The sneakerhead culture has been around for quite some time, being led mostly by the most popular athletes of the world. Formal shoes have always been given more attention and care over others, but it is time to share that importance to your favourite pair of sneakers.
It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing Tk5,000 sneakers from Noir or forking over Tk50,000 for a pair of suede and grained-leather by Brunello Cucinelli, you want to make them last as long as possible. It’s all about the investment, fellas. Neglecting your sneakers is a major foul in the style department. You don’t need to be a serious collector like DJ Khaled or any other sneakers connoisseur who will never wear the pair he bought last Wednesday. The reality is: you have many pairs and want to show them off as much as you can.
Triple-threat
The three main steps to keeping your shoes the freshest is to protect, clean and deodorise. Unless you are of a divine presence, there is no way in hell you’ll be walking on water or avoid getting wet on a not-so-dry day. When you purchase a product like Jason Markk’s ‘Repel’ spray ($17) and Crepe Project’s Ultimate Stain & Rain ($15), you’ll be able to avoid getting your new sneakers wet, which consequently can hurt the integrity of the materials used in your shoes. These will not only keep the moisture away, it’ll help with some of the stains as well.
You can protect your shoes all you want, but you can’t avoid cleaning them. No matter what you wear, each investment needs to be cleaned properly. Another Jason Markk product, Premium Shoe Cleaner ($18), has become the number one go-to shoe cleaner in recent times. It’s been around for about a decade, smells like grapes, and is 98.3% natural. Hey, it’s not perfect, but that’s pretty damn close.
The final solution and step to fight off the grime is to keep your shoes smelling as close to how they smelled when you first busted them out of the box. It’s nearly impossible but a bottle of The Laundress Sport Spray ($10) will help remedy the issue of foot odour. Gentlemen, it doesn’t matter if you regularly get pedicures and are known to be the most hygienic person around, your feet will smell. Whatever unfavourable stench leaks its way out, the blend of leafy greens, orange, rose, eucalyptus, jasmine and undertones of musk will fight off the offensive attack.
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Tool time
There is the normal shoe brush that gets rid of the usual dust and dirt. Then, there are moments where stains cannot be avoided. Those moments when a dark coloured beverage targets your fresh suede shoes, and the world around you is fixated in slow motion. Heart wrenching as it is, suede sneakers need to be cleaned with suede erasers, as well as the brush, to properly get rid of the stain. This process is followed by a microfiber towel that is specifically designed for wiping any kind of sneaker.
While this is the most ideal kit to have, you can always use a regular old eraser and a toothbrush to fight the stains.
Take care
Shoetrees are a must no matter what style of shoes you own. It is plain and simple, shoetrees keep your shoes as close to its original shape. When it’s fresh out of the box, it’s important to first wear your shoes in to mould the shoe’s fitting to your feet. Once that is done after a few wears, it’s important to carefully place those shoetrees in so that the shoe doesn’t lose its basic form. Cedar Elements shoe trees come in $10 a pair. If you haven’t caught up on the trend yet, none of these wonderful shoe care items will cost you an arm and a leg; it’s quite the opposite.
It’s also good to keep in mind that sneakers will require a rounder toe with a metal spring design. This isn’t only recommended for sneaker heads. Shoetrees, as mentioned, should be kept for your formal shoes as well as high-top to low-top sneakers.
Whether they are vital tools or bottled cleaning products, each item mentioned can be found on Amazon, which you’ll be able to purchase via backpackbang.com.
