How To: Tidy Up Your Sole Edge

To tidy up your sole edge is often a detail we overlook. We are more often focused on the upper often forgetting that an unkempt sole edge is among the most unattractive traits of a pair of fine shoes. Yet it is so easy and quick to fix. Here I show, in the video, how to quickly tidy up your sole edge. But I will also list it out for you, below.

What You Need

Shoe Dye
Hair Brush

What Is Optional

Cream Polish
Wax Polish

Shoe Dye

Most people probably just use their shoe cream polish to clean up their sole edges. The issue with this is that it doesn’t hold so well. Nothing will be 100% permanent as we are constantly destroying that area every time we wear our shoes, but some products are meant to hold better than others. And the sole’s leather is not as absorbent as the upper leather is.

Shoe dye will ensure an even and thorough color throughout. It can be the case that must apply several coats. You will want to allow drying time between the coats, in severe cases. Most applications will only require 1-2 coats maximum.

I use Saphir’s Teinture shoe dye for this step. You can find that here: www.kirbyallison.com

Hair Brush

In this video, I use a Gaot hair brush by Paul Brunngard. A Goat hair brush is not 100% required but I like it as it helps skip the step of needing cream polish. You can also use a horse hair brush, but this won’t bring out the shine as well. The Goat brush brings out the shine without needing to later add cream polish. Even better is the Yak hair brush.

Find the Goat hair brush here: www.arterton.co.uk

Cream or Wax Polish

In the video, I did not use either one of these as the shoes are relatively new and only needed a quick clean-up. For more in-depth cleanings on really roughed-up edging, it can be best to finish off the clean-up with cream polish to really set in the color. And if you want to shine your heels you would use wax polish. Otherwise, wax polish is not really necessary.

Shoes and Shoe trees found here: www.jfitzpatrickfootwear.com