A Shoe In

They are the single most important purchase you will make after you’ve plopped down $500+ on your brogues (and no, we're not talking about your matching crocodile belt). We're talking shoe trees. The cedar wood absorbs moisture your feet leave behind after eight hours of pounding the pavement, re-establishes your shoes’ original shape—ironing out creases in its leather, and keeps the insoles smelling like 4th period wood-shop. Your shoes will look as good as you do every step of the way for several decades instead of several years.

As brilliant as shoe trees are, not all are created equal. In fact, we have spent years and several hundred dollars searching for a substantial tree—polished brass knob, an expandable full crown, fully contoured heel—that wasn’t going to cost us an arm and a foot (after all, you just laid down a handful of Benjamins on shoes). During a recent visit to Sid Mashburn, we noticed him stuffing his private label shoes with Woodlore’s Epic Twin-Tube Shoe Trees. Woodlore offers them in small, medium, large and XL. A simple phone call will ensure that you are properly outfitted according to your shoe size. Could this be the best cedar shoe tree for your money? Well, if the shoe fits (Woodlore, $30).