Suede shoes and what the heck to wear in snow

[Dimitri001]

I've two questions;

Firstly, I've been reading about suede in snow and there seems to be a 75-25 split with 75% of people saying don't do it you'll ruin your shoes and 25% of people saying suede isn't as fragile as people think I wear my suede in the snow and it's fine.

Strictly because I don't know what the heck else to wear in snow while looking half-way stylish other than suede bucks I'm going to hazard my suede in the snow, but I'm curious as to what exactly folks mean when they say that it gets "ruined."

A girl I go to school with had a pair of beautiful purple suede shoes that now look extremely dark, almost black. Not beautiful shoes anymore at all. I suppose this is the "ruin" that people talk about, but did this happen to her (I can't ask her, I don't know her) because she didn't treat the suede with water repellant or will this happen one way or the other?
Will the shoes turn back to their original color after they dry or will there be some discoloration?

Does the texture get affected as well?


My second question is, what do you folks wear in the snow. I've been looking around but can't seem to find anything I like. I don't want to wear boots. Would nubuck get damaged in some way in the snow?

 

[Swede66]

Personally I also wear suede in snow, and never have had any issues with it. Sure, my suedes are not in light colors.
I use good spray water repellant fairly frequently during winter, and are carful to treat any salt stains, if any.

 

[Dimitri001]

Personally I also wear suede in snow, and never have had any issues with it. Sure, my suedes are not in light colors.
I use good spray water repellant fairly frequently during winter, and are carful to treat any salt stains, if any.

What color are your shoes? Have they changed color or texture? Naturally, they'll darken if they get wet, but when they dry off is it back to the original color or is the color affected?

How often do you apply the spray? Is it weekly, biweekly?

 

[Swede66]

Sorry for late answer. I have dark brown and snuff. They have not darkened or changed appearance in any other way.
The dark browns are fine year old and heavily used, so they do not look new anymore, but what shoe would?

Frequency of treatment depends a bit on weather. Cold snow is absolutely no issue at all, while "slush" have me spray them more frequently.
Also use spray with color, which really makes a difference.

No reason to hesitate . They hold up better than the calf ones.

 

[deveandepot1]

Why don't you want to wear boots? It is the standard winter shoe.

 

[mr monty]

I also fear wearing suede shoes in rain or snow. I have always owned several pairs of suede footwear. But I never allowed any of my shoes to get caught in the rain or snow. To be on the safe side, lately I'm thniking about using a suede footwear protector.