Any one got a good way of stretching patent slightly without salt staining? I read that people used to pack potato skins tightly into their leather shoes for a day to stretch them. I gather that this made the leather soggy so that the packing inside it stretched it. I can only imagine the horrendous salt staining this would lead to, especially with a pair of patent shoes. They are black patent, so the staining would show up like mad. I don’t want to take them to my cobblers unless they can guarantee they won’t end up staining the shoes, so I need to know how it should be done so that they will do it that way.
On a far better note. Yesterday I totally fixed a pair of very used white leather pumps I have had for about six years. They had become almost a pearl colour, despite constant care. Now, they look like they have never been used (almost!) just using saddle soap and white restorative shoe polish. I was always scared to soap them before, but it totally made them.
When you have a really unusual colour shoe, where do you get the polish/care stuff to get it back to brand new? I have loads of shoes that just do not match anything even their makers can recommend. I have neutral polish, obviously, but I want to feed the colour too if possible.
! I think we have about seven other threads on shoe care. 
