Dying Shoes at David's Bridal

I also wanted to add - for those who've had shoes dyed elsewhere, how did they do with color matching? We want the shoes to match the dresses and dark purple can be a bit of a hit or miss thing.

I'd do black or silver shoes instead to be on the safe side. Plus, purple dress and purple shoes seems too matchy.

That's a great idea!

Well, we thought about silver, but since they already have silver on them, I think that'll be too much. And we don't have anything else black in the wedding. If we go through David's Bridal, I don't think the purple will be too different. I'm just worried about the issues above and if I decide to get them dyed somewhere else because of them. It's a pretty formal wedding and their dresses are floor length, so I'm not too worried about matchy.

I'd mostly be worried about the waterproofing stuff ruining the color. I used some once on sneakers I really liked only for the color to become splotchy in spots.

ETA: I imagine it'd be worse on shoes that are already prone to having the color run.

You do you boo!

Unless you have short dresses, no one will see the shoes. My BM dresses were DB in Plum, and the girls wore gold shoes (also from DB), i would nix the dyeable shoes, i don't think having shoes the same color as the dress is a good match, you want something that compliments.

ETA: just because you don't have anything else black in the wedding, does not mean you cannot do black shoes. Keep it simple, the more you over think things, the more complicated everything gets. no one will say "omg they are wearing black shoes, there isn't a single other black thing in their wedding!"

When one of my bridesmaids got married she had her shoes dyed red and the dye came off a little bit on her feet. She had them dyed at least 4 months prior. Otherwise they worked out fine for her!

I know that red dye in general tends to bleed more than other colors. I would call the store and ask for their opinion for the color that you are working with.

Edit, wanted to add that I am not sure if she waterproofed them or not!

Lauren, that's exactly what I'm worried about. I'm not too terribly worried about the color running on the day of if their feet sweat. Because honestly, the only photos specifically of the shoes will likely be while we're still getting ready or maybe during the bridal party photos. I actually already warned the bridesmaids that I've read the dye jobs will stain their feet, so wear hosiery. Haha. The biggest concern for me is making sure that the dye won't run or streak or something through humidity this summer.

I'm a little OCD and have to have everything done ASAP. Haha. Our entire wedding has been almost entirely planned since before Christmas. I've even already had hair and makeup trials! I'm nuts.

Edit: SaraLep, I understand what you're saying for sure. I do like the look of the purple satin shoes with the purple satin dresses, though. We already did buy the shoes, so no returning them there.

My sister was MOH and I was a bridesmaid for a wedding. My shoes were available already colored but my sister had to dye her shoes (and the color was regency). David's Bridal suggested that she bring her shoes in to be dyed when she brought her dress in for alterations. Waterproofing was never suggested and we didn't consider it. The reception was at a country club and we had to walk through grass to get to a picture location. The grass was damp and my sister's shoes stained her feet but the color didn't run on the outside of the shoes.

Theresa, that's very helpful! Does it get fairly humid where she lives? We're buying a dehumidifier for our apartment this week, but still. Paranoid.

Edit: Holy 5 posts, Batman! Sorry about that, guys. I don't know what happened.

Connie, we are in MA and it was the beginning of May so there was a little humidity but my sister hates humidity so her AC runs most of the time. In order to alleviate the stress, I would suggest having the girls bring the shoes in to be dyed when they take their dresses in for alterations. They will need the shoes for alterations anyway so it should be a problem.

Poor shoes. They were so young!

Waterproofing doesn't work on dyed shoes. It gets spotty, and ruins the colors. If their feet sweat, the color will run, and stain their feet, so be prepared for that.

I had a pair dyed 4 months before a wedding, my feet were pink halfway through the day(you couldn't see it unless I took the shoes off) and the color started to run after walking on a damp sidewalk.

Theresa, they're actually recommending we bring them all in together so we can be sure that the same batch of dye is used. My MOH's apartment doesn't get terribly humid (she has a much better AC than we have, hah!) so I might just take them all in and give them to her to store.

Edit: Thank you, Kayla! Luckily we're already prepared for day-of staining. Haha.

I would be really upset if i was told i needed to wear hosiery, if that was me. I think you have great intentions, but you need to think a little bit more from a bridesmaids POV. I would not wear hosiery with a long dress, regardless of what the bride told me to do.

SaraLep, 2 of the 3 bridesmaids have told me that they were already planning on wearing hosiery. I am certainly not going to MAKE them wear it, but I told them it might be a good idea if they did just because of the staining issue. If they want purple feet, more power to them.

We all voted on the color of the shoes and everything as well - all of my BMs loved the purple with the purple dresses. I feel like this is getting a bit snarky and I'm not sure why?

I dyed a pair once through DB and I sprayed then with Scotchgard. I think the can said to spray them twice, letting them dry between sprays. I had no issues with the dye getting messed up.

I think timeline, I had them dyed right after I bought the shoes, which was 6 months before the wedding. I put the Scotchgard on immediately after I picked them up when they were finished, which I think was within a week.

Samantha, thank you so much! That was very helpful. Part of me wants to go buy a test pair of shoes and have them dyed, then scotch-guarded to see how it holds up, but then that other part of me doesn't want to spend that money. Haha!

My shoes have been dyed in the Regency color by DB and they look amazing.

1. You can get them as early as you want, but I would suggest at least two months out. I ordered mine on the 7th of February and they weren't ready until the 1st of March.

2. I don't think the humidity will affect them any. I'm also not sure about waterproofing them. The consultant I had suggested that to keep them from getting wet, have a second pair of shoes handy to walk around in until it's time for the ceremony.

3. I wear a size 8 and mine still fit as great as they did before the dying.