Product to protect top of foot inside shoe?

December 7, 2018 8:25 AM

I've bought a bunch of vintage shoes over the years, and I keep running into the problem of the crease over the top of the toes. It often presses down hard and painfully and makes the shoes totally unwearable.

It seems the issue is the suppleness of the old leather (otherwise the shoes all fit perfectly). Is there anything I can wear inside the shoe over my toes that will protect me from the pressure of the crease while I wait for it to soften up with time? I'm only finding shoe trees of various forms when I search. Thanks for any ideas. I refuse to give up on my newest shoe acquisition!

posted by asimplemouse to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (9 answers total)

Old leather shoes..try applying leather conditioner, really rubbing it into the dry areas. This may take several applications. After the leather softens up, take a balloon, or in a pinch, I have used a heavy ziplock bag. Partially fill bag with water, insert bag into the toe area of the shoe. It's a bit awkward, but you want the water in the bag to be all the way into the toe area. If necessary, add some water carefully, and seal or tie off the balloon. Put the shoe in the freezer. The freezing water gently expands and will stretch the leather over the toe area. you can do this several times, adjusting the amount of water. After the fit feels right, make sure to keep the leather moisturized.

I have used this method on vintage heels and sandals. On a pair of suede pumps, I used the leather conditioner on the inside of the shoe.

Try it on a pair that won't break your heart, to get the feel for how it works.
posted by LaBellaStella at 8:47 AM on December 7, 2018 [7 favorites]

Leather shoes gradually conform to the shape of the wearer's foot, and the previous owner's foot was probably a slightly different shape than yours (even if it had the same measurements, differences in your phalanges and metatarsals mean your feet bend in a slightly different place).

Foot-top inserts are almost universally uncomfortable. Rather than tucking something in there you can soften the leather up yourself:

Stick shoe trees in each shoe. Take off any existing polish with nail polish remover, get the whole thing nice and damp with leather conditioner (the Kiwi brand is fine, but there are fancier ones), then wax it (twice over the course of 48 hours or so) with Pecard Leather Dressing. The first time you can really slop it on there, the second time you're removing and polishing as you go.

Wear them a couple times after this treatment and they should conform to your feet nicely.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:50 AM on December 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

If the shoes are old, the leather is likely dry and stiff. If the shoes are used, they are creased in an appropriate place for the original owner's feet but perhaps not for your feet. The combination of dry, stiff leather and a crease in the wrong place is what is causing your discomfort. There is no insert that will solve this problem for you. But all is not lost! Depending on what kind of shape the shoes are in, and the quality of the shoes, I would suggest a full recondition. This means stripping off the existing layers of polish using something like Saphir Réno'Mat. After that, you treat the vamp with a dubbin (do not use it on the whole shoe). This will soften up the leather so that the original crease will not be so hard, and also make it possible for you to re-crease it to your foot. After that, you condition the whole shoe with a leather conditioner such as Saphir Renovateur. Then re-apply a wax polish and finish to your desired level of shine. You'll have shoe trees in the shoes throughout, which will minimize the extent of the original crease. This is a multi-day process, but if they are high quality shoes they should be almost like new when you finish. Depending on the value of the shoes and other financial considerations, you can probably pay a good shoe place to do these things for you.
posted by slkinsey at 9:36 AM on December 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: So these are high-quality, very thick, fairly high-shine blue leather boots. I'm thinking the leather conditioner won't be able to penetrate effectively, and I really can't go messing with the finish by stripping it, I don't think. These are rather precious, rare boots. Normally I condition the leather on all my leather... but I was thinking it was pointless in this case. Is it still possible for the conditioner to pentrate high-shine leather?
posted by asimplemouse at 9:52 AM on December 7, 2018

When you say "high-shine leather" do you mean patent leather? Or do you mean regular dyed calfskin that is polished to a high shine? If it's regular leather polished to a high shine, you're eventually going to have to take off the accumulation of polish anyway. Considering that they are rare and high-value, it seems like it makes sense to take them to a professional to be reconditioned.
posted by slkinsey at 10:06 AM on December 7, 2018

Response by poster: Not patent, just dyed and polished. I think I'll take them to a professional. Thanks for the advice, all.
posted by asimplemouse at 1:30 PM on December 7, 2018

There is something called "tongue pads" that are placed underneath the tongue of the shoe to make loose shoes fit better. They are made of thick felt with an adhesive sticky side. You could try cutting those into the right shape and fitting them inside the toebox of your shoes to give your toes protection. The caveat is that they may make your shoes fit tighter.
posted by cazoo at 2:11 PM on December 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

Conditioning is probably the best option, but as back up relief, dancers’ toe pads might help.
posted by romakimmy at 12:54 AM on December 8, 2018

There is a product called Shoe Stretch, just a combination of isopropyl alcohol and glycerin, which is meant to be applied to the inside of the shoe. If the problem isn’t a seam in a place which interacts poorly with your foot (unresolvable, ime), try combining these ingredients about 10:1 and spraying very liberally inside before wearing them or otherwise reshaping with heat. (Check with your pharmacy if you can’t find glycerin).
The heat is important for this mixture, so it’s easiest to do while your foot is in there and shapes it best around your body. After wearing, moisturize the inside leather with Wonder Balsalm or some other creamy beeswaxy goodness.
This takes 2-3 wearings, depending on the way the shoe pinches, but is leather safe, cheap, and reasonably easy.
posted by zinful at 11:25 AM on December 8, 2018