Leather Shoes

To date, I think I've already owned quite many pairs of shoes, and most of the them are sports shoes, including a pair of running shoes, many pairs of SAF-issued track shoes, a few pairs of old Nike. All of those SAF-issued track shoes are torn and beyond economical repair (BER)". My very old pair of Nike black running shoes is now minimally "wearable", completely worn with its bottom totally ripped off, "lesions" all over the shoes. I call it this pair as "slicks" because now I can only wear it when the weather's completely dry, and strictly for concrete terrain only. The pair I'm currently wearing is a grey Nike general purpose shoes, though it ain't as comfy as the previous pair of Nike, isn't as aesthetically pleasing, it is a lot more comfortable and safer on my legs than the SAF-issued counterparts. Despite all these introduction of all these sports shoes I have, more importantly, I love leather shoes most.

At first thought, it might seem to most that leather shoes are more expensive than typical sports shoes. Besides, leather shoes tend to be more "classic" in design, being very simple, usually solid black or brown in color, polished or unpolished or suede. Besides, leather shoes tend to require more maintenance - they're not as washable, can grow mouldy within days to weeks, and except for suede shoes, leather shoes require frequent polishing or "kiwi-ing". Certainly, they require a lot more care in the "upkeep" or "maintenance" department.

As one would look around, most young adults tend to wear sports shoes, but I prefer leather shoes for several reasons. Leathers shoes, at least for the 2 pairs I own, are a lot more comfortable than they look. Compared to sport shoes, the classic black appeals more to me than trendy, multicolored designs seen on sports shoes. Third, with proper care and considerate use, leather shoes certainly go a long way, lasting for years and years without significant wear. This quality is what I love most about.

Quite needless to say, without proper care, leather shoes are most easily destroyed within months due to fungal growth, damage to leather, and is then BER - no amount of "kiwi" or polish can rejuvenate that poor pair of shoe. Like many other skills, such as painting, carpentry, learning to maintain a pair of leather shoes is also a skill that needs to be learned and mastered. Mastery of this skill mean the reward of a virtually eternal lifespan of one's favorite pair of leather shoe.

I remember my first pair of leather shoe was of hard, thin, polished leather with a rigid pointed tip. It was bought simply because I was required to wear one, and I didn't quite choose a pair properly and didn't really like it because it didn't suit me. Recently, I realized this pair didn't fit anymore. Either my foot has grown, or that the leather had shrunk, causing excessive pain, so I had little choice but to get myself another pair, which is my 3^rd pair.

My second pair is a standard SAF-issued Gortex combat boots. Very untypical of SAF shoes, this pair is very light, comfy, and very durable - for leisure wear. It's been with me for sometime already and it is worn very very often. Quite surprisingly, it looks very new even until today, and compared to my brother's pair, which is younger than mine by more than a year old, mine still look gorgeous. It's probably due to frequent cleaning and polishing, and I usually spend more than an hour or even two just to clean and polish. This is the pair that I'm extremely proud of. And because she has been with me for a quite sometime already, I'm not going let her go easily. Just as I still have the first pair with me, and even when I've already outgrown her, she'll stay - I'm not going to discard her as long as I'm around.

This third pair is very new, and I haven't got quite adjusted to how she feels on my feet. Though she's my latest addition to my shoe rack, I love her as much as my second pair. In fact, many years ago, I've always wanted to have her, only that back then I could still wear that first pair so I didn't get her until of late. I could still remember the first time I saw her, there was some kind of instant chemistry and fell in love with her. Now that I have her, I'll want her as long as I'm around, and love her. Which would means I would have to improve my mastery in the use of shoe polish. It might seem like hard work, but for me, it's worth it.