7 Easy and Affordable Tips to Stretch Your Leather Shoes for a More Comfortable Fit

It's easier than you think to stretch those too-tight leather shoes.

Found the perfect pair of leather pumps to wear to your best friend’s wedding, but they’re just a tad too tight? Don’t worry — there’s a variety of options for stretching your shoes to create a more comfortable fit.

Naturally, buying shoes in-store — or online — that are already comfortable and don’t require adjustments is the goal. But if you can’t imagine leaving a set of limited-edition sneakers or the last available pair of sky-high pumps behind for another lucky shopper to snap up, stretching them could be worth a try.

Shoe space also spans the gender spectrum across a wide range of men’s and women’s styles, as making more room in one’s footwear is a universal challenge. Extra space could be particularly beneficial when it comes to space-filling conflicts for anyone, including bunions.

However, the below tips aren’t meant to be used to stretch shoes a full size or width. The tips are meant to give your shoes slightly more room without distorting their entire shape or overall fit.

The following are at-home methods intended to easily stretch your stiff leather shoes.

Do the Walk Test

Walking around in your shoes will naturally help stretch the leather. Since this might be uncomfortable at first, it’s best to start out a few minutes at a time, then build up to longer periods. According to Eduard Shimunov of Leather Express Shoe Repair in New York, not all leather is created equal. Thicker leathers, he warns, are less elastic and harder to stretch.  

Spray and Go

FootFitter, a shoe care company, has a shoe stretch spray that works by penetrating and then relaxing the fibers in the leather for easy stretching. Shimunov suggests making sure the spray saturates the leather as you go and performing multiple applications to keep it moisturized and prevent cracking.

Warm Them Up

Stretching your leather shoes can be easily done with heat. Begin by rummaging through your sock drawer for a clean pair of thick socks before proceeding with this simple DIY process.

• Put both of your socks on and squeeze into your shoes.
• Next, grab your blowdryer and turn it on. Direct the heat for about 30 seconds to the area that needs to be stretched out, while simultaneously bending the shoes with your feet in the process. Make sure you keep moving the dryer’s nozzle during this process to prevent heat damage.
• Once the shoes have cooled down, try them on for size without the socks. Repeat the above process if necessary.
• When you’ve finished stretching your shoes, apply a leather conditioner to the leather to keep the uppers smooth and soft.

Use a Two-Way Stretcher

One of the easiest methods for stretching your leather shoes is a basic shoe stretcher made of either wood or plastic; the piece prominently features an instep stretcher that lifts a pair’s central uppers, while a frontal toe stretcher lifts any style’s toe boxes. Brands like Plixio has a two-way stretcher that can expand both the width and length of the shoe. Simply insert the stretcher into the shoe, twist the handle and leave in for 24 hours. There are even pressure pods you can add to address pressure relief to specific areas.

Use Ice

The best things in life are free — including ways to stretch your shoes! This method is quick, and — perhaps most importantly — won’t cost you any money.

• Fill a plastic bag halfway with water and squeeze into the narrowest part of the shoe.
• Next, put the shoes in the freezer until the water solidifies into a giant ice cube.
• Remove your shoes from the freezer and thaw them. If they still need to be stretched out, repeat the above process if needed.

Over Stuffing 

Put your old newspapers to use as natural shoe stretchers.

• Crumple up newspapers and dampen them slightly. Make sure not to have them soaking wet, as it will damage the leather.
• Continue packing it in until the shoe is filled with newspapers. There should be enough in the shoe that there’s pressure against the sides of the lining, especially the area that is causing discomfort, which is often the toebox.
• Once the shoe is full, allow the papers to sit in the silhouette until they are completely dry. As the newspaper dries, it will expand and harden, forcing the shoe to stretch out. 

Spoon Your Shoes

A spoon can be used in more rooms than your kitchen, including your shoe closet. When your leather footwear is a little tight, try using a large wooden or metal version of the utensil to apply force to the silhouette.

Gently move the spoon against the parts of the shoe that feel a bit tight. This technique will allow you to get a quickened version of the breaking in period. The curved model is perfect for uncomfortability coming from the heel.