I recently took the plunge and bought my first pair of hand-painted shoes on an Italian last at Lodger. Due to the beautiful, deep patina, I assumed that a neutral polish would be the best choice. To keep the painstaking efforts into painting the shoes visible to the world, right?

Wrong. Luckily I had aired my views to store manager Clement. He explained to me that this is a common misconception and that using neutral polish can actually damage hand painted shoes.

The best way to demonstrate this would be to use the polish on a brand new pair. The effect would be small, but the sylvette would be coloured by the process. Every time you polish hand-painted shoes, a little bit of the paint is removed. Granted, you will get a wonderful shine, but over time the shoes will appear less vibrant in colour.

The shoes I had opted for were rosso diablo whole cuts. So I immediately asked for a dark red or cherry polish to accompany the shoes. Wrong again. Clement helpfully explained that a dark brown would be best to bring out the patina of the shoes. It is easy to forget that the layers of polish are so thin that they very subtly add to the colour of the shoe.

The colour of the slab of polish in the tin doesn’t necessarily have to match the colour of the leather perfectly. I guess I should have re-read my article on colour theory before going into the store…

I have since spoken to friends who swear by neutral polish for their shoes. I get the impression that this was more out of laziness than choice – one tin for all their shoes. One guy gave me an honest critique. He said that neutral polish does seem to “dry out” quicker on some of his shoes and that he has to apply quite a lot of water and extra polish.

He also noted that neutral polish dries white in the small cracks and folds on his shoes. It also collects in the broguing. I am going to buy some to see if this is the case and investigate which leathers neutral polish is more likely to dry out.

But something tells me I will be sticking to multiple tins of coloured polishes and creams regardless. Even if I could use the space they take up in my new apartment. (Yes, it is THAT small…)

It is salt season. That time of the year when you can’t help but get your shoes wet. The water seeps into the leather and then retreats to leave crusty salt marks on your uppers.

Thankfully, I haven’t been caught out yet. Either the weather has been kind on days that I’m wearing smart shoes, or I have had my galoshes on.

However, last week my girlfriend and I walked through the slushy pathways of Central Park. Later that afternoon I noticed the salt marks and took a photo for you all to see. I got more than a few funny looks as I knelt down to snap the boots, but it was worth it because it reminded me to look into how to deal with the problem further.

So, when the weather turns suddenly, you forget your galoshes or your feet get too sweaty in the summer and you end up with salt ridges, here is what you do.

Dry your shoes as per usual (on their side and with shoes trees in), but do not leave them for days. As soon as they are dry to the touch, go into the kitchen and grab some vinegar off the shelf. Make a half water, half vinegar solution and dab it onto the salt ridge with a cloth.

The vinegar will help dissolve the ridge, which would be a permanent feature of your shoes without treatment. Naturally, the leather will darken as the solution is absorbed. This is nothing to worry about, but if you are cautious, try on an older / cheaper / blacker pair the first time. Alternatively, use a clearer vinegar than malt. You really don’t have to worry though.

Keep working the solution into the ridge until it dissolves leaving a smooth surface. Wipe the shoes down with a different cloth and leave the shoes to dry. Then polish like mad.

If you have saddle soap, I would advise you to use it before the polishing stage of the process. This is not essential, just a good excuse to give your shoes a deep clean after they have been attacked by the elements.

Back to last week. My calls for us to go into McDonald’s to find some vinegar I could make a solution for fell on deaf ears. Apparently that isn’t a good way to spend your time on a visit to New York.

“I’ll probably just chuck them out any way, they’re old” she said.

Proof positive that the Sex and the City-fuelled clichés that ladies love shoes more than men are wrong. It is true that more women like buying shoes, but the men that enjoy buying shoes look after them better.

More pictures after the jump.

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I am ashamed to admit it, but I often get lazy when it comes to polishing my shoes. I rarely unlace them to polish around the eyelets.

In a moment of guilt last week, I unlaced three pairs of shoes and gave them a thorough polish. Nourishing cream et al.

As I relaced them, my eye was drawn to the elegant lines, shapes and design around the eyelets. My immediate thought was that it is such a shame that this part of the shoe is so often covered by trousers.

When it comes to trouser length, I have a natural aversion to short cuts. This is probably because of the childhood screams of “JACK UPS” every time a pupil outgrew their trousers at my primary school.

I have been in New York a month now and I have noticed that most businessmen like their suit trousers even baggier than me. So their laces are covered too. (Incidentally, I prefer the back of my suit trousers to just touch the floor when I am standing barefoot – a good measure for alterations.)

However, when it comes to casual trousers, male New Yorkers favour shorter turn-ups. And for jeans, they are shorter still. Admittedly, the latter are predominantly favoured by those wearing Chelsea boots. It is far too cold around the ankles at the moment for anything else.

But seeing shorter trousers and jeans has reinforced the elegance of showing the vamp, laces and top of the shoe in general.

As I write this, I’m looking down at the developing hole in my jeans where my keys rub. I need a new pair. And rather than grabbing my size and hoping they fit at home as per usual, I will try short cuts or longer ones that can turn up.

I think I’m old enough to brave the “JACK UP” bellows now… Although the phrase probably has a different definition over here. Everything else seems to.

My recent theory that the shape of a pair of my shoes was the cause of pain got me thinking about the impact of footwear on the body.

Something that I haven’t really considered is the arches in my feet. I knew that fallen arches can be a barrier to getting into the armed forces, but that was about it.

However, one of the most common causes of gait problems is the presence of pes planus – commonly known as flat feet. This problem is caused by the collapse of the medial longitudinal arch on the inside of the foot.

For such a small part of the anatomy, fallen arches have a large effect on your lower body over the years. Once they fall, the way that your foot is positioned changes and your weight pushes on the wrong side. The interconnectivity of the bones in the leg passes the problem up to the knee joint. (The foot bone connected to the leg bone, the leg bone connected to the knee bone and all that…

This can develop into genu valgum or ‘knock knees’. Your weight has rolled from the outside of your feet and legs to the inside. The outside of your knee is stretched (including the medial collateral ligament) and the cartilage on the inside of your knee (the medial meniscus) is subject to more pressure from the leg bones.

Essentially, the cartilage is at a higher risk of being ground down. And cartilage doesn’t regenerate – once it is gone, it is gone. This is because blood supply to the cartilage is non-existent. So fallen arches leave you more prone to arthritis in your knees. The angle of your hip joint is under similarly abnormal strains.

Scary stuff. But what do physiotherapists believe can aid this? Considering the nature of this column, it is entirely predictable: correctly supporting footwear.

In addition, prevention is the best cure. The first thing to do is to check your arches. The best way to do this is to stand on a towel when you get out of the shower. The wet footprint should be thinner in the middle and on the outside – the side that is anatomically designed for bearing weight.

Hopefully, your footprint will be the correct shape. But if it is, don’t assume that you don’t have to do anything. You may have strong arches now, but all muscles deteriorate over time. Therefore getting into a good habit before there is a problem is still important. So make sure that your footwear has the correct support. Not just when you are doing high impact sports, but in your day-to-day wear. It is worth the extra money and it is easy to check with the assistant during the sales process.

If your footprint doesn’t have a distinctive thin part, then your arches have fallen or are falling. Do not panic! I’d always assumed that once your arches had gone, they couldn’t be recovered. But my research has proved me wrong. Like any muscles, those responsible for the arches can be exercised and strengthened. Watch this space for tips soon.

An absent minded glance at the stationery pot on my desk while rubbing my sore ankle has helped me develop a theory.

Since the sliding ruler of the footstalls at Startrite in the 1980s, I have focused on measuring my feet to get comfortable shoes. I have never measured the shoes themselves.

Naturally, I am not belittling the importance of measuring feet, but for a while now I have wondered why one pair of my shoes always hurt. Whenever I wear them, my lower leg aches and my ankle always swells. Admittedly, I am an extreme example. In late 2008 I fractured far too many bones in that area, so I occasionally get twinges, aches and pains.

But these shoes always kill me. At the end of the day my ankle balloons and my metal plate feels like it is on fire. Why don’t my other shoes do that?

So I compared them to my most comfortable shoe. My initial thought was that the bevelled waist on the comfortable shoes was the reason, but cross comparison with another pair of comfortable shoes ruled this out.

The ruler did not uncover any discernible differences in the length or width of the shoe or the heel stack either. But the height of the heel stack – that was a different story.

The uncomfortable shoes had a heel stack that was a level 1.7 cm under the shoe. In comparison, the comfortable shoes had a heel stack that tapered from 2 cm at the back of the shoe down to 1.5 cm at the front. When I leant back and looked at both shoes from the side, the angle of the shoe from heel counters to the other end of the heel stack was noticeably different.

My theory was born. My shoes kill my feet because the heel stacks do not taper down. This makes the angle too sharp at the point where the heel lifts end and the waist of the shoe starts. I can’t prove the theory, but it is something that I definitely going to look out for when purchasing shoes in the future.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why a certain pair of shoes hurts, get the ruler out. It’s not all about the inside of the shoe or the size of your foot when it comes to comfort.