Name: kathy
Message: I have tried getting 3 pr. of satin shoes dyed to match a silver/taupe dress. They all come out pink. I have now invested as much into shoes as my dress. Is there a way to bleach out satin shoes or go over them with a dye that will give them a silver/taupe look. THEY ARE A PINKISH TAUPE NOW AND I NEED A SILVER TAUPE

A problem with your question is that you don't say what the fiber content of the satin fabric covering the shoes may be. The word 'satin' means only that the fabric is woven in a particular smooth weave, but satin can be made from any fiber. However, it is most likely that what you have there is polyester, as I have not heard of shoes covered with a natural fiber recently. Polyester is a difficult fiber to dye, as it will take dye only at boiling temperatures or above, which will destroy any shoe. Most likely your shoes have been 'dyed' with paint, rather than actual fabric dye.

Polyester cannot be bleached in any way. Bleach will permanently damage polyester fibers, turning them an ugly yellow.

By 'silver taupe', do you mean grey? The problem with your pinkish taupe shoes is that they have too much red in them. The addition of the right amount of the opposite color, green, may help to tone down the pink to a neutral grey; adding just the right amount can be difficult, however.

Alternatively, you could use an opaque fabric paint that will cover up most of the color. An excellent brand of opaque fabric paint is Neopaque; you would have to mix black and white in order to achieve a grey. However, if you are purchasing fabric paint to use on your shoes, perhaps you would prefer to use a true metallic silver, such as Lumiere Metallic Silver. If you have a friend with an airbrush, using it to apply this paint, after mixing it with water, would produce the smoothest results. Otherwise, use a foam brush to dab the paint on, a little at a time. There is no guarantee of perfect results, especially the first time that you try to do this yourself. It is highly unfortunate that whoever dyed your shoes has not corrected the problem for you.



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