How to Keep Slides on Your Feet

Last Updated on September 16, 2023 by Martina McKeough

Whilst slides have always been a popular unisex footwear choice for summer and the beach their appeal has grown substantially since the advent of Yeezy’s Slides and sportswear brands have become involved in their design. Now wearing slides on your feet isn’t just practical but fashionable as well. However, learning how to keep slides on your feet is a universal problem that many people discover when they try to walk in this style of shoes.

If you have ever felt your feet slip in slides or they have fallen off your feet completely you are not alone. So what can you do to keep your foot inside your shoe instead of suffering the embarrassment of being unable to walk in the latest footwear?

Well, we have a number of solutions that you can try to keep this shoe style on your feet and your dignity intact.

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Buying the Right Size Slides

Getting open-backed shoes or slides to stay on your feet is made easier if you buy the right shoe size right from the start. If you buy shoes that are a half size larger than your feet need it will make all the difference in your ability to keep them on your feet.

Instead of just instantly buying your usual size of shoes try the number of other sizes to get the perfect fit. Remember that if you have narrow feet then it may be necessary to go a half size or more smaller than your normal size in order to get a good fit.

You need the band or the toe box area on the slides that cover your foot to fit snugly so that when you are walking your feet don’t have the ability to move around. This means they won’t slip forward or backwards when you are walking.

Slides that have a thicker band that covers the front area of your foot are usually going to be better than those that have a narrow band. Yeezy or pillow slides for example still cover a large portion of your foot whilst some designer brands only have a small band making it more likely for your feet to slip out of place.

How to Keep Backless Shoes On With Double-Sided Tape

If it is too late to alter the type of shoes that you have purchased the next thing you can start to look at is how to get your feet to adhere to the sole as you walk so they are less likely to fall off.

One way that you can do this is by using double-stick tape as a way of keeping your feet stuck to your shoe. You can buy specialist tape for the or alternatively you can use ordinary sellotape or masking tape.

There are however a couple of problems with this method. Firstly all forms of double-sided tape are likely only to work for one use. This is because dust and debris will stick to them meaning that the sticky surface will eventually lose its grip. So be prepared to refresh the tape near your ball of foot each time you go out.

Secondly, if you are wearing the shoes at the beach or near water the double-sided tape will almost certainly start to fail relatively quickly. Sand will get in the shoe slide impacting the grip and water will stop the tape from sticking completely. This means this method will only work well when you are in more urban environments.

Stop Backless Shoes From Falling Off With Ball of Foot Cushions

If you want to know how to keep slides on your feet then our next tip is to think about using some ball of foot cushions.

Inserts and insoles come in all shapes, sizes and materials and are primarily designed to help keep your feet comfortable as you walk. However, they can also have a useful secondary purpose which is to help keep your feet inside your slides as you walk.

They work because they raise your foot height slightly within the slide meaning that the top of your foot will fit more snugly into your shoe or sandal which prevents feet sliding as you walk.

If you are intending to wear your slides on normal paths then any material will walk to help raise the front of your foot slightly. If you are intending to go near water then you are better off buying gel insoles or metatarsal pads to keep your foot in place.

Using Shoe Bumps to Act as Sole Grips

Shoe Bumps or forefoot pads are a relatively new product on the footcare market which again have been designed primarily for comfort.

These are thin bands with raised sections that are attached at the point where your toes join the ball of your foot.

If you find shoes or slides fall off your feet as you have difficulty with your toes gripping the sole these can help solve the problem. This is because the raised area prevents your toes from sliding out of the shoe and keeps your foot in place.

Once again think about buying the ones made from the gel material as they are more likely to help your toes grip even if you are at the beach.

Is It Ok to Wear Socks With Slides?

The next solution is a slightly controversial one and that is to wear socks with your slides to prevent your foot from slipping as you are walking.

Whilst some fashion-conscious slide wearers think that this is a cool look not everyone would agree. Wearing socks may stop your feet from falling out of your shoes but unless you are in a fashion-conscious environment you may get laughed at.

Also, I think that everyone can agree that even if you think socks look cool in slides they are never really going to be suitable for wearing in hot weather or in a beach environment. Everyone loves slides because they help to keep your feet cool on a summer’s day so encasing your toes in a hot sock defeats the object of wearing them when it’s warm.

How to Keep Feet From Sliding Out of Mules With Padding

In order to fix shoes or slides that are slightly too large or are slipping then you could think about using moleskin padding or similar products to help keep your feet in place as you walk.

Typically this type of padding is taped to areas of your foot where you may feel uncomfortable rubbing or blisters. However, there is nothing to say that you can tape or stick additional padding on the inside of the band of your slides.

When you add additional padding it makes your foot fit more snugly into any slides that you are wearing thereby keeping it in place. Once again padding might not hold up if you are wearing your slides regularly at the beach.

Using Hairspray to Help Your Shoes Stay on Your Feet

Another simple trick to get your slides to stay on your feet is to think about using hairspray as a way of keeping your feet in your slides.

All you need to do is spray the hairspray liberally inside the ball of your foot area of your slides and let it go tacky. Now when you put your bare foot into the slide it should stick to the sole.

If can find any non-slip spray this can also do the job as well. Unlike hairspray this isn’t a common household item and also isn’t as cheap.

Once again this trick won’t work so well if you are going in and out of the water as it will cause the hairspray to dissolve.

Wearing Slides with Rougher Insoles

There are plenty of good techniques to help you keep your shoes or slides on your feet and one of them is to buy a pair that have rougher insoles.

If your shoe style is one that has a totally smooth interior it is going to be substantially harder for you to stop your feet from sliding forward or backwards and out of your shoe. This is because there is nowhere for your foot to stick to when you are walking.

Rougher insoles don’t allow your feet to move so readily inside your shoe making it easier for you to keep them on your feet.

Keep Slides on Your Feet by Reducing Sweat

Shoes like slides and mules tend to come out of our closets in the summer months when the weather is hotter and we want to cool down our feet. The only problem is that summer heat also means that your feet are going to get more sweaty.

Sweaty feet and moisture lead to your feet moving around more in your shoe and can stop you from gripping their soles as you walk. So what can you do to solve the problem?

The best product that we have seen that can help is Carpe Antiperspirant Foot Lotion. This is a product that we rave about when it comes to stopping sweaty feet. All you need to do is place a pea-sized amount on your feet in the morning and evening and you should find that your feet stay nice and dry.

Using Talcum Powder in Your Shoes

If you don’t have any of the foot lotion around that we recommend then our next suggestion would be to use some talcum powder in your shoes or slides.

Talcum powder has the ability to dry out any sweat meaning that your shoes won’t be sliding off your feet. Just make sure that you don’t go too crazy with the powder or it is going to be incredibly visible on your feet.

Buy Slides with Elasticated Backs or Adjustable Straps

Ok, the next solution might also be a bit controversial as a slide is a shoe that literally you can put your foot into without straps or laces. Yet recently there have been some hybrid designs of slides that have elasticized backs or straps that you can wear.

Technically this could be turning the slide into a sandal but the designs are distinctive enough that you can probably tell them apart.

Alternatively, a different shoe style such as Weweya Cloud Slippers has straps that are adjustable by using a buckle mechanism. This system makes it so much easier to tighten or loosen your shoes so that they don’t fall off.

How To Walk In Slides to Stop Them Falling Off

Finally, if you want to avoid all the tips we have talked about today then you may need to practice a different walk to keep your shoes on your feet.

If you walk around with your usual walk without getting your toes to flex and grip more against the bottom of your shoe then it is more likely to fall off.

Remember we can get used to not needing to do anything to keep shoes on our feet because of laces and straps. Slides are different because there is by their very nature going to be more movement. Just get used to gripping with your toes a little more on the footbed and you should find you have fewer problems.