tips

How to Soften Leather Shoes?

February 6, 2020 by Annet

Leather shoes are among the most expensive shoes in the world, and it’s for a good reason. We all know they look elegant, but there are practical advantages to leather shoes as well. The leather material has a naturally cooling effect on your feet, meaning that you can wear leather in very warm temperatures and never break a sweat. Once leather shoes are broke in and mold to your feet, they’re comfortable, but before then, things can be a challenge. If you’re suffering right now from blisters or other leather shoe related problems, pay attention. There are natural ways on how to soften leather shoes to prevent foot aches and blisters.

Tips on How to Soften Leather Shoes

How can you keep leather shoes from harming your feet before they’re completely broke in?

Using Oil to Soften Leather Shoes

The first recommended way to soften leather shoes is to use some type of oil that’s suitable for leather. It’ll loosen the leathery materials and make your shoes more comfortable.

1. Oil softens leather shoes

You’ll need to clean your leather shoes very well before beginning this process. Never apply oil to leather shoes before you’ve thoroughly cleaned the shoes. You can clean leather shoes with just a lightly dampened cloth.

2. Grab your oil

The first question will be which kind of oil. People report terrific results with coconut oil, saddle soap, and mink oil, among many others. If you’re confused as to which kind of oil might be best, just try one of those three most commonly used oils and see your results. Eventually you’ll find your perfect oil for your leather shoes.

Use rubbing alcohol

A second popular way to soften leather is to use plain old rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol is an indispensable household item, one that most of us wouldn’t live without, but there are people who don’t know just how great it is for softening leather shoes.

1. Grab plain rubbing alcohol

Isopropyl alcohol is what you’re looking for. The kind of alcohol that you drink doesn’t work.

2. Use a cotton ball

Saturate a cotton ball in some rubbing alcohol and get to softening those leather shoes. Your shoes will need about 30 minutes to dry after this treatment. Remember to remove your laces if you’re going to reach every little crevice of your leather shoes. Tongues can be hard to reach if the laces are kept in, and this can really affect your results.

3. Apply Vaseline

After your shoes are dry, use a brush to apply Vaseline to your leather shoes. You need just a thin layer! Don’t go overboard with it.

4. Touch your shoes and test them out

If you’re comfortable with the level of softness, then you’re done! If the leather is more inflexible than you’d like, you can repeat this process starting with the rubbing alcohol until you reach the desired level of softness.

Try it Out

Everyone has a different level of comfort they’re seeking for their leather shoes. Some folks don’t react badly at all to leather shoes and never develop blisters or experience discomfort. Other people find that their leather shoes drastically cause problems with their feet. If you’re one of those people, please give the techniques in this brief overview a try. Softening your leather shoes should relieve a lot of the foot pain or blisters you’re experiencing from weather leather shoes. Leather shoes, especially new ones, frequently cause this kind of reaction, so you’re not alone. Thankfully, people just like you find a lot of relief in applying the aforementioned techniques, and by using these strategies, you can be the next lucky person with an elegant, soft pair of leather shoes.

How to Make Big Shoes Fit?

February 6, 2020 by Annet

Sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where you need to wear a pair of shoes that don’t quite fit. Maybe you’re going to a fancy event and you’re borrowing a pair of expensive shoes from a friend, but their feet are a little bit bigger than yours. Maybe you found a great deal on a pair of nice shoes, but they only come in a half size bigger than you wear. In these situations, you’ll need to figure out how to make big shoes fit. Luckily, there are a few tricks you can use.

If you’re wearing close-toed shoes or boots, the simplest solution is to wear thick socks. If you live in a colder climate, you might already own a nice pair of thick, wool socks to keep your feet warm on those wet winter days. Try wearing those with the big shoes to see if they give you a snugger fit. If you don’t already own thick socks, you can double up on your regular socks instead. Wearing an extra layer or two of socks should add some extra width to your feet and make the shoes fit better.

For close-toed shoes, another simple solution you might be able to accomplish with items you already have around the house is to stuff the toes of the shoes. This solution works especially well if you’re wearing high heels and your feet keep sliding down uncomfortably when you walk. You can use almost any soft, thick material to comfortably stuff the toes of your shoes: cotton balls, toilet paper, paper towels, or any kind of fabric you have lying around. Stuff whatever material you’re using into the toes and it will provide padding that gives the shoe a tighter fit.

There are also some products you can buy especially to put inside your shoes. These products should fit into almost all shoes whether they are open or close-toed. One product you can try is insoles. Insoles are soft pads that you place in the sole of your shoe. Their main purpose is providing comfort and support, but if your shoes are too big, they’ll also provide the additional benefit of taking up extra space.

Similarly, ball-of-foot pads and heel strips will take up extra space in your shoes to make them fit tighter around your feed. Both are cushioning devices that go in a specific part of the shoe’s sole to provide comfort in their given areas, but both work in the same manner as the insole to make your shoes fit appropriately.

If these techniques aren’t quite cutting it, you could try some more involved methods to actually make the shoes smaller. You could attempt to wet the shoes and hope they’ll shrink as they dry, just like when you accidentally put your favorite cotton shirt in the dryer. Another method is to sew elastics into the insides of your shoe. The idea is that if you sew the elastic in tightly, it’ll constrict and pull the shoe tighter around your foot.

If you found a perfect pair of shoes and want to buy them, but they don’t come in your size, as a last resort you could bring them to a cobbler. A cobbler might be able to reconstruct the shoe so it fits you perfectly, although their services can get expensive.

Of course, it’s always best for your feet to wear shoes that fit you right, but if you find yourself in a jam, one of these methods should help you fit into that great pair of shoes, even if they’re a size too big.

How to Make Shoes Smaller?

February 6, 2020 by Annet

Shoe size woes typically begin from the time a person is too young to even remember their first baby booties. Parents are well aware of it, though. One day a shoe fits; the next day it’s two sizes too small. The opposite problem happens, too. One day you’re rocking a new pair of heels, the next it seems like you can barely get your foot into the heels without cutting off your circulation. Then there are those unfortunate instances where we really love a shoe that we can’t get anywhere else, and we find out that it’s only available in a size that’s too big. Whatever your circumstances, the great news is that there are an abundance of ways on how to make your shoes smaller.

Tips on How to Make Shoes Smaller

How does this magic happen? If you’ve discovered that a pair of shoes you love needs to fit smaller, try a few of these helpful hacks.

1. Heel liners: Whoever invented heel liners is definitely going to heaven. These 3” liners fit into the back of your shoe and effectively make it smaller. The great thing is that they’re completely invisible, so you don’t sacrifice the look of your shoe at all. You just get the amazing benefit of suddenly having a seemingly smaller shoe.

2. Fillers: Shoe fillers work just like liners, but they fit into the toe of your shoe. They take up that space, and can very quickly make a shoe that’s too big suddenly fit. So which one should you use? Well, it depends on how comfortable one or the other is. Some people are more comfortable with a filler in the toe area, and others find their feet are more comfortable with the liner in the back of the shoe. Both will decrease the space your foot has to fill inside the shoe.

3. Tongue pads: Maybe your issue isn’t length. Maybe it’s that the shoe is too wide. If so, tongue pads can be an excellent way to make a too wide shoe fit just right by becoming narrower. They’re made of felt and should be adhered to the inside of your shoe’s tongue. Naturally this only works if you are wearing sneakers or a type of shoe that has a tongue. Skip this one if you’re wearing a non-tongue shoe!

4. Socks: This one might seem like a no-brainer, but if you’re used to wearing very thin socks, it might not occur to you that very thick socks are a terrific way to make a shoe fit smaller. Get the biggest, fuzziest socks you can think of and knock down your shoe down to size. It’s quick, easy, and socks feel great on your feet.

5. Tissue paper: We’re throwing this one in as a desperation measure and not a permanent solution. If you don’t have time to grab a filler or liner, though, you can easily use a little tissue paper to help a smaller foot fit into a bigger shoe. You would not be the first person to resort to this trick in a pinch.

Shoe sizing problems are one of the most common problems people encounter with shoes, so having to make your shoe smaller is something millions of people will try to do this year. Why not just get another pair of smaller shoes? Well, we love our shoes, and you don’t throw them out just because there’s a little difference in size. If you follow these few tips, you can keep your beloved shoes and still be comfy.