If you are currently preparing for your wedding the last thing you want to be worrying about is if your clothing is going to be uncomfortable. When purchasing new dress shoes fit for the occasion they can typically be firm if worn from new, this is especially typical for leather or suede shoes.
Fashion expert and Assistant Press Manager from premium shoe brand Fairfax & Favor, Charlie Cooke, has put together top advice for breaking in wedding shoes ahead of your big day.
Wear your shoes around the house
This is a simple tip but one which works. Try on your shoes and wear them around the house for around 30 minutes at a time to let your feet warm the leather, preferably walking on carpet and avoiding harsh surfaces such as wooden floors to keep the soles of your shoes intact. Do this every day, a little at a time to not cause blisters or rubbing on your feet. This should start to break your shoes in over the course of a few weeks in the run up to your wedding.
Tie your shoes tightly
When wearing your shoes around the house try tying them slightly tighter than normal to encourage the upper to stretch ever-so-slightly. Only do this for a short amount of time, up to 30 minutes, to avoid discomfort whilst wearing and overdoing breaking in the shoes.
Wear thick socks
Thick socks will also slightly stretch the upper of leather and suede shoes to give you extra space when wearing these with socks which have normal thickness on your big day. This should be effective to break your shoes in if tried a small number of times, with the added benefit of preventing your shoes rubbing whilst in the process.
Take breaks from wearing your new shoes
Do not constantly wear your shoes out and about without taking breaks if you are trying to wear them in. You could cause blisters or rubbing from the shoes which could take time to heal in the run up to your wedding. Once you have blisters or sore marks on your feet, it can be tricky to work around this with shoes which need breaking in.
Pack with tissue paper
Leather and suede shoes have the capacity to stretch slightly to mould to your foot’s shape over time. In order to speed up this happening and give your feet some room, try packing your shoes lightly with tissue paper. Don’t overfill your shoes as you don’t want to put too much stress on the upper fabrics and distress the materials, just a little padding out will do the trick. Avoid using any newspaper with ink on as this can transfer and stain your shoes.
Don’t size up
For leather and suede shoes it is recommended to buy your perfect size, as mentioned the upper can stretch over time. Buying shoes which are already roomy can mean further stretching means your shoes become too big over time once broken in and can be more uncomfortable by the time of your wedding.
Pad or cover the sensitive spots of your feet
If you have certain spots on your feet which are prone to blisters, such as the back of the ankle or toes, you can use blister covers preventatively to protect your feet whilst your new shoes adjust. This will let you spend time breaking your new shoes in at home without risk of damaging your feet.
