As
the temperature drops and the leaves begin to fall, we're embracing the
change of weather and swapping our open-toed sandals for booties,
printed flats and stilettos.
However, the shoe changeover is not
always as seamless as the seasons—especially when you've added a few new
pairs to your collection.
We've all been there: You eagerly
await the delivery of your newly purchased pumps, the season's glitzy
knee-high boots or even what you thought was a reasonable pair of
embellished flats only to spend your first 20 minutes in them in
agonizing pain. To boot, your feet are ripped up from the chafing and,
in that moment, you swear you'll live the rest of your life in
flip-flops and toss your new soles aside.
Then,
of course, you come back to reality, remember the refund you can't get,
the love you still have for the newest additions to your closet and the
fact that you're not a celebrity with a chauffeured car to transport
you everywhere. So, you grin and bear the pain as you continue to break
them in—carrying a hidden stash of Band-Aids everywhere you go to ease
the process.
Lucky for all those struggling with their stiff
shoes, there are a few cheap, quick and easy hacks to get your new
footwear to flex just in time to strut in style.
TheStewartofNY
If
you find that new shoes are typically snug on you on the first fit,
perhaps invest in shoe stretchers, which are usually priced around $20,
can stretch in width and length and are designed to fit a variety of
shoe styles. The tool does all of the work for you, so all you have to
do is put the stretchers in your shoes and wait it out a night to wake
up to a pain-free walk.
Christian Vierig/Getty Images
Staying
in the house for a few hours? Slap on some socks and get moving! One of
the simplest ways to loosen up your shoes is to wear them around your
home with socks on while you're busy doing other things prior to your
first outing. Plus, as evidenced by some sweet street style, you don't
have to ditch your sock-heel combo on the sidewalk if your shoes are not
quite warmed up just yet.
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
If
part of your shoe is being particularly stubborn and stiff, blast the
part with some heat from your hair dryer while you're wearing the shoe
with a sock. Of course, pay attention to how your shoe reacts to the
heat and only do one or two minutes at a time.
Christian Vierig/Getty Images
If
you're not so crunched for time and don't want to buy a shoe stretcher,
grab a plastic bag and fill it halfway with water. Squeeze the leftover
air out and stick the bag of water in the toe of your shoe and pop the
shoe in the freezer overnight. In the morning, the water will have
frozen and, thus, expanded, stretching the material in the process.
Wedge the ice out and give the newly stretched shoe a try.
Be
careful with how much water you place in the shoe before freezing as
you don't want the shoe to stretch too much and rip or for the water to
leak out of the bag. Try a test run on an old pair of shoes just to be
safe!
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