Shoe sizes and generosity

OK, have to share.

I have big feet. Most shops don't do shoes my size. Think Ugly Sister Feet. (Thanks for the body confidence, Cinderella.) A couple of years back I was told in one store that their sizes usually come up a size too large, so I tried the 42s and they fit! Just. But it's rare to find a shop that sells 43s, even ones that pretend to be 42s. Nevertheless, I don't really have my pick of shoes and that makes me sad. Actually, it makes me throw things at people, especially when I ask if they have a strappy heel in a 43 and they ask if I've seen the men's selection. Cos although I have used cross-dressing shops before for shoes, they aren't usually high street brands.

So I came across some shoes yesterday. Like doc marten boots but with a 3" heel. My soul cried out for them. They had 42s in. I tried them on, just so my soul could weep as I finished the groceries but feel like at least we tried by the time we got home. I could get my foot in without chopping parts off (thanks again for the idea, Cindy). They are now mine.

I have spent all afternoon walking around the house in them and wondering how long it takes to break in shoes (3 hours so far...). Then I started to wonder how I managed to get my Ugly Sister Feet into a pair of 42s. So, my question: are shoes becoming more generous? Or are my feet shrinking?

And if so, mortgage provider, sorry, you ain't getting paid for the rest of the year. I have almost 20 years of shoe shopping to catch up on.

Clothing sizes are getting larger so maybe shoes are too.

Do they have your size at sales? I have the most average sized feet of all so they never have my size in anything nice at the sales. I always envy the people with really small and really large feet because they always seem to have lots to choose from at sales.

:hug: hun i know exactly how you feel but i honestly don't think they are getting more generous.
I am a size 12 (size 44? ) and sometimes even then i think i need bigger.

I can't buy heels, in the standard shops they go to an 11 and i can't even get close, even in a size 12 my feet are generally too wide.
I don't think i could even walk in heels if i tried now it's been that long since i wore some.

YAY for finding shoes that fit, hopefully the trend there is a little more generous now.

Shoes are definitely not getting larger. Sorry. I'm shopping in the same patch of the size chart as you, and I think there's just a lot of variation. I have an ugly stepsister big toe, which causes me much grief, sometimes the shoe is the right size but there's just not enough depth in the toe zone. I cope by having very low shoe expectations.

:

---

Do they have your size at sales? I have the most average sized feet of all so they never have my size in anything nice at the sales. I always envy the people with really small and really large feet because they always seem to have lots to choose from at sales.

---

No, they rarely have my size in the one shop that does sell them (everyone with big feet knows to go there) so no chance of them being there at the sale. Odd for them to have my size in a week after new stock come in! I generally see lots of 33-41s at sales, whole aisles of 37s, 38s and 39s, which covers "popular" sizes.

:

---

Shoes are definitely not getting larger. Sorry. I'm shopping in the same patch of the size chart as you, and I think there's just a lot of variation. I have an ugly stepsister big toe, which causes me much grief, sometimes the shoe is the right size but there's just not enough depth in the toe zone. I cope by having very low shoe expectations.

---

So do I, MD, which is why I was amazed these fit. My only expectation is that I not be shown men's shoes when out shopping, but even that's more of an "I'll leave the shop now" moment than an expectation.

:

---

:hug: hun i know exactly how you feel but i honestly don't think they are getting more generous.
I am a size 12 (size 44? ) and sometimes even then i think i need bigger.

I can't buy heels, in the standard shops they go to an 11 and i can't even get close, even in a size 12 my feet are generally too wide.
I don't think i could even walk in heels if i tried now it's been that long since i wore some.

YAY for finding shoes that fit, hopefully the trend there is a little more generous now.

---

I was in heels from a very young age - my feet have been in women's sizes since junior school and no-one with women's size feet in the 80s wore flats, or at least I didn't. I find flats difficult to manage.

I'm still excited. Plus I didn't have to order winter boots from the one shop that does normally do my size and thus saved myself fifty quid.

I can relate but not for me, my 12 year old girl is in size11-12 womens, but still skinny like a 12 year olds. Shoe shopping is such a pain.