Lo-Base Guide to Shoe Care and Saving Money

Looking after your shoes isn't just about looking smart and being clean, its also about making them last longer and saving you money. From the first time you wear a new pair of shoes to the umpteenth time you clean them, following a few simple guidelines will increase your use and enjoyment of them far beyond what you may have previously thought possible.

• Set the tongue

Have you ever found the tongue on your shoes starting to gradually slip down to one side over time, no matter where it starts off when you lace up the shoes? When you wear a pair of shoes for the first time, make sure the tongue is set as centrally as you can possibly manage. Your body heat and compression of the fabric will have a setting effect on the tongue and if it starts centrally it will be more likely to stay central in the future.
In particular, make sure the tongue is not towards the outside of your foot, as this is the way it will tend to move with the natural slope of your foot.

• Read the manual

Most men don't like instructions, but if any come with your shoes then reading them can pay dividends in the long term. Manufacturers will sometimes recommend using sprays or creams before you wear shoes for the first time, which should protect the fabric and make it easier to clean when the time comes.

• Change your shoes

Ever wondered why your shoes smell, even when you haven't had them too long? Wearing the same pair of shoes every day means the sweat from your feet doesn't get a chance to dry off properly. Sweat in your shoes attract bacteria, which start to multiply and cause your shoes to smell bad. Try and only wear your shoes every second or third day so that they get a chance to dry out and air. This should keep them smelling fresh (well, within reason, these are shoes we are talking about after all) for a lot longer. It's also a good idea to remove your insoles as well if you have particularly sweaty feet, which is even more likely if you have big feet and big shoes. There are even more hints and tips here from the NHS

• Got them wet?

If your shoes get drenched in an unexpected downpour or sodden Scottish bog, getting them dry is a priority. DO NOT use a hairdryer or put them on top of a heater or boiler unless you want to reduce their lifespan even more. Direct heat can cause the fabrics to shrink or become more fragile and prone to cracking. Instead, stuff them with paper (white paper or kitchen roll is generally preferable to newspaper, unless you like newsprint on your socks) and leave them somewhere at which is reasonably warm but not too hot. Left like this shoes will dry out naturally, although it can sometimes take several days.

• Dirt-busting

Leather shoes generally need cleaned/polished in a particular way which we isn't covered in this guide, but you will find plenty of direction on the internet without having to look very hard. Fabric shoes, such as sneakers, trail shoes, walking boots and the like can also be cleaned, but as most people tend not to bother, the cleaning method may be less obvious. The general principle is a dry brush, followed by mild detergent/soap and a nail brush or similar. However, a much more in depth guide can be found at Big Shoes for Big Adventures under the heading “Shoe Care”.

Lo-Base Shoes sells large mens shoes from its Edinburgh shop in size 12, size 13, size 14, size 15 and size 16. In particular we specialise in large cycling shoes, large rugby boots, large hiking boots and large walking shoes. However we also have a range of large mens shoes more suited to the office or school.

What's wrong with wearing wellies in winter?

With winter very eminently upon us it has been interesting to see what people consider as appropriate shoes for 6 inches of fresh snow. A nice pair of white trainers or your regular smooth soled work shoes seem to be popular, if completely ridiculous, options.

However, a lot of people also seem to have been giving their wellington boots a good airing after an autumn tucked away in the cupboard under the stairs. You know the one, its usually the last place you look for things you can't find anywhere else and are therefore pretty sure you must have put them in here at some point. Where it smells a little bit musty for no discernible reason and you keep that old tin of paint you're never going to use but just can't bring yourselft to throw out.

Anyway, a lot of people have wellingtons on and I can't help but notice how totally inappropriate they are for winter weather.

Firstly, most wellington boots don't have any insualtion in them at all. As I write its -10 in Edinburgh so toes exposed to the cold will fall off pretty quickly (well, maybe not that quickly). People say that they use extra socks, liners, insulation etc, but even with those wellies simply aren't warm. I wore a pair last year in an ice covered muddy canal basin for three days in a row last year. No amount of extra insualtion would get my toes warm though.

Wellingtons don't have great grips on them. Walking down the steep hill from the centre of Edinburgh to the shop was a bit like stepping out on to a luge run and hoping for the best. The pavements are covered in thick ice which has been polished to a nice, slidy finish but the procession of countless feet, made worse by the fact more people are walking as their cars aren't going anywhere. In these conditions a walking boot with a nice firm, solid sole is my footwear of choise. The lugs are strong enough to gain some small purchase on the surface and you can walk down the hill, albeit gingerely. In wellies, the lugs (again, generally) are more flexible and smoother, making it much harder to keep your footing.

The sole benefit of wellingtons is that they are waterproof, yet in these conditions you don't have to worry about this. It isn't snowing and the snow underfoot is already compressed, so the tops of your feet are not getting much, if any, snow on them. So there's no need to be wearing something waterproof. Then again, if you do want to wear something waterproof, wear a decent hike boot.

Wellingtons are dangerous. I'm maybe slightly biased here, as when I was about 4 I had a terrible wellington related accident. Having been bought a new pair of wellingtons in a size that was slightly too big, I ignored my parents' entreaties not to put them on, and manage to trip over them hard enough to break my leg and earn a couple of weeks in hospital. I think this exact chain of events is unlikely to befall most adults, but wellingtons are still dangerous. Should you lose your footing on the ice it is quite easy to twist your ankle while doing so. In a wellington which has almost no lateral support at all, there is almost nothing you can do to stop this. Ina hike boot, the laterl ankle support is generally very good and lacing allows you to support your ankle securely and safely.

Finally, whilst I'm not about to break into any Fashion Icons of the Year lists any time soon (despite my extensive The North Face hoody collection) I think wellingtons look terrible. General black wellingtons are pretty bad, but women seem to think that yellow and pink wellies are "fun" and "reflect their cheerful personality". Well, they don't. They look bad. They don't look as bad as Ugg boots though, but that's a blog post for another day.

So the next person who comes into the shop and asks if we have any wellingtons for large feet will be politely told that we don't, along with an explanation of why we don't.

Wellies - rubbish for winter, just about okay for wet summer days.

Some wellies yesterday being rubbish