Steam Punk & Victoriana Fashion Footwear comes to Scorpio Shoes courtesy of Hades
Hades shoes are masterpieces of footwear design, drawing heavily from the modern Steam-punk Victoriana movement. High quality leather , extreme sci-fi sole units, crystals, cogs, levers, and gears all combine to produce instant shoe design classics that hark back to the irresistibly romantic allure of Victorian Adventure and provide you with the ideal shoes to compliment your steam-punk outfit, or indeed, the perfect high heels to make you stand out in the crowd.
Hades UK believe that you should stride elegantly into your own adventures. A lady’s first step onto the marbled floor, the station platform or the polished deck of an air ship should exude confidence. As your heel rings an impressive note with each stride, and steam mixes with smoke and fog all around, you will be the only thing noticed emerging from the cloud.
Much like a golden watch stands out against a mountain of bronze, with shoes to perfectly complement your look, Hades High Heel Shoes are sure to draw more than a passing glance with Hades Steam-punk styling.
Here at Scorpio Shoes, we have longed to stock Hades for a long time now, and we are so so happy to eventually have them. Already several members of our team have earmarked pairs for themselves, and we expect them to sell through pretty well. If they do, then there is all the more reason to have a look at stocking more of the range.
Check them out, and let us know what you think in the comments.
Don’t forget, you can also click through on the video to subscribe to our Youtube channel, follow us on Twitter (@scorpioshoes), and Like our Facebook page.
Hades Isabelle D’est Platform High Heels
Hades Juana Loca Platform High Heels
Hades Raven High Heel Boots
Hades Triton High Heels
Hades Zephyr High Heels
How to Look After Your Winter Boots for Snowy Weather
How do you make sure your Winter Boots perform at their best in the snow?
When the snow comes down, one thing is for certain. The sandals and flip-flops will be taking a well deserved vacation in the bottom of your closet for a little while. Show me someone who enjoys having cold wet feet, and I’ll show you a pink elephant in space playing the bagpipes and drinking vodka martinis; it just doesn’t happen, right? Everyone wants warm dry feet when the winter weather comes a-calling. This little guide explains what you can do to preserve your toes in the manner to which they would like to become accustomed.
Most winter boots are made from three different types of upper material, or a mixture of the three; Synthetic (nylon usually), suede or nubuck, or leather. Identifying which material your favourite boots are made from should be your first step. Why? Because each material has its own unique care requirements. And just to make matters more complex, you also need to know if your boots have a waterproof breathable lining or not. This lining may be Goretex (in various guises), Sympatex, IsoTex, or something similar. If your boots do feature a lining such as these, you are going to require specialist after-care products, and this is a topic that goes outside of the scope of this quick guide.
This guide will be primarily concerned with fashion boots, those without a waterproof breathable membrane.
For all boots worn in the snow, here are a few general points to observe;
- If the upper material looks damp in itself, something refered to as “wetting out”, rather than water simply beading and rolling off the surface, then they need to be treated. A wetted out upper cannot breath, absorbs the heat from your skin, and stops insulating. Water vapour from your skin then condenses on the inside of your boot, and this can give the feeling that the boots are leaking, letting in water while the boots may in fact be structurally sound. Its just that water from your skin cannot be breathed out into the air (because the uppers are saturated with cold water), and stays in the boots instead.
- Use a warm damp cloth to wipe away any mud, grit, or other debris. Small particles of dirt and stone can easily find their way into the grain of leather, suede, nubuck and synthetic materials, aswell as stitching. When the boot is then worn and flexed, these sharp particles can literally saw away at the material and threads, dramatically shortening the lifespan of the boots, and in some cases, even causing threads to break and seams to burst. So wiping away as much debris from the paths and roads as you can is very important. Cleaning the boots like this also helps to remove dissolved salt (from road gritters) and prepares the surface of the boots uppers to be treated.
- What to do about it? Firstly your boots need to dry out. Pack them with something absorbent like newspaper, and then place them somewhere warm to gently evaporate the water. DO NOT place them directly on a radiator, for example, or anywhere where the heat source will be very intense. Why? Because all uppers may warp, twist, even crack, if warmed and dried to quickly. So pack them and place them somewhere where they can dry gently. Then remove the packing and you are ready to treat the uppers.
Leather
- The aim with leather boots when treating them for service in the snow and ice, is to create a shiny surface on the leather, and nourish the leather so that it remains soft and flexible. A wax based leather balm or polish works best for this, such as Dr Martens Wonder Balsam. Wrap a suitable cloth over your fingers and scoop up a small lump of wax / balsam onto the tip of your fingers. An amount about the size of two peas should be sufficient for covering one average boot, but of course yours may require more or less, so use your judgement.
- Working in circles, firmly rub the wax / balsam into the leather. Concentrate on areas that flex a lot, such as the top of the foot area, the ankles and the tongue. What is the best way to apply wax to the tongue? Its easy, just remove the laces and stock your hand into the boot.
- When all the high flex areas have been massaged with wax / balsam, work more of it into the remaining surfaces, again use small circles to ensure a good thorough coverage.
- Next, get more wax / balsam on your cloth, and work it into the seams where the stitching is. This should ensure that the physical holes, made by the needle when the boots were manufactured, are sealed up the stitching thread itself is well protected.
- Lastly, the one area that frequently gets missed; the edges of any leather panels used to construct your boot. You will likely end up with a bit of balsam under your nail while doing this bit. Get some balsam right on the end of your finger (on the cloth) and rub it into the exposed edge of the leather panels.
Where to apply wax to leather uppers
Suede, Nubuck & Synthetic
- Both Suede & Nubuck upper boots could be treated with a wax or balsam products; they are both leather, however there is a desirable aesthetic matt appearance to these materials that people like to maintain, and using a balsam product on them would ruin this matt finish.
- Synthetic uppers that resemble leather usually will not absorb a wax or balsam treatment. But the water repellency of the surface can still be enhanced by a wax or polish treatment as described above.
- Synthetic uppers that are a woven fabric, such as what you might find on hiking boots, and all imitation suede and nubuck fabrics can all be treated with a spray. [Although we would strongly recommend that in snowy conditions you use genuine leather boots, as leather is usually a lot thicker, warmer, and more able to cope with Winter weather.]
- A suitable product to use is therefore a footwear protector spray. These are often sold as either pump cap or aerosols. They are usually made with a chemical that is hydrophobic (water hating) and causes water droplets to bead on the surface to which it is applied. [NOTE; some sprays made for equipment such as bags and tarps are made using a silicon compound that does not permit the material to breath, i.e. allow water vapour to pass through it. These silicon sprays are NOT suitable for footwear. Remember you want your footwear to breath so the water vapour from your skin can escape instead of condensing inside the boot.]
- Sprays can darken the appearance of the suede or nubuck initially, so test this on an inconspicuous area of the boot first, to make sure you are happy to go ahead. Usually when the boots are fully dried after an application, the darkening is barely noticeable.
- Remove the laces to expose the tongue of the boot, then proceed to spray the surface of the suede / nubuck / synthetic woven fabric with the spray from a distance of approximately 20cm. You will want to do this in a well ventilated room.
- Spray the panels, edges of the panels, stitching & seams, and tongue. You can also protect the laces by holding them up and spraying them from all angles.
- Leave the boots and laces to dry for 30 minutes. It is recommended that if the boots have not been treated before, that you give them 3 coatings, each time allowing 30 minutes in between.
- Thereafter your boots should only need treating when water stops beading on the surface. To test, simple wet your hand and flick water at the boots. If the water droplets are absorbed, its time for a treatment.
What to wear with boots in Winter.
So that is your boots taken care of. Your feet’s last line of defence is your socks. Have you ever heard the phrase from an outdoors enthusiast “Cotton kills”? This is not always an exaggeration. Cotton fibres have a horrible affinity for water, they just get hold of it and don’t let it go. You know how hard it is to dry jeans out, right? Thats because they are made with, you guessed it, cotton.
What is better to wear than cotton? The best answer is WOOL. Mother nature has perfected over millions of years the best material suitable for keeping dry and warm when the weather is cold and wet; Wool. Wool socks will insulate your feet by trapping air next to your skin, and also has a massive surface area for transporting water away from your foot, while the wool fibres themselves do not absorb water, but repel it. The softest wool to look for is Merino Wool, and this can often be found blended with synthetic fibres that boost its wicking (water transport) abilities to the outside of the sock.
Hopefully this article will be of some use, and goes some way to explaining what can happen if you don’t look after your winter boots properly, and why treating them is so important to haw they will treat you.
One last note; if the boots you have are not designed and built and guaranteed to be waterproof, there is no treatment on earth that can actually make them become waterproof. All the above tips will serve to make the materials the boots are made from more water-repellent and thus stay drier and warmer. A spray cannot, for example, prevent snow getting into the boot around the side of the tongue, for example. Only a waterproof membrane lined tongue baffle will do that.
12 Shoes of Christmas Day 12
Win ANY pair of Iron Fist Shoes on Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest
Competition Win Iron Fist Shoes with Scorpio Shoes
Source: facebook.com via Scorpio on Pinterest
The Scorpio Shoes Iron Fist Monthly Give Away Competition continues!
Our first competition of 2013 continues our year long Iron Fist Give Away that started in October 2012, and goes live at midnight on January 6th 2013.
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The prize?
YOUR CHOICE OF ANY PAIR OF IRON FIST SHOES FROM THE RANGE AVAILABLE AT SCORPIOSHOES.COM. There is a massive range of flats, pumps, wedges, and high heels to choose from, and if you are not yet familiar with Iron Fist style, a)where have you been for the last forever? and b) you are gonna love their mad, alternative style of doing things!
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What do you have to do to enter?
Thats simple; just Like our Facebook Page, Share the competition with your Facebook friends, Follow us on Twitter and Tweet about the competition, and/or re-pin our post on Pinterest about the competition.
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Sounds easy enough. Where do I get started?
Right here -> Visit our Facebook Competition Page
Good luck, and welcome to the world of Scorpio Shoes!
Save Money On Your Christmas Shopping In Store with Scorpio Shoes 24 Days of Advent Offers #24adventoffers
Girls & Boys! We’ve been working on a fab new offer for you all for your Christmas 2012 shopping!
Follow @scorpioshoes on Twitter, use the hashtag #24adventoffers, and we’ll be posting a new special offer every day of Advent. So while you are out shopping in Newcastle, Durham, or Spennymoor, you can show these offers on your phones to your shop assistant prior to purchase and save money on your favourite footwear brands!
Here is your Advent Calendar with more details.
Advent Calendar for #24adventoffers
Oh, and please like and share this with your friends. You never know, they might get you a nice pair of Dr Martens as a thank you! What?!? They might!
Win Iron Fist Shoes with Scorpio Shoes #winironfistshoes Competition
Here at Scorpio Shoes we have teamed up with Iron Fist to bring you the biggest shoe giveaway competiton we have ever devised. 12 Pairs of shoes MUST be won over the course of the next 12 months!
Win A Pair Of Iron Fist Shoes Every Month For Twelve Months
Scorpio Shoes bring you to chance to WIN ANY PAIR OF IRON FIST SHOES from the range at scorpioshoes.com/iron-fist-35.phtml
Yes, thats right! YOU, yes, YOU, could be in with the chance of winning a pair of Iron Fist shoes; YOUR CHOICE. YOUR STYLE.
Every month we shall be running a different competiton, with the winners being chosen at the end of the month, FOR A YEAR!
Thats twelve (count them, 12!) chances to win! To grab your opportunity to be a winner by the short and curlies, either click the image above, or this link…
Enter the Scorpio Shoes’ “Win Iron Fist Shoes” Competition Here >>>
UPDATE:-
HERE ARE SOME OF THE ENTRIES FROM THE GET YOUR TATTS OUT COMPETITION…
Enter the Scorpio Shoes’ “Win Iron Fist Shoes” Competition Here >>>
Focus On – Converse Trainers; New Colours
The popularity of Converse trainers just will not fade. Not surprising when they keep coming up with fantastic new colour ways of their core classic Oxford and Hi-Top sneakers. Here is a first look at just some of the new batch fresh in from Converse.
Check out the new range of Converse at scorpioshoes.com
Scorpio Shoes Introduces Larger Range of Etnies Skateboard / BMX Trainers
Here at Scorpio Shoes we are excited to introduce new styles to build upon our growing offering of skateboard and bmx trainers. Although they bo doubt look very cool and colourful, these are extremely well made, durable, and functional items of sports footwear, featuring a good amount of padding, support and excellent grip.
Last season Scorpio Shoes introduced Etnies for the first time to our range of brands, and now following a fantastic response, we are pleased to build upon the range with the introduction of a much larger selection of styles from this manufacturer of high quality sports fashion wear. Not only do Etnies look freakishly cool, they are actually very capable and serious pieces of kit for skateboarding and BMX.
Each style features an Ortho-lite insole for enhanced comfort and support, and is built using genuine leather / suede uppers. The soles are made from durable rubber moulded to provide grip over a large flat surface area, aiding control. The soles are also stiffened across the arch of the foot to help prevent injury and fatigue from hard landings on peddles and ridges.
If you would like to find out more about individual styles shown above, why not visit the Scorpio Shoes web store and check out the Etnies Skate & BMX Trainers product listings. Also you can tell us what you think of them on Twitter. Send a tweet to us @scorpioshoes and use the hash tag #etnies.
Katy Clark Womens Wear Knit Fashion Show at Northumbria University
Scorpio Shoes supported Katy Clark’s recent fashion show at Northumbria University by supplying Dr Martens boots. Katy has been good enough to supply us with images from the show , which you can see below, along with Katy’s introduction to her fashion collection.
As you can see Katy certainly has a talent for producing unconventional fashion items. We’d like to offer her our heartfelt congratulations on what looks like a huge success, and wish her all the best for the future. If these images are anything to go by, it will be no surprise to see that Katy Clark’s name becomes very well-known in fashion design.
If you are involved with the fashion industry and think Scorpio Shoes can help you out with footwear, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
