# New Shoes, Painful Crease



## johnnybravo22 (Jan 31, 2007)

Hi all.

I recently bought a pair of AE Burtons and when I tried them on they fit amazingly. As I've started to wear them (about 3 times now), I've found that an extremely painful crease on the left shoe has formed where when i take a step the crease on the top of the shoe seems to force the leather into my big toe just below the knuckle. The right shoe has formed its own creases that are not painful at all and that shoe fits great. It doesn't seem to be an issue of different sized shoes, or shoes not fitting, though I don't know how this weird crease has formed or what to do about it.

Would shoe trees help fix this? should I try to force a new crease in? Will this wear out over time to a more comfortable situation after the shoes are broken in? Anyone have a similar experience? This is my first pair of relatively nice shoes, and I love them other than this painful new imbroglio.


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## rip (Jul 13, 2005)

Toe creases are usually a sign of the shoe being too wide for that part of the foot. You might try an added insole which will lift the foot and take up some of the excess room in the toe area.


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## medhat (Jan 15, 2006)

I had the same experience with my most recent pair of AEs, but thankfully it was self-limited and disappeared completely with a bit more wear (I'd guess about the 10th wearing, but that's a vague guess). I attributed it to "breaking in", but I am very happy I persevered, as I love the shoes now.


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## johnnybravo22 (Jan 31, 2007)

how did you get through it, medhat?

it's too painful to take a normal step so I sort of hobble along, and i dont know how much more i can take.


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## trolperft (Feb 7, 2007)

Stick thin leather to the inside of left shoe where painful crease appear. It could work well.
Here is the picture which show how to do it.
Look at second pic.
https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/oba_q_yokohama/folder/886167.html


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## johnnybravo22 (Jan 31, 2007)

Thanks for the suggestion trolperft. To take advantage of it, however, I think I'll need scrap leather and Japanese lessons


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## trolperft (Feb 7, 2007)

I think that if you bring your shoes and the picture to cobbler and explain your pain, he/she can understand what I mean. You need only a few dollars for the repair.


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## medhat (Jan 15, 2006)

johnnybravo22 said:


> how did you get through it, medhat?
> 
> it's too painful to take a normal step so I sort of hobble along, and i dont know how much more i can take.


This is kinda an OCD-type solution, but here goes... In the evening (when I remembered to) I'd walk around the house (inside, on carpet) in the new shoes for a few minutes each day after I got home from work. Just doing usual household chores and stuff, so I wasn't rushed trying to get somewhere or anything. If my feet hurt I just stopped. Honestly, after a few times the leather (specifically the painful crease) just "gave way" and I've had absolutely no issues since.

Now if you were to try the same and they still hurt, return them.


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## DorianGrey (Jul 6, 2007)

Are you sure that you are wearing the right size shoe, considering both heel-to-toe AND heel-to-ball (or arch length). I used to have this problem and found out, from a retired podiatrist working as an AE shoe salesman, that although my H-T size is a 9.5EEE, my H-B or arch size is a 10.5. I started buying the larger shoes and it has made a world of difference. Now I order all my shoes in a 10.5E or 44F European (sometimes on a long last I have to go down to a 10E).


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## Financier (Mar 6, 2006)

I dealt with this issue once with a pair a lower quality split toes - Cole Hahn I think. My less than delicate solution was to tape a penny to my toe to protect it from the crease. The crease softened by the end of the day. Not good for the shoe, I'm sure, but I was out of town on business and needed a quick fix.


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