Suede Penny Loafers… Transformed! w/ Saphir Teinture Francaise

Video Description

I dyed a pair of mid-range Polo Ralph Lauren suede penny loafers with Saphir Teinture Francaise and the result was very surprising. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.dirty.pigeon • POLO RALPH LAUREN ALSTON: https://a.co/d/2IPT751 • SAPHIR TEINTURE FRANÇAISE (04 Brown in this video): https://saphir.com/products/teinture-francaise Recently, I was on the lookout for some inexpensive mid-brown suede loafers for a destination wedding trip that we have coming up later this year. I ended up buying these Polo Ralph Lauren penny loafers from Amazon—the Alston model in teak. Now, my ideal would be a pair of Alden unlined penny loafers in snuff suede but the near seven hundred dollar price tag is a no-go for now. The only problem with these Polo loafers was that they were much lighter in color than I expected. Inspired by a video from The Elegant Oxford channel, I decided to experiment with some Saphir suede dye to see if I could get that mid-brown snuff suede look. I figured it was worth a try. I set up shop on my patio coffee table and got started. First, I read the instructions to make sure I had everything I needed. The Saphir dye comes with this applicator that is like a little cotton ball at the end of a metal stick. Cool. I started by generously applying the dye to the sides in long strokes, staying away from the soles since the applicator can’t get dye into that groove where the sole is connected to the upper. I was careful not to over apply and I tried to distribute the color as evenly as possible. Once I got comfortable with it, the process of applying the dye was very relaxing and somewhat meditative. To get those tighter areas that the applicator couldn’t reach, I poured some dye onto a paper plate and carefully applied it with a one inch flat painter’s brush. I made sure to only get the suede upper and not the sole. It worked pretty well. Once the first shoe was finished, the difference between the two was dramatic. I worried that the dye was almost too dark and somewhat blotchy but I hoped that it would smooth out when it dried up. I’m glad that I bought two bottles of dye because I ended up using about a bottle and a half for both shoes. The second shoe went as smoothly as the first and, before long, I had two fully dyed suede loafers. how to dye suede shoes, dyeing, shoes, style, classic menswear, DIY, preppy, ivy style, shoe care After a little coffee break, I cleaned up my mess. Then I put some cedar shoe trees in the loafers to keep them in shape while they dried. The first shoe was already looking better and the color was evening out. Nice. After a few hours, I put them on to see how they turned out. All in all, I think they came out looking quite lovely. The color is more on the reddish-brown side than I wanted but they still look good, considering I hadn’t done this before. Dyeing a pair of suede shoes might seem like an intimidating project but, for me, it was fairly easy and a lot of fun. Let me know what you think in the comments. #dyeingsuede #diy #mensshoes #mensclothing #classicmenswear #leather #pennyloafer #loafers