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How we rediscovered the lost art of shoecare

image host Words: From GUARDIAN by Josh Sims

Credit: The National Archives

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The recession has forced us to make our shoes last. But how do you get the perfect shine?

Dave Watkins rarely uses spit. Polish, yes. But not spit. As sales director of one of British manufacturing's success stories, the Cherry Blossom shoecare brand, he knows his buffing from his brushing. For a long time he's been fighting a losing battle. Although sales of shoes have been climbed steadily over recent years – faster than clothing sales – shoe cleaning has, as he puts it, "remained a mystery to younger people. Shoes have become a commodity. You get them scuffed. You buy a new pair." Add in the popularity of trainers, and one might imagine the Sunday night pre-school ritual of yore to have all the nostalgia of gathering around the radiogram for Listen With Mother.

But the recession has seen a rise in the smartly shod. It appears to have prompted not only a reappraisal of our need to look the part for interviews but a realisation that shoecare makes economic sense. All those shoe-trees and other care paraphernalia that salespeople have traditionally tried to flog us? Now we're actually asking for them – Kurt Geiger reports that even Ugg wearers are requesting suede protector.

We're fixing too. Timpson, the shoe repairers, has seen business rise 7%. And sales at Cherry Blossom have spiked 20% over the last year – it now sells nearly 200,000 of its little tins every week. And not just any little tins. A better class of shoe polisher requires a better product: the company has just launched a premium line, for those who want to keep their Church's looking saintly. And for women? Just a few years ago Cherry Blossom offered five colours. Now it has 35 trendy shades.

That said, black still accounts for 60% of sales. And most are to those over 50 – the generation brought up to clean their shoes by parents who knew both rationing and self-respect, who knew the golden rule of shoe cleaning: that the sparkle comes only through the application of elbow grease to polish. But what happens when that generation has turned up its shiny toes? Watkins is hopeful that the renaissance will last. "But getting those younger people to clean their shoes remains a challenge," he says. "A collaboration with a shoe designer might help maybe. We're open to ideas."

a shoes shiner

How to get the perfect shoeshine

1. Remember, says Cherry Blossom's Dave Watkins, you can't cover dirt with polish. Dust and detritus should be removed using a cloth or brush, and the shoes allowed to dry naturally.

2. Apply polish using a dedicated shoe-cleaning cloth or a brush with natural bristles. Work the polish in – shoecare is as much about nourishing the leather as approving the appearance.

3. Don't use too much polish – a little dab will do. Dampness in the cloth can help.

4. Allow 10 minutes drying time and then buff to a shine using a different cloth or brush. Wear with pride.

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