Wide, deep shoes for just 11 dd- size 4 and a half..!

[SirVixofVixHall]

DD is having a growth spurt, she has only recently turned 11 but in the last 4 or five months her feet have gone from a three and a half to a four and a half and are creeping towards a five. I'm finding getting shoes for her a nightmare! It has always been tricky, as she has wide feet with a high instep, but at least by throwing cash at the problem and hunting far and wide I could find something for her. Now there seems to be nothing. She can't wear almond-y toes as her feet are wide at the toe joint and they squash her toes in (I've just taken her for a check as I was worried she might have the beginning of bunions) and for her size, all the shoes seem more teenage and pointed. She needs new school shoes, everything. I want shoes that are age appropriate and that aren't too fashiony so that they are suitable for soft growing feet. I used to get a mix of Angulus and Startrite but there is nothing in her size. Girls feet seem to be getting bigger generally, she is not alone in her shoe size among her peers (I was 16 before I hit a size 5). I live in the middle of nowhere which makes it harder. So any tips as to brands or styles v gratefully received.

Fairy thanks for posting that :) I'm the owner of a 9 year old DD with wide feet who was a 3 but may need to go up a size and the width is becoming an issue.

Not cheap, but they do a bespoke service for tricky feet

Also not cheap, but very wide. Too wide for me and I normally can't get anything to fit (I also live in Blundstones and Clarks wide fit brogues).

I hope I haven't mis-read - it is adult sizing and not infant correct? I'm tired! Have you tried "Evans"? They do a big selection of wide fitting shoes. Also, simply be.

BikeRunSki- I didn't know Conker were still going! They would be great, but they are so horrendously expensive. Greenshoes are similar , and the dds had some when they were younger, but they stop the childrens' styles at a 3. I like the duckfeet, £100 though.... I wouldn't mind paying that if she was going to get wear out of them, but she's jumped half a size in three weeks. I bought her some Petasil patent brogues in January that she wore once and now they are too small. I suppose I may just have to shell out that much to get something nice that fits, I am really worried about the way her toe joint is looking, you can see that it protrudes more than it used to and that she could get bunions.
I've looked at the Angry Angels range from Startrite, all too pointed. She did have some patent brogues but although they were a G fitting they squashed her toes together far too much. She is really thin so she has a narrow heel, but this width at the toe joint. Then high arches and a high instep, which can mean that Mary Janes cut in unless they are deep fitting, even if they are wide. Suede is usually better for wide feet than leather, as it is softer and stretches more easily, but she has to have leather for school.

Conker can stretch their shoes by half a size when she grows ..., might help justify the cost a bit.

Have you tried M&S? They are wide.

The toe joint may not actually be anything to do with her shoes - I have had incipient bunions from around age 10, despite always wearing very sensible, non-pointy, properly-fitted shoes. I was seen by doctors at around that age, and for a while was given (absolutely useless) toe-separators to wear, but they made no difference.

I am now 48 and the bunions are still 'incipient' but not causing me any problems, possibly because I have no interest in heels/fashionable shoes and have always worn flats. I think my tendency to bunions is genetic, and I would have developed them in my pre-teen years no matter what shoes I had worn as a child.

I'm going to do my usual and reccomend "Happy Little Soles" All the shoes state whether they are bestt for narrow/wide shallow deep/feet. If DDs feet are really unique email the owner and she will be able to give you some spot on advice.

Forgot to link: www.happylittlesoles.co.uk

I have to agree that size 4 and a half at age 11 doesn't sound at all big to me - probably about average. DD was size 7 by then, has stopped at size 7-7.5, but plenty of her friends (aged 13) are still growing and will probably have bigger feet. Size six is now average for British women, and that is probably going to increase with the current generation.

I was size 9 at 11!

Actually, it might have been 12, but I remember a very traumatic school shoe shopping expedition before school uniform was phased out in my 3rd year secondary.

MaryRobinson-I am sorry if i have offended you, or anyone else. The snowshoes comment was about my own/DH's feet as much as dds, as that is what my elegantly slender footed friend calls mine...(And she has a point). The ships comment, erm well my Chemistry teacher was extremely tall and thin, and so would have looked odd with small feet, it was more that the shoes she wore were far too old for her and deeply unflattering. I have smallish feet for my height, my tallest friend is a size 9 and I like her feet, truly! I think proportion is the thing. Also my dd hasn't read this thread. I don't think her feet are strange, more that manufacturers haven't caught up with childrens' feet getting larger , and so shoes for younger girls , pre-teen, seem to stop at around a size 2. Plenty of my 8 year old dds classmates have bigger feet than that already. Dd herself is delighted that she is nearly a five, as she's anticipating stealing all my shoes...

Thanks for the link to Happy little soles. They only seem to have one trainer style in a size 5, but I will give them a ring, as maybe they have stock that isn't on the web, or can order things in?

Not all Doc Marten's are the same op. DD has DM Mary Janes precisely because the toes are wide, almost square. They don't just do the round toed boots.

I agree that op's dd doesn't have big feet in a remarkable way. Lots of 8yo dd's friends have a similar size or bigger. My sil was a size 11 at age 12. Now that's big.

The width is the issue. DD is an I. H at a real push.

Yes the width is the toughie. She sometimes goes down to a G, but is often an H. I was the same. I will check out DMs then, although I don't think she is allowed them for school.

DM's do shoes as well as boots. You may find that even if school won't allow the boots you'll be allowed the shoes.

As another option have you looked at hotter shoes? OK, they remind me of granny shoes but they do the width fittings. There are outlet stores at a couple of the designer villages I've been to recently too.