I got some awesome black Frye engineer boots for Christmas. I have a very similar pair in brown that I have owned and worn regularly for more than ten years. I don't think the brown ones are Frye, but they look almost identical. Anyway, they are the most comfortable shoes I own.
I was very excited when I got my new boots and I loved them upon sight. I put them on and they fit perfectly except they seemed a little bit tight, especially across the top of my foot. I briefly toyed with the idea of exchanging them for the next size up, but because they otherwise fit so perfectly, I was reluctant to do so.
Also, the GIANT size that was the next one available was out of stock at Zappos.
I poked around online a little bit, Googling "Do Frye boots stretch?" and mostly came up with yes. I decided to put in my time working the boots in, knowing that once they relaxed a little they would be awesome.
Then I decided to jump start the breaking in process by taking the boots to a shoe dude to get them stretched. I dropped them off and left them there for about five days, paid my $7 when I picked them up and voila!
Awesome boots.
I was skeptical that it would make a difference at all, but it really did. If you have boots that slightly don't fit perfectly, give it a try!
I'm so excited about these boots now. I'm pretty sure they will last as long as I'm still into wearing black engineer boots.
