congratulations on that coup! Besides, these are the prettiest shoes ever!!!

I had no idea you could do this! Wow!!! I am going to try this with a couple of my shoes that are just waaay to tall.

Fantastic!!

Hmmm, you’ve got me thinking. Maybe I can consider shoes with a 3″ heel height after all … if the heels can be whittled down to about 2 1/2″ … thanks for the idea!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The cobbler and tailor are my best friends!

It is amazing what half an inch can do for the comfort level of a shoe! I love your booties, so cute!

WOW! I want those shoes! Let’s see them in an outfit! I am so glad the experiment worked Angie.

You’re so right, Alecia. Cobblers and tailors are an indispensable part of one’s style. Can’t live without them!

Lori, half an inch *can* make all the difference on a heel. It can take it from pain to wearable.

Thanks for the compliments on the shoes. They are pretty for sure, but not nearly as pretty as the little face staring back at us in the background of the top left picture.

The puppy ( Rose? Jasmine?) is adorable! I am swooning over these shoes Angie!
It is great to know that this kind of alteration can be done.

Cool! I love those shoes, but due to a bad knee (old hockey injury! LOL), I can’t wear anything with heels over 2″. So my ‘heeled’ shoes are all either platform-ish in style or lower than 2″. This is a great idea, I didn’t even know you could do this! I’ll have to pass the info along to my mom, who still wears towering heels…3″ is her norm!

I’ve done this as well, but I have yet to put the (fall) shoes through their paces. Thanks for reminding me– I will wear them soon. I have pretty high hopes myself.

I never realized this could be done- I thought it would throw off the whole shoe. Great to know. And that little face peeking out is adorable.

That’s almost 1/2 inch for a mere $18! That would make the difference between a wearable and non-wearable shoe, totally worth it!

I have this one pair of shoes that has a heel that I have often complained it was just a liiiiiiitle too high. I have a small foot so half an inch makes a big difference in the angle of my foot on a high heel. $18 is a pretty good deal…especially considering I was pondering replacing those shoes with a lower heeled version!

Can you bring shoes that were not purchased at Nordstrom’s to be altered by their cobblers?

Awesome!! I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing.

As if I needed another reason to love Nordstrom! I didn’t even know such a process was possible. Now, my options have expanded drastically! Thank you for sharing this experiment on the board. This is good new indeed!

Oh look at that puppy face peeking out in the distance!

Those shoes are divine, Angie. I’d sell my soul to find a less treacherous version, but I’m glad they have at least become wearable for you. Do you know if this service is available at all Nordstroms? Last time I inquired about the jeans stretching thing and they looked at me like I had two heads, so I’m curious about whether your Nordies is able to offer “special” services since it is the flagship store.

Also, can this be done to all heels? I have some wedges that can do with a little shortening but that seems trickier to me.

Cute shoes! I asked a shoe shop about doing this very thing a while back and they said it would distort the shoe and they discouraged me. I’m glad to see this article, next time I’ll hold my ground and say “do it anyway”! Thanks, Angie!

Those shoes are KILLER. I am in love.

I’ve found that it’s the steep arch of certain shoes that can break a shoe for me, much more than the height itself. I have some 3-inch heels that I could run a mile in and others I can barely wear to the car. If the balls of my feet aren’t sitting flat and the arch doesn’t hug my arch all the way up, it’s too steep for me.

So glad your cobbler was able to make them wearable for you! I may have to take some of my foot-killers in and see if they can’t shave just that little bit off enough to save a few of my favorites.

Oh, wow, I’ll have to tell my mom about this. She has problems with high heels. This would open up her shoe choices. I have big, long feet and can wear really high heels without a problem. 3″ – 4″ are my norm, though I do have a few about 5″ Today’s shoes are 4″ heels.

I have to shorten one heel (or make one higher!) at all of my shoes due to medical reasons. My right leg is 1,5 cm shorter than the left one.
When I was younger this did not really bother me, but my back started to ache someday. Then I tried to put in a high shoe insert (do you call it this way?) into each right shoe. But this is only a good option in sneakers.
Then I found an old cobbler near my hometown. And he now gets all of my shoes before I first wear them. Even the highest ones and even flip-flops.
And I never had an aching back again! And noone has ever noticed the different highs!
Mari form Germany

I am all over those shoes…adorable:)

Isn’t that just the best bit of advice …I haven’t tried it yet, but just knowing that I can makes me feel that if I ever need to …it is possible:)

Wow, those shoes are gorgeous. I’m glad you can wear them with more comfort now!

I found a pair of gorgeous boots at Nordstrom the other day but the calf was too small… probably one whole inch too short. The sale associate called the manager over and he was convinced that their cobbler could stretch the calves because the leather was really nice — he said he’s seen it done before. So I decided to give it a try, although I am not convinced that it’s possible to stretch a boot that much. I can return them if they don’t stretch enough so I have nothing to lose. I am *very* interested to see the outcome!

wow! I didn’t know Nordstrom’s does that kind of work! I have so many shoes that could be saved if I chopped of an inch or two. thanks for the tip!

I never knew this could be done! Interesting! Great results.

AJ, I take all my shoes and bags to Nordies to be fixed whether I’ve bought them there or not. These booties were not purchased there and they were more than happy to help out at the Seattle flagship.

Maya, I’m not sure whether you can shorten the heels on a wedge, and I’m also not sure whether all Nordstrom branches have a shoe alterations department. But cobblers will definitely be able to help you out and answer your questions. Take any style of shoe to a reputable cobbler and hear them out on how they can shorten your heels.

That’s so interesting Mari from Germany! Thanks for sharing.

Marianna, keep us posted on your boot stretching experiment. Hope it works out.

Oh,Tanya! That’s our little Jasmine

Wonderful! That’s great the even a 1/3 inch alteration makes the shoes twice as wearable. They are beautiful and I hope you enjoy wearing them.

I, too, would have expected the heel shortening operation to distort the rest of the shoe. Good to know it’s possible to make small adjustments that make a big impact.

I just had this done on boots with a 3″ wedge heel. The cobbler took off about 1/3″ but put back a heel cap that made the total alteration about 1/4″. The boots are easier to wear, the heel is much more durable, and the charge (local shoe repair, not Nordstrom’s) was $25.00.

I was surprised that the alteration was so small–I was hoping for 1/2″ or even more–but you can’t tell that the heel’s been altered, and if they are easier to walk in, it’s well worth it.

Ingenious! And I love those shoes. Very classy.

-meream

i didn’t know Nordstrom’s offers that service for shoes, cool! price isn’t too bad either!

I’m *running* to the shoemaker with my too-high-but-georgeous Franco Sartos. With a bit of luck, maybe I can run back wearing them!

Nordstrom’s will also let you buy shoe pairs with each shoe a different size. (So if one foot is significantly bigger than the other, you don’t have to always suffer too large or too small on one foot or the other). Apparently back when the company was founded, one of their family members had that exact problem & they committed to excellent shoe service, doing whatever it takes to properly fit your shoes. My DH’s feet are a full size different, so by shopping at N, he doesn’t have to buy 2 pairs in different sizes & resell the other on ebay (which he’s done occasionally).