Thread: Ballroom Shoes-Buy Small in case of Stretch???

Every pair of ballroom shoes I have bought stretches to wear they slip slide around even thought the shoe has a lot of life left in it. Do you guys buy a half size smaller or in anticipation of this? What do you do?

I've never had that problem, but I can see where it would happen.

that's only happened to one pair I bought, they were silver leather strappies. I since but the kind that have beading or mesh or something non stretch in them.

Most dance shoe manufacturers recommend that you buy 1/2 to 1 size smaller than street shoe. However, I've also run into the problem of them being too tight & hurting like heck....

In my experience the looser the shoe is from the beginning the more it will stretch over time. If they are too tight you can soak the tight spots in alcohol (test for color fastness first) to aid in stretching leather.

I never ever buy a shoe I haven't tried on, and the shoe in this case needs to be a touch firmer than you would like in a street shoe.

Yeah I agree they need to be fitting tighter and firmer and I always try on, I just think I have been buying them too big

Mine always stretch. I wind up adding extra holes in the straps, too.

I have one foot bigger than the other, and I can't afford custom shoes in different sizes- I put the thick version of moleskin at the heel and sometimes toe & side of the shoe that is too big- if you end up with shoes that are a little to big due to stretching, you might try something like that to tweak the fit. The nice thing about moleskin is that it was made to be applied directly to skin, so it sticks well (stands up to sweat) but still lets the foot breathe. should be able to pick it up at the super market, over by the foot powder & Dr Scholls type stuff, or maybe in the first aid section. also good for blister spots.