How to Stretch New Shoes: Tips From a Veteran Shoe Repair Technician

If you’ve ever bought a pair of shoes that were comfortable at the shoe store, but discovered a day or so later they were too snug for your feet, and you couldn’t return them or didn’t want to, there’s a low-cost remedy guaranteed to alleviate the problem.

Known simply as stretching, and described by shoe repair professionals as a means of expanding the size of virtually any shoe, sandal, or boot, there are three stretching alternatives available.

The best way to enlarge footgear, and the most economical, is to purchase a stretching solution. Found at most shoe repair shops and retail shoe stores, stretching solutions are sprayed directly to the inside or outside of the shoes (product instructions vary), stretching the shoes within a few minutes while you walk.

To break in new footgear, one must wear the shoes several times before there’s a truly comfortable fit, and perspiration plays a natural part in allowing the material to expand. The use of a stretching solution enhances this method by speeding up the process.

The one drawback to using a stretching solution is that it may cause the dyes of some fabric shoes to bleed, but allows leather, suede, nubuck, and some synthetic material to expand with less resistance and no staining.

The second alternative is to visit your local shoe repair shop. Most facilities can expand the width, length, instep, and toes of footgear. Plus, the shaft of a boot can be enlarged, and specific points on footgear can be stretched to provide extra room for bunions and corns.

Most shoe repair professionals ask a patron to leave their footgear over a twenty-four hour period. However, to speed up turn around time, some facilities utilize heat as means of stretching footgear. This isn’t a recommended application. The adhesives used by the manufacturers may be reactivated – why athletic shoes aren’t suppose to be placed in the dryer after washing – causing certain styles of footgear to fall apart.

The third alternative involves purchasing the same equipment used by shoe repair technicians. Available in men’s, women’s, and some children’s sizes, the stretchers are hand operated, easy to use, and available at most shoe repair shops, department stores, as well as online sites. And it’s good idea to purchase a bottle of the stretching fluid, administering the solution over the area to be stretched, to alleviate any chance of tearing the material as you expand the size.

No matter which stretching method you choose, once the footgear have been stretched, it’s best to wear them as soon as possible. Some materials, especially synthetic, will spring back to their original shape if allowed to sit idle for too long.

It should be noted the stretching solution mentioned above can also be used to increase the size of other leather items as well, say for instance the thigh portion of a pair of leather pants that are a hair too snug. Just spray the too tight area while wearing the garment, adding a second application if needed, keeping in mind leather stretches naturally after a time.

 

Reference:

• Shoe Service Institute of America: www.ssia.info/ Kiwi Brands, Inc.: www.kiwicare.com/ Joe’s Shoe Service: www.joesshoeservice/ George’s Shoes: www.georgesshoes.com/