The toughest part of owning high quality leather shoes, especially like the Lago or the Lorenzo, isn't figuring out which outfits to pair them with. If you’ve snagged yourself a good pair, chances are they will go with just about everything in your wardrobe. Showcasing your leather shoes is also easy if they are already stunning to start with.

The real challenge for owners of leather shoes is caring for them long-term. As durable of a material as leather is, you can’t just leave it alone and hope that it will stay in great shape. If you want the investment you made to pay off, you need to be proactive when it comes to caring for them.

In this article, you will be able to pick up some of the essential tips that will help prolong the lives of your leather shoes. On top of that, you can also read about some more specific pointers for maintaining leather shoes of different colors.

The Basics of Leather Shoe Care

Let’s start out with the general tips that everyone should know when it comes to caring for their leather shoes.

First off, you need to keep them as clean as possible. Keep them away from mud and dirt when you’re wearing them. If dirt particles do manage to make their way to the surface of the leather, clean them up right away.

You can use a soft piece of cloth if you want to remove mud right away or something similar. Generally speaking though, it’s best to use a brush with soft bristles to clean the surface of the shoe. The bristles can get into those smaller nooks and crannies and remove every piece of debris.

Next up, you need to clean the shoes using some soap.

For leather shoes that feature a finish, The Gentleman’s Journal recommends using a combination of mild soap and a damp cloth to complete the cleaning process. Leather shoes with no finish can be cleaned with a damp cloth and some saddle soap.

Allow the shoes to dry.

Once they have dried, take a separate piece of cloth and use it as an applicator for shoe conditioner, notes Popular Mechanics. Gently rub the conditioner into the leather and let the shoes dry once more. You can brush the shoes after conditioning them.

Polishing Tips for Different Colored Shoes

With the cleaning and conditioning out of the way, you can now turn your attention to polishing the shoes. This is where methods will vary because different colored shoes require different types of polishes.

Finding black shoe polish for your black leather shoes should prove easy enough, but if you’ve run out of that, ShoeZone reminds you that oil or balm can work as a suitable substitute.

Brown shoes will benefit the most from brown polish. Just in case you don’t have brown shoe polish on hand, the neutral variant will do.

The same approach works for blue leather shoes, although you should stock up on blue shoe polish when you can because this product is a bit harder to find.

Last up are red leather shoes, and once again, you can use either red shoe polish or a neutral product.

Interestingly enough, this post on Instructables points out that many of the ingredients found in leather shoe polish are also used in lipstick. If someone at home has some lipstick to spare, you can use that to patch up dings and scuffs on the surface of your shoes, provided that the shades match up.

One final thing to note is that you should regularly maintain your leather shoes. Clean them whenever they get dirty and even if they aren’t caked in layers of mud or dirt, a quick clean every week is a good idea.

Conditioning and polishing can be done less frequently. Once every three months should be good enough.