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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Wedding: I think I have the SHOES!

You may remember my major shoe crisis for the wedding.  I sent back the orange-ey yellow ones I didn't really like, since they didn't fit well, anyway.  So I was quite discouraged until I randomly scrolled through Amazon's formal shoe selection and found...

For only $29.97 and free shipping...

The PERFECT Nina shoes I have always liked best!!  The ones that don't come in yellow.

In white!!  In my size!

So I ordered them.  I want to dye them yellow.  I think.

And then... they arrived!

In such a pretty box... with the flannel protective bag and everything...

Yay!!  So cute!

So there they are.  My perfect $90 shoes.  For a great price.  Now what?

Have you ever dyed your own satin shoes?  What kind of dye should I use?  I assume not the powdered RIT stuff, but can I buy a liquid dye at the craft store and will it work out?

I think I may take off a bow and try to dye it first, and if it works, dye both shoes.  I may want to replace the bows with something more unique anyway, so if it comes out looking bad it won't be the end of the world.

Help!  I am relying on your shoe-dying experience!  Thanks so much!!  =)

28 comments

  1. I love the shoes like this too. I would not dare to dy my shoes, I think you're really brave, what colour would you dy them?

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  2. I got nothing...but was going to suggest dying the bows first then read that sentence :) Good luck! The shoes are super cute though!!

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  3. While I'm usually all about the DIY stuff, this may be a task better left to professionals. I would suggest searching for a reputable shoe repair shop in your area that has plenty of experience dyeing shoes...bring in the shoes with a piece of cloth in the color you want them to be dyed. Nordstrom has a pretty good checklist for this sort of thing: http://about.nordstrom.com/help/faq/dyeing-shoes.asp

    If you do end up trying it yourself, I think using the bow fabric as testers is a great idea...either way, congratulations on getting the shoes you wanted!

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  4. they look soooo wunderful !
    great choice : )

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  5. I think the shoes are perfect the way they are. Why do you want to dye them? What colour? Is the bow removeable? If so, could you use shoe paint to paint the shoes and get a replacement bow?

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  6. I second the suggestion to take them to a professional. A friend's mother used to run a wedding boutique and dye shoes, and she got great results every time but it seemed like a process. Since you finally got shoes you love (which are super cute), I would play it safe.

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  7. I am sorry I can't help you but the second pair of shoes is just incredible!!!

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  8. The bridal shop we have in town custom dyes shoes to match for less than twenty bucks, I would check around for someone with the experience locally first.

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  9. a few years ago i had to have shoes dyed for a bridesmaid dress. i agree with letting a professional do it. if i remember right, it wasn't expensive and they got the shoes the exact color i needed.

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  10. Cheryl Designs4/30/2011

    HI :) CUTE Shoes :) I sew for a living :) One of my customers had a pair of $9 eBay satin shoes dyed at...'Dyemyshoes.com'. It cost $15.00 and that included the return shipping. They did a PERFECT job :) I cut a piece of her dress off to send with the shoes and the color match was perfect :) Our area has NO resources for shoe dying within a 60 mile radius. This is my first experience with them, but they are great :) Thought I would let you know :)

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  11. Most of the liquid fabric dye you get at the fabric store has to be washed afterwards, like in a washing machine, and I don't think your shoes could handle that. I agree that you should find someone else to do it!

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  12. Cobi Davies5/01/2011

    They are the same as the ones I had for my wedding! Love them!

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  13. As strange as it sounds; head into a Payless store. I know they offer shoe dying just not sure if it has to be their shoes. And if they can't die it, they can probably get you some information.

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  14. I've never dyed satin shoes, but I HAVE painted them. I used a pewter metallic paint and a fabric medium to paint over black satin. It went BEAUTIFULLY! So, I would highly reccomend that. I'd say the only trick would be to get something with sheen....and there's probably a medium for that too.

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    Replies
    1. Brianne, I'm actually looking into painting my satin wedding shoes. They are a beige-y color right now, and I'd want ocean waves on them. What brand/style of paint should I use? I see these $300 pairs online, and they look beautiful. What sort of paint do you think they use? I want it to look that good!

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    2. Brianne, I'm looking into having my artistic friend paint my beige satin wedding shoes. What sort of paint/brand name of paint should I get for her? I don't want the paint to chip or anything, but I want it to look as good as the $300 pairs that online companies paint for you. I know nothing about paint...

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  15. Ooh gorgeous shoes! :)

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  16. Beautiful shoes! Go to a professional, you don't want your feet or your dress yellow!

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  17. I would definitely go pro or get a pair of really cheap white satin shoes to play with dying to see how they turn out before attempting it on those beauties. Those shoes are amazing!

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  18. Thanks for the tips!! As a die-hard DIYer, it's hard for me to think about letting the professionals do it, but of all times this is probably the one to relinquish control! I will check out dying options in Portland. And also probably read some dye bottles myself! ;)

    I have dreamed of yellow shoes for my wedding for a while now, and they will be great with the color scheme and theme!

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  19. I worked in a ballet costume shop for a while and we used Prismacolor markers when we needed to dye point shoes (which are also a satin fabric). They come in several different yellows and are available at art supply stores!

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  20. I'm having trouble imagining your dress with yellow shoes- with the different shades of tulle, isn't that going to clash? Love the idea of yellow shoes, I just can't picture the yellow that would look right with it.

    Also, I love the idea of the marker. I think that might be your DIY best bet.

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  21. I first read that you had found the "PERFECT NINJA shoes" and I was so excited to see what that mean.

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  22. @Claire: Markers! Whoa!! Pointe shoes are a very similar kind of satin, so that could work... does the color look even, or striped/shaded??

    @happyfamily, hm, my mom shares your concern about the color. I love yellow. I want yellow shoes, and yellow and grey look good together... I dunno, I guess I shouldn't dye them till the dress is done and I can see them together! I don't want it to look weird...

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  23. if you decide to DIY (which i strongly suggest against), go to this site: http://www.dharmatrading.com/

    i dyed my wedding dress (after the wedding so that i could wear it again) with dye i purchased from this site. it's also a great resource about the kinds of dye to use for different fabrics: http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2513703-AA.shtml?lnav=dyes.html

    good luck! i love yellow. great color choice.

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  24. Love the shoes! They will look amazing! I dyed a pair of white vintage shoes in RIT once and they turned out perfectly. I've used RIT on tons of DIY stuff and its never let me down. Good luck!

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  25. Anonymous5/06/2011

    My Mom used to dye shoes with food color mixed with water. She'd use bleach water to take out that color and re-dye them something else. They weren't $90. shoes, though. They were the fabric shoes you could get at the less expensive shoe stores.

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  26. I love this kind of shoes too. And I think when make some clothes with this kind of silk fabric from http://www.silkfabricwholesale.com/ would be better too. Do you think so?

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