Addicted to BedStu

I am a true woman. I am a shoe addict.


My obsession for footwear began in my late 20years, and has continued ever since. Over the years, I have learned to appreciate fine, quality footwear, as cheaper brands and materials just don't last nearly as long. I am old now. My body isn't changing size rapidly like it did when I was a kid. Is it wrong for me to expect that something that I enjoy wearing lasts a decade? I mean, I have one of my dad's button down Wrangler shirts hanging in my closet. I think I stole it from him over 20 years ago. It is still as nice as the day I swiped it. Footwear should live up to the same expectations. It is unjust when the manmade materials of a pair of knee high boots or gorgeous heels that I have falling in love with start to peel and flake just a year after spending my hard earned money on them.


I joined Poshmark in May of 2015. While scrolling through the shoes category in the app one day, I fell in love with this expensive pair of BedStu boots. I mean, the most expensive pair of boots I had ever purchased was a pair of 20 hole Dr. Martens when I was 15. They were $150, but it was my parents' money back then, not mine. Well, these BedStu boots Retailed for over $300, and to me that was just ridiculous. But they were amazing! I had to have them. So, I made the seller an offer, and got them, with shipping, for just under $200. I had a bunch of money saved up from the selling of my own items in my closet, so I only paid around $100 out of pocket.


They came in! Yay!!! I opened the box, saw the gorgeous leather work, smelled the sweet smell of leather, and couldn't wait to put them on. When I did, they were way too tight. Oh my God! How am I supposed to wear these? Maybe I should have gotten a larger size?


Then it hit me! They are leather. Pure, authentic, animal skin leather. I flashed back to being a child and watching my grandfather use this strange device in his shoes to stretch the leather. If only I had something like that, but I didn't. So, I did what anyone in the age of the internet would do. I Googled "how to stretch leather shoes".


I ran over to my sock drawer and found two pairs of my thickest wool socks. I put them on, and then squeezed my feet into these luxurious fine leather goods, and grabbed my hair dryer. I heated up the shoes with the hair dryer, and then walked around my room. I heated the boots up some more, and then walked around some more. I walked up and down the stairs, I did squats, and I tried to move in all the strange and unique ways of the human body to stretch out every pesky angle of these babies.


It worked! After about 15 minutes of fun, the boots were completely comfortable with a pair of regular socks, and then I was addicted to searching through Poshmark looking for all the sorry boots that had been worn once by their owners and then tossed aside because they were "too tight" or "uncomfortable" or because they "rubbed a spot too hard". I now know the secret, of not only how to custom form leather shoes to my feet, but also how to acquire barely used leather goods at a fraction of their retail cost.


I told you… I am an addict. But, that's ok. I like my issues. Happy