Pet Peeves in The Shoe Industry – Part 2 – Scuffing

One thing that really baffles me is when people can’t imagine how scuffs got on their shoes and then blame the manufacturer for this. It’s incredible too that they could even attempt to think that it could be the leathers’/manufacturers fault. Allow me to explain a few things about scuffing so we can get this all out on the table and thus everyone can understand a bit more about the perplexity of this so-calledphenomenon.

1.As logic and pretty basic common sense would tell you (at least I hope for your sake), if leather is not touched, it CANNOT scuff. Allow me to repeat it in other words: if you were to set your shoes on your windowsill and never touch them and nothing brushes against them, scuffs will not magically appear.

2.Assuming point one is understood by the wearer, that would imply that scuffs can only occur from something touching the leather. When wearing the shoes, there are many things that come into contact with your shoes unless you have the ability to fly. Which, as far as I know, nobody does. That means your shoes are fair game for scuffing.

3.Now, different leathers scuff differently. Some leathers take scuffs really well and you have to really scrape it hard to show a noticeable mark. Others, you can barely touch it, practically breathe on and if scuffs very prominently. Understanding this will hopefully curb any unrealistic expectations of one’s shoes never scuffing. Oil greased leathers, hatch-grains, pigskin, bookbinder, cordovan, vegetable tanned leathers etc. all scratch quite easily. But the majority of them also shine easily (except vegetable tanned leather). Accept it and deal with it

It astounds me when people say, ‘but I am really careful not to’. Yea, so am I, but I scuff the hell out of them sometimes because I simply cannot pay 100% of my attention to my shoes and where I step. What people don’t get is that when you are walking, you are taking A LOT OF STEPS and unless you are literally staring at your feet the ENTIRE TIME, you are not paying attention to them but rather what is going on around you and chances are this is when you scuff them.

For those that sit on office chairs at a desk, well let me tell you that this is prime shoe scuffcentral. Office chairs and desks will kill your heels and toes. And you won’t even know that you are doing it.

For those of you in Europe and walking cobblestone streets. Scuff central.

At a pub? Big time scuff central

At a dance club? Forget about it. You won’t recognize your shoes in the morning.

So please people, accept that YOU are going to scuff YOUR shoes and take responsibility for it and do not attempt to blame the manufacturer or the leather for clearly what you have done to your own shoes. It’s pathetic.

 

***this is not directed at any of my own customers as thankfully I have yet to deal with someone who blames me for this, but have read on numerous occasions people on forums bashing the brands for what they have done to their shoes, not including the image below whose shoes were scuffed during a move***