Shoe Renovations

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 49, 31 May 1940, Page 42

Shoe Renovations

(By

L.J.

S.

HERE comes a time when we reluctantly decide that a favourite pair of shoes is really far too shabby for another season’s wear. Yet if correctly treated, shoes can be given another year’s lease of life, and many pennies are saved as a result. Silver kid dancing shoes when shabby should be rubbed over with a smear of cream of tartar. Stains will vanish and the cream of tartar will impart an extra special shine. Tinsel dance shoes tarnish rather easily, and to remove this, apply a mixture of stale breadcrumbs. Rub this in gently, so that the tinsel will not be damaged, and then carefully brush it out and finish by polishing with a velvet pad. Blue shoes should have one part of washing blue added to three parts breadcrumbs, Incidentally, tinsel shoes when not in use should be wrapped in dark paper and kept away from the light.

When navy blue shoes turn shabby, paint them over with blue-black ink. Dry and polish with a soft cloth, and then clean in the usual way. Patent leather shoes-especially when new-should be rubbed over with warm linseed oil, which helps to preserve the leather and also stops any annoying pinching or squeaking. Suede shoes are best cleaned with a special liquid cleaner which may be bought in colours to suite the suede, Apply this with a sponge, and when dry, brush up the nap with a wire suede brush. All grease, of course, must be previously removed with petrol. White shoes are given a particularly snowy finish if the cleaner is mixed with laundry blue water. In the case of glacé kid shoes, the special shoe cream should be applied at least once a week to keep the shoes up to the mark.