Question for people who wear loafers

[WednesdayPadams]

Do your heels slip out as you walk or is it just me?

I've tried various pairs from various brands and it happens with all of them.

I have tried everything.

Heel pads

Insoles

Half insoles

A combination of an insole and a heel pad plus a thicker sock (this one 'helped' the most but made the shoe far too snug and the heel STILL slipped a bit)

If I size down the shoes are too small and not wearable for that reason.

I'm baffled at this point and wondering whether it's an inevitability with this style of shoe and people just.. deal with it?

You probably have fan shaped feet. Shoes that fit the forefoot are then too wide for your narrower heels. Apparently this foot issue is common in women but not men, most retailers use men feet template to cut women shoes which is wrong as they aren't just smaller but also a different shape to men. So, keep looking maybe at fancier shops and italian brands or choose a different style.

Women's football teams had the same issue. Poorly fitted football boots as it is assumed women are just smaller men. You need to research brands

Never happened to me but the pairs I’ve had fit quite snug. @GoutFromDarkChocolate ‘s explanation makes sense.

I have one pair of loafers and hardly ever wear them because of the heel slipping issue. I tried half insoles - pointless. I bought heel grip things from Amazon and wear them with non-visible socks that have heel grips too. This works but it’s not perfect.

I've just examined my foot compared to my husband's. Our feet are of a similar length, mine look longer but his are thicker, creating an illusion of looking stubbier. So our same length shoes are very different fits. Anyway, I liked loafers, used to wear then as a spring and autumn shoe, and never had this problem, but I wore them without socks. Are you wearing socks or tights? Or are you buying so called "unisex" or men's?

I can't wear loafers if I need to do any sort of walking (i.e. I could manage if for some reason I was wearing them for a meal out: car to table to car again) If I am wearing proper shoes (not trainers etc) then all that work for me is brogues, maryjanes, boots etc.

Thanks for the replies, very helpful!

I'm buying women's loafers specifically. Over the years I've tried M&S, Massimo Dutti, H&M & ASOS that I can recall. Every pair had to be returned 😞

I've tried both with and without socks. I don't really wear tights.

The fan shaped feet makes sense..

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I think you may need to go more upmarket to get a better fit unfortunately. The high street tends to cater for the masses so anyone with slightly ‘non-standard’ shaped or size feet tend to struggle a bit with certain styles or brands of shoe.

I stick with brands that seem to be most compatible with my foot shape but finding those brands took time and effort. It appears my feet have expensive tastes.🙄😂

Depending on where you live, it might be worth a trip to somewhere like Selfridges so you can try loafers on from lots of different brands in one trip? And you might get lucky at the higher end with a sales assistant who knows their stuff and can actually advise you when they see your foot shape. Depends how much effort you want to make to have loafers.

I have loafers from Tod’s and Tracey Neuls that fit beautifully and are so comfy. (And Stubbs & Wootton but that’s a very expensive habit I’d recommend you avoid unless you have lots of money to throw around). I definitely ‘kissed a lot of frogs’ to find them though. My feet hate the high street and they especially hate Jones (nothing in that shop fits my feet!) although they like (very specifically!) late 1980s loafers from Next. 🙄

Good luck @WednesdayPadams !

Yes - I've stopped buying them now. The last pair I had - good quality, £80 ones, Clarks, they rubbed my heels for weeks. It was a long battle of wearing them once a week until finally it settled down. I put them away for summer, got them out last autumn and they'd unaccountably stretched and were falling off my feet - unwearable - so they went to the charity shop. I'm sticking now with shoes that lace up or have a strap.

Are you sure you are wearing the right size? Most brands come in full sizes only but I can only wear a half size with a wide fit.
I buy from Van Dal, Hotter, Clarkes, Ebay and Amazon all of whom do my size.
My left foot is 5.5 and the right a 5 so I can only wear a 5.5.
Im pretty sure there is a measuring guide online. Draw round your feet on cardboard sitting down not standing and use that as a template for measuring.

Glad you asked this question @WednesdayPadams ! I have exactly the same issue … so annoying!

@Lindyflowery - you need to start your own thread, I’m afraid. This one is about @WednesdayPadams’ shoes.

I agree you may have been looking too downmarket - sorry! I have vast hobbit feet and generally find any slip-on flat shoe a waste of money and expectation. But I’ve just taken delivery of some Grenson loafers that are both long enough and reassuringly snug across the instep and around the heel. (They do a range of lasts so it’s worthwhile to look for a model that might suit your feet.) Admittedly mine haven’t been much tested yet, but they feel promising.

Try Gabor. They do half sizes and fit my skinny feet really well though I think they must still slip a bit as one sole (my smaller foot) has worn quite a lot on the outer edge of the heel.

It's not a guaranteed solution, but buying some thickish suede leather or a decent chamois leather, cutting it to fit the whole heel sock, and gluing it in firmly might work. But often the whole back half of the shoe is loose and it gapes. There's not much you can do about that, except ensure you but buy a loafer which fits a long way up the instep. Good luck.

I have the same problem @WednesdayPadams. The only brand of loafers I've discovered that don't slip off my narrow ankles is Boden. They're a bit on the pricey side though, so I only buy if I can find a discount code.

Wow I'm so glad that im not the only one! No advice, sorry, but honestly I thought I was the only one.

I’m exactly the same ! I can’t wear any slip on shoes at all . In boots my heels always slip out too . Honestly thought it was just me .

So relieved not to be alone 😊

I love loafers and have several pairs. If you’re slipping out, they are not small enough for you and you need to size down. And then as with most of my shoes, if they grip in the first instance you will have some inevitable blisters and need a period of time of wearing them in.

I wouldn’t be able to get them on if I sized down. 🥴

I have this issue too. Not only do I have fan shaped feet I'm straight down the back of the heel. Basically like a duck!

I mainly wear laced boots so my feet can be loose inside but tightly held in. Shoes which cover my feet well like trainers are OK, for nice dress shoes I have to have a Mary Jane or other strappy shoe.

I have this problem with all slip on shoes, its because my heels are narrow and the toes part is wide. I need a wide fit to stop my toes getting squashed, but then they slop about at the back. I am resigned to wearing lace up or buckle shoes, but as I am mostly in wellies or trainers anyway, and retired so I don't need work shoes, its fine. But it used to piss me off.

There seems to be an untapped market for triangular shaped loafers!

@danglethedingle Take my money!