Dyeing sandals - is this feasible?

JAileen

I have a pair of Korkease sandals in natural Vachetta that I bought before I went grey. I don't love the color anymore. Is it feasible to dye them? My preferred color would be silver or grey. Grey is my new favorite neutral.

#1 - the sandals I have

#2 - the color I would like, but even a pewter would be ok

#3 - oxfords I have - I like this color

#4 - booties I have - I like this color too

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11 years ago

Dressing

7 replies

Latest reply was from JAileen

LAR101

Active Member

I love the greys and silvers, too.
There has been some great discussion and examples of dyeing leather shoes and handbags on this forum. I searched on 'leather dye' and a number of threads came up. I would love to see before and after pics of your work.

11 years ago

Marmee

Veteran

It seems like it would be possible, and if you don't wear them anymore, what do you have to lose? Do you have a cobbler you like? Perhaps you could consult with him/her?

11 years ago

kellygirl

Veteran

Hopefully one of the shoe dyeing experts will weigh in. I know that Tarrago makes a shoe cream in metallic. I think Vix (?) or someone had posted about something like this awhile ago. I will look for the post.

Her blog:

http://buildingacolorfullife.w.....pocket-or-

the original post:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....allic-dyes

11 years ago

rabbit

Veteran

Was it Diana who changed some oxfords to a metallic color?

I think the tricky bits might be getting the coloring creme on in such a way that it doesn't get on the footbed or inside straps (or can you dye those too?). Also you would need to pick a color that either went with the heel color or color the heel material too.

I think it's definitely worth investigating if the sandals wouldn't get worn much otherwise and aren't returnable. (In fact I have some sandals where this might be a good option too..)

11 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

These sandals get worn very little now. I think if they were grey, silver, or even dark blue I'd wear them more. I thought I would mask off the footbed (with painter's tape?) but I'm not sure about the suede that covers the cork. I think the cool grey might clash with warm vachetta color. I don't know if dye would even work on suede, though. Also, I'm not sure if shoe cream is really dye. I wonder if I should actually dye them and then try one of the metallic creams.

I have a good shoe repair for actual repairs. I asked them about dyeing lavender snow boots I had and they refused to do it. So I don't know if they could or would tackle this project. I don't know why I bought lavender snow boots. I dyed them myself and now they are greyish black. The warnings on the bottle scared me though!

Kellygirl, thank you for the links. I couldn't find Diana's thread on my own. Vix's blog is very interesting!

11 years ago

Diana

Veteran

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....my-oxfords
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....allic-dyes

The Tarrago shoe cream will definitely work on yours. The only issue might be that the warmer tone of the underlying color MIGHT show through so the silver might appear to have a slight gold cast sometimes. The shoe cream does get more opaque the more coats you use though; although it does rub off a little bit over time it's easy enough to just add a touchup coat once in a while.

I put the cream over the heels on mine since I didn't want them to remain dark brown anyway. If you want to retain the color of the sole on yours I would recommend masking taping them first (like you do on the moldings when you're painting walls) to protect them.

Arctic Silver looks like it might be the color you want?
http://www.amazon.com/TRG-One-.....ID=0Z0SYN9

11 years ago

JAileen

Veteran

I do like that color, Diana! Thanks. Do you think this cream would work on the suede that covers the cork?

11 years ago

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