Here's a little known trick to help those shoes fit better quicker. You can even use this trick for softening your stored leather shoes. Many people buy shoes a little tight because they know they will eventually stretch or give. So they bare the discomfort until they do. The oils, moisture, pressure and heat of your body loosens the fit over time, but you can intervene and speed up the process.

Fill your steam iron and set it to the highest heat and steam setting. You can work both sides to get faster results by dampening a cloth and running your iron over the rag until it becomes hot. But not so hot that you can't handle it with your hands.

Stuff the hot rag inside the shoe pushing it as far as it will go toward the front. Hover the iron over the outside of the shoe. preferably around the instep and heel area. The instep is the top of your foot approx, two inches from your flexing joint.

Be careful as to how much time and heat you use for man made materials. They could go the opposite direction and harden to no use. Or distort out of shape. The steam works its way quicker than you think, so work fast.

Take the rag out and put the shoe on and walk around a bit until the shoe cools significantly. Repeat until you're satisfied with the outcome. Because the shoe is going to naturally give, you don't have to be as aggressive about trying to get it to give where it's totally comfortable. You can go too far too soon.

 Just keep in mind that your old shoes have stretched to fit like a glove and you've grown used to that feel. So most shoes will seem a little stiff out of the box anyway.