Dyeing Those Dyeable Ivory Leather Boots (or Shoes)

Those of you who have been following for awhile will hear me go on and on about “dyeable ivory” this, and “dyeable ivory” that, when it comes to the leather shoes in the shop.  I realize I haven’t really shown you just how dyeable said ivory is, so now is as good a time as any.

I decided to test out the Angelus Leather Dyes on a pair of “Hartfield” Regency Boots in Ivory that had a small smudge on the heel.

The process is really pretty easy – After removing the laces from the boots, I used the Angelus Leather Preparer/Deglazer to strip off any factory finish, followed by dampening the leather all over, with water.

Next I just smeared on the red dye – I used a flat paintbrush to get in the nooks n’ crannied near the sole and around the seams, and the small wool dauber that comes with the dye to smear the stuff all over, working it in with circular motions.  I dyed the laces with the same leather dye as well – the color came out a bit differently, but they don’t completely mis-match the boots. It’s easy enough to add different laces, too, like on the extant boots that influenced our design.

After the dye dried, I applied Angelus Lustre Cream in red, which evened out the color and re-hydrated the leather.  Then I rubbed in Angelus Wax Polish in red/oxblood, and polished it off, which formed a lovely sheen and will help with water resistance.

The final result has a wonderful, rich color, and a hand-made feel.  The leather dye has character (whereas the paints form a completely uniform color with no evidence of the human touch), which I actually feel gives an authentic look.

Now I’m wishing I’d dyed a pair of 7.5, because I’d keep them! These are a 9, and since I can’t wear them, they’re up for sale on Etsy.

If you’d like to try your hand at dyeing your own pair of shoes, be them Hartfield boots, Astorias, Gibsons, any of the ivory shoes we have at American Duchess, here are the links to the gubbins you’ll need:

• Angelus Leather Deglazer
• Angelus Leather Dye – lots of colors available
• Angelus Lustre Cream – either in neutral, or a matching color. Tip: if we don’t have a matching color, you can mix a little bit of your dye color with the neutral lustre cream, to make a custom pigmented cream.
• Angelus Wax Polish – either in a neutral or a matching color.