Embarrassed being size 8 shoe

[MaryWants2getMarried]

Been struggling with shoe fit all my life. Even as a little girl I used to go fit

[Trills]

Embarrassed?

That's a little odd.

[TepidCoffee]

I'm a 42/43 - have been large-footed since I was about 11 and was told by everyone that I'd grow to six foot! Never got past 5'7" :o.

I don't find it embarrassing unless I'm actually shoe shopping and they don't have anything large enough.

I'm also fairly wide-footed and grew slightly when pg with DC1, and my most comfortable shoe is my vivobarefoot boot. They flare slightly towards the toe and allow your foot to move/rest in a natural position. Bliss after years of shoes so small I gave myself a Morton's Neuroma trying to squeeze my boats into.

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

Think of it this way - size 6 are always the ones to sell out first.

[JimbosJetSet]

I'm a size 10 too. I struggle to find shoes I like but my brother is a size 15 - my problems are nothing compared to his

[Procrastinating]

I know what you mean OP, I feel like a freak (size 9) when I try to buy shoes. The shoes I like never come in a 9 and I have given up going to shops because of the reaction from shop assistants with their one revolting size 9 shoe. I don't dress in a conservative way so anything you can buy online just doesn't suit me and makes me feel like my mother.

I get mine from green shoes in Totnes, they are handmade and beautiful but expensive.

[wewereherefirst]

Procrastinating where are they in Totnes?

[willyoulistentome]

I'm an 8 (41) too. I have very often found that the style I wanted is not in stock in my size, or only goes up to a size 7. Yes, there are often many size 8s in the sales, but minging ones that I would never BUY.

[willyoulistentome]

I had a friend at school who was 5 foot high and had size 7s. I always thought she looked like a capital L in her white plimpsols for PE.

[Procrastinating]

wewerehere not sure of street names, but at the top of the hill on the main shopping street last time I went.
I'm in the midlands so I order online, you have to send measurements and draw around your feet. Then they send you the half-made shoes to check the fitting. It is a great service and mine always fit perfectly.

[wewereherefirst]

Ooh fab thank you, I'll have to have a look!

[daisydoodoo]

new look go up to a size 9, they are fab for cheap shoes and perfect for those with teenagers in an 8 or 9.

i'm an 8 (42) and the new look 8 fit perfectly (even though i think labelled as an 8/41).

another high street brand that go up to a 43/9 is next, they have standard fit as well as wide and extra wide.

I was a 9 until very recently but lost weight and my shoe size i now smaller

[daisydoodoo]

also duo go up to a 43 in their shoes and have variety of width fittings.

[ExitPursuedByABear]

StrawberrytallCake I do not refer to my DD's shoes as canal barges to her face, nor did I shush the shop assistant in front of DD.

Sheesh! What do you take me for?

Although to be fair, we do josh around a lot about such stuff.

Daisy Do New Look go up to size 9 in store or just online?

[wewereherefirst]

New Look do it in most larger stores Exit I have a lovely pair of knee high boots from Next in an 8, they're lovely, wide and the calf is lengthed slightly too, which is an oft overlooked bonus!

[JemimaMuddledUp]

I am an 8 (or sometimes a 9, depending on the shoe). It isn't embarrasing. It is a bit annoying when the 8 is too small and they don't come in a 9, but it is far easier to find shoes now than it was 20 years ago. I remember being mortified as a toddler when a snotty sales assistant looked down at me and told me that "Ladies shoes don't come in a size 8!".

[Dawndonna]

I'm 5'6" and a size nine. Been like that since my teens. Don't really think about it.

[daisydoodoo]

Most stores that stock a decentbrange go up to a 9. Usually only one pair in that size whereas the 5/6 have 3 or 4 pairs.

If you're anywhere near here I know Bracknell stock a 9 and Basingstoke. The Reading stores are a bit more hit and miss tbh.

[Kernowgal]

The original poster seems to have disappeared! How odd.

I posted on another thread recently with the link to my blog (I make no money from this, it's there purely for me to keep all my links in one place!) with links to larger size online shoe shops.

sizeninefeet.blogspot.co.uk

I'm posting it in the hope that other bigfoots might find shoe shops on it that offer the sizes they need. I should add that I'm a narrow size 9 (43) and occasionally a 9.5 or 10. Currently planning a trip to the States to visit Barefoot Tess and relieve them of all their stock.

[Kernowgal]

Also Clarks online is good for size 9s - I ask them to order them in to my nearest shop and then try them on before buying. They've got some really nice styles and aren't too dear (which is the other problem with having massive feets, the shoes can be horribly expensive).

[auldspinster]

I am 5ft 8 and a size 42, get a bit pissed off when 41s are labelled as size 8 (Office I'm looking at you).

[accessorizequeen]

It's tiresome, limiting and expensive but not embarrassing. I was a 41, had 4 dc in 5 years and they're now 43!! I wear unisex vans, converse, clarks, fit flops, hush puppies and dr martens. Sometimes long for footwear that's less practical and more frivolous but then my feet would hurt and I'd look daft anyway. Lots of good shops listed here, some new to me so thank you!

[ravenAK]

I buy lots of mine from Demonia - they go up to at least a 10.

www.demonia.co.uk/demonia-footwear.html

& Office are brilliant.

[AgathaF]

auldspinster - that really annoys me too!

[Snowkey]

It really pisses me off too about the resizing of European/Uk sizing. Used to be a 41/7 now sometimes they are describing a 40 as a 7 and 41 as an eight - have the European sizes got bigger? Or am I now a size 8 because its not just Office that have made the change - it's across the whole industry. I'm not bothered about being a size 8/41, it's not knowing what shoe size I am anymore.

[Trills]

European and UK shoes have different increments. So wherever you start at some point they are going to get out of sync.