Shoe Care for New Shoes

[Dapper Dandy]

Let's say you just bought a new pair of shoes, and you want to take care of them properly. Right out of the box, what do you do to yours? Do you just wear them out for a full day? Break them in a few hours at a time at first? Polish them or clean them or wax them? I want to treat my new Sutor Mantellasis properly!

 

[whoopee]

I put on some shoe cream, then give them a full spitshine. The next day (the spitshine takes time) I wear them around the house for a couple hours. Only after a couple brief wearings do the shoes get taken for a full day outside.

 

[Tomasso]

Originally Posted by Dapper Dandy

Break them in a few hours at a time at first?

I wear them at home 3-4 times(put a piece of tape on the unworn soles or you may kill yourself on carpeting), then wear them exclusively in evenings out(or half-days) for another 3-4 wearings. The point is to warm them up before wearing them for 10-14 hours at a time.

 

[DocHolliday]

I like to apply a dose of leather conditioner, then hit them with some shoe cream.

 

[dah328]

I always thought the point of wearing new shoes a few hours at a time at first was so the shoes molded to the shape of your foot w/o undue foot pain. If your feet can handle it, is there a good reason not to wear them for a full day at first?

dan

 

[Renault78law]

I typically add a few layers of polish then I wear them normally. I'd only use cream if they looked particularly dry.

 

[thinman]

I use leather conditioner, shoe cream, and two coats of wax polish. Then, if they're a tight fit, I wear them for several hours at a time to make sure they won't cripple me before subjecting my feet to a full day in new shoes.

I find that the leather conditioner and shoe cream help most scuffs just wipe off, but it takes about 15-20 coats of wax polish to get a really deep shine.

 

[Dapper Dandy]

I've also heard of people trying to get a layer of dust on them. Can anybody explain why you would want to do that? For those of you who wear them briefly for a few times, is it just for comfort, or is it better for the shoes somehow?