I read today in the Chicago Trib that people are having a problem finding shoes that fit. They said they people's feet in the last 15 yrs. have grown a full size bigger. Women are having a problem finding a size 10,11 and 12. Men's feet have increased from a 6 and 1/2 to some an average of 9 1/2 and larger. I was so amazed by this. I have the opposite problem. My foot is only a size 5 1/2. Let me tell you there are no 5 1/2's for women. For my gym shoes I go to little girls and get a size 3. They are a lot cheaper and I really don't care what a gym shoe looks like. My problem is a dress shoe for work. There are virtually no size 5 1/2 shoes for women. Oh Yeah I could buy girls dress shoes but that would mean patent leather "Flats" with a bow or buckle. I would like a shoe that is not patent leather and at least a heal of an inch as I am also very short.
I thnk this is a no win situation. Big foot or small foot.

I keep hoping for a custom made shoe store. You go in to have your foot measured and the information is sent to the people making the shoes. I had this done for a pair of roller skates.

I could write a novel on my shoe fitting problem. You see....I wear a size 15. No, that is not a typo I've been in that size since high school

I get no selection of shoes. My first task is to FIND a store that even CARRIES something in my size. Then I get to pick from the 2 or 3 pair that they have, and pay their price. I can't remember the last time I paid less than $120 for a pair of shoes :/

Don't get me started on work shoes. Rockports will cost me upwards of $180.

Bleck. I hate having big feet. It sucks :/

--cheers

Whoa, DP - you get more interesting on a daily basis!

My problem, which I understand is not all that uncommon, is that my feet are two different sizes. Okay, it's only by a half-size, but I always either have one shoe that's slightly loose or one shoe that's slightly tight. "Tailored" shoes are a good idea, but not very cost-effective. Think we could drum up any interest in selling shoes individually rather than in pairs for those of us who are asymmetrical?

Hey! Mr P wears a size 15 shoe, too. Hmm.

The internet has been wonderful. Before there was online shopping, it would take weeks to find shoes for him. He once lost his travel pod over the desert, and all of his shoes fell out. He had to redeploy 24 hours later, so we spent the good part of the day and night trying to find a single pair of acceptable shoes for him. The only pair we could find were a pair of very ugly black sneakers. That was his only civilian pair of shoes for the next 5 months. I recommend LL Bean and Eddie Bauer for large size mens shoes. They aren't nearly as expensive as the one's you're buying, DP (even with goretex). Caterpillar also makes size 15 shoes.

Reminds me of an exchange I've had quite a few times:

"...and you know what they say about guys with big feet."

"Yeah. They say 'Wow, that guy has really big feet!'"

OK, maybe you had to be there.