Songfacts®:

• "Trying On Shoes" is Tate McRae's version of standing in front of a mirror and deciding, quite firmly, I'm never crying over that man again. It's a post-breakup empowerment anthem in the same family as "Tit For Tat," but with more glitter and less emotional litigation.
• McRae treats retail therapy and emotional clarity as equally valid coping strategies.
  
  Tryin' on shoes, puttin' on glitter
  Anything to make me a little less bitter
  
  The song stacks next to "Purple Lace Bra," another McRae track with themes of defiance and self-worth. While "Trying On Shoes" is about reclaiming her personality after a personal relationship failed, "Purple Lace Bra" is about fighting to be heard and valued for her mind and art in a world that only pays attention to her body.
• "Trying On Shoes" contains specific petty observations, the kind that suggests McRae actually lived this, such as dropping a diary in a pool to symbolically erase memories associated with a former lover. In October 2025, McRae posted an Instagram Story from Bologna showing a wet page from her diary. There's also the detail of a partner who "rolled his eyes at all your shows," disrespecting her music career.
• Fans have speculated the song might be aimed at Australian hitmaker The Kid Laroi, who McRae broke up with in July 2025. The timeline certainly fits; breakup in summer, empowerment track by November, and the same general "good riddance" vibe that exists on other tracks like "Nobody's Girl" and "Tit For Tat."
• Tate McRae wrote "Trying On Shoes" with Emile Haynie, Grant Boutin, and Amy Allen. All four are credited as both composers and lyricists on the track.
• "Trying On Shoes" is one of four new songs included on McRae's deluxe edition of her third studio album, So Close to What???
• Larry Gold and Steve Tirpak arranged the strings. They frequently work together as a strings team on pop and R&B records, with credits on projects like Lana Del Rey's "Born To Die" and some Bruno Mars/Silk Sonic tracks. Gold and Tirpak also collaborated with Tate McRae on the So Close to What??? song "Nobody's Girl."