To think it's not unusual for a woman to have size 42+ feet ...

[bricka]

... and yet so many shoe ranges only go up to a size 41! Why is that? I've had problems buying shoes ever since my early teens. I rarely own more than 2 pairs at any one time, because finding shoes that I like, and which fit, is so difficult. If size 42 (or more) isn't unusual, then there must be a big untapped market out there.

Ooh thanks carwash Maybe it is just that JD sports doesn't stock above a 7.

yup. Italian made shoes (and I am not talking about the posh stuff) are murder on wide feet

I’m a size 42/43, though because I wear orthotics I often need a 44. I live in trainers, and whatever other shoes I can squish the orthotics into. It’s not unknown for me to buy several pairs of the same shoes if they’re comfortable and fit. My mother is a 40/41 and regularly talks of how hard it was to find even that size 30-40 years ago.

I'm a mens 9 (43) / womens 10 (44) and have been since 15 yrs old..
cptartapp, i used to shop at 'Tall and small' in Oxford St, my granny used to take me there, bless her!
These days i have to wear mens shoes with insoles as my feet are really really narrow... the whole thing has been the bane of my life I see lovely womens shoes, and know i cant ever have them.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads i also feel the size 13 pain - DH is a 13 and struggles too (big foot family!)

I know exactly what you mean.
It is horrible.

It's a shame we can no longer order easily from the rest of Europe due to Brexit - I'm a 42 and never struggled to get shoes in the right size in my native Netherlands. It's much harder here, though I can fit into a 41 in some shops.

As for not realising women could wear an 8 - I'm 5'10''. My feet are on the small side for my height.

DD1 and I wear size 43. DD is only 12yo.

I used to have to get mens shoes for school. Thankfully there's much more choice now, it used to be non-existant, but tbh I'm so used to going for men's shoes, and they're often more comfortable and last longer, so I tend to stick with that.

If you can afford them (I can't):
Sargasso and Grey

I have one foot size 42, the other size 43. I wear clown shoes.

On the positive side, I don't blow over in the wind and I've probably saved myself a small fortune not being able to buy all the lovely shoes.

My teenage sons both have size 11 feet so I finally have the smallest feet in the house.

How didn't you realise that?

And I thought my size 6 feet were big!

Sympathies op! I am a size 7 and often notice it’s top end of range.

I've been buying mens trainers from sports direct forever - they are so comfy

It was only about 2 years ago i realised a mens 8 - is a 42/43
Whereas a womens 8 is a 41/42

which is why i have so many mens trainers (I rarely wear womens shoes.. )

I agree. One of my (adult) friends is a size 2 and has the same issues. But I think both are unusual

Asos, Next, there are loads of shops that do 42+ these days, only online as with every tall clothing range. Extremely annoying to never just go shopping but I struggle less with woman’s shoes now than as a teen that’s for sure!

European and the old-style British sizes don't match up, even though they try and make it seem like they do. I was a six in the old sizes. When it switched to European sizing, they label 39 as a six but I know it's not, it's just slightly too small for me and 40 is usually too big. I can now only get 39 and a half.

Get lost. Seriously.

Why did you think size 6 were big?

A friend is size 9 ( 43) & used to struggle to buy any fashionable shoes - not sure if things have improved.

Am amazed at the people saying that they don't know any women with size 8 feet. It's pretty common amongst my age group (40s) and is presumably becoming more common as women are on average getting taller.

I'm a size 8/42 so share OP's annoyance. I'm not even that tall. My great grandmother, born in 1880, was a size 7 - that must have been really difficult.

I’m 5’11” and a 43. I can get shoes online, mainly from Next and cheap work shoes from Asda. Long Tall Sally always did nice (but quite pricey) shoes too but I haven’t bought any since they were taken over. I also have a 35” inside leg so I can only ever buy tops or shorts in an actual shop. Lots of shops stock petite but not tall ranges. It’s very frustrating!

Not unusual! At school there were several girls I was friends with who were size 8/9 feet and they struggled too. I also had a friend sized 3/4 who struggled, but being able to buy the kids' versions of her shoes for half the price soothed the sting

Bog off to the "I'm so normal" thread and leave us bemoaning our big footed lot.

Very few shops have a real size 8, 9 is even harder to find. I'm an 8, maybe 8 1/2 and my SIL is size 9, we both get excited if we find nice shoes in either size and will call each other when we do.

M&M direct sometimes have 8/9 which is great for winter boots. Primark canvas trainers in an 8 are a good fit too, other than that it's luck to stumble on any well fitting shoes.
It's infuriating because 8 (or 42) isn't an uncommon size for women but we end up having to buy over priced shoes because choice is so limited whereas 7 and under can walk in anywhere and pick up whatever they want.