There is much talk about different tips on how to break in new shoes. Unfortunately, there are a lot of inaccuracies, here I will sort out some of them.
Some of the below I have touched on other articles, but here more concentrated on the myths that are often spread around to go in shoes.
Use wet socks
A popular tip on how to break in shoes is to soak down the socks and put on the shoes when you wear them at the beginning. It was sometimes done with skates and football shoes, for example, when you were younger. And, of course, it can make the shoes shape after the feet faster, but also put a strain on the shoes and not least on your poor feet. Strain that is completely unnecessary, to break in shoes in the usual way slowly and carefully (read more about it in this article) is considerably less painful and takes you to the same end result.
Go in shoes without socks
This is one of the more stupid tips that flourish about how to wear in shoes. I am not even quite sure how those who suggest it think it should help, it’s often a bit unclear, but suppose it is about having only the foot shape that the shoes have to relate to. Regardless, this is, like the above, a way to definitely cause unnecessary strain on your poor feet, and in this case it doesn’t even speed up the process.
Sockless at Pitti. Picture: Dmarge
Suede is stretching more than ordinary leather
That suede is softer and stretches more than regular leather, which means that you can/should have suede shoes tighter at first, is a truth that is not necessarily a truth. If you have shoes in thinner split suede with ordinary lining, this may be the case, but if they are split suede but with thicker lining leather to compensate, or if it is proper full reverse calf, it may not. The fact that suede is perceived as softer is one thing, but it does not mean that it cannot hold and stretch as little/much as ordinary smooth leather.
SuedePTB’s from Skolyx, which I would never have worn if I felt they were too tight when new.
Heel slippage will get worse
If you try on new shoes and you experience some heel slippage, then many people usually say that you should avoid them since the shoes will stretch and it will only get worse. Can be the case, but it can also be the opposite. It depends a lot on what causes the heel slippage (read more about the topic in this article). The heel stiffeners are hard and do not stretch, if they are in leather board or real leather, instead they form a bit after the foot, which can improve the grip. And above all, leather shoes are hard at first, but when the soles become soft and flexible where they are bent, the heel will follow up more easily, and some tendencies of heel slippage may decrease.
