The Lazy Gal's Way To Stretch The Toe Box!

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Has anyone successfully stretched the toe box of satin shoes? I’ve got my heart set on Manolo Nadira 70mm for my bridal shoe, I’m a 39.5 in the brand but the toe box is tight. I can’t size up to 40 because then the heel slips. Or do you assume your feet swell considerably with dancing, etc.
Anyone ??! Thank you ❤️
 
i just tried the sock trick with my belle booties. wore 2 pairs of socks. danced around my apt a little and then just sat down. after about 20 min my feet hurt so bad i could cry. this gets better right? if i can't even wear them to sit how can i walk in them?
That's because Louboutins usually squeeze worse when sitting than when walking. Walking in them exercises and stretches the leather. Sitting in them allows the leather to shrink back to their brand-new-from-the-box shape, particularly when they're new. It takes a month or two, I've found, for the leather to "remember" their new shape and not to shrink back. Until that happens, sitting is always worse than standing, and standing is always worse than walking. Counter-intuitive, I know! But that's because Loubies are among the stretchiest high heels I know. The shoe that comes brand new out of the box is nothing like the shoe you have after two months of daily wear. Apples and pears. Which is why the break-in process MUST involve lots of walking at home, and lots of endurance, even pain, before they're ready for prime time.
 
Thanks for the reply speedah! I just couldn't bare the tightness all around (so much for me psyching myself into feeling comfy with them) it so I ordered the size 41. I should be fine going a size up with the Rolando's right? I want to be able to dance and be comfy on my bday!
One of the miracles that I like about Louboutin is that, once they're broken in, the pressure is very uniform. There's almost never a problem with the little toe feeling squished or the big toe feeling squished. The squishing is uniform across all of the toes. Yes, it's still tight, and yes, it's still uncomfortable, and yes, there's still some pain. But it's a dull ache, more of a distant roar than an unbearable barking! The same with the fit in the heel. It either fits right or they're too big and I start to get heel slippage; I almost NEVER get a heel bite in Loubies. I suspect this is because Loubies use such soft leather, and stretch so much. Double-edged sword, of course, because you can get Loubies that feel kinda sorta O.K. brand new but end up being unwearable because they've stretched too much in the heel. Which is why I always, ALWAYS, buy Loubies tight, not loose.
 
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Hi ladies,

I am Loubies newbie, I got my pairs of Rolando this morning. I went up to 1 size and it's a tad big so I use heel gripper. The toe box is small and it so painful. I am going to try the rubbing alcohol and sock method. Wish me luck.
Uh-oh. If you have to use heel gripper even when they're brand new, that's a bad sign. New Loubies should NEVER be loose in the heel. That's a dead giveaway that they'll be too big and unwearable, once they're broken in. Loubies should always fit the heel perfectly when brand new, and always squeeze and torture the toes when brand new. Loubies are also the stretchiest high heels there are, I think. A brand new Loubie doesn't fit anything like a Loubie that's been worn at home every day for an hour for two months (which is my breakin method).
 
I am also going to be trying these techniques on a new pair that I bought on ebay that are a little small in the toe. I am debating whether to just ball up some socks and leave them in for a week or walk around the house with socks on to stretch the toe box. I think wearing them with socks on will work faster, but I don't want to put any added "wear" on a brand new pair of shoes!
Trust me: By the time the shoes are broken in they will have been worn plenty of times! That's a horse that has usually left the stable long before the shoes are properly broken in. That's unavoidable.
 
I wore my Altis for a bit with socks on to stretch them out but then did the sock stuff instead because it fits PERFECTLY in the heel but tight in the toebox. I didn't want to make the heel too loose from wearing socks in the shoes. =)
A wise decision. I've found that the Louboutin heel cup can sometimes get too loose just by looking at them funny; very finicky, and a really quick way to render the shoe unwearable and a total loss if you're not careful.
 
OMG!!!
I wore my Declic (suede) to work and they were killing my left foot so I decided to stretch the toe box with what I had on hand:

-I put on 2 pairs of thin running socks and ummmm:shame: Purell hand santizer (it's 62% alcohol) and rubbed it in the inside of the shoe. It WORKED!!

I wasn't expecting it to work so fast (like 5 minutes) now they are lil too big in the back but the toe box was killing me!
You wrote: "now they are lil too big in the back"

Uh-oh. You never get that back. Once loose in the back, it's ALWAYS loose. And that usually means you got them slightly too large. I've found that one should NEVER pay any attention to how the toe fits with a new Louboutin, because it will almost always be too tight and will almost always hurt. Instead, go for a good fit in the heel. Then stretch the dickens out of them for a month or two by wearing them for at least an hour ever day. And it doesn't hurt to put on a little lotion or vaseline at times while you're doing that. I've always been leery of the sock trick because I'm concerned I'll end up stretching them too much. Louboutins are very tight and rather painful at first, but they are the stretchiest high heels I know, and the sock trick takes a sledge-hammer to a problem that requires more finesse.
 
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Hi there, I also have a bunion and needed to do some major stretching before I could comfortably wear them, and in the case of my pigalle 120s, put them on.
What kind of shoes do you have? I find that these tricks work best with single-soled shoes, but I have stretched platforms this way too.

This is how I do it: blast the interior with a hairdryer so it's hot and the leather becomes more pliable, and shove those socks in until they cool down and leave them for a day. Really cram those suckers in. Then, blast the interior area you want to stretch again with the hair dryer, put some vaseline on your foot in the areas the shoes rub, and try to get your foot in. The leather stretches and conforms to your feet as it cools down, and the vaseline softens the leather and helps your feet slip in. Just be careful it doesn't get on the outside of the shoe if it's fabric. Then wear as long as possible around the house and repeat as often as you need to until the shoes feel right. Store them with socks or tissue paper in them too.

Shoving socks in works, but the hairdryer trick with vaseline (or some other type of similar ointment) works like a charm and is much faster than stretching with just socks stored in them.

Hope that helps!
I've found vaseline, in and of itself, is sometimes all you need to do, although I have to be persistent and apply it at least twice a week for at least a month.
 
I am new to this forum. So any help is appreciated. I got my first bianca (patent) last January as my birthday gift from hubby. It was such a mistake to think my wide toes would in those tiny shoes. Partly the sales person convinced me the size was perfect and it would stretch a lot. I am very sad that I can't wear them. I barely (with extreme pain) wore them 2-3 times all for sit-down dinners. So, I really didn't walk in them more than 5 mins. even so the pain was unbearable. And now I have bunion problem on my left foot. I tried it on yesterday for like 2 seconds and couldn't take the pain. I don't know what to do. I even took them to a store approved cobbler but no help. Should I sell them? Should I keep them as a souvenir? Help?
I hate to say this, but you did exactly the wrong thing. You see, Louboutins don't stretch unless you walk in them. If you just wear them while sitting, they won't stretch at all, and the pain will simply get worse and worse, as the shoe will actually SHRINK, from lack of pressure, back to the way it was when it was brand new. It's a vicious circle; your feet then become sore, and, worse still, spots that are even more sore develop on your toes, making the shoes even more painful. So the first thing anyone should do after an experience like that is give your feet a few days to recover by not wearing heels, or torturing them, at all. After your feet have recovered, wear the offending shoes ONLY AT HOME for about an hour a day, and keep that up for a month or two; occasional applications of lotion or vaseline to the tight spots also sometimes helps. I've found that's the best way to solve this problem. Do it slow and steady; yes, there will still be pain, particularly at first, but at the end of the process you'll have a comfortable pair of heels that you will be able to wear for hours at a time. They'll never be truly comfortable, and they will always hurt a little, but at least the pain will subside to a dull roar rather than a deafening scream!
 
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