Shoe Makeover

Back in elementary school (in the 90s) “reduce, reuse, recycle” was drilled into our heads around now as preparation for Earth day. While the recycle part of the equation is everywhere now, the first two parts of that mantra are often forgotten. So, in honor of Earth day I decided to reuse a pair of shoes, thereby reducing my part of one of the most toxic industries on Earth. The pair I chose were a nice block heel, perfect for an outdoor wedding, but decidedly a muted office brown instead of a vibrant party color. So, I decided to dye them gold. Here’s how it went.

After some online searching, I chose the Tarrago Leather Dye Kit with Deglazing. It’s cheap and made for real and synthetic leather.

• leather dye
• gloves
• sponge
• application tools (brush, cotton pad)
• tape

I taped off all around the heal and vamp using painters tape. The instructions stated to use the deglazer with a “Scotch Brite” type sponge, which I did. However, use the soft side as the scrubber side left scratch marks in the leather, so don’t do that!. Put on your gloves, and using the brush, carefully apply the dye to the small parts of your shoe, like any buckles or straps. Then using a sponge or pad, dab the dye onto the rest of the shoe. Here are some pictures to show what it looked like after each of the 3 applications.

After two coats the brown was almost completely covered, but the sponge did leave some bubble marks, so the next day I went over it with a third coat. Results below.

What do you think? I am please with the process, but might have chosen another color if given the chance. I think after the wedding I might dye them black, which is the color I wanted in the first place!

Reading reviews of other users on Amazon, many complained about the applicators being too flimsy. You might want to buy bigger ones if you are going to cover larger items like boots or a purse. I had no problem using them on such a small area. In addition, some complained the dye was still tacky after hours of drying, but I didn’t have that issue.

Overall, I think this is a great way to get some more use out of shoes that are a little beat up, or cover up a trendy color that is now out of style.