Shoe size under 3 for adults?

[TiredNHS]

It is great that now we have clothes that are more inclusive and brands that do bigger sizes, but what about shoes sizes for those of us who are not average?
if you are under size 3, there is literally no shop with shoes for you.
After a life of use badly fitted child shoes, cheap Chinese small shoes I have heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. Children shoes have no padding on them and are narrow at the front for me. also 90% of Childrens shoe design is awful, I could not go to work with them (public facing role, must look smart). Custom made cost a few hundreds and if they turn out not to be that comfortable, I am stuck with them.

are there more small people in the uk? How can we lobby to get access to basic things like shoes?

What size are you? I am a uk size 2 and I can find enough shoes.
All brands like vans and converse and nike etc all go into the small sizes and fit totally fine with normal padding, they dont seem to be made any different to the adult versions. I get girls school shoes as smart shoes, brougues and similar styles are all fine when I get them from supermarkets or clarks occasionally.
I get all my going out or fashion shoes from new look, they have lots of adult styled shoes in the younger section including some with heels

Where are you trying to buy shoes that you cannot find any?

Maybe buy online from other countries?

People in UK have bigger feet

I'm from Portugal and my size 5 is super average and super common. But I know you can definitely find below size 3. I think a friend of mine was 2.5. 🤷🏻‍♀️ on the other hand my other friend was a 7 and she struggled to find women's shoes

Where do you buy shoes from? Clarks don’t make size 2.
I have worn child’s shoes and trainers all my life but now at 39 with heel spurs Nike feels to hard. Sketchers and another brands have been suggested by my podiatrist but they don’t do anything under size 3-4.

also, where do you get shoes that look smart enough for work? i have used school shoes but they always caused problems- if you remove childlike designs you have like 3 to choose from some of them were too narrow and ended up causing toes deformities, others are too flat for my spur. My podiatrist explained that children shoes are made differently as their feet have different characteristics and needs than older peoples 😂
none of them look profesional-like either, I just need women shoes that look and play the part.
please share links of any shops.

@grey12 i am in spain at the moment and no size 34-35 anywhere to be seen. My family is spanish and they agree with me that it is very hard to find my size. Probably after the war people were small, but in the last 30 years the average spanish and Portuguese size and height have increased.
mas I said, I have purchased shoes from China, however, as I get old and develop foot problem it’s getting harder to find something that doesn’t irritate my foot. The quality of shoes from china is not very good either. I just wish that I could go to a few shops like any other woman and try 3-4 pairs until one feels comfortable

LK Bennett shoes come in a size 2 and they are the definition of work-appropriate.

Shoe Embassy stock size 2.

embassylondon.co.uk/collections/womens?filter.v.option.size=UK+2+%2F+EU+35+%2F+US+5&sort_by=manual

Also Mango.

@TiredNHS Skechers adult trainers start at a 2 on their website and you can get youth/children's ones similar to the adult ones in a 2 from lots of places online

I've also bought the "teen" range shoes from M&S, Asda previously and found no real difference in shape/fit

www.forbiddenheels.co.uk/

www.smallfeet.co.uk/

Thanks. Why do they not have these shoes in the shops? I was in 10 shops today and they assured me that sketchers and Clarkes don’t come in smaller sizes. 2 months ago clarkes had only 1 pair of size 2.5 in their website, do I ended up buying a size 3! Also, if you buy online, how do you go about choosing a pair of shoes? I need a lot of padding and some heel height for my foot condition. Normal people with foot problems try on loads of shoes before finding ones that are comfortable. At 100£ per pair I could not afford to order different models from different brands.
if there was just a place were you could go to try on shoes!!

i am looking at the prices of these shoes and I don’t think I could afford them!😢

You can’t buy these sizes in shops because demand is so small, unfortunately. ASOS do lots and, in the UK at least, offer free returns. Sizing can be variable though so often get several sizes at a time.

I'm a 1.5 and understand your struggle. I get excited if I see 2s in a real shop and always try them on, but really I should have learned by now - they will be too big and I will be disappointed!
Children's shoes often aren't suitable as they are designed for someone who weighs about 4 or 5 stone which sadly I don't. Plus often straps are too short and children's boots are usually about the width of my arm, not my calves! Buying children's trainers is a bit risky, if you actually want to run in them anyway, because often they are "lookalikes" and not made to the same technical specifications as the adult versions, and even those made for serious young athletes often aren't strong enough to withstand an adult's weight for long. In the dim and distant past when I used to run a lot I went to a great running shop that would ring round all the manufacturers trying to find the smallest "proper" shoes they could and persuading them to send them sale or return, but once I got a decent pair I would always try to make them last as long as possible.
There are online sellers but the prices can be astronomical. I used to like taking a trip to The Little Shoe Shop in London every few years and pretending I was normal, you know, trying shoes on and rejecting them because I didn't like them rather than buying the first pair that vaguely fitted. Unfortunately they have closed the physical shop now and it's all mail order which is a shame. Obviously you can send them back, but it's a load of hassle.
Unfortunately though, it's just not cost effective for mainstream shops to stock small sizes. I know what you mean about Spain. Most of the brands you can buy that are smaller than a 36 are Spanish or Portuguese but even they are getting less common. I thought I'd find it easy when I visited Hong Kong some years ago but no - 2 was the smallest adult size in most shops. I have accepted my fate now, so no great advice sorry, but empathy in bucket loads. I needed specific shoes in my previous job too so spent nearly 30 years wearing shoes that were too big as my employers couldn't be bothered to try to source shoes in my size.
It's shit, but unless you've got a lot of money I'm afraid there's no easy answer. My aunt was a size 1 and she had all her shoes hand made for her but that is ££££!

Ah okay sorry, I really just wear childrens shoes because they have always fit me fine and I don't have issues with my feet. Sorry you are having such a hard time with these

The new look ones can be really good- I find them smart enough for work and they feel like adult shoes to me- especially as the girls range goes from a 1 up to a size 6 so maybe they wouldn't be as problematic for you as they go to traditionally adult sizes?

I am really disappointed. i got all excited after reading this thread- I am a size 2 (I have 1 pair of size 2 shoes that fit!), or that’s what I thought but after ordering lots of shoes from ASOS and SHEIN… apparently I am not, the loafers are all too big and fall off! I have tried putting foam in the front (very uncomfortable after a few minutes in the house) and even a heel cushion. Reading reviews, the ASOS shoes run a bit big (why do they do that? They might as well change the size all together).

www.pretty-small-shoes.com have sale shoes from £49 and 750+ styles available made to order in sizes UK 13 to UK 3