Fixing painful crease in loafers
I’ve got some loafers that I’ve had for a while and were very comfortable but suddenly out of nowhere about a week ago they’ve started to be really painful at the knuckle of my big toe on my left foot every time I take a step (the other shoe is still perfectly fine). Based on what I can see (pictures relevant to show how the creases are different than on my right foot) and how it feels when I walk, it looks like a crease developed in the left loafers that pushes downwards every time the shoe bends and puts pressure on that joint.
Is there an easy way to fix the crease without just dealing with the pain? I’ve got all sorts of leather conditioning stuff and a shoe stretcher if needed. Also, I’m not sure how I got it to happen in the first place (change in my gait?), so is there a way to prevent it from happening again?
Thanks 🙏
5 Replies
following to gain wisdom as well
wearing the exact same pair rn lol
So this has happened to me with multiple loafers. I think it’s a combination of how the leather folds with the toe stitching, having high arches, and loafers inherently not being very well secured to the foot, which causes slipping. I have literally never had this problem with any other type of shoe.
I gave up on wearing loafers entirely because of how wildly uncomfortable they are
in theory you would need to stretch out the shape of the loafer (shoe tree or similar) and use heat and moisture to loosen the crease
in practice this is hard because the most reliable source of heat is either a steamer (risks wetting out), iron (heavy), heat gun or blow drier (heat too concentrated) and it tends to dry the leather out
if you're doing any of the above its at your own risk - use a leather conditioner after/moving forward to preserve the material
I had this happen on a pair of boots and it just went away as I softened the leather.
I personally just wore the boots on days when I knew I wasn’t going to walk anywhere or changed shoes if plans changed. Eventually the leather softened and they don’t do that anymore.
I’d start with easy stuff (just wear them at your desk) and slowly escalate (condition, manually manipulation of the spot, stretch it, etc) after thorough rest and checking.
You want to make sure the shoes are breaking in to your feet, not the other way around
I appreciate the suggestions; I have hope! Thanks!