Good points. All taken on board.

I'll pull out my Weejuns tonight and see if that El Salvadorian plastic is looking crumbly. I do have a pair of Venetians actually that could do with some so I will give it some serious consideration. The prolonged beater stage is something worth achieving. I know that.

Cheers Arm'. You're some lad.

Is your life really that greasy?

That explains it then. I divulge daily in the shower, just after I've done a deep pore scrub. Keeps that grease at bay.

I wear desert boots nearly every day and have six pairs and counting. A great versatile shoe, I have worn them in desert conditions +40C in Egypt and Africa and in Finland at -20C. I only find them slippery when the leaves are on the ground. If anything I find the soles a bit on the sticky side. They can be worn as smart-casual or casual. I still have a pair of Clarks made in England from the '90s and comparing them to the Made in Vietnam shoes I have found that the latter shoes are generally wider with a bigger heel. Why is that?  The laces tend to go on the Clarks and The sole of my Made in Vietnam ones tends to come apart after a while. I use a suede brush and protector and they last for ages. Sadly today the general population seem to prefer the ubiquitous training shoe.

When it rains I avoid wearing the suede desert boots. I have a pair of leather Clarks boots in burgundy which are fine. On a trip to Ireland it rained every day and I only fell over once wearing my desert boots. I had been drinking at the time so I don't blame the boots.

DBs are fine in the rain. In fact they are often the shoe of choice when wearing leather soles is too yucky. Once over with the suede brush (and I can't even remember the last time I did that) revives them fine.

The down side of the desert is of course the suede being susceptible to stainage (I don’t slip because I don’t walk) earlier film very helpful and I agree just buy a new pair. And thankfully, the internet allows the modernist/hipster to more fully anticipate bad weather but before the internet we were dependent on newspapers and weather girls on TV and they could get it wrong. Many a time was spent in doorways and under trees waiting for the sun that didn’t come wearing a bouffant all sad and array.  Finally, I hear Cola is the new Sand but my favourites remain the dark brown just like nanny used to spin her saucy tricks in. Good luck

I don't mind DBs being a bit "lovingly neglected". Somewhere I think I read that originally suede was meant for harder weather. An old German expression for it is "rough leather". Is my mind playing tricks on me or did anyone else also hear about that?