Match Day
The Match-Day Pair
Four seasons of home games, away coaches and rain-soaked walks back from the ground left these barely recognisable.
Before
AfterDeep Clean
Sneaker restoration • Manchester
Every pair has a past. Give it a next chapter.
Past Soles cleans and restores the sneakers people care about, and tells the story of where they've been.
- Material-aware care
- Documented before and after
- Manchester collection and return
Drag the handle, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to compare the same shoe before and after.
Representative launch concept. Genuine client transformations replace this as soon as approved imagery is available.
The approach
More than a clean.
Cleaning is the visible part. The assessment, the record, and the reason the pair matters are what make the difference.
Restore
Material-aware cleaning and restoration carried out carefully and honestly.
Record
We document the condition, process, and transformation of every featured pair.
Remember
For selected stories, we capture where the shoes have been and why they matter.
Featured transformation
A well-travelled pair of white leather trainers
The ownerDeep Clean with protective treatment
“Worn through university, first jobs and countless nights in Manchester.”
Drag the handle, or focus it and use the arrow keys, to compare the same shoe before and after.
- Before condition
- Greyed leather at the toe, a yellowed and scuffed cupsole, deep forefoot creasing and laces well past saving.
- Treatment performed
- Panel-by-panel leather clean, staged cupsole work, fresh laces fitted, then a protective treatment.
- Final result
- Strong recovery on the leather and cupsole. The creasing is permanent, and was left honest.
See the full story
Representative concept. This case study is presented to show the layout and level of detail; it will be replaced by a real, owner-approved restoration.
Stories From the Sole
Shoes remember.
Every scuff, crease and stain came from somewhere. Stories From the Sole documents the people, places and memories behind the pairs we restore.
BeforeAfter
Pilot story concepts. These illustrate the format and structure of Stories From the Sole. No endorsement, participation or customer relationship is implied until a real story is published with the owner's permission.
Services
Transparent launch pricing.
Starting points, published openly. The final price is confirmed once we have seen photographs of your pair.
Essential Clean
From £20A careful exterior clean for everyday leather, mesh and canvas sneakers.
- Indicative turnaround
- 2 to 4 days
- Assessment
- Recommended
Deep Clean
From £35Exterior, midsoles, laces and accessible interior areas, with more detailed treatment.
- Indicative turnaround
- 3 to 6 days
- Assessment
- Recommended
Specialist Care
From £50Material-specific work for suede, nubuck, delicate finishes, and challenging stains.
- Indicative turnaround
- 5 to 8 days
- Assessment
- Required
Restoration
QuotedAdvanced work based on the condition, construction and materials of the pair.
- Indicative turnaround
- Agreed in the quote
- Assessment
- Required
Optional add-ons
- Protective treatmentFrom £10
- Applied where the material is suitable. Reduces staining; it is not waterproofing.
- Deodorising treatmentFrom £8
- Interior treatment for odour. Results vary with how set in the odour is.
- Express turnaroundSubject to availability
- Only offered when the workshop schedule genuinely allows it.
- Collection and returnPriced by location
- Manchester and surrounding areas, arranged directly with you.
Final pricing is confirmed after a photo assessment. Some permanent wear, colour loss, cracking and material damage cannot be fully reversed.
How it works
Five steps, no surprises.
You will always know what we intend to do, what it will cost, and what to expect before anything begins.
Send us the pair
Upload photos and tell us what needs attention.
Receive an assessment
We explain what treatment is appropriate, what results are realistic, and the price.
Approve the work
Choose the service and any optional protection treatment.
We restore and document
The shoes are treated carefully, with before-and-after images captured.
The reveal
Receive the restored pair and its transformation record.
Why trust us
Care before claims.
We are new, and we would rather earn confidence than perform it. These are the standards we hold ourselves to on every pair.
An honest assessment before work begins
We tell you what we expect to achieve, and what we do not, before you commit to anything.
Different materials receive different treatment
Leather, suede, nubuck, mesh and canvas each behave differently. The method follows the material.
The condition is documented before and after
Same shoe, same angle, same light. No flattering crops, no misleading edits.
The story matters as much as the reveal
A pair worth restoring usually has a reason behind it. We take that seriously.
Transformations
Same shoe. Same angle. Same light.
Every comparison is shot the same way at the start and the finish, so what you see is the actual change and nothing else.
Before
AfterBlack leather low-top
LeatherSmooth leather, rubber cupsole
Deep Clean
Colour depth and cupsole recovered well. Creasing left as it is, because it is permanent.
Before
AfterSuede low-top
SuedeTan suede, gum outsole
Specialist Care
Nap raised and colour evened. Two water marks reduced, not removed.
Before
AfterMesh runner
MeshEngineered mesh, foam midsole
Deep Clean
Substantial lift across the mesh. Faint permanent shadowing remains at the toe.
Before
AfterNineties canvas and leather trainer
VintageCanvas, suede overlays, aged midsole
Specialist Care
Cleaned conservatively. Oxidation and fine cracking are age, so they were left alone.
Before
AfterOutsole detail
SolesRubber outsole, translucent panels
Deep Clean
Tread cleared fully. Tread wear itself cannot be replaced.
These comparisons show the portfolio format and the standards we work to. They are labelled as sample layouts until genuine client work replaces them, which happens as the first restorations complete.
The founder
“Rewind the wear. Replay the story.”
Past Soles was started in Manchester by Sami Turner, a goalkeeper who began with thrifted pairs, a set of brushes and a phone on a tripod. The first customers were friends. The first portfolio was built on shoes nobody else wanted.
The business is deliberately small and deliberately honest. Every pair is assessed before anything is agreed, every result is documented, and work that would not genuinely improve a shoe is turned down.
Products and tools
Professional products. Material-specific decisions.
Past Soles uses selected specialist products and tools from established sneaker-care companies, combined with soft, medium and sole brushes, suede tools, microfibre cloths and protective treatments. The material decides the method. No single product is suitable for every shoe.
Reshoevn8rJason MarkkCrep Protect
Independent products used where appropriate; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.
In the kit
- Soft, medium and sole brushes
- Suede brushes and erasers
- Microfibre cloths
- Material-specific solutions
- Protective treatments
Care Range
Coming laterA focused range of cleaning, protection, brush and aftercare products. Not available yet.
Customer reviews
No reviews yet, and we won't invent any.
We have just started taking work. As soon as real customers have their pairs back, their words will appear here, unedited and attributed.
The first restorations are being booked now. If you would like your pair, and your verdict, to be part of the opening set, send it through for a free assessment.
Book a restorationFAQs
Straight answers.
The questions we are asked most, answered without hedging.
Most everyday leather, mesh, canvas, knit and synthetic sneakers, plus suede and nubuck under Specialist Care. If we are not confident about a material or construction, we will say so rather than experiment on your pair.
No. Some staining, colour loss, cracking, oxidation and material damage is permanent. We will tell you what we expect to improve and what we expect to remain before you commit to anything.
Turnaround depends on the service and on drying time, which we do not rush. Indicative timings are listed on each service, and your assessment will confirm a realistic window for your pair.
Listed prices are starting points. The final price is confirmed after a free photo assessment and reflects the material, condition and the work actually needed. Restoration is quoted individually.
Yes, under Specialist Care. Suede and nubuck are treated dry first with dedicated tools and worked gradually. We test discreetly before treating visible areas, and we set expectations honestly.
We capture before-and-after condition images for every pair as a record for you. Anything shared publicly, and any filming, requires your explicit permission, given separately and never assumed.
Sneaker care carries inherent risk. We assess each pair individually and will decline work we do not believe is in the shoe’s interest. Cleaning cannot reverse structural damage, sole separation, deep cracking, permanent discolouration or normal ageing.
Book a restoration
Send us the pair you can’t throw away.
Free assessment, honest expectations, and a full before-and-after record. No obligation at any point.
Manchester collection and return, by arrangement. Workshop address shared directly with customers once a restoration is confirmed.