Picture the scene: you’ve just bought a pair of deadly new winter boots and you can’t wait to show them off to the girls.

You put on a fab outfit and slip your feet into your shoes. They’re super-comfy and you’re thrilled with your purchase… until you walk down the street and they have you in absolute agony. Boots are a fantastic wardrobe staple, but unfortunately they can be hard things to break in. We’ve all fallen recklessly in love with a pair of boots only to have them torture our feet and give us more blisters than we can shake a (heavily bandaged) foot at. So what’s a girl to do? Boots are expensive things like and if we’ve dropped a decent sum of money on them, we don’t want something like a pesky bit of pain to ruin the buzz of wearing them. Like with everything, patience is key when it comes to breaking in a difficult pair of shoes. However, there are some things you can do to speed the process up. Here are our tricks for dominating those suckers and getting them to submit. Plasters are your friends: Prevention is always the best cure, so if your boots feel a little tight on your heel or your toes, do yourself a favour by putting a plaster over the offending spot on your foot – this will stop any nasty blisters from forming. The hairdryer method: This method is surprisingly simple and works well on any kind of shoe, just be careful if your boots are leather – the last thing you want to do is damage them. Use common sense, if the leather feels like it’s getting too hot, stop and allow it to cool down. Put on a pair of chunky socks and pull on your boots. Switch on your hairdryer at its top heat setting and aim it on the uncomfortable parts of your shoes. Wiggle and move your toes/foot around like a mad yoke for a few minutes to help the leather stretch. No matter what, don’t remove your shoes. Keep them on until they cool off completely – we recommend doing a few laps of your house to help the leather stretch and mould even more. When they’re cool, take your feet out and remove the chunky socks. Replace them with normal socks and try on your shoes – they should be a hell of a lot more comfier. If they’re not quite there yet repeat the process. Keep repeating it until your shoes are perfect. The spud method: Believe it or not, this actually works and is reported to be a favourite technique used by fashionistas across the globe. It’s very simple. Get some tissue and layer the inside of your shoe with it. Peel a large spud and shove it into your shoe – make sure it’s big enough to create a bulge. Leave the spud in your shoe overnight and allow it to work its spudrific magic. Your shoe will be stretched and comfier by morning. To get rid of the smell of spud, spray a small bit of perfume into your boot and be on your way. The stretching method: Again, this is pretty easy and one you can do while you’re watching the telly at home. Put on your chunky socks and then stretch and bend about the place in your boots. Your movement will cause the leather to shape and mould to your foot. Continue this for about twenty minutes and your shoes will start feeling comfier. No fuss, no muss.