Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

210 replies

AlwaysFreezing · 10/08/2023 17:08

And even then its not always a 42!

Took ds school shoe shopping today and while I was in and out of the various shoe shops, I had a quick look in the women's sections.

I am a 9, but a 43 9. Sometimes a 10. Not a single shoe was bigger than an 8.

Now, luckily I know where I can buy shoes that fit, but I was thinking about this, and isn't it ridiculous?

So, I'm wondering how many women here have feet larger than an 8? I mean, I imagine there aren't tens of thousands of us, but there just be enough to warrant shops selling 9s and 10s?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
kitsuneghost · 10/08/2023 20:24

enchantedsquirrelwood · 10/08/2023 17:10

My mum complains of the opposite - she and I are both size 4.5. I tend to buy all my shoes online, but she goes into shoe shops where she lives and says they often don't have anything smaller than a 5!

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.

AffIt · 10/08/2023 20:27

kitsuneghost · 10/08/2023 20:24

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.

Show quote history

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.

AffIt · 10/08/2023 20:29

Crumbcatcher · 10/08/2023 19:11

How tall are you all? I'm size 6 at 5'11", I think my DDs will be taller than me so now I'm worrying about shoes!

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.

VWT5 · 10/08/2023 20:40

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

alongtimeagoandfaraway · 10/08/2023 20:44

girlygirly · 10/08/2023 18:02

I was a size 8 in 1971 when I was 11. The only shoes I had a "choice" of were granny ones (not even my mum would wear them) or boys. You can imagine how much fun that was! I am now in my 60s and a size 9. Deichmann are good but pot luck if they have any left after the first 2 days, I've given up and wear mens a lot of the time. Particularly trainers.

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.

namechangingplatypus · 10/08/2023 20:54

AlwaysFreezing · 10/08/2023 19:57

I can't understand this. Are you replying to someone?

How can a 9 be a 41 or 42 when you say a 41 is 7 in the next sentence?

Show quote history

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.

TheGoogleMum · 10/08/2023 20:57

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

Whenlifegivesyoulemonsmakelemonade · 10/08/2023 21:00

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.

Wellhellother · 10/08/2023 21:01

Next and m&s

Whenlifegivesyoulemonsmakelemonade · 10/08/2023 21:04

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

SgtBilko · 10/08/2023 21:09

bobotothegogo · 10/08/2023 17:25

And in many places their sizing is off - am an 8 but am finding in more and more places their sizes are on the snug side.

Yes I find this. I’m a 42 and an 8 but sometimes I’ve ordered sn 8 to find it is a 41. I’ve hot narrow feet with a high instep so a wide fitting is no use to me. It’s very frustrating buying shoes so I live In Birkenstocks.

dramoy · 10/08/2023 21:17

How tall are you all? I'm size 6 at 5'11", I think my DDs will be taller than me so now I'm worrying about shoes

I'm 5ft 9 & a 5.5/6, small bone structure.

Mary46 · 10/08/2023 21:19

Some asda styles in 9s. Wary of Next they too narrow. Im 9 too. Penneys primark do some wide fits in 42 and 43.

Barleymilk · 10/08/2023 21:21

I'm a 9. It's so hard to find in the high street. Hotter has shut down and they were my go to but after a quick look in shoe zone I found some sandles which came in a 9 and are pretty good,plus comfy.

MissBuncle1 · 10/08/2023 21:22

You all want Otto and Ivy! Brilliant shoes for 8 and above.

FuzzyPuffling · 10/08/2023 21:28

I'm 5'8" so not overly tall.

Mens shoes are no good at all to me, not even trainers or Doc Martens, as they are built on a different last, which is far too wide for me.

And why, as a woman, who likes nice footwear as much as anyone, would I even be consigned to the men's department.

Original poster
AlwaysFreezing · 10/08/2023 21:37

MissBuncle1 · 10/08/2023 21:22

You all want Otto and Ivy! Brilliant shoes for 8 and above.

Some good stuff I've never seen before here, thanks for the link.

Not the cheapest tho!

OP posts:
SgtBilko · 10/08/2023 21:39

MissBuncle1 · 10/08/2023 21:22

You all want Otto and Ivy! Brilliant shoes for 8 and above.

Not my style at all.

SgtBilko · 10/08/2023 21:43

KirstenBlest · 10/08/2023 17:47

9 is 41 or 42.
I'm usually a 5 but depending on the shoe I might be a 4 or a 6.

Read more at: https://www.shoesizingcharts.com/

42 is an 8. Believe me, I know. A 41 is not an 8 even though some sellers like to flog them as an 8.

SgtBilko · 10/08/2023 21:46

FuzzyPuffling · 10/08/2023 18:30

I'm a 42. That's an 8 to me, but obviously not to many shoe manufacturers. I have the additional issue of narrow feet. Long does not mean wide. I don't want boats.

You are my foot twin!

cardibach · 10/08/2023 22:03

I’m a 9.5/10. All my shoes are either DMs or Birkenstocks. Luckily I don’t like heels, because that would be an issue. Nobody else sells shoes the right size for me.

cardibach · 10/08/2023 22:08

namechangingplatypus · 10/08/2023 19:50

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.

No it isn’t

Mainstream women's shoes only going up to a size 8
cardibach · 10/08/2023 22:11

Sorry @namechangingplatypus I’ve quoted the wrong person! I was trying to support your view. In UK 9 is 43.

LoveMySituation · 10/08/2023 22:12

I'm a size 11, even as a child we'd have to go to the next county for the one shop I could get shoes in. Now, needless to say, I've not been in an actual shoe shop for years..

IncognitoPanda · 10/08/2023 22:23

On a separate note why are shoes getting bigger ? Been a 43/9 for 20+ years (and properly measured for a sports shoe) and all of a sudden can buy the odd pair of 7s! That was unthinkable just a few years ago