ESSENTIAL SHOE CARE TIPS
by George Glasgow Snr
Don’t wear the same shoes every day.
Your shoes absorb moisture from your feet throughout the course of a day. Moisture must be able to evaporate naturally before the shoes are worn again. This will extend the life of your shoes and prevent excessive wrinkling and cracking in the leather.
Always invest in Shoe Trees.
Shoe trees are the most important product for maintaining the shape and comfort of your shoes. They serve two main purposes:firstly, they stretch the upper back into its original shape and remove creases that may have formed on the upper. Secondly, they draw moisture back out of the leather, allowing it to dry correctly.
Always use a Shoe Horn.
A shoe horn prevents you from crushing the stiff heel section of the upper (know as the ‘quarter’ part of the shoe). Additionally, its much easier to put your shoes on with a shoe horn and extends the life of the shoe.
Conditioning your shoes with a product such as the Saphir Renovateur ensures that the leather remains soft and supple, which prevents cracking and helps the shoes mould to your foot. Polishing, apart from its clear aesthetic benefits, helps to seal in the essential oils as well as protecting the leather from dirt, water and other impurities.
BASIC SHOE CLEANING TIPS
by Nick Eisa
You will need
Wax Polish Saphir Recommended
Two Horsehair Brushes
a Soft Polishing Cloth
Step One
Remove the shoelaces from your shoes and insert the shoe trees (it is much easier to polish your shoes this way). Using the stiff-bristled brush, brush each shoe firmly, taking care to remove any dirt that may have accumulated during everyday wear.
Step Two
Apply Shoe Polish liberally with a cloth to leather uppers. Leave shoes for an hour (ideally several hours) to absorb into the skin’s pores.
Step Three
Brush away excess polish with a clean brush. The leather uppers should show a light shine at this point.
Step Four
For a higher-gloss shine, apply more polish in small coats to the toe box using with a soft chamois (or cloth). Use a small drop of water to add moisture. Buff the leather until a shine begins to develop using light pressure and small circular motions. Repeat until a high shine begins to develop.
BASIC SUEDE & NUBUCK SHOE CARE TIPS
by John Carnera
You will need
Shoe trees
Suede brush
Suede is the reverse side of a calfskin hide. Its soft and durable and, if cared for properly, will last for many years. Nubuck has a similar texture, though finer, than suede. Rather than being the reverse side of the hide, nubuck is created by finely sanding the top side of the calfskin.
Step One
The most important part of maintaining suede is to brush them regularly with a proper suede brush. We recommend you doing this before and after every wear.
Step Two
Insert shoe trees into your shoes. Taking each shoe separately, brush firmly with the stiff-bristled suede brush; keeping in mind that the objective is both to remove impurities such as dust and dirt, as well as to fluff up the suede.
Step Three
Always keep your suede shoes in the cloth bags when not in use. This will help prevent a build up of dust. Every 6-8 weeks, we recommend using Saphir Renovateaur Spray. This unique spray has almond oil as one of its key ingredients and will waterproof your shoes. Additionally, you can apply a coat of Saphir Invulner if worried about inclement weather.
BASIC HORWEEN SHELL CORDOVAN SHOE CARE TIPS
by Adam Law
You will need
Horsehair brush
Stiff-bristled brush
Polishing cloth
Deer polishing bone
Step One
Remove the shoelaces from your shoes and insert the shoe trees (it is much easier to polish your shoes this way). Using the stiff-bristled brush, brush each shoe firmly, taking care to remove any dirt that may have accumulated.
Step Two
Take your deer bone and rub with moderate to firm pressure, in small sections at a time, covering the entire shoe. You can use either a circular or linear movements according to what you prefer. Any scuffs/marks can be worked out through persistent polishing with the deer bone.
Step Three
After the boning, brush your shoes thoroughly with your polishing cloth to remove any excess oils on the surface and buff the leather. We recommend you repeating this process every 6-8 weeks
BASIC ALLIGATOR & CROCODILE SHOE CARE TIPS
by George Glasgow Jr
You will need
Polishing cloth
Saphir Special Reptile Beauty Milk (Reptan)
George Cleverley only uses the finest materials & skins available in the making of our shoes. We source our exotic skins (which are all grade 1) from the USA & Singapore. Both tanneries are family owned and operated, just like George Cleverley. Each skin is hand picked by our team to ensure only the finest is used.
Step One
Remove the shoelaces from your shoes and insert the shoe trees (it is much easier to polish your shoes this way). Wipe down both shoes with a slightly damp cloth to remove any dirt that may have accumulated.
Step Two
Using your polishing cloth, work a generous amount of Reptant into the shoes, one section at a time. The more you massage the cream in, the better it will feed the leather.
Step Three
Allow to dry and then buff off with a cloth or horsehair brush. I recommend repeating this process a few times for you to achieve a desirable shine.
REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE
We offer a full repair service, Drop off to the London Store or Trunk Shows.
Repairs take 3 to 4 months.
You can also purchase our beech shoe trees from our online store. Shoe trees are the most important product for maintaining the shape and comfort of your shoes. They serve two main purposes: Firstly, they stretch the upper back into its original shape and remove creases that may have formed on the upper. Secondly, they draw moisture back out of the leather, allowing it to dry correctly.
