You possess a great passion for heels, although they just don’t fit right. Luckily there are several easy and affordable ways to stretch your tight heels out. You can make your shoes more accommodative using heat, ice, stretcher, or even a blowdryer. Besides, you can always take the shoes to a cobbler for professional help.
Before you start to stretch your heels out, you first need to admit that you might actually need a replacement with a different size. The only catch is that we tend to become emotionally attached to a pair of nice shoes, even though sometimes they are just not meant for us.
Apart from little tightness, if you are experiencing improper heel placement, overhanging toes, consistent blisters, too tight straps, or agonizingly painful walking, you may be better off with a new pair of heels.
Nonetheless, if you’re confident that your only concern is tightness, then we’ve got several tried-and-true hacks for stretching your heels that you can count on. Roll up your sleeves, and let’s get to it.
Using a Shoe stretcher
One of the most straightforward methods of stretching your open toe heels is using a stretcher, purposely designed for stilettos. You just need to leave the stretcher in your heels overnight or so to make things loosen up.
Consider professional Cobbler
This method is particularly suitable if you have a pair of super posh open-toe designer heels. For such footwear, you might want to seek a professional cobbler to stretch them out, so you don’t mix things up or ruin your shoes’ shape with DIY methods.
Fortunately, most professional cobblers often offer stretching services. They are equipped with machines and possess the knowledge to alter shoes. Beyond stretching, professional cobblers can repair and refresh the one you have, giving them a lease of life to make them last longer. However, such shops are becoming hard to find due to lack of interest.
Also Read: Does Stretching Shoes With Ice Work?
Tape Your Toes
This one comes in handy to fine-tune everything after stretching. You don’t have to hobble home after a memorable moment in a pair of heels. So if your heels still feel tight after subjecting them to one or two of the above hacks, you can ideally tape your third and fourth toes together.
You may have to use a nude or a precise kind of medical tape to keep them together. This helps to alleviate the pressure from the ball of the foot as well as toes, thereby making things feel more accommodative.
Use Your Blowdryer
This another DIY hack, though relatively unconventional, it is one of the easiest. The first thing is to get a pair of thick socks on. Then stuff your sock-covered feet into the tight-fitting heels and direct your blowdryer to the most demanding areas.
Shoes Stretch Sprays and Liquids
There are various sprays and liquids that are ideal for stretching fabric, leather, and even vinyl. Apply them on the tight areas and then walk in your heels. Moreover, these products might be effective mostly when used alongside other shoe stretching methods to help achieve a custom stretch.
Using Ice Trick
Wardrobe experts suggest that if your shoes are slightly too tight, you can use ice to make things loosen up. Fill baggies with water and gently put them into the toe of your shoes or heels for that matter.
Then place the shoes on the freezer and leave them overnight. The method works because as the water freezes, it expands, thereby making the shoe loosen up. This method might seem a little weird, but it helps break a new pair of heels that pinch in the toes.
Stretch Your Toes Too
Your heels might feel tight or even pinch while walking because your toes are typically bunched together within the shoes. As such, you need to help your toes return to their normal separate condition. This is how you do it:
- Gently pull your toes apart using your hands
- Separate your toes and wiggle them every day
- Remove your shoes and socks and leave your toes free to sunlight and natural air.
How to Determine Whether the Heels Are The Right Fit
When it comes to heels, it’s common to struggle with varying sizes. Heels generally add some bit of sophistication to any look. However, if your heels don’t fit your feet correctly, they will probably detract from your preferred fashion statement.
If you’re not confident about the fit of a particular pair when shopping, you may be better off bypassing them. If your toes or forefoot don’t face straight ahead, they overlap each other, or they just feel crammed, such shoes are likely to be too small/tight to fix with DIY hacks.
Besides all the suggested ways to stretch your heels, studies show that at least two-third of people wear shoes that are too narrow/tight for their feet. The tightness can result from a variety of fit issues, including:
- When the overall length of the shoe is too small
- Narrow toe box or not high enough
- The shape of the shoe isn’t suitable for your feet.
- High heels put pressure on your toes or other parts of your foot.
Finding a nice pair of heels that fit correctly can be tricky, but then again, poor-fitting heels can end up causing issues on your feet and joint system. You can always find another better-fitting pair somewhere else.
Bottom Line
Proper fitting heels should leave some space between each toe. Your toes should face forward, rather than squeezed towards each side. It’s always best to try a wide size if you frequently have problems with your heels causing blisters, agonizing walking, or straps cutting in. If one part of your heels feel a little too tight, but other areas fit just right, you can try to stretch that area out using the methods mentioned above, or seek help from a professional shoe cobbler.