Everyone Needs a Shoe Stretcher For A Better Fit

Sometimes it's the simplest things in life that give us the greatest pleasure -- like a properly functioning shoe stretcher. At some point or other, we have all bought a pair of shoes that were beautiful to look at but just didn't fit right.  In these situations, it can be heartbreaking to simply return your beautiful shoes to the store. That's when a simple item such as a shoe stretcher can give you so much joy.

Shoe stretchers are a decidedly low-tech and low-cost solution to one of the most common human problems: sore feet from walking in shoes that do not fit correctly.  Stretchers can expand the size of pretty much any shoe or boot available, enabling you to wear those expensive and beautiful shoes that never quite fit the way you hoped they would.  Stretchers also save us a lot of money by preventing us from throwing out perfectly good shoes that are only a little too tight.

Although you can always take a tight pair of shoes to a shoe repair shop to be professionally stretched, for most people it makes much more economic sense to simply buy your own inexpensive shoe stretcher that you can use time and time again.

There are two basic types of shoes stretchers: the plastic type and the wooden type.  Although the plastic shoe stretchers are much cheaper, they do not absorb moisture the way that the wooden stretchers, usually made of cedar, can.  In addition, wooden shoe stretchers normally last longer and function much better than their plastic counterparts.

Another advantage of buying your own shoe stretcher is to stretch out old shoes that you haven't worn in a while.  It is a little-known fact that shoes that have not been worn for months or even years will tend to shrink, making them painful to walk in if you should decide to try using them again. 

Expensive dress shoes, particularly, have a habit of shrinking when not used for several months. But having your own shoe stretcher can allow you to wear these expensive shoes again, and if it should be six months until you wear them the next time, that's no problem; just put them in the stretcher again for a day or two and you'll be ready to go.

Shoe stretchers can also be used to hold your shoes steady when you are polishing them.  This is important because if your shoes move around or are not kept "flush" while polishing them, you can get creases on the surface, ruining an otherwise beautiful pair of expensive dress shoes.

In general, a shoe stretcher can be used to stretch out pretty much any type of shoe material. The only exception to this rule is that vinyl shoes, such as some women's high heels, will not normally stretch adequately by using a traditional shoe stretcher.  This is not a limitation of the stretchers themselves, but rather, an inherent property of the material.

Otherwise, a quality wooden shoe stretcher should last you a lifetime, and can save you a great deal of trouble -- and blisters -- from breaking in new shoes.