When I saw a pair of silver mirror Jimmy Choo Anouk heels on eBay for a spectacular price (they were floor displays), I knew I had to have them. But since I had never tried on Anouks before (and sizing for designer pointy-toe heels can be tricky), I crossed my fingers and hoped that my Christian Louboutin Pigalle size (35.5) would work. Well, they turned out to be the right size in length (no heel slippage), but to my dismay they were much, much, much too tight in the toebox.
The Anouks are more narrow than Pigalles, and after squishing my feet into them, my toes were overlapping and I could barely walk. A hot mess. I almost told myself that these heels are too tall for me (they’re approx. 4.5″), but I refused to believe that. They just needed to be stretched out. And I will tell you how to stretch tight shoes to fit to perfection.
I have heard of several ways to stretch out leather shoes, including putting Ziplock bags of water in the shoes and freezing them overnight, but a) who wants to put $675 shoes in the freezer, where the leather could crack, discolor, or turn weird, and b) who wants to wait overnight? My method takes less than 10 minutes.
All you need is some thick socks (or two pairs of socks) and a hair dryer.
Step 1. Put on your thick, cozy socks. Or double-sock up.
I’m wearing my super thick Santa Cruz Screaming Hand socks. Another great gift from @chumpchampion!
Step 2. Blow dry the inside of one shoe for about two minutes. Aim the blow dryer where the shoes feel the tightest. For me, it was mostly in the toebox that needed stretching, so I made sure to heat up that area.
While the shoe is still warm, squeeze your socked foot into it. Do the same for the other shoe.
Well, this is a great look.
Step 3. While your feet are still stuffed into them, blow dry the outside of your shoes for about a couple minutes.
Keep them on until the leather cools. Not comfy, but hang in there. The longer you keep your feet stuffed in them, the better (depending on how much stretching you need to do).
Step 4. Remove your socks and check to see if it worked. You should definitely notice them feeling a bit looser. Tip: Apply lotion on your feet to easily glide into a tight shoe.
Repeat the process if necessary. I found that the heat did not affect or damage my shoes at all, but if you notice something funky happening to your leather, STOP.
And yes, now my Anouks fit perfectly. I can walk in them without having to step around like a velociraptor.
A perfect, comfortable fit. I simply needed to stretch out, not size up.
Super easy and it works! Let me know if this has worked for you, or if you have your own method of stretching shoes!
Worked! Thank you!