For the first wearing, wear the shoes only for a few hours, not for a whole day. Just long enough to break down the stiffness of the leather. If you can, wear the shoes indoors the first time. If you wear the shoes outdoors for the first time, do not do so in the rain or snow.
The soles of your shoes will be new and slippery. This becomes less of a problem once you have worn them a few times. However there is an old British Army trick for those who want to use it. Take a reasonably sharp knife (a penknife will do) and lightly score the new soles. Score only the sole, in a cross-hatch pattern. The shoes will grip much better.
If your shoes are dirty, wipe them off with warm water and a soft cotton cloth. Never use any cleaning solvents on quality shoes, it will destroy them.
If the shoes are muddy, wait until the mud dries and brush it off with a firm-bristle brush. Never scrape the upper with metal implements.
Use a cloth to apply the polish. Using a brush to apply polish can put too much polish on the shoe and it becomes difficult to polish off. If you do this often enough the shoes get a cloudy, waxy finish which is unpleasant to look at. It is also very difficult to get rid of.
The longer you can leave the shoes waxed, the better. Once I have polished-in my shoes I leave them for 24 hours. This helps the leather absorb the polish and preserve the finish of the shoe.
Use a medium-firm brush to polish off the shoes, followed by a buffing from a soft cloth.
Shoes should be polished once every two weeks. Do it consistently and the process becomes easy, the shoes become beautiful.
If you have a collection of good shoes, there will be some that you do not wear for a long period of time. Wax these shoes with a leather feed which will nourish the uppers while they are in storage such as Chelsea Leather Food. But do not use Chelsea with combination shoes (such as canvas and leather) it is likely to stain the non-leather surfaces.
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