How can I stop scuffing my dress shoes?
How do you prevent shoe damage? What do you do when your shoes are damaged from scuffing?
The article below is a guide on taking proper care of your dress shoes.
“Keeping my shoes clean and in shape is my biggest style problem. I don't know what it is, but I always seem to scuff up my shoes and run them down. As a result, I've started using cheaper brands in anticipation of simply replacing them. Do you have any tips or pointers that I could use? Thank you.”
My advice would actually be to upgrade your shoes
He didn't tell me exactly what brand he started with, but I'm assuming that he's — let's say he's in the $75 to $100 dress shoe range, so maybe Bostonians or something like that. It's a decent shoe, but it is not an Allen Edmonds or an Alden or a Church's. Those are shoes that you can expect to spend $300 to $600 a pair.
Low Price, Nice Quality?
We're used to sneaker prices, so for us, “I would never pay that.” Well, you would pay that amount of money if you understood the value you're getting with a pair of Allen Edmonds.
Those are the uppers and that's the top part of the dress shoe. That's going to last you 30 to 40 years if you take care of it. You polish it. You keep it. You don't let water and moisture build up in there. These things are going to last for almost ever.
The other great part is whenever the heel of the shoe starts to fall apart you simply send it back to the factory. Yes, it's going to cost you a hundred bucks, but they will almost rebuild you a brand new shoe.
It's going to be your old shoe, but it's going to be like new again, and this is an awesome deal.
For men that are on their feet and understand that shoes are one of the first things that people, when they look you up and down, they take a second to look at your shoes and it's a huge factor. Just ask anyone.
It's something that they notice and they look on the man and they make very interesting decisions based on what he has on his feet.
Upgrade to Better Quality Shoes
“Well, how is that going to help? I'm spending more money, so am I going to be wasting more money?”
No, because when you upgrade you get better leathers. You get a better build.
You're going to make sure to work with a salesman at a shoe store who knows and can help you get those first pair because he's going to help you not only with — most of us are used to, “Okay, I'm a 9” or “I'm a 9 ½” or “I'm an 11 ½”. We're not used to actually widths on shoes, and he's going to help you find the right width.
Advantage of High End Shoes
Whenever you upgrade to a higher end shoe:
- They can adjust on a lot of the higher ends the actual arch as well.
- You're going to get a better fitting shoe, one that is much more comfortable because actually it's going to come closer to being the ideal fit on your foot.
- Because the shoe feels better, it fits better and you're going to walk better. I don't know if you're dragging your feet o perhaps you're just being a bit more clumsy.
- When you upgrade to a higher quality, you get so much more than just the looks. You also have a wider variety of styles.
Seek Help from a Professional
Maybe the shoes you're wearing right now, there's just too much heel down there. The heel is too clunky or perhaps the styles are, but if you go work with a good salesman, he will help you find the style. Just let him know what your problems are and it could be just simply what you're wearing.
I know when I wear work boots, I trip over things quite a bit more because my work boots, they've got steel toes. They're heavy work boots and I'm not used to it. The point I'm getting at is they're going to help you find the right style, the right size, exactly what you need.
If you're scuffing the top of your shoe, he's going to help you choose colors because at the end of the day, you cannot stop — everybody scuffs their shoes, even kings or princes. Look at their footwear that they've been wearing for 20 or 30 years.
I can't remember the exact print, but they know that he's owned this certain pair of shoes because there's a certain scuff mark. Yes, there are people that track this stuff in the photos.
I don't really track it, but I just thought it was an interesting comment how you could actually see how people become attached to their shoes and they love them even when they start picking up those little dents, those little cuts. That's what gives the shoes a bit of character.
You may not be able to completely polish it out, but you could definitely make it so that it's very hard to notice, and that's another thing you're going to want to do.
Make sure to shine, to clean, to polish your shoes more often especially that polishing wax, the cream and the conditioner. That's great, but it's going to be that top layer, that polishing wax that whenever you scuff them or you rub them against something, it actually is going to rub off that wax layer and not get into the leather, so that's another thing that you're going to want to turn it into a habit, and you will whenever you start spending more money on shoes because you're going to realize that you're just more careful.
It's like driving a higher end car. I remember the first time I drove a really high-end car. I was incredibly careful when I was driving that vehicle because I knew the value of it.
With lower end shoes, you treat them like lower end shoes, so I don't think that's where you want to go. That's all I have. Again, find a salesman that can help you out. These guys understand shoes. They'll be able to look at your feet and they will be able to find you the right pair for your needs both professional and personal.
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