experience, would be suitable creams/brushes/care techniques to get the best out of them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - this forum has been a great source of knowledge and enthusiasm.

Thanks,
**
 

BXpress

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Hi all,

I have been a bit of a lurker here recently, in pursuit of some very specific guidance, which I haven't yet found. Apologies if my search has overlooked the answer somewhere and I'm repeating a question that has been asked before. It is a little similar to Harba's question a few posts above, but not quite similar enough.

I have recently treated myself to some Loake Hydes in dark brown for work - they're a really great-looking boot and my first foray into what you might call "proper" footwear. They fit well (I think), although they feel a little clumpy compared with what I am used to, and are a little stiff for now, which is to be expected, but my question relates to colour and care.

They were rightly sold as "dark brown", but my boots are quite a lot darker than the pictures I had seen floating around the web before I bought them, and perhaps look slightly lifeless, too. In pictures I had seen, most of the upper seemed a lighter shade of brown, with the toe a tad darker, which was very attractive. Does anyone have any advice or tips on whether the colour will alter over time, or how I might look after the leather to get more life into them? What, in your experience, would be suitable creams/brushes/care techniques to get the best out of them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - this forum has been a great source of knowledge and enthusiasm.

Thanks,
**

The same thing happened to me but i noticed a wax/cream build up on the toes. Which led me to the conclusion that somebody bought them and decided that they are not dark enough. Not only did this guy ruin the original colour but he then decided to send them back after all. They were on sale so i assume they were seconds or nobody checked them before they got shipped to me. However, i went hog wild on the Renomat. The colour came off black. Now they look like on all the pictures. I had some before and after pics but i guess i deleted them at some point. Not sure how much that helps you, i guess you should check them for build up. If you should decide to renomat your shoes, i advise you to watch Kirby Allison's Youtube tutorial.
 

Betelgeuse

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View attachment 1110889 View attachment 1110890 View attachment 1110891 View attachment 1110892 View attachment 1110893 View attachment 1110894 I purchased a pair of Loake Avon from the Legacy range in 10.5 UK which is my standard size. Loake's Capital last is the one the fits me better, the Avon are monted in the River last that is a tad longer than the Capital and you might consider down sizing half if your feet are slim. The shoes are amazing, I purchased the black ones as an alternative to oxfords but once they arrived I bought the brown; they had a 30% discount in Herring's Winter Sale. The leather is very soft and I feel is of better quality of the "standard" 1800 range. Herring's service as always on top.

Both look great!
 

HeeeresJohnny

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The same thing happened to me but i noticed a wax/cream build up on the toes. Which led me to the conclusion that somebody bought them and decided that they are not dark enough. Not only did this guy ruin the original colour but he then decided to send them back after all. They were on sale so i assume they were seconds or nobody checked them before they got shipped to me. However, i went hog wild on the Renomat. The colour came off black. Now they look like on all the pictures. I had some before and after pics but i guess i deleted them at some point. Not sure how much that helps you, i guess you should check them for build up. If you should decide to renomat your shoes, i advise you to watch Kirby Allison's Youtube tutorial.
Hi BXpress,

That sounds like a pain - was there any indication, other than the colour, that they had been used before you got your hands on them?

In my case, I think I have just ended up with a particularly dark pair. I ordered from Pediwear and they looked and felt absolutely grand-spanking new. I hope some wear will bring the life out of them and make the leather look a little less flat. Any other tips on waxes/creams would be welcome.
 

BXpress

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Hi BXpress,

That sounds like a pain - was there any indication, other than the colour, that they had been used before you got your hands on them?

In my case, I think I have just ended up with a particularly dark pair. I ordered from Pediwear and they looked and felt absolutely grand-spanking new. I hope some wear will bring the life out of them and make the leather look a little less flat. Any other tips on waxes/creams would be welcome.

There were no creases or scratches.

I can only suggest that you use Saphir Renomat followed by Saphir Renovateur (Standard-not the pure mink oil stuff). Then you refresh the colour with Saphir Medium brown shoe cream. Renomat should not damage the leather.

If you are reluctant to use renomat , you could carefully try it with Renovateur only (its a conditioner and cleaner, can't hurt)

I know it seems like reckless advice to give to someone who is new to all this but this is exactly what i have done and the result was very satisfactory. (i had good reasons)
 

Harba

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Hi all,

I have been a bit of a lurker here recently, in pursuit of some very specific guidance, which I haven't yet found. Apologies if my search has overlooked the answer somewhere and I'm repeating a question that has been asked before. It is a little similar to Harba's question a few posts above, but not quite similar enough.

I have recently treated myself to some Loake Hydes in dark brown for work - they're a really great-looking boot and my first foray into what you might call "proper" footwear. They fit well (I think), although they feel a little clumpy compared with what I am used to, and are a little stiff for now, which is to be expected, but my question relates to colour and care.

They were rightly sold as "dark brown", but my boots are quite a lot darker than the pictures I had seen floating around the web before I bought them, and perhaps look slightly lifeless, too. In pictures I had seen, most of the upper seemed a lighter shade of brown, with the toe a tad darker, which was very attractive. Does anyone have any advice or tips on whether the colour will alter over time, or how I might look after the leather to get more life into them? What, in your experience, would be suitable creams/brushes/care techniques to get the best out of them?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated - this forum has been a great source of knowledge and enthusiasm.

Thanks,
**

Have been wearing the Hyde's I got almost daily now for two weeks. In heavy snow and in overall wet weather. Used some saphir renovateur, shoe creme in medium brown as recommended (the medium brown from saphir is a great match, thank you for the great suggestion) and some super invulner spray to add some waterproofing. The dark brown color is pretty "bland" I admit, but I think it will develop nicely as seen in pictures below. To be honest I think most medium or dark brown Loake's look pretty bland in color, but then again they are not advertised as "antiqued" or having painted patina on them.

The lighting in the pictures is really bright and they look a lot lighter in color than they actually are, but I hope you get the idea.
Loake_Hyde1.jpg Loake_Hyde2.jpg
 

Munky

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Please, everyone, go easy on what you put on your shoes. Only use Renomat as a last resort and remember that Renovateur is a conditioner, not a regular polish. Stick with brushing regularly and with the occasional use of shoe cream - either neutral or coloured. Keep it simple and don't overdo the amount of product you put on your shoes. They are pretty good as they come out of the box. Regards, Munky.
 

HeeeresJohnny

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Please, everyone, go easy on what you put on your shoes. Only use Renomat as a last resort and remember that Renovateur is a conditioner, not a regular polish. Stick with brushing regularly and with the occasional use of shoe cream - either neutral or coloured. Keep it simple and don't overdo the amount of product you put on your shoes. They are pretty good as they come out of the box. Regards, Munky.
Thanks Munky, that sounds like the advice of a man who knows his shoes.
 

BXpress

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To clarify, Munky is right. Maybe i didn't say it clearly enough. The best use of Renomat is not having to use it at all. I repeat that i used it for good reasons.
 

HeeeresJohnny

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To clarify, Munky is right. Maybe i didn't say it clearly enough. The best use of Renomat is not having to use it at all. I repeat that i used it for good reasons.

Hi BXpress,

Never thought I'd give an update on my shoes to strangers on the internet, but the Hydes are looking a lot better now. I've given them a polish with Saphir medium brown wax, and the toe is a nice shiny dark brown, with the rest of the upper a tad lighter. Thanks for your advice!
 

BXpress

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Hi BXpress,

Never thought I'd give an update on my shoes to strangers on the internet, but the Hydes are looking a lot better now. I've given them a polish with Saphir medium brown wax, and the toe is a nice shiny dark brown, with the rest of the upper a tad lighter. Thanks for your advice!

Glad to hear it but did you use wax without using the shoe cream before? Common procedure is to always use the cream (Pommadier) first as it gives nourishment and recolouring (when they have scratches and scuffs) with maybe a minimum of protection as it contains some wax too. Pure wax is for the finish and more for protecting from water (it won't protect from heavy rain).

Not a big deal and it won't hurt if you did. I recommend that you wait until it wears off and next time give it some shoe cream before the the wax. Personally i would always go easy on the amount of cream/ wax. Thin layers to avoid build up or dark spots. For any further questions go to the shoe care thread. Enjoy.
 

Mercurio

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Please, everyone, go easy on what you put on your shoes. Only use Renomat as a last resort and remember that Renovateur is a conditioner, not a regular polish. Stick with brushing regularly and with the occasional use of shoe cream - either neutral or coloured. Keep it simple and don't overdo the amount of product you put on your shoes. They are pretty good as they come out of the box. Regards, Munky.

I try to follow your advise with most of my shoes, but sometimes you have to go further...

ec4f8a9bdbe3d9ca17356d664085b4d8.jpg

For instance, last January I got my new "dark brown" Pimlico chukka boots. Unfortunately, even though they were conditioned with cream and some toe polish, during their first outing I got some rain, not a shower but a a drizzle. I really thought that my brand new calf and Dainite soled boots would stand well, but that was not the case: I got water stains all over, some of them amazingly big.

I let them dry with their shoe trees, the small drops disappeared, but a big stain reminded surrounded by an ugly dark edge around it: I was quite upset about it as I didn't expect such a stain that had never happened with any of my shoes or boots. I tried the water-vinegar formula, that worked fine for the dark edge, but not for the large main stains: they looked as if the leather color had been removed:

143e1a192f177bd018ecf3b6f8fec252.jpg

I waited for another day hoping that it would disappear, but no, it was permanent: now I had my brand new Pimlico with horrible stains, so I decided to go further: damage has been done, so it was time to experiment with alternative solutions. I decided to apply Sno Seal that would darken and waterproof my boots and, hopefully, hide the stain.

Even though the stains still being noticeable, now they look as part of a "patina effect", the boots are darker and usable again. Now they are really "dark brown", that is an added result of my experiment. I feel they gained in appearance with their "new" deep color.

4d1d53ae59b71d265672697794230ad8.jpg

d62ab6abe3a7dd2247eab4b56967b7cd.jpg

2b730a19e8c6b69a63e99a2b43f0b2f1.jpg
 

HeeeresJohnny

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Glad to hear it but did you use wax without using the shoe cream before? Common procedure is to always use the cream (Pommadier) first as it gives nourishment and recolouring (when they have scratches and scuffs) with maybe a minimum of protection as it contains some wax too. Pure wax is for the finish and more for protecting from water (it won't protect from heavy rain).

Not a big deal and it won't hurt if you did. I recommend that you wait until it wears off and next time give it some shoe cream before the the wax. Personally i would always go easy on the amount of cream/ wax. Thin layers to avoid build up or dark spots. For any further questions go to the shoe care thread. Enjoy.

Yes I had read that it was wise to use cream beforehand, but I had wax to hand and gave it a go. I have since got my hands on some cream, but will give it a while before I use either again. Cheers.
 

Rimaarts

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20190213_141932.jpg 20190213_141838.jpg 20190213_141904.jpg got those as an experiment on tk maxx for 40£. Loake Lincoln loafers! Just a couple issues. Heel slip while being borderline too narrow in toebox.. But it should go away in a couple wears. I hope. And this ugly bend on my right foot... Not sure what to do about that...
And ultimately.. leather sole! Will do vibram asap!
 

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