How To: Shoe Stretching

I did a little retail therapy today for some New Years goodies and scored two pair of fabulous pumps by Bebe and Jessica Simpson for RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME PRICES. Normally I shy away from both of these brands because the instep is typically a high arch and they...well...hurt. But these two pair are actually quite comfy!

...or so I remember them being 'comfy' at the store. Seriously??

For me...my left foot is slightly bigger than my right foot..fun! And as I get older it seems like it's getting even worse which makes shoe 'collecting' much harder. So I discovered a way to do a little shoe stretching using good ol water and some ziplock bags!

PRODUCTS USED:

Two slightly snug pairs of pumps

8 quart sized Ziplock bags (they can be the regular, slider kind, or a generic kind but cheaper may equal leakage...yikes!!!)

Bobby Pins (short or long) optional

Tap Water

Freezer

STEPS:

One: Take one Ziplock bag and fill it to about 1/3-1/4 full. Ensure all the air is out of the bag and seal firmly.

Two: Place the sealed Ziplock bag filled with water into another empty Ziplock bag. Ensure all the air is out of the second bag and seal firmly again. This second bag is to protect your shoes in case of leakage. It should look like this:

Bag 1 w/ water sealed inside Bag 2

Three: Place the bags into one snug shoe. Make sure you push the bags deep into the toe area. If the bag begins to flop over the shoe, then try to empty a bit of water (not too much).

This=No Bueno!!

If emptying a bit of water does not work, check if more air needs to be released. If not, replace the bag into the toe area and secure the bag with a bobby pin like this:

Close Up

A lil something like this...

You may need to use the bobby pin if your heels have a really steep arch because the bags can't fight gravity, you know! Also, if if you only want to stretch the toe area then don't worry about the bobby pin thing if it is not flopping outward.

Four: Repeat for the other shoe (if needed). In my case I wanted to stretch my left shoe more than my right, so I filled my left bags with slightly more water.

Five: Place stuffed shoes into your freezer on a flat surface for 2-8 hours. This is dependent on your freezer quality and temperature you keep it at. The longer you leave it, the more stretch you can receive (but ice only expands for so long!) Just make sure the water is completely frozen before you remove.

Yep. Right on top of my Eggplant Parmesan :-)

Six: Remove after allotted time and allow the water bags to thaw completely.

..and voila! You can stretch your shoes anywhere from a half size to a full size bigger!!! This works better with leather shoes versus synthetic, but it will still work! Just be mindful with your timing when working with higher quality shoes as the material is softer and will stretch much easier (you don't want to go too far and end up with too big shoes!!)

**You can repeat this process for more stretch as many times as you like!!**

So when you see those hot shoes but they don't have them in your size, don't fret! Try this method out. Besides..if it doesn't work you won't be damaging the shoe externally and maybe you could even return them..although I'm not promoting that...of course :-)

Good luck!

xoxo