Suede soles are just about ideal on almost every dance floor. While they are durable, they do need more care than regular soles.

Be sure to polish leather shoes regularly to keep them from looking scuffed. Also use a silicon oil or polish to keep patent shoes from sticking and cracking.

NEVER WEAR YOUR DANCE SHOES OUTSIDE AS LONG AS YOU WILL BE USING THEM AS DANCE SHOES! The beautiful shoes you buy are made by skilled craftsmen, balanced and especially made for dancing. They are a necessary accessory for ballroom dancing and will make your dancing far more enjoyable.

Wear them indoors only. Don't wear them outdoors on the street or sidewalk; there's too much chewing gum and glop out there that you'll never be able to brush out. This means carrying them with you to your Dance Palace and changing into them once you are inside.

Consider investing in a good quality shoe bag to help protect your shoes during transport.

Watch your step, even indoors. If you're out at a club and step in beer, the suede will soak it up and glaze over.

If you step in water (say, at the bathroom sink or drinking fountain) your suede soles will feel like all-grip, no-slip until they dry out, but there's no permanent harm done.

If your suede soles DO get glazed over with street gunk or dried who-knows-what, scrub away with a wire brush until they are suede-ish again.

If you don't have a wire shoe brush, consider investing in one. Otherwise carefully scrape with the blade of a sharp knife. (Don't cut; just scrape by holding the blade sideways.)

If the soles are not glazed but simply clogged up with dust, scrub gently.

Most Ballroom dance places have very clean floors -- in part because almost all ballroom dancers bring their suede-soled shoes and change into them after arriving, leaving all the gunk on their street shoes that then sit in the corner until their night of fun concludes. So you will rarely have to brush anything but dust from your shoes after visiting most Ballroom dance locations.

Most Swing places that are not in bars have fairly clean floors -- thanks to the dance organizers, who are usually scrupulous about cleaning the floor before a Swing dance. Again, very little sole cleaning is required afterwards, usually.

Most Swing places that are in bars, and almost all Salsa places, are likely to have filthy floors -- thanks to spilled drinks and all the stuff that sticks to it, including cigarette ash and street-shoe dirt. Your soles will usually be jet black and thickly caked after dancing at one of these locations. A long, hard scrubbing of your soles is going to be necessary to return them to suede.

Consider investing in a separate pair of "grunge shoes" for wearing to such venues.

Brush your shoes maybe once or twice a month, depending upon how frequently you wear them, just to fluff up the suede a bit. Don't worry if you eventually brush away most of the nap on your favorite pair of shoes -- you only need the tiniest amount of nap to get the good effects.

Wire brushes for suede soles come in several shapes and sizes. A typical brush for suede soles is approximately about 8 inches long, and you can buy one at almost any dance shoe store. Alternately, you can shop at the hardware store where it is called a "file brush."

Another common type of wire brush is smaller, looking like an oversized toothbrush.

Both styles have steel bristles that are slightly bent in the middle, and are not too densely packed. (Note that these are quite different from the gentle brass-bristled brushes used for suede uppers!)

Steel bristles are recommended (brass is too soft), along with a handle -- the unguarded steel bristles around the edge will give your hands really nasty perforations otherwise.

Everything wears out -- even steel-wire brushes! The bristles work best when sharp edged (new). Amazingly, the suede of your soles will round off the edges of the bristles fairly quickly, and your shoe brush will be worn out long before your suede soles! It is time to splurge on a new brush when you notice that:

• obscure edges of your brush (say, near the handle) seem a lot more effective than the parts you prefer to use (say, near the front or middle)
• it is easier for your brush to slide across your suede soles than to dig into them and fluff them up
• when you borrow a friend's brush, it works much faster and more effectively than your own

Caution! Be really careful when reaching for your brush, and when brushing your shoes -- the bristles around the edge tend to splay outward a bit and will perforate you every time if you're not careful.

If you keep your brush in your shoe bag, do not place it with the bristles against the bag fabric -- they will poke through and stab you. (Voice of experience!!)

Consider investing in a shoe brush with a cover or a carrying case to protect you from the bristles when not using it.