I have recently bought my wife, Karen, a pair of Christian Louboutin Cork Platform Sandals (Marpoil Sanpla Sughero). They are not new but are in generally good condition. The cork is all good but could do with some cleaning at one or two places. They are not badly stained but just show some darkening here and there.

So how do you go about cleaning the cork facing on CL sandals? Also, once clean what do you apply to them to keep them that way? Any advice gratefully received.

A secondary question regarding these sandals.

The previous owner obviously had one foot slightly larger than the other, which I beleive is not unusual. So the left shoe fits my wife perfectly but the right one is loose at the back.

The heel straps have small elasticated strips built into them to aid grip but this does not take up enough slack on the right shoe. Normally, I would just purchase some stick-on heel strips to overcome the problem. However, due to the existence of the elasticated bands previously mentioned I am not sure of the best way to proceed.

Any advice girls?

A visit to the cobbler is all these shoes need. The cobbler should be able to clean the cork and adjust the slingback so that it is tighter. Good luck!
You are a great DH for picking these up for her!

Originally Posted by Kamilla850

A visit to the cobbler is all these shoes need. The cobbler should be able to clean the cork and adjust the slingback so that it is tighter. Good luck! You are a great DH for picking these up for her!

Hi Kamilla850,

I just need to find a good cobbler, which in the South West of England is not so easy. Most are small shops that do shoes, keys, trophys etc. What I need is a dedicated cobbler that I can trust to work on CLs.

What's a DH ?

^^Maybe if you call the major dept stores and ask where they send their Christian Louboutins to. Also, maybe the UK ladies here can help you in that dept.

The strips also work on elasticized sling backs. I've put some on mine and it works.

Originally Posted by Kamilla850

A visit to the cobbler is all these shoes need. The cobbler should be able to clean the cork and adjust the slingback so that it is tighter. Good luck! You are a great DH for picking these up for her!

I spoke to my local cobbler and he recons he can do something about the loose sling back. There is stitching to one side which can be removed, a section cut out and then re-stitched.

Regarding cleaning cork, the only thing he could suggest was to use a very fine abrasive paper to lightly remove the top surface. The thing with that method is you could only afford to do it a couple of times, else you could end up removing too much. I suppose once it is cleaned up initially a good protecting product would be a must.

Any of you ladies have any better ideas for cleaning cork shoes and/or the name of a good cork protection product?

Originally Posted by panrixx

Hi Kamilla850, What's a DH ?

Dear Hubby

^^I always thought it was Darling Husband lol

Cute shoes B!!! You always have great taste! Karen is lucky to have someone that gets her beautiful CL's!

I just used my normal shoe cleaner and it cleaned the cork right up.

I always thought DH was "dear heart".

I thought it was "darling husband" too. And DF is "darling Fiance"?

anyway, I have those same shoes and they get worn quite a bit in summer. I need to clean the back of the heels but have been reluctant. Halie, what do you mean by regular shoe cleaner? I would love to try it.

I am glad to know you can clean cork as there are quite a few popping up on the *Bay currently that need TLC.......with really nice prices

DH = Dear Husband or Darling Husband

This is a really old thread resurrected! When I saw a thread from Brian I was all excited. I miss his presence. :(

oh yay!
bought a pair of cls with a cork heel, and they have a slightly dusty smell which does my head in... even though the shoes belong on my feet and nose on my head it still fusses me.
thank girls for the advice and panrixx for starting the thread!

I did a search on the OF to see what you all might have to say about this topic...then I googled it....Look what I found! SO funny! And its the same pair of shoes!! LOL

http://www.nitrolicious.com/blog/200...-cork-sandals/