Let’s take a moment and imagine one of the greatest moments in a sneakerhead’s lifetime – copping one of the most amazing feasts in sneaker history. You did everything right! Ran the best sneaker bot in the game, you had all the right proxies, and some of the coolest servers and stuff. You really got it all right. RIGHT? But, with great copping powers come great responsibilities – like actually getting your shoe size right. Either that or you’ll end up stuck Googling how to stretch shoes for a better fit.
Well, it happens! Sometimes you get a little confused or caught up in the high of the cop! Or other times, it’s just the sneaker lords playing games on you and giving you a taste of a different type of L – a whole other level of Ls, actually. Size DOES matter, no matter what you try telling yourself. A little bit bigger is always better than a bit smaller – not being NSFW here. Just bein’ real.
If your sneakers run a little too big, all you gotta do is stuff an extra insole in there and you’re good to go! But, a little too small, that’s a whole other story. Here’s how to stretch your shoes to save the entire drip! But, if all else fails, you could always go and flip it on the aftermarket, make some cash, and get into the reselling business!
How Material Makes a Difference?
Sneakers come in all shapes and sizes – ain’t no discrimination there. Sneaker designers really go all out when it comes to the wildest sneaker designs, the most freaky colorways, and, above all, the weirdest material. It all plays a role in how your sneaker fits and it all changes the methods of how to stretch shoes. You can’t go stretching some monofilament mesh like it’s some algae-based material. Everything’s got its thing!
If you’re a Jumpman or Swoosh kinda sneakerhead dude, you’re most probably going to be dealing with a lot of premium leather or suede! But, if you’re more into Yeezus, you got a lot of Primeknit, mesh, algae, and all kinds of weird shit. ‘Ye really likes experimenting. How to stretch shoes regardless of the material, you ask? We gotchu.
The 5 Proven Methods on How to Stretch Shoes
METHOD 1
Break Out the Gym Socks
The first method on how to stretch shoes is the most basic and obvious one there could possibly be. But, in a moment of complete panic over your ill-fitting sneaker, it could probably fly right over your head. The first thing you should try when breaking out a new pair of sneakers is to break out your old gym socks. With the whole pandemic thing, you probably haven’t used them for a while. But, now’s your chance!
Get out your heavy-duty gym socks, put them on, and start walking around the house with your shoe on. Not only will this teach you a cool and easy way how to stretch shoes, but it will also teach you patience! Especially considering that it’ll take a few days to kick in. This works well with premium leather sneakers or any shoe with a tighter-fitting mold up to half size down.
METHOD 2
Give It a Blow!
Another method you can learn on how to stretch shoes is giving them a good blow. You know, with a blowdryer of course. This is strictly for shoes made of premium leather or anything like it. It’s not gonna work with any knitted sneaker material.
Let’s take a little science lesson, shall we? Usually, most types of material expand when subjected to heat. So, the heat from the blow dryer is hot enough to help the material expand, but still gentle enough not to ruin it! Just keep your gym socks on, wear the sneakers, and get to blow dryin’ the heck out of them kicks! Make sure you spot-treat the areas that feel most tight to you – usually around the toe box or heel.
Note: Make sure you keep the blow dryer moving. Don’t just keep it on one spot or else you might burn it or ruin it. You don’t wanna end up drying out the material instead of stretching shoes and getting a creased-up sneaker. No one likes that.
METHOD 3
The Cold Treatment
How to stretch shoes without heat? If you wanna stretch out a shoe that isn’t leather and you don’t wanna use a blow dryer, there are other ways. The new Zions are coming out, so this will definitely come in handy. A cool way to stretch your sneakers is using ice!
You gotta fill a Ziploc or sandwich bag about a quarter of the way up with water and place it inside the shoe and pop them in the freezer overnight. All you gotta do the next day is let it thaw out, dry out, and try them on. The freezing water expands and puts some pressure on the sneaker making it stretch out.
Just make sure the bag of water reaches all the way to the toe box before you put it in the freezer because that’s the place you wanna expand the most. If it still feels a little bit tight, you can repeat this method as many times as you need to stretch shoes to the size you need best.
METHOD 4
Get Some WOOD Action!
So many puns in this sneaker tutorial. Who knew learning how to stretch shoes could be so fun? Another way to do that would be in getting yourself some WOOD action – like shoe stretchers. These are the most old-fashioned basic shoe devices ever, but they actually work! And, if you don’t feel like taking risks with the heating and cooling methods, this is completely safe. It can elongate and widen your shoe to its maximum capabilities.
There are shoe stretching sprays you can add combined with the shoe stretcher thingy – it’ll do wonders for your shoe game. You won’t ever have to worry about accidentally going a size down. Just stick it in, leave it there for 6 to 8 hours, and it should do the job! You can keep your shoe completely clean and still have the perfect fit. It’s the best of both worlds.
METHOD 5
Cop Around Your Size in BULK!
Okay, we admit. This may not actually be related to the topic of how to stretch shoes, but more like how to avoid it in the first place. Of course, the obvious thing you can do is make sure you know your size right. Now, considering this IS the sneaker industry, odds are you are either copping a new Jordan or some new Yeezy. These are the two types of sneakers that run the greatest fit risks. So, if you coppin’ kicks, check out these size guides:
– Air Jordan Size Guide
– Adidas Yeezy Size Guide
– Nike Dunks Size Guide
– Nike Air Max Size Guide
– Air Force 1 Size Guide
– New Balance Size Guide
– Nike Cortez Size Guide
– And, How to Measure Your Shoes
But, another thing you can actually do is cop in BULK! Copping sneakers in bulk around your size – like a half size up, half size down – really takes out all the guesswork. And, it’s a win-win! You get to add one of the sneakers to your sneaker collection or just sell it for more money. Literally, a foolproof way to cop sneakers that fit. We like this method. The easiest way to make money from home AND still get the drip to flex.
Turning the Wrong Fit Around
Figuring out your exact foot size in a world gone virtual ain’t no joking matter – especially if you’re copping to flex. If you’re all about sneaker resale or getting into sneaker collecting, it might not matter much to you. But, you can’t really flex a drip you can’t wear. What’s the point anyways?
But, if you’re copping for yourself, knowing how to stretch shoes could come in handy! This way if you ever size up or down, you don’t have to worry about it too much. Just don’t ever alter your size more than half – that’s more than enough in our opinion. If you gotta go more than a whole size up or down, that’s pretty sus. This also prompts us to add that you always gotta know where to buy your sneakers from. No shady places. You can’t flex nor flip a fake sneaker, no matter how real it looks.