I'm sure a lot of you own nubuck shoes and have seen them get destroyed easily. Though its a more durable form of leather (as compared to suede) it stains easy and super difficult to clean. Nubuck is a form of leather which is soft and velvety to touch (kinda like suede). It looks a lot like suede so its easy to confuse the two. The best way to know for sure is to check on the shoe box itself (or ask me). Just so you know, those tan colored timberland shoes are USUALY nubuck, so if you've seen them then you know what I'm talking about. 

I dont own a lot of nubuck shoes so I've not tried a variety of products so I'll talk about what I've used and the fact that its worked for me. 

The first and the most important thing to do clean your nubuck shoes is to try and not get them dirty. I know it sounds silly but that's seriously the best way to take care of them. There are products that help this purpose too so dont start freaking out and close the page. The instructions are as follows: 

Cleaning instructions: 

• As soon as you buy a nubuck shoe get a protector spray. This is probably the single most important thing you can do to protect your shoes. I've used Shoe Protector by Footlocker and it worked really well for me. 
• Now once your shoes are protected cleaning them with this Timberland brush is cake work. 
• If you're already using your nubuck shoes and did not use the spray before wear, its not too late clean then nice with the brush and spray on a nice coat. Trust me you'll thank me later
• I've used Renewbuck by Timberland to clean those tough stains and it worked like a charm. Its easy to use and the best part is its available in Mumbai/India (@ the Timberland store at Pheonix Mills, Parel)
• Brush off the dirt after every wear. I've got a pair of Supra sneakers and I brushed them after every use and even today after about 3 years find it hard to believe they are so old. 

I've always loved nubuck shoes but shyed away from buying them because I thought cleaning them was a bitch. Through the years I figured nubuck does take a little more upkeep but then its not that tough. 

Finally some points to note: 

• Invest in good products and you'll save a lot of money buying new shoes
• Get Renewbuck
• Get Suede Brush
• Get a good shoe protector/water proofer, Timberland has Balm Proofer but I've not tried it yet. 
• NEVER use water unless explicitly mentioned in your shoe care instructions

Thats it peeps! now you can go ahead and buy those awesome nubuck shoes you wanted and as always feel free to reach out to me for any questions/concerns. 

Just the other day, I was talking to a friend about how I feel the market is getting saturated with the same old sneakers and almost similar colorways. I need to see something new, something fresh. Enter Nike Manor, one of the freshest sneakers I've seen in a while. These bad boys are nothing I've seen from Nike in the recent history. 

The mint green color is perfect for this shoe and the materials seem really premium. The fact that Nike went ahead with this with almost zero branding (read: no swoosh) shows willingness to do something differnet in 2012. While the color might be a little too much for some, I think its absolutely smashing! 

No release date on these yet but cant wait for these bad boys to drop.

Image Courtesy: NiceKicks

A friend of mine called to ask how to clean his new suede sneakers so I thought it'd be nice to share the knowledge with the rest of you. 

Getting straight into it - first thing you should know about cleaning suede is that it is complicated. Suede comes in different types so the most important thing is to find out if your particular shoe can take water. I've got these Nike Dunks that has some suede which takes water perfectly well. But no matter what suede it is, you have to make sure that the cleaner you use is gentle.

NOTE: This article is meant only for Suede shoes and NOT nubuck shoes.

Things you will need: 

• Suede cleaning block
• Suede cleaning brush - this usually a soft brush
• Nail brush 
• Suede protector 

Now keeping in mind the fact that you cannot use water on suede, you will need to brush off any dirt that you can see on your shoe. Ideally this should take care of most of the dirt on your shoe. For those tough stains, use the suede block. You will need to rub the block a little hard on the shoe and you will notice that it starts wearing the block off. Dont worry about the left over particles, you can just brush them off later. 

When it comes to oil, food, grease, mud, blood and other stains a vigorous regiment must be applied to your suede shoes. If it’s fresh, blot up any excess with a paper towel. Be very gentle, so you don’t push the stain further into the pores of your suede shoes. Next (and if your stain was already dry) take a damp rag and gently rub the stain. Let it dry and attack with a suede brush and suede eraser. If your shoes came with instructions, they would suggest suede cleaners for disasters like this. Even if you don’t have care directions, now would be the time for suede cleaner. You may need to apply several applications.

If suede shoes have become discolored because they got wet, the answer is wetting the entire shoe. Remove the laces. Use a soft sponge and gently rub it across the entire shoe. Keep the shoes minimally damp. Stuff the shoes with white tissue paper to hold their shape while they dry. Do NOT rub with a cloth to dry them, allow them to dry naturally. 

IMPORTANT: Treat your new suede shoes with a good Stain and Water protector (you can find one at the Timberland store at Pheonix mills in Mumbai) before you start wearing them. This will make cleaning them later a whole lot easier. Re-treat them everytime you clean them. I would recommend a fresh coat every 1-2 weeks depending on the usage. This is particularly important in cities like Mumbai where dirt and grime is more common than concrete on the roads. 

Interesting note: Remove oil stains on suede by rubbing talcum powder or cornmeal directly on the spot. After several hours, brush off the powder. Repeat if necessary. Source: http://www.stevemadden.com/ContentDisplay.aspx?pageID=1618 (Thanks Mushaw)