The London Lounge

Hello all,

I am about to have a craftsman construct a rack to store my shoes. It will bear resemblance to the one that came with the illustrated article 'Concerning Shoes' written by Etutee:



Are there any special 'storing conditions' that should be met to best preserve my shoes other than using trees and polishing after use?

Kind regards,
Don

I've heard the use of cedar is recommended.

James

JamesT1 wrote:I've heard the use of cedar is recommended.

James

Hello James,

Thank your for your reply. At the moment I do have unpainted cedar shoe trees. Are you referring to the material of the rack itself?

I believe cedar is used to help the leather to dry after a day's wear. Besides that, I am particularly fond of the scent that it gives off.

Kind regards,
Don

I've also heard that cedar keeps moths away from clothing. So it might be useful to have the rack made of it, if you are placing the rack on a closet door.

James

JamesT1 wrote:I've also heard that cedar keeps moths away from clothing. So it might be useful to have the rack made of it, if you are placing the rack on a closet door.

James

Should I leave it unpainted for that purpose?

Kind regards,
Don

If you have a rack constructed of cedar it should be left unfinished so that you have the cedar smell.

The smell will have to be restored from time to time with either light sanding or the application of cedar oil.

DonB wrote:Hello all,

I am about to have a craftsman construct a rack to store my shoes. It will bear resemblance to the one that came with the illustrated article 'Concerning Shoes' written by Etutee:



Are there any special 'storing conditions' that should be met to best preserve my shoes other than using trees and polishing after use?

Kind regards,
Don

Fellow members,

I do wholeheartedly agree with the majority of suggestions from Etutee, eloquently written down in the articles section.

I am particularly interested in the trees which are featured on the picture above. I have tried local shops and browsed the internet, but I can not seem to find trees with the same look. I would like to know if anyone has found a source for the trees depicted.

Kind regards,
DonB

DonB - I believe the picture is depicting 3-piece shoe trees, which would be available with bespoke shoes.

As for cedar, yes, it's great for closets but it does not last forever, the oils dry out, etc., and it would all have to be replaced eventually. I too have considered cedar for my closets but passed. I'd just as soon do the lcoset in a nice wood or a painted wood and simply buy cedar blocks to put in the closet.

Cedar is nice, but as mentioned, does dry out. I use open wire shelving for my shoe storage, which has the advantage of allowing fairly free air circulation around the shoes, particularly the soles.

Would anyone know whether:
(i) the properties associated with cedar wood have to do with oil from cedar wood or the wood itself, and
(ii) does wood from pine trees generally have the properties asociated with cedar wood?

zjpj wrote:DonB - I believe the picture is depicting 3-piece shoe trees, which would be available with bespoke shoes.

As for cedar, yes, it's great for closets but it does not last forever, the oils dry out, etc., and it would all have to be replaced eventually. I too have considered cedar for my closets but passed. I'd just as soon do the lcoset in a nice wood or a painted wood and simply buy cedar blocks to put in the closet.

I have finally found the shoe trees which feature the look that I consider to be stylish! (Exclamation marks are not often called for, but I do think these are just wonderful). The site is located here. Below I have posted some images featured on the site:









However, I would like to know what members of the Lounge think of these trees. I would love to hear from someone more knowledgeable than me, as I do know that buying good trees can be quite an enterprise.

Kind Regards,
DonB

They look good - and reasonably cheap shipping to the United States too.

I like them as well. I think I might buy a few from them as I just bought a new pair of brogues.

Don - some overall thoughts.

1.Shoetrees – please do yourself a favor and test out a pair before you go “all in” – My experience is that many trees look the part but do not hold up. – I do like the look of the pair you’ve posted.
2.Shelves – should this be a stand alone, disregard some of these points:
• Please keep in mind the clearance once the shoes are on the back of the door. I have mine housed on shelves next to the closet. You may have more room, but be forewarned.
• The slanted shelves with heel stop vs horizontal. You may want to consider how you display, store, protect from dust (shoebox?), etc - or the most important, ease of identification and retrieval.
• Lighting – this seems basic but shadows can make distinguishing tricky
• May want to plan space for the basics (shoe brush and such) ~ inclement weather
• Cedar shoetrees = good, shelves = bad.
• If you have 10+ pairs with shoetrees, this will be noticeable weight on your door.
3. Guessing that you won’t be housing them next to a major heat source, so yes the basic maintenance/care should be fine.

And finally – do a walk thru of your routine and determine your habits and issues (early mornings, sloppy, bad back) and place the shelves accordingly. Measure twice and cut once.

JAS