THE CARE OF SHOES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 26 June 1926, Page 10

THE CARE OF SHOES

It is said flint one can tell a man's character bv his footwear, write? Fonthill Beckford, in the Daily Mail. vSec a man, otherwise immaculately attired, with shaby shoes, and you suspect a kink in his character somewhere. Sec a man with trodden-down heels, and you will surmise that he is down on his luck, slovenly in his habits, or unable to manage his affairs. ■lf such a man is asked for an explanation, he will probably pay that his one a'ric] only respectable pair of walking shoes is being mended, and in the meantime he is carrying on with an old pair. But this is false economy, for in a month or two, the only respectable pair of walking shoes will be as shabby as the old pair. . The wisest course, is to go to a good sb'qpj where it is possible to got a comfortable, well-fitting shoes as well as ". fashionable one, and then buy three, of four pairs'. 1 Wear them in rotation, and (real them carefully when not in use. Keep them oil trees until .required, in order to keep the shape. Do this even when cleaning Uic.iii. As regards cleaning be particular as to th" kind of polish or cream that you use. Preparations containing spirit rot leather. Be careful when shoes are being cleaned to brush off all dirt and spots first, otherwise they will show through the polish. Brown shoes stain more easily than black. It is quite a good plan to give brown leather shoes a" hath of ordinary soap and water occasionally, with perhaps a mild mixture of turpentine, in the water. Bub the shoes well with an old nail or tooth brush, and let them dry. Then administer the polish. The shoes will come up like new. Another good but old-fashioned plan is to rub the inside of a banana skin into the brown leather. This both softens and preserves the leather as well as cleans it. Patent shoes have to be treated still more carefully, otherwise they are .apt to crack, and look extremely shabby. It is a good thing to rub vaseline into them occasionally. This both softens and feeds the leather. Also, patents are .made more pliable by putting them in front of the lire (not too near, of course) before wearing them.