How to Fix Sticky, Rubby, Blistery Leather Shoes
Dear Amalah,
First off, let me just say that I’ve been lurking on your blog for ages (doesn’t that sound appealing and non-stalkerish?) and you rock. I bought Philosophy’s acne kit because of your enthusiasm about the brand, and it is awesome; my skin is much less hideous than it used to be.
Anyway, I’m writing to you because, as you might imagine, I am suffering through a crisis of earth-shattering proportions. I was recently thrilled to find one lone pair of Stuart Weitzman sandals marked down to $30 — from $250 (at a legit store, not some sketchy place selling fakes). I absolutely love them, and they’re very comfortable… except that for some reason the edge of the leather strap sticks to my skin and rubs. I walked to class and back in them today — less than a ten-minute walk each way — and I wound up with blisters on both feet.
Do you have any suggestions? If I wear them with socks or stockings, that completely solves the problem, but it creates an, um, serious aesthetic problem (plus, I live in Hawaii, and it’s hot here). I could use moleskin, but that’s also not too attractive if it shows, and baby powder might help, but probably only for a few minutes. Is there any way to wear socks/tights/stockings with open-toed shoes without looking completely horrible? Or is there some magic potion I could apply to my feet to keep the shoes from rubbing?
Thanks so much!
Marya
Hmm. Hmm! Wracking brain. We may possibly be dealing with a design flaw (i.e. this pair was sewn a little tight across the arch and/or the leather was found to be less-than-buttery-perfect) which is why they ended up marked down to $30, or they may just need a little more breaking in, or we need to put on our MacGuyver trucker thinking caps and come up with some other solution.
My point is: I need more coffee.
Solutions for fixing painful leather shoes
1. Break the shoe in. If the problem is tightness across the arch or some other fit problem, breaking the shoes in further might eventually help. Obviously, you don’t want to offer up your poor blistered feet as a sacrificial shoe lamb or anything, so I’d recommend getting a wooden shoe tree and keeping it in the shoes, stretching them out just a tad, bit by bit. Then wear them around your house with stockings or socks whenever possible to help the leather conform to the shape of your foot.
A lot of shoes, even from typically well-regarded designers, are occasionally just made from poor quality leather — leather that is stiff and rigid and doesn’t conform to the foot. Something about high-quality leather becoming increasing difficult and expensive to procure here in the States, plus the zillions of cheap plastic and pleather shoes flooding the market and slowly making women forget that SHOES AREN’T SUPPOSED TO HURT.
I’ve noticed this problem more and more (think lovely, comfortable dress shoes that tear up your ankle no matter what you do, because the heel might as well be made of cast iron, for all the giving it does when you walk). It’s why I’ve slowly switched my casual shoe collection to mostly fabric — I can’t afford the super-expensive brands (European designers, mostly) that avoid this problem, at least not for basic sandals and flats that I’m going to wear for everyday, utilitarian reasons.
2. Use Moleskins.  So. Let’s say your shoes are as broken-in as they’re going to get. If the leather continues to rub, well…you really should TRY moleskin. The adhesive-backed, cut-to-fit kind. No, it’s not super attractive if a tiny bit of it shows, but I’d say it’s no worse than those bandeau-type footie socks I see women wearing with sandals sometimes. Great idea in theory, but very rarely do they truly stay perfectly in place and hidden under your shoes.) At least the moleskin lets you try to focus on the specific part of the shoe that’s rubbing. If it’s really just the whole edge of the band, the footie-sock-tube thing might help, if you’re okay with occasionally seeing a flash of fabric peeking out. (I couldn’t find exactly what I mean online besides the “therapeutic” padded/gel kind, but I usually always see them in the hosiery section in stores.)
3. File down the finish. If you think it’s the finish on the leather that’s rubbing (I can’t tell from the photo but it seems like the leather might be treated with some kind of sheen?), take some sandpaper or an emery board to the underside of the strap and file it down to the naked leather, which may be softer and less likely to stick to your skin.
What to avoid when trying to fix painful leather shoes
I do not recommend gooping your feet up with moisturizers and lotions — they’ll actually have the opposite effect than what you really want, since soft, moisturized skin will just be easier for your shoes to tear up. Foot powders and talc are the only things that can minimize sticking and rubbing, although yeah, they work best when you have a full shoe bed to just dump it into, but coating your feet and the inside of the shoe might be worth it for those quick 10-minute walks to class.
As for socks and tights with sandals? I just cannot get behind it. Look, I even wrote a manifesto on it already! I know it’s very high fashion, but it’s just not very WEARABLE high fashion. Especially with shoes that look like yours (i.e. normal shoes that normal people wear). Tights look passable when you’re pairing them with crazy avant-garde shoes-as-works-of-art. And when your entire outfit is on the funky, fashion-forward side. But with completely open wedge sandals? I’m gonna go with a resounding NO.
One last option
I haven’t personally tried this, and honestly up until this morning was completely unaware it even existing, but Dr. Scholl’s has a product called “Miracle Shield.” It appears to be some kind of friction-reducing relief stick that you can toss in your bag and reapply easily whenever you need to. Does it work? No idea. Am I all kinds of intrigued? You bet. Readers? Has anyone used this stuff?
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