Here’s How To Care For Your Designer Shoes

By Rosamund Muir / August 16th, 2022 / There are currently 0 comments

When you invest in a pair of designer shoes, you want them to last a lifetime.

Although usually made from high-quality materials, designer shoes can be delicate, so it’s important to regularly maintain them to make them last.

At Rosamund Muir, we’re passionate about sustainability, so we want to encourage you to look after your shoes, to give you a return on your investment and prevent them from ending up in a landfill. That’s why we’ve pulled together our top designer shoe care tips, including cleaning and the best ways to store your shoes so that you can keep them looking and feeling fabulous for years to come!

How do you take care of brand new shoes?

Rosamund Muir Montana shoes just crafted in the workshop

Putting them on straight out of the box is tempting if you’ve just invested in a brand new designer pair of shoes. However, when it comes to designer shoe care, prevention is better than cure, so it’s best to prep your shoes for outdoor wear.

Here are our top tips on getting your shoes ready for their maiden voyage:

Invest in a weatherproof or stain-proof treatment that is compatible with the upper material of your shoes. By taking the time to spray your shoes before going outside, you’ll create an extra barrier of protection against whatever the weather throws at you. By protecting your designer shoes against moisture, they’ll stay looking as good as new for longer.
If your new shoes have leather soles, it’s important to protect them. Whilst leather soles look beautiful, they aren’t very good at withstanding wear and tear and will begin to scratch and scrape as soon as you step onto any rough surface. Take your shoes to your local cobbler, where they can install some protective rubber soles to protect the leather.
Keep the box, dust bag and packaging that came with your shoes, as this will be useful for storage later.

How do you make designer shoes last?

To prolong the life of your designer shoes, it’s best to invest some time into shoe maintenance and TLC. From the best places to store your shoes to the preventative care you can give them at home, step your way to shoe care success with our handy hints and tips.

Prevention

Stain and rain products are essential to keeping your shoes pristine. If you wear your shoes often, spray them with stain and waterproofing sprays every two to three months to prevent any weather damage.
Find a good shoe cobbler and take your shoes there for an inspection. A cobbler can spot any potential signs of damage, such as whether or not heel tips need replacing or your shoes need resoling before any real damage occurs.
Always get any heel tips replaced that are worn down, as failure to do so can create damage and scuff marks further up the heel.
If you display your shoes in an open closet, dust them regularly and keep them out of direct sunlight to avoid discolouration.

Cleaning

Regularly cleaning your shoes can prevent any long-term damage to their uppers that could be caused by moisture, salt in winter, or dirt and debris.

We’ll go into further details later on how to clean leather and suede shoes, but here are some quick wins to keep your designer shoes looking pristine!

If your shoes are dirty, take them to be professionally cleaned by a shoe specialist, particularly if they’re a seasonal piece that you’re putting into storage for a while. That way, your shoes will feel good as new when you go to wear them again.
For smaller cleaning jobs, brush and polish your shoes regularly to remove dirt, debris and stains from the uppers. A horse hair brush is a great tool for cleaning suede uppers as it’s incredibly durable but gentle enough that it won’t leave scuffs or scratch marks.
If your shoes get wet, dry them with a clean cloth and allow them to air dry.
Spot clean your shoes after every wear to lessen the chance of permanent stains, and wipe down the heels after each wear using a dry, microfibre cloth to prevent a build-up of dirt and help extend the life of your heels.
Polish leather shoes at least once a month to maintain their finish.

Different material uppers require different kinds of maintenance to keep them clean:

For soft, grained leather, first wipe with a dry, soft clean cloth to remove dust. Then, take a small amount of neutral wax-based shoe cream and buff the leather with a soft cloth to help brighten the shoe’s colour.
For suede leather, clean with a soft-bristled or horsehair brush. Spray with waterproof spray to protect the leather from rain and humidity.
For delicate satin shoes, handle your cleaning carefully, using only a soft dry cloth to remove any dust or dirt.
For shoes with embellishments such as crystals and studs, clean with a soft velvet cloth, avoiding contact with any materials that could damage or scratch them.

How to store shoes

Storing your shoes correctly is just as important to their lifespan as cleaning them. Whether you’re putting your shoes on display in an open wardrobe or closet or storing them out of sight between wears, here are our top tips for keeping yours at their best!

Wherever you store your shoes, they must be kept in a clean, dry place and away from direct sunlight, which could discolour them.
NEVER throw your shoes to the bottom of your wardrobe as this causes them to scuff and scratch, causing irreparable damage. If you need to store them out of sight, store them in their dust bags and original boxes to prevent them from scraping and scuffing against other shoes.
Always store shoes in their dust bags when travelling to prevent scuffs and scratches.
Invest in good shoe storage, whether that’s individual boxes or shelving. Avoid wire shelves or metal shoe racks, which don’t always give your shoes a lot of support.
Shoe trees are a great invention that helps keep your shoes in their desired shape. Place in your shoes to keep them properly stuffed and prevent them from bending, wrinkling and becoming misshapen.
Wherever you store your shoes, keep them out of your pets’ reach to prevent chewing or scratching. Nobody wants to see a playful pet’s expensive shoes ripped in half!
Storing your shoes on display helps you to regularly see their condition and also helps to prompt you to keep them clean. It’s also great for pulling outfits together in an open wardrobe setting!

How do you protect designer soles?

As we mentioned earlier, some designer shoes come with luxurious leather soles that, whilst pretty, need some added protection to prevent them from scuffing, scraping and wearing away prematurely.

Most professional shoe cobblers can install sole rubber protectors to your shoes to help preserve their luxurious details. Comfortable to walk on, most rubber protectors sit on the main pressure points of the shoes, for example, under the heel or the ball of the foot, where the shoe will have the most contact with the ground.

Although not always the prettiest, rubber sole protectors prevent unnecessary damage and can easily be replaced when worn down.

If you’re unsure where to find a trusted or experienced cobbler, ask your nearest designer shoe store, department store or designer boutique to see who they recommend for shoe repairs.

How do you care for leather shoes?

Dark Green High Heeled Paulina boots against a white background

When caring for your leather shoes, establishing a good cleaning and maintenance routine can make a big difference in extending the life of your shoes.

Here’s what you’ll need for yours:

A chamois, polishing cloth or old white cotton rag
A horsehair brush
A good quality leather cleaner or shoe conditioner that will clean and fully hydrate your shoes
A travel-sized spray bottle filled with water
Shoe cream polish to recolour, add pigment and fill small scuffs and scratches. Try to choose a cream polish similar to the colour of your shoes (as it acts as a tint; however, it doesn’t matter if it’s slightly lighter or darker, as eventually, it will wear away)
A shoe tree to hold your shoes in shape whilst you clean.

To clean your leather shoes, follow these simple steps:

Start by stuffing your shoes with a shoe tree or newspaper, then brush your shoes vigorously with your horsehair brush to remove any dirt and debris. Use your spray bottle to add a damp mist to your shoes before wiping away with your polishing cloth.
Allow your shoes to dry for a few minutes, then take your leather shoe conditioner and apply it in small dabs to your shoes. Gently massage into the leather in a circular motion until you’ve covered the whole shoe. Give your shoes time to dry and absorb the nutrients from the conditioner (they should only need a few minutes)
Buff your shoes again with your horse hair brush. This should heat the conditioner’s nutrients and give your shoes a nice shine.
Apply a fine layer of shoe cream polish to your shoes and massage in, using circular motions.
Give the shoe cream 15 minutes to dry, then brush one final time with your horsehair brush, applying firm pressure to your shoes. This helps to blend the polish and gives a high shine. Wipe down your shoes with a cloth to remove any excess.
Your shoes are now clean, fully hydrated and perfectly pigmented! Stuff them with your shoe trees and leave them for 24 hours before wearing them again. You can also follow this routine before you store your seasonal shoes away.

How do you care for suede shoes?

Lady wearing Jeanne pink wedges with a summer dress

Equally, suede shoes need cleaning, care and general maintenance. To get the best out of yours, we’d recommend the following:

A good strong suede brush allows you to lift the suede’s fibres (also known as the nap) and buff out dirt and debris before fluffing.
An eraser – you can get a specific nubuck or suede eraser, but a normal (clean) eraser will perform the same job. Use yours to remove scuffs and light stains from suede and restore its texture.
Suede shampoo or mild soap and water for removing stains
A gentle shoe brush or soft-bristled toothbrush to apply your shampoo or suede cleaner
A shoe tree or newspaper for stuffing your shoes
Waterproofing spray to treat your shoes after cleaning

Using your suede brush and eraser, you can usually spot clean suede shoes with ease. However, if the stain has set a little deeper, you may need to use a suede shampoo or soap and water to penetrate the stain.
Use your suede brush to lightly brush the surface of your shoes to remove any dirt and debris. Brush with the grain of your shoe to avoid damaging the nap.
Mix some suede shampoo or soap with water (two parts water to one part shampoo) and work all over your shoe, working in circular motions with your gentle shoe brush or toothbrush.
Rinse away the shampoo again and soak off the suds, then work through with your brush again to make sure there are no remaining soap suds. Shake away excess water.
Blot the shoes with a clean towel to remove moisture before stuffing your shoes with paper and allowing them to dry for 24 hours.
Once dry, re-fluff the suede with a suede brush working back and forth over the grain, then spray with waterproofing spray or suede protector and leave them to dry for an hour.

How to care for designer shoes: The highlights

When it comes to designer shoe care, it’s important to adopt some shoe maintenance tactics to keep your stunning new shoes at their best.

With regular cleaning, maintenance checks, reheeling and sensible storage, you’ll be stepping out in your designer shoes for years to come! The simple steps discussed will not only massively reduce your cost per wear, but you’ll step out sustainably too by looking after your shoes for a lifetime of dressing!

Shop for your next pair of sustainable designer shoes at Rosamund Muir

If you’re looking for a new pair of stunning designer shoes with a conscience, explore our complete collection at Rosamund Muir. Find exceptional, wearable shoes lovingly handmade by our skilled artisans from 100% by-product leathers. Explore the full collection today and prepare to put your best foot forward. Or, why not read more about our sustainability promise?