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The Dictator | How to keep your white sneakers spotless in Hong Kong, and whether to wear white trousers in winter

From stain repellents to trainer-cleaning services, tips on the best ways to makes sure your kicks look as good as new. Plus: the wisdom of wearing white in winter

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The same people who rescue damaged leather in Hong Kong can restore your white sneakers – or you can buy DIY kits.

Published: 5:15pm, 11 Jan 2017Updated: 5:15pm, 11 Jan 2017

How does everyone keep their white leather trainers so clean and, well, white? Even if I’m careful, they always end up with marks on them. Is there a trainer-cleaning service I’m supposed to be using?

Sullied Sneakers, Mid-Levels

The Dictator rules: Oh, for heaven’s sake! Do we now need to pay someone to keep our trainers looking like we’ve never worn them? In our day, it was considered uncool to have new-looking trainers. Mind you, we weren’t paying HK$9,000 for a pair of kicks. How times have changed; an entire trainer-cleaning industry has sprouted now. A stain repellent, such as 3M Scotchgard Leather Protector for Shoes (HK$115; Wing On), is your first line of defence, and baby wipes and basic shoe cream will help. But we know you’ll only feel better about your sullied sneakers if someone else does it for you.

For that, you can turn to the same experts who save bags in Hong Kong. The Leather Doctors (www.leatherdoctors.com.hk), for example, have experience with trainer tragedies. Send them photos of the damaged goods to get a quote and enjoy the free pick-up and delivery service. A similar deal is provided by Clean Master (www.cleanmaster.com.hk), proudly endorsed by actress Carol “Do Do” Cheng, as you’ll see on its website.

You’ll also love fancy DIY trainer cleaners. Sneaker Lab not only looks good in its slick, recyclable packaging, the cleaning products, which include trainer wipes, cleaners and protectors, are also biodegradable (HK$89 to HK$259; www.15squarestreet.com). Los Angeles-based trainer-cleaning brand Jason Markk sells a variety of products (HK$100 to HK$160; Lane Crawford) that are also worth checking out.

Can you wear white trousers in winter? Absolutely. Should you? Probably not.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From stain repellents to trainer-cleaning services, tips on the best ways to makes sure your kicks look as good as new. Plus: the wisdom of wearing white in winter

From stain repellents to trainer-cleaning services, tips on the best ways to makes sure your kicks look as good as new. Plus: the wisdom of wearing white in winter