I hope this is in the right place, I'm really excited to share this. I also hope the pictures are ok, and I'm sorry if they aren't.
I buy shoes online- due to a combination of lack of choices in stores by me and the fact I'm still in the embarrassed phase to go shopping in person. Now having big feet (really, they're just wide; EEEE wide), I go up a few sizes to try to get shoes. Usually that has worked, but recently my most recent purchases it hasn't. The width was perfect but the length was too long. I tried various shrinking methods that I've seen online, but what I found really worked for me- and stayed worked (wetting and heating only lasted for minutes) was sewing an elastic band in the back. In the process of doing this, I also learned that I enjoy sewing.
Hope this can help someone out when they get shoes too big, and really- I think these pictures show what I hope I explained well better than I can with words. I couldn't get a picture to come out of how it looks wearing it like that- there's a tiny gap at the back, but you can't really see it unless you really look.
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg537%2F7673%2FW87MXv.jpg&hash=c03539db0aef880aa76bfe0770e872d99b040ea5)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg633%2F1092%2FbRvNF0.jpg&hash=3b9be41bd716e2a498da761f07f9580cf9aa2a77)
I'm trying this out with a pair of heels I got at the same that are the same material with the same issue tomorrow
Very cool solution to a problem I have had quite a bit, in any shoe, male or female styles. I've resorted to tieing my laces extra tight before, so tight that my feet would swell, so I'm definitely going to try this in future pairs, thank you.