Aaron Marino of alpha m. talks about how a lot of shoes in the stores look antiqued or worn. The toe looks darker than the rest of the shoe which gradually gets lighter to the natural shade of the shoe. Alpha aged the shoes himself.
Try this on a cheaper or beat-up pair of brown shoes, not black. You will need a piece of sandpaper or sanding sponge, black shoe polish, and a rag. When sanding, take the most off the front then gradually taper up the side. Don’t take it too far up. The idea is to get the toe box.
After sanding, apply polish to the scuffed-up area all the way around. Now take off the excess polish by buffing. What you are left with is a pair of distressed shoes. You can actually go over other areas of the shoe as well. Have some fun and have some fun with an old pair of shoes. It’s fashion forward and stylish.