Got another pair of the Pigalle Platos in napa leather - how to soften?

honu

honu

O.G.
Jan 6, 2006
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214
#1
I've been wanting another pair of Pigalle Platos in napa leather and finally found one in my size. When I tried them on, the leather was really stiff. Short of wearing thick socks and walking around in them, what else can I do to soften the leather?

I read somewhere that I can use olive oil? Has anyone done that before?

TIA~~
 
#3
It wasn't so soft to me - when I tried it on, it seemed a little stiff. Then again, I haven't purchased a pair of heels in a long time (I wear sneakers and flats now) so I think I am too lazy to break them in :smile:
 
#4
Does it say they are Nappa on the box?.....I am a huge fan of Nappa, but have learned that not all shoes are Nappa....there are many grades or types of leather that the designers offer in the various styles....but Nappa is in my opinion the softest of all the grades....less soft is Vitello and Roma leather....
 
#5
grtlegs said:
Does it say they are Nappa on the box?.....I am a huge fan of Nappa, but have learned that not all shoes are Nappa....there are many grades or types of leather that the designers offer in the various styles....but Nappa is in my opinion the softest of all the grades....less soft is Vitello and Roma leather....
Click to expand...

It says Napa Shiny on the box

IMG_5663.jpg
 
#6
Hmmm.....then they they are Nappa and are very soft...not sure why they don’t feel soft to you....maybe old and leather drying out????? Don’t know...I have used “neatsfoot oil” to soften other grades of leather.....you can get neatsfoot oil at most shoe repair shops.....
 
#7
I've gotten used to wearing super comfortable sneakers now so it's funny how regular leather is considered stiff on my feet!

I have a pair of CL Hai pumps from 2008 and the leather seemed softer. But maybe my feet were more tough then (!!!).

I will check the shoe repair shop and see if they have the neatsfoot oil.
 
#8
Well, you can try to put leather conditioner on them, wear socks to break them in, maybe even a hairdryer to speed up the process. If you want to stretch out the width you can take it to your cobbler and have them stick it on a shoe stretcher.
 
#9
aksaiyo said:
Well, you can try to put leather conditioner on them, wear socks to break them in, maybe even a hairdryer to speed up the process. If you want to stretch out the width you can take it to your cobbler and have them stick it on a shoe stretcher.
Click to expand...

I have been walking around a little bit with thick socks on.

Have you tried the cobbler out for stretching shoes?
 
#10
honu said:
I have been walking around a little bit with thick socks on.

Have you tried the cobbler out for stretching shoes?
Click to expand...

I’ve done it with other brands shoes before (ferragamo, idk why it feels less precious to me), but not with a CL because I haven’t found a cobbler locally that I deem to treat my fancy shoes gently enough. I recently had a nude pigalle vibramed only to have it come back with a grey stain on the back that I had to resort to nail polish remover to lessen (the cobbler tried to blame my storage methods, no there is no way my CLs touch other shoes long enough for dye transfer, I display my pretties carefully). That is scary, I wouldn’t wish that on my other light colored shoes. So.... for simple things like stretching out a shoe I personally go old school because I have trust issues. There are shoe stretches you can buy on amazon too, if you don’t want to suffer the traditional way.
 
#11
aksaiyo said:
I’ve done it with other brands shoes before (ferragamo, idk why it feels less precious to me), but not with a CL because I haven’t found a cobbler locally that I deem to treat my fancy shoes gently enough. I recently had a nude pigalle vibramed only to have it come back with a grey stain on the back that I had to resort to nail polish remover to lessen (the cobbler tried to blame my storage methods, no there is no way my CLs touch other shoes long enough for dye transfer, I display my pretties carefully). That is scary, I wouldn’t wish that on my other light colored shoes. So.... for simple things like stretching out a shoe I personally go old school because I have trust issues. There are shoe stretches you can buy on amazon too, if you don’t want to suffer the traditional way.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your nude Pigalle! :sad: I dropped off my CLs to a cobbler I haven’t been to before. I am nervous of how the non skid soles would turn out! I asked about the mirror soles but he said in his experience the shine does away very quickly and it would be better to get the non skid. I didn’t dare ask about stretching the shoes. I think I’ll stick to socks and shoe stretches from amazon.
 
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