Mold and Gold

What happens when your Golden Goose boots get covered in molds?

Turn on to panic mode and Google, "how to remove molds on leather boots". And pray. Hard.

Good thing I remembered about Germ Killer and how it is tough on molds and mildew.

I emailed Joni Ong of Germ Killer Philippines and asked her,

Hi Joni! Will Germ Killer work on removing molds from my leather boots? Eeeep!

Joni emailed back,

Yep, it should work. Use the GK Surface one. Spray it on a piece of cloth and wipe it on your boots. It should kill the molds. Test it out first in an inconspicuous area of the boots though. :)

I knew that Germ Killer was water based, so it should be safe on leather. But I did the ultimate test on my suede Minnetonkas. Also ridden with molds. But I wasn't as worried about them. I sprayed some Germ Killer Surface cleaner on a shallow bowl of water, dipped an old toothbrush into the mixture and brushed at the molds.

Side by side. Left part = still moldy. Right side = damp but mold free.

Tadaaaa! OMG. So clean! Like nothing happened! It still has hints of eau de molds so I plan to take this pair to Colorwash and have it deodorized professionally.

So I happily got a damp rag and sprayed Germ Killer on it. Wiped my boots in and out. Et voila!

With nary a hint of its sordid past...

The other day, I brought in a few pairs of shoes for repair at an established shoe/bag repair shop and asked them if they could take out molds. The guy manning the counter said they could, and he estimated that it would cost about Php1,800 to clean a pair of boots. Php1,800 hello! Too mahal. I would rather buy saddle soap and clean these boots myself regularly. Unlike the suede ones, they don't have that old mold-y smell.

These boots are now again made for walking. Must plan a trip somewhere cold so they don't feel neglected.

Germ Killer is on Facebook and available at Handyman, True Value, Ace Hardware and other select retailers.

UPDATE: Joni also wanted to share that they have just marked down their prices. This is great news for me, bad news for molds.

 

Prevention is always better than cure, so here are some tips to PREVENT molds from growing on leather:

- Keep leather clean

- Prevent moisture and keep them dry by stuffing shoes and bags with tissue and wrap them in the dust bag they come in. Put a silica gel pack or two inside to absorb moisture. Best to also use those disposable moisture absorbers/dehumidifiers and stuff inside your shoe closet and bag cabinet.

- If you like, place a dehumidifier in your closet or install an exhaust fan.

- So as not to dry out the leather, apply leather balms regularly

- Check your shoes every so often for molds & cracks

Hopefully these tips keep our precious leather bags and shoes in pristine condition, long enough to pass on as vintage to our daughters :)

Take a Gander

Super Star Sneakers from Golden Goose

If this came in my size (thank God it's gone!) my goose would have been cooked!

Ten Year Old Tods

Shirt from Topshop, shorts from Rugby Ralph Lauren, belt from J.Crew, driving shoes from Tods

The Leather Spa breathed new life into my ten year old Tods. Now they're almost as good as new. Right on time too, when loafers are on a comeback! See how much of a good investment Tods can be? They last super long, and through the fickleness of fashion. Well, not that these ever went out of style. But they're especially perfect when I feel like dressing like an Italian man, hahaha!

I can honestly say, the folks at Leather Spa do a wonderful job in fixing expensive shoes. I brought in my Lanvin boots and ballet flats, as well as a pair of Golden Goose Charlyes for reheeling and they came back looking like they never suffered from New York City's streets at all.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about my Golden Goose boots though. See, they're meant to look beaten up and weathered, like I've been riding horses in them my whole life:

I specifically told the girl at Leather Spa THREE times that I DID NOT WANT them polished. Not that I was cheap, but you know, I just wanted them to stay that way. That's how they're meant to look like. But I guess they couldn't bear letting a pair of shoes leave the premises in less than tiptop condition. So yeah, they cleaned it up to kingdom come and they came back to me shiny and scuff free. For free too! I know, they threw in free polishing with the best of intentions. That's why I can't get totally mad. Besides, I can't blame them. Dear Hubby has been offering to polish them for me ever since I got them, and he couldn't understand why I wanted them to stay that way. At least, on the bright side, one of us is totally happy with my majorly clean boots!

Leather Spa, I really really appreciate the quality of your work. It was worth the price I paid for. I wouldn't hesitate telling all my friends to bring all their designer shoes to you for some TLC (Guys, they can take care of your shoe issues too!). Because you really do  a bang up excellent job. And you have an appreciation for a shoe's shape and aesthetic, that you never tamper with the details that make it special (take for instance, they shaved off the Lanvin heels to it's original shape and Louboutins are resoled with red zipsoles!). I really felt you rose to the occasion and put all those bad reviews on yelp to shame.

But sometimes, too much of a good job ain't that welcome either. Sob. Poor Charlye.

Leather Spa - Think  of it as a getaway for all your "good" shoes. After a couple nights stay at the "spa", with their cobbler's expert hands, your shoes will come back to you refreshed and rejuvenated. I wouldn't think twice about bringing in Louboutins and Lanvins here. Pricey, but worth it. I say, 4/5 stars.

10 West 55th Street, New York, NY
(212) 262-4823

The Plaza Retail Shops
1 West 58th Street, New York, NY
(212) 527-9944

Berry Goes to Bryant Park

Berry and I went to the Philippine Consulate yesterday to take care of our passports and we asked my sister Trina to come along. Of course, we had to show Berry The Pond at Bryant Park. The Park looks totally transformed during the winter, although it is very pretty in the summer too!

Thing is though, we just came from a little bit of window shopping and so she was asleep. As is usually the case when we're out in the shops. Grandma says Berry is well trained because she never gets fussy inside stores. I think she loves being in the stores and understands that Mommy needs all the time to go through the racks, hahaha. What a good baby!

Spin A Win!

I think the Little One gets excited about Fashion Week as much as I do. When my friend Sarj and I went to the Bryant Park tents yesterday to watch the Pamella Roland F/W 2009 runway show, she (yes! we are having a little girl!) was kicking and moving inside my tummy as we stood in line at the McCafe booth (my friend Sarj had to get her coffee fix, I indulged by having a decaf iced coffee heehee!). I think the Little One knew she was inside the tents!



Because we had time to kill, we passed by the Havaianas booth to check out what goodies they had in store. Last season, Sarj said they were giving away free flip flops! But when we got there, they had this wheel of tiny colorful flip flops which we could spin. If you land on a metallic flip flop, you get a sling bag! Well, they say pregnant women are lucky and guess what! I won a red sling bag for the Little One (choices were black, pink and red. Because I think red is lucky, and well, it went with my outfit for the day, I got the red one!)



Check out the strap made out of the same rubber as the flip flops! Cute! The hardware on this sling bag was pretty high quality too! I think this would make a handy dandy bag for summer!


Sarj won this cute keychain with candy, which she generously gave me. She said it would fit the Little One! Hahaha! Sarj is such a hoot!


A photographer inside the tents approached me and asked to have a picture of my bag taken. Silly me handed out the Havaianas sling bag to him and he said, "No, I want to take a picture of you with the bag!" Ooops! So I posed gladly although a bit too self-consciously for him, but forgot to ask where the picture would come out. Oh well!

This is what I wore yesterday...


Playsuit/Romper: A.P.C.
Tights: Topshop Maternity
Boots: Golden Goose

Here's my romper up close...


I love how I can wear this for summer too with sandals or my fave Chucks. Notice the belly bulge? I'm almost 23 weeks now! How time flies!

Oh, speaking of the Pamella Roland show, since the designer is a celebrity fave, Sarj and I did spot a couple of celebs! We had a blast trying to identify them, haha! Cheesy but fun! Nicky and Paris Hilton were easy to pin down, Sarj saw Kelly Pickler, I noticed Kristen Bell and we thought Amanda Bynes was Lindsay Lohan from the side. We also saw America's Next Top Model's Miss J and Nigel Barker (Sarj nudged me and said "Why are they taking a picture of this guy beside us? Who is he anyway?, of course I was like, "Sarj! That's Nigel Barker!" Hahaha!)

Too bad of all the days I would forget to bring my camera to the tents, this was the day! Oh well! I hope my narrative was entertaining enough!

(Photo of the Havaianas booth from racked.com)

How Are You Feeling These Days?

It's been so cold lately I just want to stay indoors and snooze on the couch. Or maybe just watch lots of TV. Wearing Dear Hubby's old sweaters. Lazy Lazy Lazy...

Sorry my pretty boot-ilicious babies, we are staying home until the weather gets a bit nicer.

Sharing My Outfit Day: At 3.5 Months

If you've been wondering why I haven't been posting my outfits lately, it's just that I haven't really been going out the past couple of months unless it was absolutely absolutely necessary. You see, I've been so tired, nauseated and in a generally barf-y mood the last several weeks because I've been busy growing a baby!!! Yes!!! Dear Hubby and I are going to be parents by next year!

Now that the first trimester is almost over, I've regained my appetite and can now venture out in search of food or whatever it is that I feel like eating without relying on Dear Hubby to do the hunting and gathering for me! Hahaha! So yesterday, after running some errands, I made a pit stop to Whole Foods for Indian food! Indian food at Whole Foods? You'd be surprised! I think its pretty good, given that they've toned down the spiciness and made it pregnancy-friendly (spicy and oily foods are a no-no, unless I didn't mind suffering from heartburn) hehe!

So yeah, now that I'm up and about again, I can go back to chronicling my outfits, and let's see if my style changes as our little one gets bigger and bigger inside my tummy! Exciting times! So this is me at 3.5 months...





Shirt: Mango (from 2 years ago! It's still alive!)
Scarf: Isabel Marant
Hoodie: Lululemon
Jeans: J Brand
Boots: Golden Goose

I can foresee some of you might be asking me for a close up of my boots, so here goes! =)



A lot of my friends who are pregnant or have been pregnant have warned me that their shoe size grew from 1/2 an inch to even an inch and a half! Goodness gracious! 1/2 an inch I can handle, but more than that is threatening. Although I have 2 friends who said their shoe size did not grow at all! Hopefully I fall into the latter category! My shoe collection is in perilous territory! (How shallow! I know!) But hey, you know what, I'd give up anything for the little bundle of joy that's safely nestled in my tummy!