- Joined
- Feb 17, 2002
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I wore my C&J/Polo cordovan ankle-jodhpurs today. Got a tiny sprinkle on them from the door to the car, the car to the office door, etc. Looked down at them on errands on my way home and they had nasty looking little spots all over them! I've heard of this but I hadn't seen it to this extent. After getting home I polished the bejesus out of them. But who knows if it will help - after all, I did polish them when I first got them. I just sprayed some water on one as an experiment, so we'll see what happens.
Anyway what are your experiences with cordovan in rain? I've noticed that some cordovan seems to refuse polish - it just smears around forever and never sinks in the way it does on leather. And can you get a real shine out of it like you can get a mirror finish on leather? It always seems to end up a bit waxy and/or rough to me. I like the look of it, but I wonder if it's possible to get it really shiny.
Side note - never break in wholecut shoes that don't fit snugly. If you get a pair that you insist on keeping but they aren't snug to begin with, put in insoles or whatever until they are snug before allowing them to break in creases in the leather. I thought these were pretty snug but in hindsight I should have put in thicker insoles (I don't think a 1/2 size down would have fit) before wearing them, because now they have a lot of creases on the uppers. I don't think it will look bad after they are broken in a bit more, but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't wear them without having them snug in the first place.
Anyway what are your experiences with cordovan in rain? I've noticed that some cordovan seems to refuse polish - it just smears around forever and never sinks in the way it does on leather. And can you get a real shine out of it like you can get a mirror finish on leather? It always seems to end up a bit waxy and/or rough to me. I like the look of it, but I wonder if it's possible to get it really shiny.
Side note - never break in wholecut shoes that don't fit snugly. If you get a pair that you insist on keeping but they aren't snug to begin with, put in insoles or whatever until they are snug before allowing them to break in creases in the leather. I thought these were pretty snug but in hindsight I should have put in thicker insoles (I don't think a 1/2 size down would have fit) before wearing them, because now they have a lot of creases on the uppers. I don't think it will look bad after they are broken in a bit more, but if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't wear them without having them snug in the first place.