Having recently bought a new pair of black C&J Lowndes, I thought it’d be a good opportunity to post about how one should treat brand new fine leather shoes.

There are many different ways of caring for shoes, and while I do not claim my methods are the best, they work for me.

The biggest mistake most men make with their brand new shoes is to wear them right away. Why not? They’re shiny and crisp right out of the box and no one has worn them before, apart from the few who have tried them on in the store.

The problem is you have no idea how long the shoes have been sitting on the shelves. I liken it to a guy who hasn’t exercised in 5 years then goes for an all out sprint… he’s bound to get hurt.

Creases on shoes are unavoidable of course (and gives shoes some character), but by wearing your new shoes right away, you could add extra unnecessary creases and cracks that could’ve been avoided if some care was taken prior to putting them on.

So, the first thing I do whenever I buy a new pair of leather shoes is to insert shoe trees (you did remember to buy your shoe trees right?) then apply some shoe conditioner all over the shoes. This moisturises the leather. I’ll let the shoes dry naturally, give them a quick wipe with a dry cloth, then proceed to apply a layer of shoe cream.

Shoe cream also moisturises the shoes but not as well as a dedicated shoe conditioner. I’m a bit compulsive though so feel free to omit the conditioner if you can’t be bothered.

How long should you leave the shoe cream on for? Normally, shoe cream should be applied and left on shoes for about 5 – 10 minutes then brushed off. This is because the shoe cream dries quicker, and when completely dry it’s a real pain to get off.

However, I normally leave the cream on overnight. Why? Because by this stage, it would probably be pretty late in the night having gone shopping for the shoes earlier so I would’ve reached my shoe time quota for the day.

The next day, brush the shoes again, and with a polishing cloth buff the shoes, then scan the shoes under bright light for any dried patches of shoe cream that was missed and take them off.

Now the shoes should be nourished and ready for a coat of wax polish. Apply a coat of wax shoe polish all over the shoe, including the sole. Give it sufficient time to settle in, then proceed with a good brushing and buff with a polishing cloth.

If you’re happy with the end result, then you’re done. Else, proceed with bulling (spit-shine) the toes for a high gloss shine!