Shoe trees might seem like the sort of footwear accessory that only the stuffy elite would use, but they’re not. Much as you should condition your leather shoes from time to time, you should always keep your high-end shoes stored with a pair of shoe trees when you’re not wearing them. After all, you shell out serious cash for custom dress shoes. You might as well care for them as they deserve – and that means storing them in trees when you’re not wearing them.
Maintaining Shape: Important, but Not the Main Reason
In case you’re not familiar with shoe trees, these are the little wooden blocks that are shaped like a foot and are designed to fit inside of a shoe. They contain a toe section that can be spread apart to fill out the toe of a shoe; this section is connected to a heel portion via a bar that can also typically be adjusted for length.
In short, trees look like a sort of “hanger” for dress shoes. That is, they help them keep their shape.
And that is true, to a degree. Storing your dress shoes with shoe trees inside of them will help keep them in the proper shape for longer.
But there is a better reason.
Protection Against Moisture Damage (and More)
Throughout the day, as you’re wearing your custom dress shoes, your feet sweat.
They may not sweat a lot, but even the driest feet release a little bit of moisture throughout the course of say, 8 or 10 hours or even more. Moisture and leather don’t mix.
Shoe trees are made of wood; specifically, they are typically made of cedar, which is a light, porous, sort of wood. The sort of wood that has a great propensity for absorbing moisture.
That is precisely what it does. Cedar shoe trees absorb the moisture from the inside of the shoe, drying out the leather slowly, but effectively.
Leather that absorbs moisture tends to warp and crack, and over time will rot. That is not something you want to experience after investing a pretty penny in custom dress shoes.
The best shoe trees have full heals and vented slots along the wooden sections which increase the surface area, improving their ability to draw out moisture.
Because of this fact, it’s important that you don’t buy varnished shoe trees. They look nice, but they’re not effective at removing moisture from the leather lining, upper, and sole of a shoe.
As you can imagine, removing moisture from the leather of a dress shoe can also help stave off unpleasant odors. The less moisture there is, the more difficult it will be for odor-causing bacteria to thrive, as well.
But it gets better. Cedar is not only highly effective at protecting leather shoes from moisture damage. It is also rich in cedar oil, or cedrol.
Cedrol is a pleasantly fragrant botanical essential oil that also happens to be antimicrobial and antifungal, so cedar shoe trees not only help protect your leather against moisture damage but also help keep the leather sterile and clean.
In a word, they are not vanity accessories; every quality pair of custom dress shoes deserves a pair of bespoke cedar trees.
Ready to Treat Yourself to a Pair of Custom Dress Shoes?
Now that you know a bit more about proper shoe care, maybe it’s time to treat yourself and step into a pair of custom dress shoes.
Forget what you’ve seen in advertisements. The place you need to shop is Idrese.com.
Idrese is a breath of fresh air in a world saturated with mass-produced footwear. They sell handcrafted, high-quality custom shoes at unbelievable prices by cutting out the middlemen distributors, and retailers.
What that means for you is you get more for your dollar.
Visit their website to take a look through their custom designs in shoes, boots, and other footwear to learn more, or call them at 1-213-374-0724.
