customize your shoes
Custom shoes are a growing industry, with athletic and dress shoe companies adding custom service departments to there already popular industry. Whether you’re looking to create your own custom shoes from existing pairs you already own or desire a more quality look with a new pair from a custom shoe maker, there are plenty of ways for you to get the unique look you want. For as little as a DIY project, to as much as a brand new designer pair of shoes, here’s your guide to custom shoes.
Customize your existing shoes. Using a little paint and the embellishments you can find at your local craft store, you’ll be able to create custom shoes out of your very own closet. Add faux jewels, piping, bows and other accessories like flowers and stars to create one-of-kind looks on your standard shoe styles.
Paint your shoes. Paint adheres well to fabric, but if you want to paint patent or leather, you’ll need to create a grainy surface. Use acetone and/or sandpaper to weather the area you wish to paint and use a pencil to draw or trace the design you want. Once you’re satisfied with the design, carefully fill it in with white paint - this will be your primer - and let dry. Now you can create your masterpiece.
Add removable glitter to leather shoes. Using masking tape, cover the entire shoe so that none of the material is showing. Cover the taped portion of the shoe with a thin layer of glue. Elmer’s Glue works fine for temporary projects, but if you want more staying power use a cyanoacrylate craft glue, like Super Glue or a more moderately bonding glue, like tacky glue. Before the glue dries, pour a generous amount of glitter over the entire shoe and let dry overnight. In the morning, shake any excess glitter off the shoe by lightly tapping it.
Find a customized shoe designer. If you find that you aren’t particularly crafty and would rather have unique shoes made for you, there are many options from designer dress shoes to healthy orthotics. These are just a few. Atelier Shoes and ShoeMissy England create retro-styled pumps for women, PunkYourChucks customizes Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars with hand-painted designs and Soft Star Shoes makes hand-sewn soft-soled moccasins and leather shoes for children and adults.
Customize your athletic shoes online. Big sporting good brand names like Nike, Adidas and Vans now have options for customizing branded styles. These shoes are not fully unique, because they use the brands designs, but customers can choose the fabric, colors and specialized detailing for their shoes.
Customize your shoes with orthotics and foot inserts. Nowadays it’s easy to make custom orthotics and foot supports for any shoes, even your dressy stilettos. If you have serious foot problems accompanied by pain, you should have a podiatrist make your orthotics, but if you only suffer from mild foot pain, you may find cushioned insoles, like those made by Dr. Scholl’s and Foot Petals, helpful.
Customize your sneakers with NikeID.
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*Don’t forget to enter our ongoing shoe giveaway with Shoemissy England. One lucky Dish reader with win a pin-up girl retro pump style from the new collection. Click HERE for details and to ENTER! Contest ends at midnight EST on September 8th!