To suggest adult feet grow too?

[GrumpiestCat]

I've been size 6 all my adult life. Took a look at my feet and realised they looked a bit battered. Realised most of my shoes actually rub one way or another. There wasn't one pair I enjoy wearing not even my trainers. Always get sore feet after a day in London. Went to get some new shoes and tried a 7. It's bliss! I've been in the wrong size for a decade at least. So there's a top tip try a half or full size up next time you buy shoes and you might get foot heaven too

Part of it is down to conversion to continental sizing.

I was always a 7 and needed a 41 in continental but according to the charts in female sizing 41 converts to 8. In male sizing 41 converts to 7.

It makes no sense at all to me as a 41 is the same length in male and female as is a 7.

Now if anyone could explain to me how I've grown an inch and a half sometime in my late 20's, that would be great.

Mine have got smaller, and I am late thirties after two children.

I think it might be about weight as I weigh slightly less than I did in my late teens when when my adult shoe size was 'fixed'.

Mine have shrunk, from a UK 5.5 to a 2.5/3. No significant weight loss, just two pregnancies. DH is convinced I have broken something and it’s crushed them down

@Pukkatea
I grew a centimeter somewhere between 25 and 40. Ok it isn't much but I was measured a lot and am sure of how tall I was. When someone measured me last year I let them double check a few times. I'm really taller. So weird.

I think there is definitely vanity sizing of shoes. I'm old and have worn size 6, 6.5 or 7 shoes my entire adult life. The other day clarks told me I was a size 5 and their size 5 shoe fitted me. I haven't fitted a size 5 shoe for the last 37 years.

I can't believe it took you 10yrs to realise your feet hurt OP! We need to take better care of ourselves ladies

Mine haven’t got bigger but they have got wider. They’re practically square.

I thought it was because our arches started flattening, thus 'lengthening' the foot. I have gone up a size / half a size (depending on the measurement used).

Oh God please don't tell me my feet can shrink, I'm only a size 3 now and already have to buy kids shoes

Yep, mine have shrunk. I struggled slopping about trying to keep on my size 4 heels. A 3.5 has sorted it!

They grow in pregnancy and shrink/grow with weight loss/gain

Part of it is down to conversion to continental sizing.
Not with me. I've been buying my shoes in continental sizing for the past 15 years.

I put on loads of weight, I went from a 4 to a 6. Lost weight and went down to a 4. However, some brands and styles I am a 5 and when overweight a 7.
Days I am retaining water I go up half a size.

I was a 4.5 to 5, then a 5.5, I now only wear a 6. The rest of me also increased in size, unfortunately, however my clothing labels tell me I am still the same size in clothes, my feet do not agree.

Whatdayisit2 - I've just remembered something else! When it was super snowy last year I wore my walking boots to work as style was out the window in favour of not actually falling on my arse. I remember thinking how easy it was to get around when you got sensible footwear like men did instead of women's styles. Didn't occur to me my walking boots are 6.5 to account for socks etc so they were primarily a bit BIGGER. Doh.

I do think that women get a crappy deal with shoes. I was on the school run last week when the weather turned and there's plenty of women and girls in ballet flats/ open topped shoes with their bare feet or socks essentially exposed to the elements when men get full coverage. That's a different thread though!

I'm intrigued at these shrinking feet, I wonder what happens there?!

My foot size went from a 6 to 7.5/8 after two pregnancies! Night mare as I'd just got some fabulous sparkly heels before I found out I was pregnant and never got to wear them! 😭

My feet are tinier than ever! I find these days I struggle to find adult trainers small enough. With cheaper shoes I often resort to going to the kid’s section.

I was a 6 or 6.5 for years, but in recent years have mostly been a 7.

Either shoes have got wider or my feet have got narrower, too. Standard fitting is often too wide, and I used to be an E width, which was the widest of standard width fittings.

@GrumpiestCat I do think that women get a crappy deal with shoes. I was on the school run last week when the weather turned and there's plenty of women and girls in ballet flats/ open topped shoes with their bare feet or socks essentially exposed to the elements when men get full coverage. That's a different thread though!

Eh? Just buy proper shoes. No shortage of them!

I wear boots, Converse, walking boots, trainers. That's it. Occasionally wedge/platform shoes for an occasion. I walk miles and miles every day and I'm not going to mess up my feet/legs for the sake of vanity.

I like the look of clumpy boots and skinny legs anyway

The foot shrink is a massive pain in the arse cos I was already size 6, which is the smallest size for men's shoes that you commonly find in shops.

Can now fit in a 5 and there's no smart men's shoes in 5

I like having small feet though, all shoes look better in small sizes but was happy with 6, 5 makes it difficult

Rubicon80 I am determined to follow your example! On a somewhat tangential topic I find I sleep better since I started buying men's medium pyjamas in the Tesco Sale. 9 quid for cotton roominess, generous waistband and pockets! Comfort rules!

Nope, not unreasonable. Mine have gone from a 4 to a 5 over the course of the past few years and I think I'm going to start having to take a 6 soon! I was a size 4 all the way until I was 26 then my feet just began growing again!

Hi there,
It doesn’t seem likely that you have this from your post but for anyone else reading this I want to mention an illness called acromegaly. It is caused by excessive growth hormone produced in the pituitary gland.
Acromegaly can cause a wide range of symptoms, which tend to develop very slowly over time.
Early symptoms include:

• swollen hands and feet – you may notice a change in your ring or shoe size
• tiredness and difficulty sleeping, and sometimes sleep apnea.
• gradual changes in your facial features, such as your brow, lower jaw and nose getting larger, or your teeth becoming more widely spaced
• numbness and weakness in your hands, caused by a compressed nerve.
• periods becoming irregular
• fatigue
• aching joints

If you have these symptoms you want to see an endocrinologist and have your IGF1 levels checked. It’s probably not this. Acromegaly is a rare disease. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. It’s worth checking if you have any concerns. The earlier it is caught the more likely it is to be curable!