Simple ways to preserve your favourite pair of leather shoes.
1 Store well: Store your leather shoes in cloth bags, not in plastic. After all, leather is skin and needs to breathe.
2 Avoid heat: If your leather shoes get wet, let them dry in the air. Don’t expose them to extreme heat from a hairdryer or direct sunlight, as this will cause cracks or discolouration.
3 Wipe clean: Dust is a contributing factor to leather disintegrating. Before putting your shoes away, always clean with a soft cloth.
4 Maintain them: Shoe trees are great for maintaining the shape of your shoes when not worn. Alternatively, you can also used crumpled paper which helps absorb moisture from shoes, and is helpful in humid climates.
5 The right care: Use a soft bristle brush, cotton cloth, leather lotion, and a good shoe polish. Remember that the character of leather changes as it ages, but it can still look beautiful with the right care.
With inputs from shoe designer Nayantara Sood of Taramay