Restoration of neglected shoes

Hi everybody,


A lot of you have posted pictures of old shoes that still seem to be in good condition. Well, almost all of my shoes are not that old and in worse condition. Do you guys clean you shoes after every wear and store them in a special temp and humidity controlled room or is their a secret? I know the most important thing is I should buy trees, but other tips are welcome. Educate me!




Chestnut Umberto Luciani (L). when I bought these they were a fiery red-brownish color, but beacuse of water and mud, they've got stains and became paler. On the right Dries Van Noten, bought one size too big, then put innersoles in them. Now they fit nicely without wrinkles when I wear them. However, I'd like to clean them entirely, remove all the spots and darker areas. Suggestions?


Black Church custom grade (L), more then 20yo and Hugo Boss (R) Here the Boss shoes are a beige color. i've had them for a year now and I've never cleaned them. They're filthy but I love them because they're very comfortable to wear. How do I restore them in their original state?


Black Navayos or something like that on the left. Can't read the name anymore, can only read Made in Italy. These shoes are bad quality; after 1 year, they have claws in the leather. Still, I like them and have received several compliments about them. I especially like the thin soles; I know they're not well-built (glued instead of welted) but I don't like thick soles. Problem is both have a dent at the tip and lots of wrinkles. I think a normal shoe tree won't help a lot because the tip is very narrow. I have 2cm of open space at the front (They're not too big (size 42) but just too narrow at the front)
On the right another pair of Dries Van Noten which are the opposite of the Navayos. Very well built, thick leather,rubber soles, so they're great during the winter season, but I don't really find them elegant nor stylish.

Others know more about this then me, I just practice the basics.

1. Shoes trees in all my shoes, all the time when they are not on my feet. This alone makes a big difference.

2. I never wear my shoes two days in a row

3. I "polish" all the shoes I wore once per week. Most shoes I own only are worn once per week, so this does mean i work on my shoes after every wearing. By no means do they get a full polish, but I do inspect them and give them what ever service they require. Once every week or two I give the full service to one pair of shoes, wich included conditioning, then a full polish.

Overall this has kept my shoes looking very sharp for many years.

where to buy shoe trees?

I believe Cedarstore just become a sponsor and is offering an intro price of 19.99 for woodlore epics. I think these look pretty nice.

I have two pair from the Ferragamo outlet for 19.99 each and they are great.

Originally Posted by JeffsWood

Click to expand...

Others know more about this then me, I just practice the basics.

1. Shoes trees in all my shoes, all the time when they are not on my feet. This alone makes a big difference.

2. I never wear my shoes two days in a row

3. I "polish" all the shoes I wore once per week. Most shoes I own only are worn once per week, so this does mean i work on my shoes after every wearing. By no means do they get a full polish, but I do inspect them and give them what ever service they require. Once every week or two I give the full service to one pair of shoes, wich included conditioning, then a full polish.

Overall this has kept my shoes looking very sharp for many years.

Multiple pairs of shoes are a must to avoid wearing one pair to often. Shoe trees should be in your shoes at all times! So you are completely right as far as I am concerned. I do have a polishing routine:

1. Treat my shoes with a lotion to clean them.
2. Brush
3. (only every once in a while) Treat them to a little grease (Saphir has a good product.)
4. Brush
5. Use a wax
6. Brush
7. Use shoe cream
8. Brush
9. Rub shoes with some cloth.

Is there any way that I can convince you to keep the Church's and dump the rest?

Otherwise, get a regular shoeshine, wait two days before wearing the same pair (longer if you've walked in the wet), use trees, and try to have a cobbler attend to heals and sole before all is lost.


- B

The costco I was in today had shoe trees back in stock. Ridiculously good deal on 2packs of trees as long as you are not too big for them (they are a little small forsome of my 10.5/11US shoes).

Also...costco had made in italy wool pants again. Are these the "fancy pants" that people have talked about here? I would have bought a pair but was not up for the double pleats.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

Click to expand...

Is there any way that I can convince you to keep the Church's and dump the rest?

Otherwise, get a regular shoeshine, wait two days before wearing the same pair (longer if you've walked in the wet), use trees, and try to have a cobbler attend to heals and sole before all is lost.


- B

My initial reaction was that it would help if OP's shoes used quality leather. That is likely true with just the Church's.

I know that the Boss and the 2 other unkown brand shoes could be crap, but are the Dries Van Noten shoes that bad that they can't be properlu restored? As a student, I can't really justify nor afford for that matter to throw all my shoes away and just buy new ones

You are in Belgium?
Then, you can easily order shoe trees from Bexley. They are very good value:

http://www.bexley.com/Bexley/shoe-Em...Referrer=12141

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

Click to expand...

Is there any way that I can convince you to keep the Church's and dump the rest?

Otherwise, get a regular shoeshine, wait two days before wearing the same pair (longer if you've walked in the wet), use trees, and try to have a cobbler attend to heals and sole before all is lost.


- B

+1 most of those shoes are clapped and past it. IMHO of course.