Suede shoes

[Stu]

How do you protect suede shoes from wetness? It is entering the rainy season here and I want to keep my suede shoes intact. Do the Scotch Guard type sprays work at sealing them or not? I sprayed mine with a similar spray, but I hesitate to wear them until I know I am protected. Any ideas?

 

[AskAndyAboutClothes]

Stu:

A protective non-silicone finish (like Scotchgard) sprayed on new suede shoes will help repel water and stains. But I'd be hesitant to wear suede in rain or snow.

Other care tips: Suede can be cleaned with a clean soft brush (like a toothbrush), or you can buy special erasers (suede bars) to remove stains and dirt. Raise the nap on suede by applying steam from a steam iron from about 10 inches away. Also special brass-bristle brushes are available to raise the nap after cleaning.

Useless history (I love this stuff..):The word comes from part of the French phrase, "gants de Suède", meaning "gloves of Sweden".

Andy

 

[ulf]

There's no problem wearing suede shoes in snow, as long as it's cold. Slushy snow is a bad idea if that's what you meant.

 

[Stu]

Snow isn't going to be a problem for me any time soon, as I live in the tropics

But rain, in a tropical rainy season, is fierce, intense, damaging, never-ending and dreary. Once I lived in Central America, which is famous for its brutal rainy season, and I went through about 6 pair of shoes from June to November. You've never seen rain like tropical rain.

 

[jcusey]

You know, everybody always says that taking care of suede shoes is tough, but I don't think so. It's more resilient than you think. A suede eraser and a suede brush is really all I use, and I've never had any problems, even when the shoes have gotten wet. Those protectant sprays will darken the suede, and I don't really want that. Of course, if you opt not to spray them, oil and grease are your enemies.

 

[bengal-stripe]

Just a brief note, I haven't got much more to add. If your suede shoes have leather sole, take care that the edge of the sole gets regularly treated with shoe cream (to nourish the leather and to refresh the color.) Best application tool is your index finger.

For tropical showers you might consider investing in a pair of rubber galoshes (overshoes), which you can always take off indoors.