How can I make my shoes smaller?

October 28, 2013 10:52 AM

I have two pairs of leather ballet flats that I purchased off the internet. I've worn each of them a couple times, but unfortunately, I've realized that they are both about 1/2-size too large. Is there a way I can make them smaller? Can I put an insole or something in them? Is this something a shoe repair place can fix? I paid about $110 for each pair, so If I can fix them for something under $40 a pair, I'd consider that worth paying (less would be better of course). Otherwise, I'll consider this a lesson learned.
posted by OrangeDisk to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

Best answer: Drugstore insoles are perfect for this! They're cheap, and you can trim them to fit your shoes. My feet shrunk half a size when I lost weight, so I put insoles in several pairs of shoes.
posted by radioamy at 10:58 AM on October 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If they are too long, I find heel inserts are really helpful. They add a bit of a buffer behind your heel so that your foot fits properly into the toebox of the shoe. Also they are super cheap! I actually often do this because my feet are sort of between sizes.
posted by chatongriffes at 11:10 AM on October 28, 2013 [4 favorites]

Lambs wool in the toes?
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:56 AM on October 28, 2013

My husband successfully uses the heel grips mentioned by chatongriffes.
posted by michellenoel at 11:56 AM on October 28, 2013

Depending on the style of shoe, wearing an extra pair of socks or even just a particularly thick pair of socks would do the trick.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 12:01 PM on October 28, 2013

Best answer: dx.com has a big selection of stuff for shoes for cheap, including the heel pads mentioned.

A shoe repair shop can pull out the original insole, glue in padding, and neatly replace the original insole -- been a while since I've had that done so not sure of the cost, but I'm sure it would be under $40, if you want a professional-looking fix.
posted by kmennie at 12:51 PM on October 28, 2013

I'm not a big fan of the Dr. Scholl's For Her line in general, but the gel heel liners are great. They stick and stay in place, and I have preferred the gel liners to the other liners (fabric or plastic) that I've tried. I am in-between shoe sizes, and I wear these in several pairs of flats.
posted by aabbbiee at 7:58 AM on October 30, 2013