Children of the Revolution

How to look after your shoes

One of the questions we get asked the most is “I love my shoes but how do I make sure they last?”

Figuring this was an area for the experts, I went straight to Carolyn, our store manager and asked the question.

Here is her reply.

“Generally speaking, most of our shoes are a lovely soft leather and deserve to be treated with something soft in turn.

Something like Dubbin is great for a saddle, sports equipment or a really thick leather like an RM Williams boot….not for a finer leather like most of the shoes here.

Anything with a lanolin, a silicon, a jojoba or a bees wax is fantastic to use on any of the smooth leather shoes….eg-Collonil ultra cream is perfect!

Smooth leather does NOT need to be water-proof sprayed as it has already been tanned to resist water and dampness. The key thing to know here is that the leather will only continue to be water-resistant etc if it is maintained properly with a conditioner and not let to dry out and crack.

Any suede, nubuck, textile, waxed leather can be spray waterproofed prior to use; but this should be kept up regularly depending on how much the shoe is worn.

A waxed/oiled or a nubuck leather CAN be conditioned with a soft cleaner, HOWEVER please note that this will darken and may affect the ‘antique/aged/distressed’ look of the leather.

Never, EVER spray waterproof the inner footbed of a shoe. First of all the foot-beds are designed to absorb sweat so to spray there is redundant.

Second if you spray in there the person is unnecessarily exposing themselves to toxic chemicals.

Stains/marks can be gotten out of suede or nubuck leather with a variety of products. It can help to in the first instance to let any stain that went on wet, air dry and then try to remove by gently brushing with a soft shoe brush.

If that doesn’t work, a ‘soft gum’ ‘cleaner’ or ‘nubuk box’ in the Collonil range can help.

They all apply like an eraser and the stain gets gently rubbed away. Please note that a clean part of the cleaning product needs to contact the shoe. If not, the dirt on the cleaner will be transferred back onto the shoe.

To care for patent leather shoes there is available a cleaner specific for that type of leather. It has an alcohol base that will take the scratches off and replenishes the leather as well. See Michael for some if we don’t have any.

The inner foot-beds of a Birkenstock (and other ones that are removable) can be washed in cold water (best to just rinse under the laundry tap) and sponged out with a wool wash, a hair shampoo, or any of the washing products we sell, then rinsed again in cold water and AIR DRIED.

Never put any shoes in the sun to dry or air, they may warp, fade or buckle.

And as with anything, there is an enormous amount of information on the web. Check this site out. Reminds me of my grandfather who used to polish his shoes like this.

Melissa Shoes – grown up jellies

Lots and lots of women have very fond memories of jelly shoes.

Melissa shoes were the original jelly shoes – a Brazillian company who have making pvc shoes since the late 1970′s.

We stock their latest range. Check out the photos.

iPhoto-52iPhoto-53iPhoto-56 And just in case you’re still on the fence about whether shoes you wore when you were still playing with dolls can be fabulous and fashionable – Vogue says they are.

Melissa has a history of collaborating with fashion designers – first it was Vivienne Westwood.

Then it was Jean Paul Gaultier.

Still got any doubts anyone?

Think – go your own way.

iPhoto-42-2Think! shoes are produced in Kopfing Austria

Unlike most shoes available today, they are not mass produced.

Sally has been to the factory in Kopfing and she was blown away by how much the people really cared. it isn’t a huge factory and apparently it is the kind of place where everyone eats lunch together – cooked for them every day. Everyone has a window looking out onto the beautiful mountainside. As Sally says, “unbelievable green with goats and stuff.”

The people who work at Think! see themselves as craftspeople and artists because they are passionate about even the smallest details.

They believe (and we quote) that “nothing great can ever come without enthusiasm which warms the soul.”iPhoto-45

Here’s another quote from their latest catalogue (Winter 2011). One person with dedication, endurance and resolve can achieve more than 100 people whose interests are limited to just one thing.”

From a technical point of view, most Thinks! have a removable insole which means they can work with orthodics. It also means you can air them out. A lot of them also have a rubber sole which helps to prevent you slipping.

Did we mention they are also very gorgeous?

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If you want to forget your troubles – wear a pair of shoes that are too tight.

Yes…I’m sure there are thousands of people out there reading my every word breathlessly (have vowed not to look at my number of views page until the end of the week).

And I’ll bet at least some of you are making faces and wondering how shoes can impact on your health.

Sure I can hear you say from here. Shoes can make your legs look great (especially really high heels). And they can pull an outfit together like nothing else (or ruin the whole thing).

But impact on your overall health – surely that’s taking it all a bit too far.

Nope – it is for real.

Let me see if I can convince you.

Let’s begin with an image. A body, upright and strong. The souls of both feet are firmly on the ground. Spine straight, lungs open and large. Energy is able to flow freely from the earth, to the top of the head, down the legs and out again. Sound good? That is how a healthy body looks and feels when it is properly supported on the ground
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Now take the body and add a pair of traditional high heels. Move all the weight forward, throw the spine out of line and squash up the diaphragm. how does that sound now?
Poorly fitting and poorly designed shoes can change the entire balance of the body.

In these shoes, the body can’t stride the way it was built to do.

Suddenly, instead of the lungs being open and full, they become cramped and constricted.

The spine moves out of alignment and the hips and pelvis lose their natural position.
There’s more – and trust me, I could go on but you get the picture.
A good connection to the earth contributes to a healthy body.

Let's be honest!

(okay so maybe this is a bit of a rant but here goes. We believe in it)

Let’s tell it like it is.
Everyone deserves to be healthy and happy. Everyone.
Whether you are 26 or 62.
So many messages today are telling older women they have a medical problem. That they are sick. That they’d better slow down or something will fall off.
Well we disagree.
We don’t believe women need to slow down just because they are “of a certain age.”

In our shop, we see the same thing over and over and over. Women who think they have a medical problem when in fact, what they have is a shoe problem.

Bad knees, bad back, plantar faciitis….
The right shoes can support your foot and provide your whole body with a firm platform on which to stand and take on the world.

And you know what? They also look sensational.

Everyone deserves to be healthy and happy

Everyone deserves to be healthy and happy

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