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I like white and light colored footwear! To remove stains and dirt I gently scrub them with a damp cloth and just a little wee bit of Marseille soap. Then I "rinse" them - clean damp cloth again. Then I polish them with neutral shoe polish. When necessary, to revive the white, I use a special white liquid. And if possible I avoid to wear light-colored shoes when driving !
I keep a box of baby wipes in my closet and use them to wipe the city dirt off my shoes and purses. I also have a Magic Eraser for things that don't come off with the baby wipes.
My white leather sneakers just get a scrub with hand soap and rince under the faucet. Light leather get a wipe down with a wet cloth and dried. If something gets a scuff mark or some other dirt then I try a dab of liquid detergent.
I use toothpaste to clean smudges off the white rubber of my converse (but that might not be so good for leather?). It's slightly abrasive so it gets the stains off better. I use an old toothbrush or an old fingernail brush to clean them.
I treat new shoes with a water-repellant protective spray. I learned this when living in a rainy climate, but it does seem to help a lot with keeping light-colored shoes nice. Also, FWIW we have a cleaning product from Campers (the Spanish shoe company) allegedly made out of bamboo, among other things, that got tomato sauce off my Ugg slippers like it was nothing, so maybe try that.
