Have you ever bought a pair of shoes only to find that they kill your feet? Don't bring them back - you can fix them by simply spreading them out and getting them used to the shape of your feet. In this article you will find some tips that will help you style your new shoes and adapt them to your feet.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Wear them at home
Step 1. Put on your new shoes around the house
Before you go out in your new shoes, try doing the stairs and your daily activities (making dinner, playing with the kids, etc.), relaxing and even running in your new shoes.
This is the most reliable and gentle method of making shoes wider. If you have a nice pair of leather or elegant shoes - shoes that you would be bothered to see scarred, worn or even discolored - this is the safest method
Step 2. Wear the shoes for a short time but often, at first
When you tried them on in the store, before buying them, your feet didn't hurt, right? This is because you haven't worn them long enough to cause pain (or alter the structure of the shoe to fit your foot). So when you stretch your shoes at home, wear them little, often, and don't think you have to wear them for hours on end before you notice a difference.
At first wear them 10 minutes at a time. Try it for a couple of days. Then, gradually, it increases by another 10 minutes, up to one hour at a time. At this point the shoes should be well tamed
Step 3. Bring your shoes to work
Wear the old ones to work, but when you're sitting at your desk put on the new ones and get used to having them on your feet. It's an easy way to stretch your shoes and optimize your time.
Step 4. Put them on with socks
This way you will understand if you need socks when you put them on. Plus, you prevent blisters as you get used to new shoes.
Wear shoes with thicker socks than you would normally use. Try nice thick cotton socks, squeezed into your shoes. However, don't walk too much or you will get blisters. Simply wear them. The thickness of the socks will widen the shoe
Method 2 of 4: Freeze the Shoes
Step 1. Half-fill two small freezer bags with water
Check that the bags are large enough to put pressure on the shoes when they expand in the freezer.
- When you close the plastic bags, you let all the air out of them. In this way it will be easier for you to "model" the water in the bag to adapt it to the shoe.
- This method involves putting the shoes in the freezer for a long time, during which time they could get wet. Check that the type of shoe purchased does not deteriorate in contact with water.
Step 2. Put a bag in each shoe
Check that it is tightly closed. You certainly don't want to find your shoes wrapped in ice when you take them out of the freezer.
Step 3. Put the shoes in a larger bag, close it and put it in the freezer
Shoes should have a small bag inside them and a larger one that contains them, protecting them from external humidity.
Step 4. Wait 3-4 hours
When the water in the shoes freezes, it expands and presses the shoe outwards, widening it. The advantage of water compared to a common shoe expander is that the water will adapt perfectly to the shape of the shoe, widening it.
Step 5. Take the shoes out of the freezer
The water of the bags inside them should be frozen.
Step 6. Take the bags out of the shoes
You will have to wait a few minutes to be able to pull them out more easily.
Step 7. Try on the shoes
Once they have warmed up a bit, try walking on them and even running on them, if they are tennis shoes.
Method 3 of 4: Warm Your Shoes
Step 1. Put on your shoes for about ten minutes
Wear them, preferably with socks, and walk on them for no more than 10 minutes. This step is only to prepare them.
Step 2. Take off your shoes and manually stretch them
If you can do this, fold them back and forth a couple of times.
Step 3. Warm the shoe
Heating it will expand the material it is made of, especially the leather, making it more malleable.
- Use a hair dryer set with hot air (not on maximum) and heat the shoe for a couple of minutes.
- If you don't have a hair dryer, put your shoes next to a heater, or even in the sun. Little heat is always better than nothing.
Step 4. Immediately after warming up, put on your shoes
Hold them for another 10 minutes, walk, sit or even run.
Step 5. Repeat the last step again
Your shoes will definitely be more comfortable after a couple of heat treatments.
Method 4 of 4: Other Methods
Step 1. 'If possible, buy a shoe expander'
It is a tool that can make shoes not so tight. They are cheap, especially online, but if you don't want to buy it, grab your shoe by the toe and heel and fold it back and forth several times - it'll be okay.
Wear your shoes after having widened them with the shoeshet or they will lose their shape
Step 2. Use a potato
Peel a large potato and pat it dry with a paper towel. Put it inside the shoe and leave it overnight. Take it off the next morning.
Step 3. Buy a special spray
Spray the shoes with a spray to spread them, following the instructions on the package. Most of them will advise you to fold the shoe several times between one application of the product and the next.
Step 4. Have them spread by a cobbler
A shoemaker will spray the shoes with a solution to soften them and then put them on a machine to stretch them for a couple of hours while the spray dries. It should cost around 15 euros.
Step 5. Avoid these tricks
Some techniques for enlarging shoes simply don't work or ruin them, especially leather ones. Avoid these methods:
- Apply alcohol to your shoes. Alcohol can leave marks on leather shoes, depriving them of the natural oils contained in the leather.
- Hit the shoes with a hammer or other solid object. Hitting the soles of your shoes might work, but at what price? What is the point of having enlarged and broken shoes?
- Get someone with feet larger than yours to stretch the shoes. Getting your shoes to be stretched by someone with feet larger than yours is treacherous and useless. Not only do you make another (poor!) Person suffer, but in this way the shoes will adapt to the shape of their foot, not yours! Avoid.
Advice
- Try to get the right shoe size first.
- Don't wear new shoes outside the home! They could get dirty and then you won't be able to wear them around the house.
Warnings
- Water can damage some types of shoes. Read the label first!
- These methods will prevent you from returning the shoes to the store.
