Answer honestly.. Have you ever worn a new pair of heels that you've yet to "break-in" and the pain has been so excruciating you vowed to throw them in the bin as soon as you get home? Well listen up because that is about to become a thing of the past. Providing your new shoes are 100% leather or 100% suede your new shoes can be stretched.
A nice little discovery we've caught wind of to break-in leather or suede new shoes is to use a hair dryer and a couple of pairs of thick socks.
The heat from the hair dryer softens the new shoes allowing the material to be manipulated - and in this instance you want your brand new shoes to behave like it's been worn 3 or 4 times prior. The stocks help stretch the material and form some tolerance between your actual shoe size and the extra allowance the sock has provided.
Step 1:
Put on a thick pair of socks
Step 2:
Using a medium heat setting on your hair dryer, begin to heat the shoes you want to stretch. Focus on the soles the insole the toe areas - all the points were you currently feel the pinch. Do this in 20 second bursts for around 3 minutes on each shoe
Step 3:
Once the new shoes have been heated evenly, slip your feet into the new shoes and wriggle you toes to stretch.
Step 4:
Keep the shoes on for as long as possible occasionally wriggling your toes (min 15 minutes)
Step 5:
Test the fit by removing your socks and trying on the new shoes. If your happy with the fit then you can simply add some tissue paper or newspaper to maintain the mould. If your new shoes are still pinching your feet then try adding an additional pair of socks and repeat steps 2-4.
And that's it. Let us know how you get on with your next new shoe purchase.