How to Make Shoes Smaller

Finding a pair of shoes that fit your personal style isn’t always easy. Fortunately, whether your new shoes are a little too wide or your favorite shoes stretch from a lot of walking, you can make them smaller to fit your feet better. Leather, suede and canvas shoes can be treated with water and heat to shrink. With structured shoes like heels, boots, sneakers or boots, you can use insoles to adjust the fit of your foot.

Table of Contents

Shrink leather, suede and canvas shoes

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Try putting shoes on your feet to see which parts need to be reduced. Put your shoes on and stand on the floor with your feet flat on the floor, then try taking a few steps. Check which parts of the shoe do not touch the foot and determine which parts need to be reduced for a better fit. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If the shoes are the right size for you, you probably don’t need to shrink the whole shoe. You just need to focus on shrinking each part of the shoe in turn.
For example, maybe you just want to shrink the sides of your shoe a little so it doesn’t slip off when you walk.

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Apply water to the shoes in the areas that need to be shrinking so that they are moist but not soggy. Dip your finger in cold water and dab the shoe until the surface is damp but not soaked. Focus on the most affected areas. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Avoid letting water drip onto the inside of the shoe, as this may cause the shoe to smell, crack or discolor.
With leather or suede shoes, you need to focus the moistening around the upper part of the collar, which is often the area that stretches the most. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
The water and heat method doesn’t work on fine leather heels, leather sneakers, or larger shoes like boots. In these cases, you need to use insoles to adjust the foot.

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Heat wet areas with a hair dryer on medium heat. Hold the hair dryer about 15cm away from the surface of the shoe you just wetted. Turn on the hair dryer and set the heat to medium, drying until the shoes are dry. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

Don’t hold the dryer too close to your shoes. Concentrated heat from a hair dryer can fade lightweight fabrics.
With leather and suede shoes, you need to constantly move the hair dryer around the upper part of the shoe to heat the leather, causing it to shrink and shrink. If the leather starts to smell or crack while drying, you must turn off the hair dryer and air-dry the shoes. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Try on shoes to see if they fit better. Once the shoes are dry, try putting them back on and standing on the floor, feet flat on the ground. Try a few steps to see if the shoe fits better. If so, the shoe has shrunk. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

If the shoe is still loose, fill it with water and continue drying.
If the shoe seems too tight, you can wear thick socks to give the shoe a little more stretch without being too loose.
For good results, you may need to stretch many parts of the shoe, such as the sides of the shoe and the top of the shoe.

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Use leather conditioner on leather and suede shoes. Put a pea-sized amount of cream on a clean rag and rub it over the leather to restore moisture to the leather. Read the label on the product to see how long to wait for the cream to absorb before you can put on your shoes. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

You can buy leather conditioner at most supermarkets or shoe stores.

Insoles for sports shoes, boots and western shoes to fit your feet

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Wear a pair of thick socks to make the shoe more snug. For tennis shoes, boots, or other types of shoes that cover the foot, you can wear socks to fill in the gaps. Buy a pair of thick picnic socks or wear 2 or 3 pairs of thinner socks before putting your shoes on. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

This is not suitable for high heels or doll shoes, as these are open-toe styles.

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Stick the heel pad if your shoes are too long. Heel pads are often used to make shoes more comfortable, but you can also use them discreetly to adjust heels or boots for a snug fit. Peel off the paper on the back of the insole and stick it along the back of the heel where the heel normally touches the shoe. ^{[9] X Research Source}

The insole is less than 0.5cm thick, so it won’t feel like there’s a big gap between the heel and the shoe.
You can find heel pads at most supermarkets and shoe stores.

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Use a forefoot pad to fill in the gap at the toe. If your heels or boots don’t fit your feet, it’s possible that they’re too wide at the toe. You can buy a forefoot pad, peel off the paper on the back of the insole and stick it on the inside of the shoe at the toe. ^{[10] X Research Source}

The forefoot pads will help keep the toes from moving in the shoe as you walk. If the toe is too wide, the forefoot can slide forward, causing the heel to slip off when you walk.

Things you need

Repair stretch shoes

Water
Hairdryer

Minimizing leather shoes

Water
Hairdryer
Leather care cream

Insoles for tight feet

Thick socks
Shoe insoles
Insoles

Steps