How to break in your new shoes, including freezing them!

The perfect shoe is one that strikes the right balance between comfort, fit and style. And if your feet are feeling uncomfortable after wearing your lovely new pair, maybe you’re fretting that they’re not the perfect shoe after all?

If this is the case, don’t fret. Staff at Pavers at Fox Valley are on hand (or should we say foot?) to help you break in your new shoes.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this guide to breaking in new shoes:

• Why you might need to be breaking in new shoes

• Methods & tips to break in your new shoes

• How to choose the right shoe size from the start

Why You Might Need to be Breaking into New Shoes

Breaking in new shoes is a crucial step to ensure comfort and long-term wear viability. Shoes, especially those made from rigid materials like leather or certain synthetics, can be stiff and inflexible right out of the box. This stiffness can cause discomfort, restrict natural foot movement, and lead to blisters and soreness, especially when the shoes are rubbing your heel. 

The breaking-in process gradually moulds the shoes to the unique shape of your feet, creating a custom fit that enhances comfort and reduces the risk of injury.

Methods and Tips to Break in Your New Shoes

The tips in this section cover a few bases, and we’re confident that the vast majority of stubborn shoes will feel much comfier and cosier after working your way through the list!

1. Wear Them Around the House

One of the best ways to break in new shoes is simple: wear them more. This will give them a chance to get accustomed to your feet, and to gradually become less stiff.

Often the advice is to wear your new shoes indoors rather than outdoors when you’re breaking them in. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• Prevents damage and scuffing: carpet, laminate flooring and other indoor surfaces are much gentler on shoes, reducing the risk of scuffing them or causing too much wear.

• You can still return them! Following from the above, shoes that have only been worn indoors are unlikely to have any evidence of damage or wear that would mean you can’t return them for a refund or exchange.

• No risk of getting stranded: if shoes start hurting you while you’re breaking them in outdoors, you’re a bit stuck unless you have another pair. At home though you can take them off as soon as they start hurting, giving them a break and nipping soreness in the bud.

2. Wear Thick Socks

While it might seem counterintuitive to reduce the available space inside the shoe, thick socks can actually act as padding between your skin and the interior surface that’s causing problems. Socks also push against the shoe, potentially stretching them out a little.

Some people recommend wearing two pairs of socks, thin nylons with a thick pair over the top, to let the feet move within the shoe without causing friction and soreness.

3. Pay Attention to Where They’re Sore

If you notice soreness while breaking in a new pair of shoes, keep an eye out for the exact spots it’s occurring. This can give insight into the particular parts of the shoe that are tight and may help to diagnose and resolve the problem (see steps 6 and 7 for more).

4. Put Plasters on Sore Spots

It won’t do anything to change the size or fit of the shoe, but putting plasters on sore spots of your feet will reduce soreness and pain. Specialist blister plasters are great for this: they’re designed to protect vulnerable spots from further friction, preventing a blister from getting out of control.

5. Go Easy on Your Feet!

Again, it won’t change the shape or fit of the shoe, but this is possibly the most important step. Go easy on your feet. There's no use continuing to wear a shoe that’s causing you loads of pain and discomfort: take a break, switch to another pair, and either go back to breaking the new pair in once you’re feeling better or take it as a sign that you need to try something else.

6. Use a Shoe Stretcher

If the methods above aren’t having a noticeable impact and you’re looking for something else to try, a shoe stretcher could be just the ticket. These purpose-built contraptions are designed to stretch a shoe to the shape of your foot.

7. Use Temperature

You can also try extremes of temperature to break in a stubborn shoe:

Heat Them Up 

Pop on a pair of thick socks and put your shoes on. Then grab a hair dryer and blow hot air on the tight areas of the shoe, making sure to wiggle your toes and flex your feet as you do this to move the material. Leave the shoes on while the material cools down (if it’s comfortable to do so), as this will help the changes to take effect.

Freeze Them 

You can also use cold to stretch your shoes, although here it’s the expansion of the water rather than the temperature itself that does the work. Put a Ziploc bag of water inside each shoe (taking care that it won’t leak!) and pop them in the freezer: as the temperature drops and the water freezes, it will expand and put pressure on the shoes from the inside, hopefully stretching them out.

Breaking in is Never Easy

If you do find that you can’t break a pair in, we’re here to help you find the next pair. Visit our shoe store to explore our extensive collection of comfortable lightweight shoes. Our commitment to combining fit and style with world-class customer service ensures that every customer finds their ideal pair.

*Comfortable footwear specialists, Pavers, has a focus on footwear for adults and sells everything from shoes and trainers, to boots and slippers. The company offers a wide range of brands including Fly Flot, Skechers, Padders and many more. For more information visit Pavers at Fox Valley Sheffield - Retail shopping at Fox Valley, Sheffield