Formspring Thursday: Shoe stretching, sizing issues and more

A quick roundup of your questions from Formspring:

Q:  do your feet get larger in the summer? Mine do, I find most of the pumps I wear and have bought in my ‘fall’ and ‘winter’ feet no longer fit in the summer.

I haven’t really noticed that, unless it’s a very hot day and I’ve been doing a lot of walking – feet can swell a bit if it’s hot, which is why I try not to buy shoes after a lot of walking, because it’s hard to get a good idea of fit if your feet are bigger than usual. I guess maybe the solution is to buy summer shoes a half-size larger, if possible?

Q: I’m new to blogging, and just got an offer to be paid to review a website/service, but I have no idea what typical pay would be for something like that. Since you blog professionally, what advice can you give about what fee to request? (I’m in the USA).

I don’t ever accept payment for reviews, because personally I don’t feel that would be ethical, so I’m afraid I can’t advise you about what the going rate would be for that kind of thing.

Q: Hi I am really paranoid because I am 17 and a size 8 I am just asking what shoes you recommend that can give the illusion of smaller feet

First of all, I’d say that your feet probably only look large to *you* – I doubt anyone else would think twice about them, so I’d try not to worry too much!

To answer the question, though, shoes with heels will make your feet look a little smaller, as they put the foot at an angle. Open toes will also help create the illusion of smaller feet (especially when paired with heels), and clumpy, flat shoes will make your feet look bigger, as will pointed toes, so those are ones to avoid – choose rounded toes instead.

Q: What is your favorite food?

I don’t think I have an all-time favourite food – it depends how I’m feeling!

Q: Hi! I bought a pair of nude patent leather pumps from Aldo that I absolutely love, but they are just a little too small and hurt my feet! Can patent leather be stretched? If not, do u have any other tips? Thanks!

Patent leather CAN be stretched, but my advice would be to take them to a cobbler and get them to do it for you: it’s not as easy to stretch patent leather as it is normal leather, and while you can try all of the usual stretching methods (thick socks, shoe stretcher, wetting the leather then wearing them, etc), it’s still going to be a slow process, and there’s always the risk of breaking the leather, or it just reverting back to its original size. You’ll also have to be sure that the lining of the shoe is real leather, not man-made: if it’s man made then there’s very little you can do to stretch it, unfortunately. Take them to a professional, and if they can’t help you, return them and buy something that doesn’t hurt.

Hi, I enjoy reading your blogs and check them often. I’m interested to know what blogs you follow, check often, or just like reading?

Thank you, that’s lovely to hear! As for me, oh, there are hundreds! In fact, let me just see… according to Google reader, I currently have 632 unread posts from blogs I subscribe to in my reader, which probably means I read far too many to list!

(Feel free to add your own responses to any of these in the comments!)

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