Patent Leather Shoes.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 932, 10 January 1890, Page 4

Patent Leather Shoes.

1 Will you tell me why it is that you always _\ye.ar ..patent leather shoes?’ a man was heard to ask a companion, as they rode down from the hill on a South Orange car the other day. ‘ I know you haven’t ambition to become a dude, and I’ve often wondered how it is that you will go to the extravagance of patent leathers whea they last such a comparatively short time.’ ‘Now, there’s just where you are wrong,’ was the reply. ‘ I wear patent leathers because they are cheaper in the long run than the other kind.’ ‘ How do you make that out.’ ‘ Well I’ll tell you. The average price paid for a pair of ordinary leather shoes by men of our income is 4 dol 50c., and they will last about six months. Of course, you can buy a 10 dol pair that will wear for a year, but I’m not talking about that kind. Now, I buy a pair of readymade patent leathers for 6 dol., and they do me service the same length of time as your ordinary leathers do, and just on the strength of that fact you say that it costs me a great deal more. In reality I save money by it. ‘ Did you ever count np how much money you pay out to bootblacks a month for “ shines ” or how much time you have wasted while dress’ng in older to blacken your shoes yourself? With patent leather shoes I never have to bother about shoe blackening, and with the sxception of a little cleaning, which I will tell you about afterward, I am free from the nuisance entirely. A man is bound to blacken ordinary leather shoes, and the chances are that he gets a bootblack to do it. Now it is a low average to say that a man gets his shoes blackened five times a week, and spends 25 cents in consequence. That means one dollar per month, and in six weeks you have spent the differences between the orginal prices of your shoes and mine. Over that time you are losing on your shoes, while I am saving and have the better looking pair besides. ‘ Some people complain that they can’t keep patent leather any length of time, but the reason is that they don’t know how to do so. It is very foolish to put any prepared blacking on patent leathers. The best thing when they get dirty or dingy is to give a good washing with hot water and soap. After they are perfectly dried, then take a stiff brush and give them a good polishing. It makes them look as good as new and never hurts them. These are the reasons why I wear patent leather, and I think they are pretty good ones.’—Newark Call.