When you have just bought your new pair of Monge shoes you feel good about them and you want them to stay looking like the first day for a long time. The artisanship which characterises them is on its own a guarantee of this, but it is well-worth bearing in mind a few tips to keep them in their best condition for a long time.
The life of any garment depends not only on the quality of the fabric and its elaboration, but also on the care we take of it. And the same is true of shoes: they may be of excellent quality, as Monge shoes are – made by artisans on Mallorca and with painstaking-care – but they need to be taken care of in a certain way so that they stay well-preserved for a long time. Take note of these seven tips.
1. Use shoetrees. The best thing you can do once you take off your shoes is put a shoetree in them so that they take up their original shape once again: thus the leather is not marked or creased. Try to make sure the shoetree is of wood – or if not of paper. It will help to absorb the sweat of the foot, or the moisture of the atmosphere, on for example a rainy day.
2. Do not wear the same pair of shoes day in day out. To wear the same shoes for many days on the run is not healthy. It is better to give them a rest. This allows the shoes to recover their shape, and at the same time it avoids the leather getting marked.
3. Use a shoe horn, even though this may sound old fashioned. In fact this little tool can help you to lengthen the healthy look of your shoes and over time will prevent them getting out of shape because of the heel pressing down every time you put them on.
4. Clean your shoes when they deserve it. It is important that the correct shoe-cleaning material is used every time. We advise, and this is almost imperative, that you clean them on taking them off as stains dry in and are therefore harder to remove later. These materials are vital: colourless conditioning cream, and chamois leather, a brush to take off the dust before the in-depth cleaning and then another to bring out the shine in them once you have rubbed the polish into them. Finally, shine them with a brisk stroke, hard and fast, like the “karate kid”.
5. Do not go too far with the polish. Using too much polish just builds up layers on the shoe leather. This prevents it from breathing and can change its original colour.
6. Protect the shoe before stains appear. As you already know: prevent stains as this will save you the annoyance of seeing them appearing. Use anti-stain spray and give your suede shoes a quick rub over before going out in them for the first time.
7. Keep them in the condition they deserve. If you are not going to use them for a time, we recommend you give them a coat of leather conditioner before storing them away. Use the cotton bags the shops give with the shoes on the sale of a new pair. It is great if you can put every shoe in its own cotton bag.
If you heed this advice you will enjoy these shoes for a long time, in the style of a true gentleman. Long live your Monge shoes!
