Ladies... what do you do about shoes?

[Opti]

I blame this thread for making me think about shoes and accidently ruining a pair. Slightly OT, has anyone else had their arches drop over the years and needed to buy a larger or wider shoe size? I used to have high arches and buy mostly size 8 and 8.5 and now I buy mostly 8.5 and 9s.

Used a pair of mules to walk outside a couple times and pulled the stitches holding the upper out of the sole. Could a shoe doctor fix something like that or do they need to go to shoe heaven? I wish I had set them aside to give away instead of ruining them.

[Phoenix84]

Seems we have a lot of big girls around here

[Gardening Grandma]

Apr 21, 2011 23:10:05 GMT -5 Opti said:

I blame this thread for making me think about shoes and accidently ruining a pair. Slightly OT, has anyone else had their arches drop over the years and needed to buy a larger or wider shoe size? I used to have high arches and buy mostly size 8 and 8.5 and now I buy mostly 8.5 and 9s.

Used a pair of mules to walk outside a couple times and pulled the stitches holding the upper out of the sole. Could a shoe doctor fix something like that or do they need to go to shoe heaven? I wish I had set them aside to give away instead of ruining them.

"Slightly OT, has anyone else had their arches drop over the years and needed to buy a larger or wider shoe size? I used to have high arches and buy mostly size 8 and 8.5 and now I buy mostly 8.5 and 9s. "

YES! That's me. In my younger days, I wore an 8 1/2. Then 9. Then 9 1/2. The last pair of shoes I bought were size 10! At this rate, when I die, I'll be wearing boats on my feet. Hopefully my arches won't drop any more....

[Deleted]

Apr 22, 2011 2:37:23 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Seems we have a lot of big girls around here

I noticed that, too. My feet are 8 1/2 or 9, depending on the brand. I'm 58 and that used to be considered big feet. I just decided that my shoe size was not something I could control via exercise or diet, my feet worked very well, and I should be grateful.

I wonder what's behind the increasing foot size- are women taller on average, too?

[Opti]

Apr 22, 2011 2:37:23 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Seems we have a lot of big girls around here

Just feet. One of my friends is average height and probably wears size 4 clothing maybe smaller. She wears a 9 Narrow. Our other friend who weighs a bit more than me, we are similiar in height, has the smallest feet usually size 7.5 to 8.

[shanendoah]

I will say, that while having size 11/12 feet is annoying and frustrating, at least some companies make shoes in my size.

I had a friend back in my college days who wore women's 13s or 14s, which they really don't make. Like me, she was fine with men's shoes for casual wear - walking sandals, sneakers, etc, and she took that same thought to find her dress shoes. She found a web site that specialized in women's shoes for female impersonators/drag queens/transvestites. They came in men's sizes, but were women's shoes. Yes, there were some ridiculously glam things that she never would have worn, but there were also a lot of simple pumps and flats.
As far as I know, that's still where she buys her dress shoes from.

[busymom]

Yes, ladies, your feet DO get bigger and/or wider as you get older. Especially if you've been pregnant. I had some great dress shoes for work, but after the birth of DD, they didn't fit me anymore. Oh, well, I still wouldn't trade being a Mommy.

[zibazinski]

I wish my feet would get bigger. It's a bitch trying to find cute shoes that are my size. 5-5 and a half.

[qofcc]

Seems we have a lot of big girls around here

I'm 5'9" and wear a size 14 jeans and a 10 shoe. Looking around, I think that's maybe on the tall side of average, but not excessively so. 25 years ago, I was 5'10" a size 8 jeans and a 9-1/2 shoe. Things shift around as you get older.


Well, I looked at zappos this weekend and I found a pair of Clarks to replace the $25 black side zip loafers from Dress Barn that are cracking on top and showing the fabric inside, but they're $75 and I just haven't been able to bring myself to press the buy button. I think I saw a Clarks store at the fancy mall on the other side of town, maybe they have sales. I know I need to find real leather ones so they don't wear out after a couple of years, but I'm having sticker shock.