With all this time at home its the perfect opportunity to work through your wardrobe and have a spring clean, just follow our expert advice for aftercare with your shoes and bags. If your favourite needs professional care, book a collection from your home anywhere in the world.
When you rummage through do not only define what gives you joy, but we’re going to help you with how to store and care for your favourites. We’ve put together our advice, tips and tricks on how to further protect your items, the TLC you can safely do at home and the advanced services you really should leave with the experts.
Firstly, split them into the appropriate sections; items in great condition, items in need of at home TLC and items in need of expert repair.
TIPSFOR ITEMS IN GREAT CONDITION
Stuff your bags with a small towel or pillow to retain the shape. Leather has memory so this prevents the leather creasing and folding as much as possible.
Use an appropriate leather cream to nourish leather shoes or bags and don’t forget your leather jackets. It’s important to keep leather moisturised, it is a skin after all, as this prevents cracking. Make sure you buff after conditioning. NB don’t use on suede, nubuck or veg leather.
When they aren’t in use, store them in their dust bags. This keeps them dust free and avoids any potential scratches and colour transfer from other items.
If you find joy in displaying your items around your room, avoid putting leather in a spot where the sunlight catches it. This can significantly affect the leather by causing the colour to fade.
For items in need of cleaning, avoid baby wipes at all costs. These contain lanoline and other solutions that can cause more damage than good. Simply try a damp cloth first.
Clean all your trainers by following our step by step guide, leave them to dry naturally then store them in their dust bags.
For your suede items, brush any dust and dirt using a soft toothbrush. No need for water (or toothpaste for that matter) just make sure the brush is soft to avoid causing damage.
Hoover out the inside of your favourite bags to ensure they are dust and dirt free before being stored away.
Place tea bags in your shoes to remove and prevent odours. The choice of teabag is yours, whether you’d like something fragrant like Earl-Grey, or fresh like Lemon & Ginger or simple Black Tea, the options are endless.
Avoid glueing your own soles or missing hardware, as tempting as it may be this is likely to cause more damage than good. In our atelier we’ll use specific glue to ensure it is not brittle, as flexibility is required particularly in footwear.
Dyeing, colour or leather restoration are some of the many services we do not recommend at home! Read about some of our Case Studies to show you the process of colour restoration, such as this Hermes Birken.
Avoid tampering or trying to fix your own stilettos or high heels. Shoe making is a complex process, there are many parts and components and you need expert aftercare for shoes to keep them balanced.
Have you followed our cleanse and want to know whats possible with your tired favourites? Here’s 10 Things You Didn’t Know We Could Do. Sign up to receive our Case Studies and see the magic step by step as it happens in our atelier. Or if you’d like to learn some of our tips and tricks, why not follow our expert guide to care for your Basket, Birkenstocks, Trainers or Suede Bag.
Launching as Official Aftercare Provider for Manolo Blahnik
From reheels and toe pieces to dyeing and restoration, return your well-loved Manolos to their best and make sure they stay in your wardrobe for longer.
You can book your collection directly on ManoloBlahnik.com or drop your Manolos in all three UK boutiques
