People do notice your shoes, especially women. And although people don’t spend a lot of time staring at your shoes, you’d be surprised at how often you look at your own feet. And when you look down and see your shoes gleaming, it’ll give you a sense of pride, a boost in confidence, and add some spring in your step. There are too many men that get everything right regarding their clothing, only to ruin their whole look with a pair of scuffed up shoes. A clean pair of shiny shoes will complete your appearance and ensure that the first impression you make is a good one.
Get out a pair of your favourite shoes and get them into tip top condition. You never know when you’re going to need to wear a pair, and the last thing you want to do it be ready to run out the door to meet a date only to find your shoes dirty and scuffed. Having a selection of shined shoes ensures that you’re ready for any occasion. Plus, not only does shining your shoes look good; it is a necessary part of properly caring for and maintaining a nice pair of shoes.
Step 1: Use an old towel or newspaper to lay over the area where you’ll be polishing your shoes. Shoe polish has the annoying ability to get smeared everywhere even if you’re being very careful.
Step 2: Clean the dust and dirt off from the surface of your shoes with a horsehair shoe shine brush or a damp cloth. If you do use a damp cloth, allow some time for them to dry before polishing.
Step 3: Select a tin of wax or crème shoe polish. Be sure to match the color of the polish to your shoe as closely as possible. The polish I’m currently using is black Kiwi Shoe Polish – the tin with the built-in wing-nut-shaped turn-key opener.
Step 4: Use a shoe polish brush to cover the entire shoe with a generous amount of polish to the surface of the leather. Make sure that you get down in the seams of the shoe and cover evenly with polish. Wait 15 minutes while the polish dries.
Step 5: Using a horsehair shoe brush, vigorously brush the entire shoe. The aim is to brush off all the excess polish, leaving only a thin film on the outside of the shoe.
Step 6: Buff your shoes to a gleaming with a soft cotton cloth until you can see your face.
I have a few pairs of nice shoes; one black pair, one brown pair. The initial shine is the hardest; however it should get a bit easier each time you do it. When I first polished my shoes, it took me approximately 40 minutes to get them to a gleaming shine. It now takes me half the time to do the same job.
Building a Shoe Shine Kit
You can buy a shoe care kit from most shoe shops but they can be expensive. However, if you want to build your own then here are the items you need:
- Tin of wax polish
- Horsehair shoe brush
- Shoe polish brush
- A soft shine cloth
