How do I stop new shoes from rubbing

annie-c

I don't think you necessarily need to abandon shoes that don't fit!

Sometimes I've bought shoes on impulse because I fell in love with them and nothing in the world would make me accept that they just didn't fit - and it's been my own silly fault when I've had to consign them to the charity bag. But equally, I've bought shoes that 'fitted' in the shop, and taken the advice of trained fitters, and often, especially with leather, you simply have to allow a little time for the leather to soften and mould to your feet.

It's a good idea to try to at least alternate shoes anyway, and give them a full 24 hours to dry out between wearings, and sometimes this is all that's needed to break a pair in.

Probably in the main it is women that complain about shoes not fitting, because more of us tend to like to wear heels, pointy toes than in the male population - but hey ho, what's wrong with that?

I love my stillettos and I'm prepared to deal with the consequences and make sure I look after my feet as well as I can, when not wearing them!

chickadee

I find that my shoes are fine in the winter when I wear tights, but in summer when I am bare-legged they rub at the back. This isn't to do with them not fitting, its to do with friction! (All you smug men who have responded, try wearing your shoes with no socks all day and see if they rub!)

Vaseline is a godsend, or anything else that will ease the friction. If, in spite of your efforts, end up with painful blisters, try Compeed blister plasters. They are expensive (about £4+ for five or six plasters) but they are excellent. They don't come off and they act like a second skin, preventing more blisters and protecting those underneath. Also, they are almost invisible when they are on so it isn't obvious that your new shoes have played havoc with your heels!

chickadee
x

black-saturn

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Sorry, but if your shoes rub then they don't fit properly :eek:

Either return them to the store or simply bin them. You can do all sorts to "ease" the fit, but you will not end up with properly fitted shoes.

Where did you buy them from?

I've spent over £70 on a pair of measured shoes before that still rub my heels.

lday77

I disagree too, I had a pair of dm's which hurt like hell for the first week and then they were fine - 10 years on still fine, also the same which dm sandals I am a size 3 and my sis is a 4 I got her to wear them for a bit round the house and that seemed to do the trick - no problems.

I don't agree with throwing out shoes, they are too expensive especially if you invest in good shoes, when you don't like them anymore either sell them on ebay, given them to a charity shop or put them in for recycling. There are so many people in the world who need shoes.

Debt_Free_Chick

I have size 10 feet, width fitting B ... so I can't just walk into a shop and get shoes. Believe me, I know - painfully - about ill-fitting shoes, as I've been wearing them for about 25 years. However, I found a company that did mail order for women with larger feet about 2 years ago.

They got me to "measure" my feet by tracing an outline of them onto paper - two, in fact. One sitting, so no weight on my feet and another standing, therefore full weight on my feet.

From that, they were able to determine the fitting. I can only say that after 25 years of ill-fitting shoes, every single pair of shoes I've had from this company, fit like gloves. No pressure, no rubbing and absolutely no discomfort even after wearing them all day. All my previous shoes were ill-fitted as I could never find shoes in the right size!

Mind you, I pay between £65 and £85 a pair for them, but every pair I've had in the past two years has been "perfect".

A coincidence? Dunno ... but I think there is something more to fitting than the contraption used in stores. The first time I ordered shoes from the company I now use, they called me and told me which styles were most suitable for the shape and size of my feet.

I don't think many of the store assistants actually know very much about fitting/feet - they just get that fitting tray out and off you go. The vast majority of shoes sold in this country are not even available in different widths ... so how can they be "well fitted"?

Properly fitted shoes should not rub. If shoes are rubbing, then there's extra room in the shoe, which enables your foot to move around, hence the rubbing. For £70, if the store claimed a fitting service, I'd have been straight back with a complaint.

On the whole, womens shoes in this country are shocking

Lydia_2

black-saturn wrote:

I've spent over £70 on a pair of measured shoes before that still rub my heels.

£70 for a pair of shoes. OUCH :eek:

frugalfairy_3

Debt Free Chick, is it possible to let us have the name of the place you got your shoes made? My DD has size 9 double EE fitting shoes and it's almost impossible to find her anything that fits or is acceptable to a teenager.

Thanks, FF

nuttywoman

Funnily enough i can buy a pair of Clarks shoes and have no trouble with them, but i bought these from landsend and the soles are soo comfy, so i know once i`ve softened the leather on the back they`ll be perfect.
val

Debt_Free_Chick

frugalfairy wrote:

Debt Free Chick, is it possible to let us have the name of the place you got your shoes made? My DD has size 9 double EE fitting shoes and it's almost impossible to find her anything that fits or is acceptable to a teenager.

Thanks, FF

I use Special Feetures but they seem to target long/narrow feet only

However, why not give them a call or send an email as they will almost certainly know of other companies dealing with wider fittings.

Regards

verynewmoneysaver

Shoe Taylor do EE and EEE fittings. Also Evans do EEE fittings.