Santoni's seven secrets for keeping your shoes looking beautiful:
Every work of art is an expression of love, research and technique. Our shoes are authentic works of the shoemaker's art and like any valuable item should be treated with great care. By following just a few simple rules the technical and aesthetic qualities of your shoes can be conserved over time. Below there is valuable advice for the correct upkeep of your Santoni shoes:
After wearing, let your shoes air out. Help your shoes to keep their shape by using our shoe trees made exclusively of cedar wood. Clean your shoes without removing the shoe tree: this will assist you in cleaning them more thoroughly.
Treat the leather only with excellent quality leather care products. Creams with high wax content nourish the leather and slow down the ageing process. Never use water repellent products as they will damage the colour of the upper, as it has been aged by hand. Use the creams frequently and in small quantities, on just cleaned shoes.
The most appropriate creams are the ones that are closest to the colour of the upper, up to one tone lighter: never use a darker coloured cream. We recommend Santoni cream and polish. Your favorite Santoni store can advise you best.
The neutral polish should be used occasionally and for cleaning only: there is a risk of hardening the shoe leather, causing cracking. Use it on the sole and on consealed parts.
After carefully dusting the upper, appy the cream with a cloth and make sure to let it dry for a few minutes. You can then polish, using a brush with soft bristles (a horse hair brush is best), preferably with the shoe tree still inserted. We recommend testing the product on a consealed part of the shoe, such as the tongue.
For suede shoes or shoes with suede inserts, only rubber bristled brushes should be used: to remove any spots you can use fine (type 00) sandpaper, followed by the rubber bristled brush to push the nap back in the right direction. Warning: suede can lose colour when it comes into contact with liquids or solvents. Avoid immersing suede products or machine washing them. Clean any stains using a damp sponge, taking care not to spread the stain.
Never use self-polishers which are quick but quite damaging, nor iron bristles (which raise the nap excessively). Also it is best to never use direct heat to dry your shoes, as the leather can dry out and crack. Store your shoes out of direct sunlight. All leather parts of the shoe (sole and welts) should also be treated with creams, to ensure their greater durability. Use the original dust bags to transport the shoes when travelling. Avoid transporting polish during summer: the natural waxes become more fluid due to the heat and they may leak. A brush and a cotton cloth should suffice.
As these are products which have been aged by hand, there may be a slight difference in the colour tones between one shoe and the other; this is due to the fact that the leather does not always absorb the various steps of the ageing finish applied to the shoe in the same manner.
You can find al sorts of shoe care products in the Santoni Online Boutique
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Source: www.santonishoes.com
