Suede is the fabric equivalent of a good coat: it flatters everything, it makes a cheap boot look considered, and it takes roughly one rainy bus stop to look like a lost cause. Every winter I see the same thing in the hallway — a pair of chocolate ankle boots with a pale tidemark across the toe, abandoned because nobody wants to make it worse. The good news is that most suede damage is cosmetic and reversible, as long as you resist the instinct to attack it with a wet cloth.
Understand what you are actually working with
Suede is leather that has been sanded on the underside to raise a soft, fuzzy pile — the nap. Everything that looks like a stain is usually one of three things: the nap lying flat, dirt trapped between the fibres, or oil that has sunk in and darkened them. That means the first step is never cleaning. It is brushing. A dedicated suede brush, brass or rubber bristled, lifts the pile back up and will often erase what you assumed was a permanent mark. Work in one direction, following the grain, with short light strokes rather than scrubbing.
Do all of this when the shoes are bone dry. Brushing damp suede pushes dirt deeper and mats the fibres together, which is exactly the look you are trying to undo. If the shoes came in wet, stuff them loosely with plain paper, keep them away from radiators and hot air, and let them dry at room temperature overnight before you touch them with anything.
