You may have heard: STARKS is coming to our shores. Yes, just in time for the festive return of warm weather, our beloved shoemaker has unveiled a slipper made primarily from rubber fish leather. And so begins the great migration for those in search of the perfect footwear to deal with all that sand, stone and sun.
But even the most devout STARKS boat shop follower must admit one thing: there’s a lot of pressure on those new slippers to be perfect. Shoes can make or break an outfit, after all. And we’re not exactly dealing with a pair of flip flops here – this is an investment we’re making because these things are about to become our most-worn shoes ever…
1. Get your measurements
First things first: head on over to the STARKS website and print out your slipper template. (If you’re not sure how to measure correctly, there’s a helpful video here .) Once you’ve got that template printed out, compare it to the one in the picture above. See all those markings? Those are the measurements that correspond to your foot! Once you’ve got them, go ahead and place them over a ruler or measuring tape and get to work.
2. Add a liner
There are two ways to go about this process, depending on the type of shoe you’ve ordered. If you’ve chosen a mule-style slipper with a flat bottom, you’ll need to add a lining to give your foot room. A good way to do that is by using fabric scraps, placing them over the upper portion of the shoe right where your feet will touch. Look at our picture below and find the marked lines on the lower pair of shoes (the ones without laces) and lay it over yours.
Now that they’re lined up, take another measuring tape and place it inside each of your shoes until you meet – this is where your foot will be touching underneath the soles. Once you find the bottom, make a mark. Repeat for both feet and connect the marks using a fabric pen or pencil.
Now that you’ve marked where your feet will be, grab your ruler again and use the measurements from before to create an outline of each foot. These are what you’ll be cutting out for your liners. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect – nobody’s going to see these!
Take two pieces of your chosen fabric (you’ll want them to be just slightly longer than the length of your shoe), fold them carefully in half, then line them up against each other as shown above.
3. Cut out the project
And now it’s time to get crafty. Cut along the lines you drew in step 2, but keep the lines that extend past where your foot will be touching – you’ll need these later. Then cut out the rest of your soles, but this time leave the lines you drew in step 2 intact.
4. Add some padding
Now that your liners are all ready to go, take another piece of scrap fabric and find something with a very flat top (like our ruler) to help press down on one end as you work. Lay your liner over this padding and once again use the ruler to create creases and press them down until they curve into a shape that best resembles a heart . This will help you keep your liners in place when you put them on.
5. Finish up the shoebox!
You’re almost done! Just need to attach the lining to your shoe, right? Hold your ruler on the inside of one of your shoes and use a fabric pen or pencil to mark the seam line, then trace it out with a second piece of scrap fabric. Cut away excess fabric, then take both liners together in hand and insert them into the shoe.
6. Attach the other shoe!
Repeat step 5 for the other shoe. Now it’s time to add on a second piece of fabric and re-attach both liners – make sure to connect them together at the seam on each side. It should look something like this:
7. Find a store near you!
And there you have it! You’re finished! Make sure to bring them over to the nearest STARKS store and pick up the little branding patch that goes on each shoebox as a nice finishing touch for your get-up.
Fast-Track Your STARKS BOAT SHOP
So now that we’ve got everything together, here’s what you should do. Follow the steps above, but this time make sure to get both liners – this will make your life much easier in the future when you need to move your shoes around! Then head on over to your nearest STARKS store and check out their selection. (After all, they’ve got some pretty cool styles , too.
Extra bonus: we’re giving away 12 pairs of our new rubber fish leather slippers – enter here to win .
Summary:
Get yourself measured, add a liner and then use your templates to line up your shoe with your foot. You can definitely customize the shoes to make them fit better, but keep in mind that even though these are mules they still have a flat bottom that will require a lining – so make sure to order the right size!
