If you know me at all, you know how much I absolutely love high heels. I don’t think I can put together an outfit without thinking about the shoes first. But breaking in new shoes can be absolutely excruciating. Regardless of whether it’s a cute pair of ballet flats, new sandals, or sky-high stilettos, a new pair of shoes will take a bit of care and wearing in before they’re completely comfortable. So, aside from carrying around a backup pair (like these amazing little rolling flats), I can offer you some advice for ways on how to break in a new pair without breaking your feet.
7 Pain-free Tips for Breaking in New Shoes
1) Slowly but surely – Rather than just going for it and wearing your new pair out the day of a special event, wear in your new pair a little bit at a time every day leading up to it. Wear them for 15 to 20 minutes around the house and then put them back in the closet. This will help widen and shape them to your foot.
2) Add socks – I’m not suggesting you go out wearing socks with sandals while you break them in. But if you need to stretch a pair, especially a closed-toed pair, try adding socks (regular ones will do fine) and walking around the house with them for about a half hour or as long as you can stand. Try this every day and test the progress each day so as not to over-stretch.
3) Hydrate – If you don’t have the time to break them in with socks alone, add a little water (not too much!) to your socks to speed up the stretching process. However, do this in moderation and note that leather does dry out a bit when it’s wet, so you may want to do that at your discretion and follow up with a leather conditioner for care.
4) Heat it up – For leather shoes, wear thick socks and put on your new shoes. Gently apply low heat with a blow dryer, while being careful to stay away from any decor as it might lose its adhesive and come off. Use the heat only on exterior areas of the shoe.
5) Rough them up – Don’t forget about the soles. You don’t want to be slipping around on a shiny new pair of heels – that’s definitely not stylish, no matter how gorgeous the shoe! Before taking your shoes out on the town, take a little sandpaper and lightly rub the bottom of the soles. This should stop your shoe from slipping while walking on smooth surfaces.
6) Pad it up – If the bottom soles of your shoes are too pretty to scuff up, try purchasing non-slip pads that are meant for exactly that.
7) See a pro – If these solutions still don’t work, try seeking the assistance of a professional shoe repair shop to have them expertly stretched for you.
Got any of your own tricks? How do you break in new shoes? Share in the comments!
