Stretching shoes?

[montecristo#4]

I've got a pair of leather driving mocs which I rather like, but they fit about 1/2 size too snug. They are brand new, not yet broken in at all, so I expect they'll loosen up slightly over time, but still not enough for my taste.

Any ideas/suggestions on how to stretch them out even more than a normal break in process would?

Thanks for your ideas.
M#4

 

[j]

Break them in first by walking around a bunch in them and see how much they stretch. Some of those less constructed moccasins have a lot of give and they will stretch a lot. Mine fit a bit loosely when I bought them and even so, stretched to fit even more loosely.

While breaking them in, use cedar trees at night and really jam the trees in there (be reasonable of course) to expand them and get the leather to dry stretched out.

 

[RIDER]

soak them in water, then wear them for as long as you can, then put tree in them. Don't worry, you won't hurt the leather by soaking it.

 

[armscye]

My shoemaker told me to use a mix of 50% water and 50% isopropyl alcohol, spray the shoes until they're good and wet, then wear them for an hour. Repeat as necessary. This has worked twice on widening "fully constructed" shoes (brogues) with leather soles. However, when I tried it with a rubber soled pair of loafers, I got virtually no size change.

Slightly oversize shoe trees do help. If you've got adjustables, set them 1/2 size too big when you store the shoes.

 

[kabert]

Does anyone else recommend using these methods suggested by armysce and rider for stretching out shoes? I've got a pair of shoes where the length is fine by they are a shade too narrow in the area where the ball of the foot goes (the widest part of the foot).

 

[TomW]

I use armscye's method for almost all shoes I buy. My left foot is only slightly wider than my right and buying a 2E rather than an E makes the right slide around a bit, but stretching an E and slightly stretching the left makes for very happy feet.

 

[stache]

I buy the shoe stretch fluid at the repair shop, put on the shoes, squirt on the fluid where it hurts and then wear the shoe/ walk around until they are dry.