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Suede soles are just about ideal on almost every dance
floor. They are durable, but they need more care than
regular soles. On this page we tell you everything we know
about suede sole maintenance.
- Wear them indoors only. Don't wear 'em
outdoors on street or sidewalk; there's too much chewing
gum and glop out there that you'll never be able to brush
out. This means bringing them to your Dance Palace and
changing into them.
- This in turn means that you'll eventually want
some sort of shoe bag for them. A grocery bag
works fine but lacks a certain elegance. You can get
shoe bags at dance supply stores -- or at your nearby
bowling shoe emporium. (Maybe even at a regular shoe
store, come to think of it, but we've never asked.)
Teddy
Shoes in Central Square, Cambridge, and Patterson's
in downtown Boston sell an okay black nylon shoe bag
by Coast for about $20; it has two inside plastic
pockets for holding your shoe brush, moleskin, etc.
Patterson's also sells some nice handmade shoe bags in
various textures and colors.
- Watch your step, even indoors. Don't step in a
puddle of beer -- the suede will soak it up and
glaze over. This means watching your step in
alcohol-serving dance joints.
- If you step in water (say, near the sink in
the rest rooms, or near the water jugs at some of the
local dances), your suede soles will feel like
all-grip, no-slip until they dry out, but there's no
permanent harm done.
- If your suede soles DO get glazed over with
street gunk or dried beer, scrub away with a wire brush
until they are suede-ish again. If you don't have a wire
brush, scrape with the blade of a sharp knife. (Don't
cut; just scrape by holding the blade sideweays.) For a
really thickly glazed surface, you can do a preliminary
chiseling with a flat screwdriver's tip -- this can save
you some scrubbing time. If the soles are not glazed but
simply clogged up with dust, scrub gently.
- Most Ballroom dance places have very clean
floors -- in part because almost all ballroom dancers
bring their suede-soled shoes and change into them
after arriving. So you will rarely have to brush
anything but dust from your shoes.
- Most Swing places that are not in
bars have fairly clean floors -- thanks to the dance
organizers, who are usually scrupulous about cleaning
the floor before a Swing dance. Again, very little
sole cleaning required afterwards, usually.
- Most Swing places that are in bars, and
almost all Salsa places, have filthy floors --
thanks to spilled drinks and all the stuff that sticks
to it, including cigarette ash and street-shoe dirt.
Your soles will usually be jet black and thickly caked
after dancing at one of these joints, and a long, hard
scrubbing of your soles is going to be necessary to
return them to suede.
- Wire brush. To keep the nap in your suede, get
a wire brush with short steel bristles. Use it whenever
the soles get clogged up with dust and don't seem fuzzy
anymore, or if the nap gets "glazed over" from street
use. You won't really need it very often if you don't
step in liquids -- maybe once a month or two just to
fluff up the suede a bit. Don't worry if you eventually
brush away most of the nap -- you only need the tiniest
nap to get the good effects. (When the nap is completely
gone, you can replace it yourself -- see our do-it-yourself
suede soles page.)
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Typical
brush for suede soles. Approx. 8 inches
long.
Buy at any dance shoe store -- or in
hardware stores where it is called a "file
brush."
(This is your author's well-used brush, shown
complete with bits of suede fuzz caught in the
bristles.)
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- Wire brushes for suede soles come in several
shapes and sizes; above is a typical one. Another
common type is smaller, looking like an oversized
toothbrush head (no handle). Both styles have steel
bristles that are slightly bent in the middle, and are
not too densely packed. Note that these are quite
different from the gentle brass-bristled brushes used
for suede uppers!
- We strongly recommend (a) steel bristles
(brass is too soft), and (b) a handle -- the
unguarded steel bristles around the edge will give
your hands really nasty perforations otherwise.
- Where to buy. You can buy an appropriate
brush at Teddy's
or Patterson's
or any dance shoe store for about $7 or $8. Or you can
buy the identical brush by walking into any hardware
store and asking for a "file brush" -- it's
used for cleaning the metal or wood grit out of large
files.
- How often to buy. Everything wears out --
even steel-wire brushes! The bristles work best when
sharp edged (new). Amazingly, the suede of your soles
will round off the edges of the bristles fairly
quickly, and your shoe brush will be worn out long
before your suede soles! It is time to splurge
on a new brush when you notice that :
- obscure edges of your brush (say, near the
handle) seem a lot more effective than the parts
you prefer to use (say, near the front or
middle);
- it is easier for your brush to slide across
your suede soles than to dig into them and fluff
them up;
- when you borrow a friend's brush, it works much
faster and more effectively than your own.
- Caution. Be really careful when reaching
for your brush, and when brushing -- the bristles
around the edge tend to splay outward a bit and will
perforate you every time if you're not careful. If you
keep your brush in your shoe bag, do not place
it with the bristles against the bag fabric -- they
will poke through and stab you. (This is the voice of
bitter experience talking at ya.)
- Knife blade trick. Instead of using a wire
brush, try scraping your suede soles with a sharp knife
blade held sideweays. This should do a good job of
fluffing up the suede and getting rid of dust and other
junk. (This tip comes from Pete's Theatrical Shoe
Repair, located inside the Capezio flagship store in New
York City.)
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