Shoes color change

Unfortunately is suede leather.
I can't wear them as they are, the color difference is too big.
O would look worse than a clown. It is bad.

The water was without salt.
It was just fresh snow.
The contact was max 15 min then the snow was melted and in in the next 15 min I was home and the shoes were put to dry.

Bill, thank for so many words and advices.
The boots were bought in Germany.
I received them as gift from my wife. I do not know how much she paid few months ago, but now are around 60€.
I found them here:
http://www.deichmann.com/DE/de/shop/herren/herren-schuhe/00000001111996/Mid%20Cut%20.prod?r=5&c=3&filter_brand=all&filter_color=all&filter_padding=all&filter_size=all&orderby=topseller&st=PRODUCT&filter_cat=herren/herren-schuhe/herren-schuhe-midcut

I do not know if I can still find the receipt to try to change them.

I have heard once about using shoe cream or shoe wax (same color as original) and try to change the shoes "face" a little bit. They will not longer look suede leather, but they will have the same color and will be possible to wear them. I never tried before but if I remember well was and advice some years ago from somebody in another situation.

What do you think about such idea?

Bill, you investigated a lot and invested a lot of time. I appreciate that.
That was the 1st thing which crossed to my mind: to return the shoes to Deichmans store.
There are 2 problems:
- the 1st and most important: I do not have the receipt to claim the warranty time. They were bought few months ago with cash money, so not online.
- I know the Deichmann stores in the town and when you buy shoes, at the cash desk they usually ask you to buy additionally all kind of protection sprays. I did that before, I have them home for other shoes, but I did not use them now on these shoes.
Therefore I expect (even if I would have the receipt), when I go back to the store to complain about the shoes, the sellers will tell me that I misused the shoes, that is obviously that I did not protect them as is required.
For these reasons I did not try to return them.

Do you still have the box that the shoes came in, or the tags that are normally tied to a lace hole?

As far as I am concerned, although I am not a lawyer, unless the care products came inside the box with the shoes or the tag or leaflet inside the box specifically stated that the care products were required, then these things are optional extras.

I would consider that wearing the shoes once or twice within a two month period does not constitute "misuse", and that stepping into a bit of snow is not misuse either, unless the tag on the shoes told you not to get them damp or wet at all.  The dye should have been permanently fixed in the leather and should not run.

These are not indoor slippers.  They are intended for outside use, and I still think that you could try for a refund based on the fact that when they were used as intended, they have changed appearance too much to enjoy wearing and looking good.

Get a plastic nail brush, or even an old toothbrush, and buff the suede leather in small circular motions for a short time to see what happens.  If it improves in appearance, then you could get a brass wire suede brush and use it.

The picture in the beginning is from the online store.
Here below are the real shoes:


What do you think about color difference?
Now they are dried, but I washed them gentle only with water - the both.

I didn't expect such a dramatic difference in shade.  So the left shoe, which is the darker one on the right in the photo, has been wet twice (once with snow and then later with clean water), and the lighter one has only been wet once with clean water.

I assume that the right shoe (left in the photo) did not get any darker when you washed it with clean water?

That leaves one of two possibilities:

1. The shoes were made from entirely different pieces of leather (not from the same hide) and the dye in the darker one was not "fixed" properly to make it stable

2. There was something in the snow that affected the dye in that shoe, but because the other shoe didn't get wet from the snow it was not affected.

Salt in the snow, or special "ice cracker" granules to melt snow faster than salt, could affect the dye, especially if it wasn't fixed as well.  It is pretty hard to know what has caused this difference.

If the left show has been wet twice and the right shoe only once, then I would have to wonder what would happen if you wet the right shoe again.  maybe it would get darker and match the other shoe a bit better, but somehow I don't think so.

 What we can't be sure of is whether it is only the very top thin layer of suede leather that is darker on one shoe.  If that is the case, then buffing only the dark shoe with a brush might lighten it.

My own personal opinion, based on photos alone, is that the shoes are made from different hides and the permanency of the dye in each of them is different.  If it was me I would be taking them back on the basis of a manufacturing fault and I would deny that I had washed them with water.  I would probably say that I had been caught in a light shower of rain that had dampened both shoes, and that when they dried shortly afterwards in a warmish room they were different shades.  I would still try this without a receipt.

I don't know what else to suggest, but I can appreciate how disappointed you are about this.

Bill

That is a remarkable and enormous difference.  I can see why you are distressed.
Try talking to the manufacturer.  It looks like one of the shoes may have missed a step (waterproofing?) at the factory.

I appreciate all your comments.
They helped me to decide to do what my wife told me from beginning: to go and speak with the seller at the store and to try to change them. If they do not want to change them, I still do not lose too much - a try is welcome in such case, even without receipt.

I just found some news: the boots were bought not directly from Deichmann store, but from another store in town, a reseller, quite big store, which have all kinds of brands of shoes.
The encouragement came when my wife remembered  today that in summer towards autumn she bought a pair of shoes for her from the same store. They were smooth leather, she lost the receipt, she wore the shoes 2 times in the 1st month. She could not see the color grade difference 1st time, but was easy to be noticed in a sunny day. She went to the store and the seller changed the shoes without any discussion, even without receipt and even if the shoes looked a bit used.

I plan next week as soon as possible to go in the store and change them.
I let you know the result.

Good luck.  I hope you get your refund without any problems.

I owe you one.  I got a pair of suede slippers for Christmas.  I almost went out in the snow to get my paper.  Then, I remembered this thread.  Thanks, again.

Job done.

In the box with the shoes I still had a label with bar code (no price, just the ID of the product)
As my wife knew in what month were bought, the seller was able to identify in their database the product based on month and bar code label.
The seller(s) did not comment too much about the shoes after they have seen the big color difference. Probably they will return back to their supplier.

Because I did not have the receipt they could not refund me cash money, but they accepted back the shoes and in exchange I received a voucher card with the same values as the shoes when were bought.

I can use that voucher to buy something else from their store.

Thank you for participation and encouragement.

Glad to see you got some recompense, at least.

Thank you viki2000.  I am really pleased that you were able to get a voucher.  Sometimes this is the best that you can get after something like 14 days, but at least you can buy another pair of boots that are better suited for outdoor use in all weathers, or maybe a pair the same but just keep them for dry weather use.