Newly cute metallic blue shoes!
Man, I can be terrible about posting in a timely manner. This post is about shoes I transformed from dull taupe to fabulous metallic blue for a late 50s-ish blue dress I made in 2016.
I loved this project. The shoes are great, comfortable and inexpensive.
Several years back I found a cute but boring colored pair of shoes at the thrift store, clearly barely worn. I thought I’d use them for a Tweed Ride inspired semi-steampunk outfit that never came to fruition. I didn’t care at the time, but the shoes are pleather (non-breathable, not great for your feet).
Boring color thrift store find
When it came time to get shoes for the blue dress I looked online, but nothing caught my eye. I considered painting these taupe ones, but what would I use? Spray paint and acrylic tend to flake where the shoes bend and stress. To online research I went! and found Jacquard Lumiere paints.
They also have solid colors (the Neopaque) and the two are supposed to mix well. I bought the 570 Pearlescent Blue for my shoes and the 562 Metallic Olive Green because it’s beautiful. There are useful instructions in both the Jacquard and Dharma Trading websites.
First you need to prep your surface. Remove all the dust and debris. Next, if the shoes are leather, you wipe them down with rubbing alcohol. If pleather, with acetone. Mine were pleather, so acetone it was. I found that a quick wipe wasn’t enough, as the layers of paint started to come off while I worked. I spent probably 45 minutes getting them down to a consistent taupe color.
No, I didn’t leave the sandals part brown. I finished and donated them. In retrospect that wasn’t the color for that type of shoe. But I do love the color.
Once dry you use a fan bush to hand apply the paint (for a solid area). 2 – 3 coats are recommended, if I recall correctly, drying between. I didn’t apply a solid color under my blue since I’d gotten a consistent base shade during cleaning, but it’s something to consider. I also tested some leather sandals that had become uncomfortable and I’d never wear again. After drying and touching up, apply some sort of sealer. I used 2 coats of spray on Modge Podge Hi-Shine sealant. It says to dry for 24 hours. After wearing the blue shoes show no wear and no cracking!
By the Bodkin 