You could be dressed to the nines, have the perfect shave, and a nice tidy overall appearance, but it’s all for naught if your shoes are scuffed and dirty. When your dress shoes are clean, polished, and cared for, people notice. It shows that you not only have strong attention to detail, but that you deeply care about your appearance.

Aside from the aesthetics of a good shoe shine, polishing your dress shoes at least once a week can add years to their life. The benefits of maintaining your shoes with even just a quick shine (if you’re crunched for time) cannot be overstated.

Without further adieu, here is our Philadelphia men’s suit specialists ultimate guide to the quickest shoe shine you’ll ever perform in your life.

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

To begin the ultimate 5-minute shoe shine, gather or buy all the essential materials needed (please note that this doesn’t count toward the five minutes we’re talking about). This includes an old towel or newspaper, a tin of shoe polish or cream, leather conditioner, horsehair brush, shine cloth, and a polish dauber.

Step 2: Brush Off Dust & Dirt

Place an old towel or newspaper down in the area you are working. Brush the dust and dirt off your shoes using the horsehair brush. Pay particular attention to the welt of the shoe, which is where the upper is stitched to the sole.

Step 3: Apply Conditioner

You don’t want to polish a dirty shoe. Put some leather conditioner on your rag and rub it in vigorously all over the upper, and allow it to dry.

Step 4: Polish

Apply shoe cream or polish to your rag and rub it into the shoe’s upper in small circular motions. Be generous with your application, and pay particular attention to scuffed areas.

Step 5: Wait

Give the polish at least a few minutes to dry, otherwise you’ll just wipe it all off in the next step before it’s had a chance to penetrate the leather.

PRO TIP: For extra efficiency, do steps 1-4 before you shower in the morning, and let step five occur while you’re showering. It never hurts to multi-task.

Step 6: Brush & Buff

Next, take your horsehair brush and start vigorously rubbing the shoes until all the excess polish is gone. When you are done, there should only be a small film on the outside. When you are confident that the entire shoe has been brushed, give the heel and toe a little extra love for added shine. If you’d like, you can add some more polish to these areas and repeat the above process.

Finally, you can take an unused (that is, polish-free) area of your rag and use it to buff your shoes to a high shine, using light pressure.

Just like that, you should have a pair of shoes that look almost brand new! For more fashion and lifestyle tips from the best men’s suit and quality custom shirt suppliers in Philadelphia, Henry A. Davidsen, stay tuned for more helpful articles in the future!