Dye your bare white sneakers in instant coffee? Okay, here we go

Among fans of white sneakers there are people who cannot stand the slightest dirt and those who accept the inevitable.

Once they have lost some of their original luster, you can try coloring them in a more or less dark nude shade quite easily, as this exciting trick reveals like an espressospotted on Instagram.

Give a second life to white sneakers by making them nude

You may have noticed that perfectly solid one-color sneakers are trendy and can even cost an arm and a leg. So rather than break the bank, this tutorial gives a second life to not quite white sneakers.

It’s a certain Cate, alias @onepineappleonelove on Instagram, a specialist in sneaker customization who proposes it.

How to dye white sneakers nude with instant coffee, the tutorial

This DIY involves making a large batch of instant instant coffee (not the amount of an espresso or two, but rather half a can, what) in a container (like a basin or mop bucket) large enough to completely hold the her white sneakers.

The water must not boilbarely hot to dissolve the coffee in, and wait for it to return to a tepid temperature (bearable with your hands) before dipping your sneakers in it.

Then drown them in for at least ten minutes and check if the intensity of the color suits you (knowing that it will lose about a shade or two of foundation when rinsed off) before rinsing well with warm water.

You can then let your caffeine-containing artwork sit in the fresh air. The false good idea would be to place them in front of a radiator : such proximity to a heat source would damage the skin. Too direct exposure to the sun could also alter the color.

2 more tips to optimize the result of dyeing sneakers with coffee

For the coffee-dye-the-sneaker phase, you’re free to take off the laces before the big dive, in order to keep them white, or simply leave them in the shoes to get a completely uniform result. Even if that’s not what @onepineappleonelove does in her tutorial, I still suggest you remove them from the eyelets if you want to dye them in the same vat, in order to avoid unsightly marks in the less dyed areas in the long run.

And before dyeing, especially if it’s not new sneakers, you can wash them in the washing machine in order to leave them on a clean and uniform base and thus optimize the result.

To do this, simply brush them evenly to remove the bulk of the dirt, remove the laces and place them in a laundry net before placing them in the basket with the shoes. Also wear a large towel or two to cushion the bumps and protect your machine. Then choose a delicate program (maximum 30°C) and without spinning (or, failing that, the most delicate spinning possible) and a small dose of detergent for delicate items.

At the end of the cycle, leave the shoes to dry in the open air and away from the sun (which could alter their colour). And just dye them café au lait to liven up any look.

A photo credit: Instagram screenshot @onepineappleonelove