Creating your own fabulous pair of disco mirrored shoes, heels, or boots is easier than you think! I’ll show you exactly how I made this pair of boots that will be perfect for your Taylor Swift Eras or Beyonce Renaissance tour look (or, heck, for any occasion. These boots will steal the show). You only need a few supplies that are easy to find in order to make your own disco boots!
Supplies:
Disco mirrors
e-6000 (or equivalent) glue
Spray Primer (I used Zinsser B-I-N primer)
Silver Spray Paint
A couple notes on suppies: For the Disco mirrors, I had leftover from my previous disco project, so my estimation is that I used about 3 sheets of mirrors per shoe, so you should be able to get the 3600 or 7200 mirror option at that Amazon link. For glue, I used e-6000, which is an industrial-strength glue, but it’s pretty toxic so I only really worked outdoors in the fresh air to make these shoes. For other disco projects I’ve used gemtac glue, but I wanted the added strength of the e-6000. The Zinsser B-I-N primer is pretty expensive for a spray can ($20) but it’s really good at sticking to most materials. I had it on hand from a prior project so I chose to use it. You don’t have to, but I sprayed the shoes silver so that any spaces where the mirrors didn’t cover would still be silver like the mirrors, including the rubber edge of the sole which isn’t covered, so it helps the cohesiveness of the shoes. Okay, let’s get into the process!
Before you start, you want to consider what shoes to use. I chose booties because I wanted to have a lot of mirrors and a lot of surface to cover. I thrifted these boots in a larger size than my feet because it wanted to avoid as much bending of the shoe’s material as possible. You also want the material of the shoe to be pretty stiff, again, to avoid as much bending as possible.
Prime and paint the shoes. Depending on the color of shoes you use, you may be able to skip this step. I used Zinsser B-I-N primer first because I wanted to get a really solid bond with the material of the shoe. I didn’t want to glue the mirrors on and then have the paint peel off, taking the mirrors with them. BIN is a really great primer that sticks super well, but it is pricey. I’m sure any standard primer would work pretty well. I then did a coat of silver spray paint. This covered any areas that the mirrors wouldn’t be on, like the sides of the soles, as well as any gaps between mirrors.
Next, I started gluing! My method of putting disco mirrors on is to start with one mirror and the start making a circles around that, so essentially starting at the “pole” of the disco ball. This prevents you from getting to a spot and having to haphazardly put mirrors on. It also ensures it has the feel of a disco ball, even though you’re putting them on something that isn’t spherical. You can see what I’m talking about in the second photo below. I started like this in two spots on these boots, right on the tip of the toe (like in the second photo), and then at the very base of the back of the heel. I brought the front pattern up about halfway back on the shoe and brought the back pattern up to meet that. These shoes had zippers on either side which made for a nice breaking point for those two patterns to meet. You can see what I mean in the 3rd and 4th photo below. Depending on your shoes, you may want to adjust where you start, but always start with the “pole” of the disco ball.
I’d do just a single bead of glue, one row at a time. When you’re starting you’ll have to do one mirror at a time and once the curve gets bigger and less tight, you’ll be able to put on strips of 2-4 at a time. These mirrors do come with adhesive backs, but the adhesive isn’t strong enough for something like a shoe.
Keep glueing until you’re done and that’s really it!
Note that the mirrors will tend to pop off at points where theres a bend in the shoe. I didn’t have any issues with this when I was just walking around normally, but I shot a bunch of photos where I was sitting on the ground and when I’d get up off the ground, the bend at the toe joint had some mirrors pop off. Getting the shoe a size or so bigger than my actual shoe size allowed my foot to bend inside the shoe without bending the shoe itself a bit more than if I’d bought a shoe my exact size.
These would be perfect for an event like a wedding, or a cocktail party, even a concert. Heavy dancing would definitely give a bit more wear and tear, just because those hinging spots will bend more. But, again, you can keep some spare mirrors and glue on hand and just replace any that pop off before your next event or party!
