Rubber soles aren’t necessary to keep your feet dry in the rain. Leather soles are fully capable of getting you to your destination. However, if you value your shoes and want them to last longer, it’s best to stick with rubber. Leather soles will soak up water and will break down faster when wet.

If you don’t feel like purchasing a new pair of shoes to replace your leather soled shoes, you have a couple of options. The first and easiest is to purchase a pair of overshoes from Swims, which will keep the soles of your shoes protected. The second would be to have your shoes resoled with a rubber Danite sole. If your shoe has it’s own recrafting service, you can see if this is an option. Otherwise, B. Nelson Footwear in New York also provides this service.

Uppers

Most dress shoe uppers will be able to stand up to some rain. Calfskin works as long as it’s been treated with wax and so will suede if it’s been treated with a waterproofing spray. I like shoes made with pebble grain leather, which is calfskin that’s been embossed with large rollers to give it a distinctive look that’s similar to a pebble walkway. The combination of a wax polish and raised bumps in the leather help water roll off fairly easy.