It is not a pleasant experience for you to buy a shoe and find that it is too tight for your leg to walk in comfortably or that one pair is bigger or shorter than the other.
The best way to avoid the problem is to know the method of expanding the shoe to suit your needs without much stress.
To know exactly if Mary Jane shoes can expand beyond the current situation yours is, this article takes a closer look at the issue and comes up with facts that are both surprising and reassuring to Mary Jane shoe enthusiasts.
Can Mary Jane shoes expand?
Mary Jane shoes can expand easily from being too tight on your leg to becoming more flexible and accommodating without causing you discomfort while using the shoe.
Although shoe expansion is a natural phenomenon that usually happens to most types of shoes that are in use by their owners, some shoes find it more difficult to expand than others while others can expand rapidly beyond what is needed due to so many reasons such as material, usage among others that we are going to discuss extensively below.
Why do Mary Jane shoes expand?
Mary Jane shoes expand due to several remote and immediate factors which consist of the following :
- Material.
- Usage.
- Quality.
- Size and dimension of feet.
- Deliberate or forced expansion.
Material.
The material used in the production of Mary Jane shoes can help in making the shoes expand.
There are certain materials in a shoe that are more prone to expanding when you use them for some time and also on the other hand those that cannot easily expand despite the number of times you use them.
Leather shoes are more likely to expand without the fear of tear than synthetic shoes or those made from recycled plastics.
You must first understand the type of material your Mary Jane is made up of before deciding on how you are going to proceed with the expansion so that you may not end up damaging the shoe at the end of the day.
Quality.
The quality of the material is also a significant reason why Mary Jane shoes expand.
The higher the quality of the shoe, the lower the chances of the shoes expanding on their own beyond what you want them to due to the poor quality which can help in making your Mary Jane shoes to disintegrate.
When your Mary Jane shoes are of high quality, you will find them more flexible and easy to expand without fear than if the shoe is cheap and unreliable.
Size and dimension of feet.
The size of your feet and their weight play a crucial role in making Mary Jane shoes to expand beyond how it is when you first remove them from the package.
This is a result of the difference in how our feet are and the width it comes with them.
A person that has a big foot will find it more difficult to get comfortable Mary Jane shoes especially if the size he bought is tighter than the actual size of his or her feet.
However, due to the extra size of the person’s feet, the Mary Jane shoes can expand more easily when he wears them than a person with a smaller foot size.
Deliberate or forced expansion.
The most popular way of expanding Mary Jane shoes is the forced method through artificial means such as using a specialised tool for expansion.
wearing thick socks or layers of socks before forcing Mary Janes to your feet, putting them in a refrigerator, making them wet and many other innovative artificial means that helps you in increasing the size of your Mary Jane without necessarily taking it back to the shop were you bought it.
How to expand Mary Jane shoes?
- Use of thinner insole.
- Using a hair dryer.
- Put the shoe in a freezer.
- Stock it with newspaper or socks.
- Use stretch sprays.
- Get a professional.
Use of thinner insole.
To expand your Mary Jane shoes, the most effective way, if you need a tiny adjustment is to remove the thick insole of the shoe and replace it with a thinner one.
This will give your Mary Jane shoes more room for the comfort of your feet and increase your chances of getting the desired result while maintaining your fashion style.
To make that possible, remove the insole first, check its thickness and go online or visit a store to buy a thinner one that is affordable.
Put the new one in the shoe and try it on your feet again.
We will find that it gives you more room and accommodates your feet perfectly except if the expansion you want is significant.
Using a hair dryer.
Did you know that a hairdryer can help in expanding your Mary Jane shoes if you can use it for a limited amount of time?
To expand your Mary Jane shoes using a hairdryer, you need to get the shoe, wear thick socks and force your feet into the shoe which will be uncomfortable for you to walk in.
The next step is to switch on your hair dryer and point it to areas that are too tight for you for less than 30 seconds to avoid getting your shoe damaged by the heat.
Doing that will help in expanding your shoes by the time you are done with the hairdryer.
Put the shoe in a freezer.
Another method is putting the shoe in a freezer after putting water into it using either a polythene bag or some materials that will prevent the water from getting into the shoe.
Many people opined that by the time that shoe freezes, the shoe will expand after you remove it from the refrigerator and allow water-turned ice to melt again back to its original form.
Stock it with newspaper or socks.
Newspapers can also serve as the magic wand for expanding your shoes if you do it the right way.
You need to stuff newspaper into the shoe and allow it to stay stuffed for a day or two.
By the time you come back to check it, you will find that your Mary Jane shoes have increased in size the way you want them to be.
Use stretch sprays.
Stretch spray is one of the most advanced ways of stretching and expanding your Mary Jane shoes depending on the type and it is not haram as some Muslims are made to believe.
Using the stretch spray will help in expanding your shoes hassle-free and devoid of any accidental damage that may make the effort worthless.
Get a professional.
A professional cobbler or any recognized shoe maker can help you in making your Mary Janes wider than it is in other to fit into your legs comfortably.
Getting the services of a professional will cost you money, however, if you are up to the task, you can go ahead and get it done.
How to prevent Mary Jane shoes from expanding?
Although the focus of this article is to examine if Mary Jane shoes can expand and the various means you can adopt to make it happen, you cannot prevent hundred per cent your Mary Jane shoes from expanding even if you want to because some of the reasons for the expansion are natural such as wear and tear, frequent usage and other natural causes.
Is it good for Mary Jane shoes to expand?
It depends on what the shoe owners want. If the shoes expand on their own while the owner doesn’t want the expansion to happen then it is wrong if the owner wants the expansion and it happens he or she wants, then it will be regarded as good.
What to do if your Mary Jane shoes expand?
If your Mary Jane shoes expand and you don’t want them to, there are things you can do to solve the problem.
The first thing you can do is to start putting on the Mary Jane shoes with a pair of socks.
This will help in making the shoe fit you and requires no extra effort to make it a reality.
Secondly, you can make an effort in other to shrink the shoe back to its actual size either through drying it in a washing machine or giving it to a professional cobbler to help you reduce the size to the right one.
Thirdly, you can sell the shoe in a thrift store or exchange it with another Mary Jane owner whose feet are perfect for that size.
This can be problematic and time-consuming because it involves negotiation skills and patience.
This is because your expensive Mary Jane shoes can be priced ridiculously low or you will find the person willing to exchange was with a school shoe or maybe something else.
Lastly, you can give your Mary Jane shoes out as a donation to a good cause.
This donation can be to a non-profit organization, homeless shelters or to the less privileged who cannot afford it but will find it useful.
Meanwhile, donating your reliable Mary Jane shoes out has no material or monetary reward, however, your contribution to humanity will make both you and the receiver happy and will make the world a better place for all of us.
How much can Mary Jane shoes expand?
Mary Jane shoes can expand between 0.1 to 2.0 inches easily without the need for you to buy a shoe stretcher or take it to a professional cobbler who expects to be paid for his services.
However, some people claim that getting a Mary Jane shoes wet or washing them in a washing machine can either cause them to expand, decrease or get destroyed and you don’t want that for your own.
Conclusion.
Mary Jane shoes can expand between 0.1 inches to 2.0 inches respectively as a result of either a natural cause or an artificial one. While the quality, expense and materials used in producing the shoes matter (for example Mary Jane vegan shoes made from recycled plastics) some other factors can also contribute significantly to the expansion of your Mary Jane shoes.
Reference
Shoe Stretching – 5 Tips How To Do it at Home –