Give a little love to suede: How to take care of your suede shoes
As lovers of this silky smooth texture, we often use suede for vibrant colours as we feel it gives more depth to colour. You will notice the use of suede the most in our iconic Nemesis pumps, which are in every colour you could imagine! The depth and softness of suede are what many around the world love about the material; it provides comfort and a luxurious look.
There is a common misconception that suede is hard to care for so we are here to set the record straight! In this blog, we have comprised a detailed guide on how to properly care for suede and soon you’ll see it’s not so hard.
Let’s first start by asking: What is suede?
Suede is the inner facing side of an animal hide. It is characterised as softer due to its raised nap texture. The pile of raised nap texture will need brushing and protection from wet weather to keep it in a good condition.
Common tools and methods used to care for suede:
1. Suede/nubuck bristle brush
Owning a suede brush will do wonders in maintaining your suede shoes. There are two sides to a suede bristle brush: a soft silicone side and a stiff brush side.
The stiff brush side is used to brush off any dirt on the surface of your shoes. Be careful not to apply too much pressure while brushing with the stiff side as this could disturb the suede pile.
The soft silicone side is used to brush the pile so that it looks tidy i.e. faces the same direction. Brushing your new suede shoes with the soft side will also help the waterproof spray to apply more evenly.
2. Waterproof spray
Suede is not a big fan of water as it makes the pile prone to breakage and balding. This is why we always recommend avoiding water and any other liquids when wearing suede shoes. Waterproofing spray will help to protect your shoes from any liquid you may come across.
Woly ‘Protectant Spray’ is what we recommend you use. Apply several layers before wear and reapply every few wears to ensure shoes are protected. You are able to buy this at any NR store.
3. Suede shampoo and conditioner
If you want to clean stains off your suede shoes, we recommend getting it done by a professional cobbler and avoiding attempting home remedies. Cobblers have special shampoos they use to restore your suede shoes.
4. Storage
Constant exposure to light can cause the colour in suede shoes to fade. Therefore, it’s best to store suede shoes out of direct light.
