Breaking in a new pair

Leather does not shrink to your foot. It softens and it creases, and where it creases is decided in the first few weeks of wearing. That is the whole of what breaking in means.

What changes and what does not

The vamp, the part over the toes and instep, softens first and creases across the flex point. The shaft follows, and settles into the shape of the leg. The counter around the heel firms up rather than loosening. The sole flexes a little more with use.

What does not change is length. If the toes are against the end on day one they will be against the end in a year. Length is a decision, not a break-in problem.

Doing it

1. Wear the pair indoors for an hour or two at a time, in the sock you plan to use them with.
2. Build up over a week or so before a full day out.
3. Expect heel movement at first. A new boot lifts slightly at the heel and settles as the sole flexes. A quarter inch of lift is normal and disappears.
4. Stop for the day when something rubs, rather than pushing through it. A blister sets you back further than the afternoon was worth.

When it is the boot, not the break-in

Some things do not settle, and it saves everyone time to recognise them early. Pain across the widest part of the foot means the boot is too narrow, and width does not come with wear. Toes touching the end means it is too short. A heel that slides the full length of the boot after a fortnight means it is too big, and a thicker sock is a patch rather than a fix.

Tightness over the instep while pulling on is different, and usually does settle. The instep is where a pull-on boot is tightest by design, because that is the only thing holding it on.