How to care for your leather shoes so they last for years
Well-tanned leather doesn't wear out: it ages. With four simple habits, a handmade pair can last a decade and gain character every year. This is what we recommend to everyone who buys from our workshop in Crevillent.
The routine we recommend
Brush them after each wear
Thirty seconds with a soft-bristle brush removes dust and grit, the real enemy: they act like sandpaper in the creases. It is the habit that adds the most life to a shoe.
Condition the leather once a month
Leather is living matter: when it dries out, it cracks. Apply a colourless or matching cream with a cotton cloth, in circles, and let it absorb overnight. In summer, every two or three weeks.
Rotate: never wear the same pair two days in a row
Leather needs 24 hours to release foot moisture and recover its shape. Rotating between two pairs nearly doubles the life of both.
If they get wet, never near heat
Stuff with newspaper and let them dry at room temperature, away from radiators and direct sun. Heat dries and warps leather irreversibly. Once dry, condition them.
Store them with shoe trees or stuffing
Cedar shoe trees (or paper, failing that) keep the shape and absorb moisture. Store each pair in its cloth bag, never in sealed plastic boxes: leather needs to breathe.
Sandals and clogs: mind the sole too
On models with wooden or jute soles, avoid puddles and wet ground. If a jute sole darkens, that is normal: the fibre is settling. The leather upper is cared for like any shoe.
Looking for a pair that lasts?
Everything we make in the workshop is built to age well: Spanish-tanned leather, real stitching and repairable soles.