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Hasbeen great!

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt's yellow shoes Swedish Hasbeens 

I was watching the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix last night, when I noticed Kimmy was wearing super-high yellow peep-toe Swedish Hasbeens - the exact ones I have! I really like how the yellow shoes were paired with other bright colors such as fuchsia pink.

I have a confession to make. I'm a Hasbeens addict. I own several pairs, I don't know how many. I wear Hasbeens most days, and I walk a lot. I'm going to share with you some of the things I've discovered over the past year. 

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Comfort

In my opinion, the peep-toe is the most comfortable style.They look really high, but because of the platform, they are very comfortable to wear and easy to walk in. Breaking them in takes a little time; I've described the process below. 

Breaking in

Oiling the leather is a HUGE help with the breaking in process as well as protecting the leather and wood. The leather is very thick high quality stuff, therefore it is very stiff at first. They take several wears to break in, and there may be a little pain involved (as in a blister or two), or there may not.  

These shoes cut a little into my foot at the top when I walked an hour in them. I mistakenly thought that they were broken in because I had already worn them several times, and they were so comfortable already. However, being a novice I hadn't yet oiled them. 

I didn't wear them for a week or so, then I oiled the shoes, and stretched them by shoving another pair of Hasbeens inside them straight after the oiling, and I left them overnight. 
They have stretched width-wise so be careful if/when you stretch them because if you over stretch them you can't go back! It is a good idea to don a cute pair of socks with these the first few times you wear them. And maybe keep some band-aids in your purse.

Care 

Do like the instructions say and use olive oil on both the leather and the lime wood. The manufacturer only recommends that you use oil on the 'nature' or un-dyed shoes, but I use oil on all my Hasbeens with the exception of the metallics. The natural leather turns a lovely deep brown, a much darker shade to what it is prior to oiling. My red pair also turned a deep red, which I really like. For lighter colors, such as yellow or white, I would ONLY oil the inside parts of the leather (the raw, non-dyed parts).


I noticed some comments on Amazon about the wood getting dirty - you can see some marks on the wood in the photo. When I notice this happening I sand the wood part of the shoe, including the foot bed (the part where my foot goes), then I oil the whole thing with olive oil. The great part about this is - no more smelly shoes! As well as sanding off any discolouration, you also sand off any smell. Eventually the wood is lovely and smooth, and I think that even this has contoured a little to my feet from constant use. 

The sanding and oiling is part of the shoe maintenance, just like they did back in the in old days. I guess the leather is supposed to soften and darken. I realise that many people may not be used to having to actually maintain their shoes in our disposable throw-away culture, but this is an investment. Imagine how much less landfill there'd be if people held onto their shoes for a lifetime. I plan to with these.

Wearing after breaking in

These are now my go-to shoes. After lots of wear, the leather is now the exact shape of my foot - they actually do fit like a glove for my foot.

They look great and go with just about anything! They have a vintage 1940s style to them, and are flattering to the leg.

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Sizing

There seems to be a bit of confusion around sizing, judging by reviews on Amazon. My recommendation is to always go by your European size. I know I'm a 40, so I buy that size, regardless if the 40 is marked a US 9 or 10.

Get yourself a pair! 

There are often great bargains to be had direct from Swedish Hasbeens. They have a US Store and a Worldwide store. I'm usually able to buy a pair there for under $100. 

Amazon is another great place to buy these shoes. My trick is to put them in my cart or 'save for later' then keep checking back to see if they've gone on sale. When I they go on sale I nab them! I've bought Hasbeens for as low as $70 and $50 in the past. So keep checking for items on Amazon!

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