Mainstream women's shoes only going up to a size 8

M&S are too small for me, even though they claim they're an 8. Next are great though.

Next and m&s

I am 5 ft 10 and a size 42, which in most shops means I can't fit in a size 8. So normally end up having to get size 9s. It was probably the most depressing thing for me growing up, seeing my friends being able to buy all the trendy shoes for school and I had to wear the ugliest shoes in the world! I remember a shop assistant and my mum having to make up a story that they would 'order them in' for me because I was so upset in the shoe shop. No surprises that those shoes never arrived! At least nowadays there are options and I'm sure I'll be able to help my daughter who is going to have similar issues in terms of shoe size.

Try being an adult 2. It's kids shoes only pretty much!

Sorry, I thought I had succeeded in making the first line bold, meaning I was quoting the person who said 9 is 41. As far as I'm concerned, 41 is about a 7½.

I was similar, size 9 when I was 11 back in 1974. I had to wear the most horrendous shoes that my granny would have rejected as frumpy. Plus, my school uniform included knee length fawn socks which only came in one size and were far too small for me (and too short as I was tall too)so I had to wear some my mum had dyed approximately the right colour…
I came to London for university in 1982 and thought I had died and gone to heaven when I discovered the tall and small shoe shop in the basement at Lilley and Skinner on Oxford Street.
Then mainstream shops started stocking size 8 and I could get my feet into them so I convinced myself that they fit. I was in my 50s before I realised you didn’t have to be in pain when you wore shoes. I have hammer toes as a legacy of that long lasting bit of stupidity.
I now shop at Magnus which is expensive but one pair does me for a long time.

Size 9 / 43 here too.
Decided I can only shop at Gabor / Charles Clinkard going forwards.

I'm 5'8.5" (that 0.5" is very important!) and a size 9 - apparently, I should have been 6', if the old 'half the length of the thigh bone at 2' thing is to be believed (1980s kid here).

I also have massive hands, so maybe the rest of me just didn't get the memo.

I understand your reasoning, but no: men's shoes tend to be wider and as a narrow but long-footed woman, that doesn't work for me.

As a counterpart, I have a chum who is quite wee for a chap (5'5") and has size 5 feet: he says buying 'grown up' shoes on the high street is practically impossible.

I'm a 3. But at least I can buy kids. Though I suppose bigger footed women can buy mens. It's thd bigger footed man that has nowhere to go.

Sometimes TK Max have size 9’s, although usually nothing to my taste. I’m an 8, and wide so you have my sympathies. I looked at Clark’s as they used to do a fair number of 9’s, but not much showing. M&S advertised some, but other brands

In outside the UK and don't have an issue - I'm a 9, occasionally a 10 in sports shoes, and have an alarming number of shoes.

I wonder if this is linked to the UK population being shorter, on average, compared to US/Australia/parts of Europe and therefore the average shoe size is also smaller?

My sons wear 13 and 15, the latter is tricky but not impossible thanks to online shopping from the US.

@AlwaysFreezing , sorry yes. UK 7 is 40 or 41.

It's the same with men's shoes. They only go to 11 or 12 and the 12 is often sold out because they don't stock many in case they get stuck with them

Okay so not that recent but here it is

To think it's not unusual for a woman to have size 42+ feet ... http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/4612972-to-think-its-not-unusual-for-a-woman-to-have-size-42-feet

Me, I'm an 8.5. So can fit into some 8s.
Thank god for the internet. I remember in the early 90's traipsing round shops all day with not one shoe that fit me. Being told to either try men's shoes or possibly a transvestites shoe shop 😳

There was a thread about this recently, I will see if I can find it as it had some good suggestions on it. Personally I find LTS good for big shoes and next okay. I have given up trying to buy them in shops though, I just order online and return most of what I buy.

I'm a size 41/42 so buy anything from 7-8 depending how it's labelled and what brand
5ft 10 and top heavy so I would fall over with smaller feet!

Yup I'm a wide 4 have the same experience

This is 100% incorrect

Have you never looked at the sale racks in a shoe shop? Rows and rows of size 4, 5 and 6, then half a shelf combined for size 8 and 9. Similar for size 3.

9 is 41 or 42.

Are you American? 41 (which is the size that fits me best) is usually considered either a 7 or 7½ in the UK.

I'm a 3 and it's awkward too I assume they don't stock many of that size as it's not so popular.

My long dead gran was a size 13 kids size. She was always wore heels and had to have them specially made. She had a trip to.Dublin from the country several times a year to have them made to measure.

My 14 year old DD is a 9 and has sensory issues. Buying school shoes is a nightmare.

I think you're right, but most manufacturers still stop at 42, which is more often than not a 8, or even 7.5.

The correlation between UK and European sizes is not direct. There's usually a fraction of a size hanging, which some manufacturers round up, and some round down.