In an effort to build a well rounded, long lasting wardrobe, I’ve been trying to pick items that I think will stand the test of time. While those types of things (especially shoes and bags) aren’t always expensive, often times they are. If you want higher quality, sometimes you have to pay for it. So, I’ve also been making an effort to take the best care of the things I’ve been adding to my closet. For this post in particular, I’m talking about my shoes.
How to Clean Spring (and Summer) Shoes
Affiliate links included in this post.
The weather has been warming up and I’ve been reaching for a few of my old favorites from last year. For the most part, (with the exception of one suede heel tragedy) they were are still in good shape, but in need of a good cleaning. I’ll start with the leather sandals I wore near daily last year, the Tory Burch Miller sandal.
How to Clean Leather Sandals
These sandals were a splurge for me, so you better believe I baby them. I don’t wear them when it rains and try to avoid wearing them in dirty situations; like a sandy beach. However, despite all that babying, bare summer feet get dirty and my sandals were showing it. So I pulled out my Frye Weatherproof Cream, a leather brush, a microfiber cloth and Simple Shine shoe cleaner.
First, I cleaned them with Simple Shine. This is actually a suede cleaner, that works wonders, but worked equally as well on my sandals. I wouldn’t say it’s safe for all leather, so you would definitely want to test it first. Simple Shine also makes a cleaning spray for leather, but I haven’t tried it myself. I sprayed the shoe lightly and used a small rubber brush to scrub lightly. For reference, the rubber brush I used is the opposite side of my suede brush. Then I wiped up the excess liquid with a microfiber cloth. On my sandals, at first when I scrubbed them, it looked like the leather had worn off. My heart sank a little, let me tell you. However, after polishing and drying, this went away, so don’t be afraid if this happens to you too.
After the sandals were clean, I applied a layer of polish and buffed it in with a microfiber cloth. Once the polish set in, the sandals were shiny and almost like new again. I wouldn’t say they look perfect, but the cleaning did help and they look brighter and cleaner. Plus, the polish will help to protect them. If you’re wondering if the polish made the sandals slick, when you first put them on after polishing, they were a little slick, but it quickly goes away.
I use Frye Weatherproof Cream to clean my winter boots, and leather purses too.
How To Clean Suede Shoes
I cleaned two pairs of suede shoes for the purpose of this post, and I’ll start with the dirtiest pair. I’m almost a little embarrassed to share these shoes, because they were tragically dirty before I cleaned them. The last time I wore these, was to a Bachelorette Party, where the dance floor was covered in liquid. I pretty much felt like the shoes were a total loss, and didn’t wear them at all the rest of the summer. However, this past winter I purchased Simple Shine suede cleaner to clean a pair of suede boots and realized how well it worked. I figured it was worth a shot to try and save these heels!
First, I used a suede brush to brush any excess dirt off, which I’ll be honest, wasn’t a lot – this dirt was set in. Then I sprayed away. Since this pair was really dirty, I didn’t go lightly, I saturated the shoe and scrubbed with both sides of the suede brush.
Then I just let them dry. Much to my surprise, they came clean! Nordstrom brought these shoes back this year, in a lot of pretty colors too, but I’m really glad my pair came clean!
The other pair of suede shoes I cleaned, is a pair I wear year round, especially to work. They’re a perfect neutral! They were in decent shape, but needed a little cleaning, especially on the inside. I cleaned them the very same way and they came out bright and clean again!
I also always spray my suede shoes with Scotchgard suede protector before wearing and after cleaning. I really think it helps my suede shoes last! My flats in particular have been worn in the rain, but weren’t damaged one bit.
On Monday I said I was a lover of color, but when it comes to shoes – I think nearly every shoe I own is nude! Now, I just need to overcome my habit of buying the same color shoe over and over again.
How do you clean and care for your shoes?
-Brooke
Now, let’s…get…linking!!
NEW! I’ve started a collaborative Pinterest board for the Oh, Hey Girl! Link-Up. I would love for you to join and share your looks there too! Just send me a message on Pinterest or at [email protected] if you would like to be added.
Link up any post you would like to show off; your outfit, home decor, recipe, workout. Anything at all! Because, oh, hey girl! I want to see it!
Link-Up ‘Rules’
1. Follow me on Bloglovin or Instagram
2. Link back to my site from your post, you can grab a button if you like!
See who I link with here! (p.s. – if you have a new link up on your blog, leave it in the comments, so I can add to this list!)
