**The Official Shoe Care Thread: Tutorials, Photos, etc.**

[nzahir]

Hey guys, I am starting to try to learn more about dress shoes and care as I need to dress more formal for work.

Is it worth using a natural shoe cream from Saphir or is it better to use a cream with a pigment to cover possible scuffs/scratches?

I have black shoe cream because that is easy to match with other black shoes.

But it is tough to get an identical match for different colors of brown or burgundy even at times. I also rather not buy multiple creams without knowing what I need.

Am I fine just buying a natural shoe cream or does it not really cover up any scuffs?

 

[CWV]

I have Morjas PTB in dark brown (see pic) I really like the red-ish color. However, I don't know what color I should choose for my shoe cream. I was thinking about dark brown, then again, it is better with mahogany? Or maybe havana? Please help! View attachment 1466696

Maybe use more than one color? Alternating from shine to shine?

 

[nevaeh]

Hey guys, I am starting to try to learn more about dress shoes and care as I need to dress more formal for work.

Is it worth using a natural shoe cream from Saphir or is it better to use a cream with a pigment to cover possible scuffs/scratches?

I have black shoe cream because that is easy to match with other black shoes.

But it is tough to get an identical match for different colors of brown or burgundy even at times. I also rather not buy multiple creams without knowing what I need.

Am I fine just buying a natural shoe cream or does it not really cover up any scuffs?

Welcome to the world of dress shoes and good on you for caring for them! Neutral cream is certainly a good starting point for nourishing your shoes’ leather. But it won’t necessarily cover up scuffs, since that requires pigment to fill in the color void left by the scratch. To do that, you’ll need pigmented cream polish. (Saphir and Boot Black, though expensive, are my personal recommendations. Use them sparingly, as you should, and they will last you a long time.)

You mention not being able to find an exact color match. Don’t worry about that too much, as you may never find an exact match for brown and burgundy shoes; close enough is good here. As for what color to pick: to maintain your current color, pick a shade lighter than your shoes and to get a patina—a fun way to create an aged look unique to your shoes that highly sought after in these parts of the Internet—go for a shade darker. Post some pictures of your shoes and folks here might be able to guide you towards different color options for cream polishes.

I hope this helps.

 

[nevaeh]

Oops. Double post

 

[CWV]

Btw I have a question that I’ve been ignoring. When your shoes have a scuff, do you apply pigment to the whole shoe or just to the scuffed section? I’ve been doing the whole shoe.

 

[nzahir]

Welcome to the world of dress shoes and good on you for caring for them! Neutral cream is certainly a good starting point for nourishing your shoes’ leather. But it won’t necessarily cover up scuffs, since that requires pigment to fill in the color void left by the scratch. To do that, you’ll need pigmented cream polish. (Saphir and Boot Black, though expensive, are my personal recommendations. Use them sparingly, as you should, and they will last you a long time.)

You mention not being able to find an exact color match. Don’t worry about that too much, as you may never find an exact match for brown and burgundy shoes; close enough is good here. As for what color to pick: to maintain your current color, pick a shade lighter than your shoes and to get a patina—a fun way to create an aged look unique to your shoes that highly sought after in these parts of the Internet—go for a shade darker. Post some pictures of your shoes and folks here might be able to guide you towards different color options for cream polishes.

I hope this helps.

Thank you

Is there then still a purpose of using natural shoe cream or am I better off buying pigmented creams only?

I have Saphir, but the blue label for black shoes

For browns: I have an AE dark chili and a monk strap in a walnut of another brand I am blanking on

Also is the top tier of Saphir really worth having for shoes like AE? I may start to move up a bit to higher tiers, but who knows when

 

[JFWR]

Btw I have a question that I’ve been ignoring. When your shoes have a scuff, do you apply pigment to the whole shoe or just to the scuffed section? I’ve been doing the whole shoe.

You can put cream on just the scuff or put cream polish on the whole shoe to take care of your cream polish quota for the month or so.

 

[JFWR]

Thank you

Is there then still a purpose of using natural shoe cream or am I better off buying pigmented creams only?

I have Saphir, but the blue label for black shoes

For browns: I have an AE dark chili and a monk strap in a walnut of another brand I am blanking on

Also is the top tier of Saphir really worth having for shoes like AE? I may start to move up a bit to higher tiers, but who knows when

Yes. Allen Edmonds are quality shoes that will last you 20+ years if you take care of them. Some will even last you a life time.

The Beaut de Cuir saphir is perfectly fine to use. It's pretty much as good, if not better in range, than the pommadier.

The purpose of using cream is to nourish the leather and provide a soft shine. The pigmented cream also covers up scratches nicely. Neutral cream is absolutely good for the first two purposes still. You can think of it as a soft conditioner/shiner in one, whereas wax polish doesn't condition the leather much.

Also, BDC cream polish has 90 colours. It is very unlikely you can't match your shoe's colour to them.

 

[nevaeh]

Thank you

Is there then still a purpose of using natural shoe cream or am I better off buying pigmented creams only?

I have Saphir, but the blue label for black shoes

For browns: I have an AE dark chili and a monk strap in a walnut of another brand I am blanking on

Also is the top tier of Saphir really worth having for shoes like AE? I may start to move up a bit to higher tiers, but who knows when

Yes. Allen Edmonds are quality shoes that will last you 20+ years if you take care of them. Some will even last you a life time.

The Beaut de Cuir saphir is perfectly fine to use. It's pretty much as good, if not better in range, than the pommadier.

The purpose of using cream is to nourish the leather and provide a soft shine. The pigmented cream also covers up scratches nicely. Neutral cream is absolutely good for the first two purposes still. You can think of it as a soft conditioner/shiner in one, whereas wax polish doesn't condition the leather much.

Also, BDC cream polish has 90 colours. It is very unlikely you can't match your shoe's colour to them.

AE’s are wonderful and quality shoes. Nice choice! As @JFWR said, the BDC line is perfectly adequate. I prefer the MDO, probably because I’ve been duped by the marketing, but BDC is a solid product. My routine (about once a month) is this: Bick conditioner/brush, one layer Saphir cream/brush, two thin layers of wax polish over the entire shoe/brush. You can add a mirror shine on the toe and heel by adding more layers of wax and water—but that’s more advanced.

 

[nzahir]

AE’s are wonderful and quality shoes. Nice choice! As @JFWR said, the BDC line is perfectly adequate. I prefer the MDO, probably because I’ve been duped by the marketing, but BDC is a solid product. My routine (about once a month) is this: Bick conditioner/brush, one layer Saphir cream/brush, two thin layers of wax polish over the entire shoe/brush. You can add a mirror shine on the toe and heel by adding more layers of wax and water—but that’s more advanced.

Have you or anyone else used the AE shoe creams? Are they good?

I just realized they sell dark chili. Dark chili is a somewhat unique color and I do not want to really mess with the color too much

I see Tobacco brown or Cognac are close, but not perfect

 

[nevaeh]

Have you or anyone else used the AE shoe creams? Are they good?

I just realized they sell dark chili. Dark chili is a somewhat unique color and I do not want to really mess with the color too much

I see Tobacco brown or Cognac are close, but not perfect

I have a tube and a jar of AE cream from almost a decade ago and neither have touched my shoes since I learned more about shoe care. The reason for my apprehension is that AE uses silicone, something that may harm your leather in the long run. However, you might want to ask AE directly about the polish sold now, since their formula could have changed.

For chili, I’d say medium brown for the safe option and tobacco brown if you want to add a little oomph to the shoes.

 

[JFWR]

Have you or anyone else used the AE shoe creams? Are they good?

I just realized they sell dark chili. Dark chili is a somewhat unique color and I do not want to really mess with the color too much

I see Tobacco brown or Cognac are close, but not perfect

Call up Allen Edmonds and ask if they use silicone in their polish. If the answer is no, then it's fine.

Honestly I'd be surprised if ae had low quality polish because their shoes are high quality.

 

[Munky]

Saphir do a 'matching card', which enables you to pick exactly the right shade of product to match your shoes. I consists of rows of holes, each surrounded by a particular shade. You then place the card over the shoes and select the right colour. This is probably for the pedant. As indicated, above, a 'near enough' matching is fine.

Saphir Shade Chart Nuancier Card, from Amazon Uk. Price £3.

 

[JFWR]

Saphir do a 'matching card', which enables you to pick exactly the right shade of product to match your shoes. I consists of rows of holes, each surrounded by a particular shade. You then place the card over the shoes and select the right colour. This is probably for the pedant. As indicated, above, a 'near enough' matching is fine.

Saphir Shade Chart Nuancier Card, from Amazon Uk. Price £3.

Yeah, I've seen those. Sadly, I've never bought them, as the shipping is dumb on a piece of cardboard like that for American orders.

 

[uozay]

Hi guys, wondering about storage advice.

I'm moved home, and the only area for storage for my shoes is in a loft room that has a single skylight for roof.

My shoes aren't in direct sunlight but they're still in indirect sunlight. I'm a bit apprehensive about this.

Would it worth getting some sort of blackout curtain rail to section off a part of the room?

(I also have a handful of suits on a rail behind the shoes, is it ok to store them long term in garment bags?