02 July 2008

Brogue Maintenance

How often do you polish your brogues? I break out the shoe maintenance kit probably every 6 weeks or so. And this is only for the shoes I wear on a regular basis. Half brogues, full brogues, and tassel loafers. For the others, I provide an occasional wipe with a moist cloth. Only rarely do I apply a moisturiser treatment, to keep the leather strong and supple. Like watering the garden or washing the motor car, shining my brogues is a pleasant activity. I tend to lose myself in fanciful reminiscences. Casual observers may surmise that I am simply admiring the figure of my Asian neighbour's 18-year old daughter, but in reality I am reflecting on my role in the larger scheme of things, philosophically-speaking. In this way we can say that maintaining my brogues to a professional standard is the path to an empyrean consciousness. And that is a good thing, no?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

LBT, I don't know about empyrean consciousness, but polishing my own shoes is enjoyable. HTJ always polishes his own shoes. Actually, I was just thinking I need to give my Grenson tassel loafers a polish after wearing them yesterday.

Easy and Elegant Life said...

About every six weeks or so is about right. I have amassed quite a collection of shoes and so don't get after them as often as I ought. But I love the result when I do.

Friends of mine who served in the military have given me the secret to that spit shine. Yup, you guessed it, it has to be saliva mixed with the wax. It works, although it is not the most elegant process.