SHOE CARE

“Good shoes will take you to good places.”

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Shoe Care and Product Maintenance

Good shoe care is an essential habit to maintain your shoes and keep them with you for years to come. To love and preserve the quality of your Mastro Zavatti shoes here some tips to help you maintain your shoes as new as just bought.

Tip n.1: Take your shoes on and off the right way

When taking your shoes off, always untie and loosen up the laces. The same goes for taking on your shoes; always loosen the laces or buckles and use a shoehorn to slip on your shoes. If you push into or slip off your feet into leather shoes, you will damage the heel area which is essential to support your ankle and feet while walking.

Tip n.2: Get a Shoe Tree

The shoe tree is a wonderful tool to help you maintain the lifespan of your shoes over time. The shoe tree is designed to replicate the shape of the foot, thus one of its main functions is to keep the shoe in shape when it is not worn. It stretches the leather and keeps it smooth preventing any creases and wrinkles.In addition while retaining the original shape, it will make it more comfortable.The cedar wood, has also high hygienic and antiseptic properties: it naturally absorbs the moisture and humidity from the leather,leaving your shoes dry and odourless. Our suggestion: avoid shoe tree with spring as it won’t help sustain the heel and backside of the shoes. Get your shoe tree here.

Tip n.3 Get rid of humidity

You should always protect your shoes from humidity and water as those are leather’s worst enemies. In case they get extremely wet from the rain dab them with a soft cloth to absorb the moisture and let your shoes dry naturally. Don’t use any direct heat to dry your shoes as the leather might get cracked and ruined.

Tip n.4 Clean your shoes regularly

This will preserve leather over time and use. The polish and creams that you use also protect the leather from water damage while nurturing and keeping it supple. Below our leather cleaning advice for each kind of leather.

Tip. 5 How to store your shoes?

The warmer season is around the corner and it’s time for your boots to make space for your summer shoes. Here 3 rules simple & easy to follow: clean your shoes properly, use the dust-bag provided and eventually a shoe tree, and store them in a cool dry place.

Leather Care and Maintenance

Mastro Zavatti shoes are crafted using the finest quality material, carefully selected by our artisans. As leather is a natural material and each skin is unique. Any incidental tonal variation, marks, or veins are natural features and should not be considered as imperfections. Each leather type requires different care and has a different way of cleaning. Here below our guide to leather care.

Full Grain Leather

Remove dirt and dust with a brush, use it gently on the upper, sole, and welt as well.
Dampen a cotton cloth with lukewarm water and gently wipe again. Let the leather dry naturally, away from direct sunlight and heat.
Using a cloth, apply a thin coating of shoe cream all around the shoe and rub it in well. Wait around 20 minutes or so, to give leather time enough to absorb the cream.
Apply a wax polish with a cloth and let it dry for 5 minutes or so.
Then use a fine horsehair brush to polish the shoe by rubbing backward and forwards. The shine will come out.

Full Leather Grain Leather Care

Polished Binder Leather

Use a soft damp cloth and a drop of mild soap to remove any dust and dirt from upper, sole, and welt.
Use a patent leather cleaner that contains silicone, this will restore the shine.

Suede Leather

Use a rubber eraser to remove any dirt and dust.
Use a soft brush specific to suede and brush gently in the same direction. If you brush in different directions, some suedes will give the appearance of being two different colors.
Use a suede protector to protect the suede from any water and other stains.

Suede Leather Care

Waterproofing

To waterproof your shoes, use a non-silicone spray or a rain/stain repellent.

Waterproofing Leather Care

Break-In Time

Normally, a pair of new quality shoes are relatively stiff at the beginning: they feel tight around the toes, grind at the heel, and hurt a little bit while walking.

It simply has to do with the shoes being made of leather. The material we use like calf and suede tend to stretch over time and use, getting softer and adapting to your feet. The same goes for the sole; as it is made of leather it will also mold to your feet with some time; the so-called “Break in Time” period.

At Mastro Zavatti we do care about your comfort, so we created this step by step guide to walk you through the break-in time for your new shoes.

First and Second Time: Put on your brand-new shoes for 1 to 2 hours every other day – possibly at home. This is a good practice to make leather naturally stretch and mold and take the shape of your feet. As feet swell naturally during the day, we would advise wearing your new shoes both in the morning and evening.

Third and Fourth Time: Keep wearing your shoes for a few hours (not a full day yet) both morning and evening. At this point, you should feel your shoes more comfortable while walking.

Fifth and Sixth Time: You can have your shoes on for a longer time, maybe a full morning or afternoon. At this point, you should have “broke-in your shoes” and ready to wear them for a full day.

*Please note: Mastro Zavatti cannot be held liable for any damage you may do to your shoes with the use of any spray, oil, or cream you apply. Before using a leather cleaner, conditioner and cream always read the instructions carefully and test in on a small area first.

For any questions about Shoe Care and Product Maintenance, Leather Care and Maintenance and Break-in time of your Mastro Zavatti shoes please contact us.