When I was a child my shoe size was one size smaller than my age:  when I was age 8 I wore a size 7; when I was 9 I wore an 8; when I was 10 I wore a 9; and so on until at age 12 I reached an 11.

In addition to having a long foot I was also “blessed” with a super narrow foot, making it doubly hard to find age-appropriate shoes.  As a young girl I HATED shopping for shoes because I could never find the popular girls styles in my size.  They always showed me pumps or what I called “old lady shoes” because at that time designers didn’t make girls’ shoes in women’s sizes.

Once I remember selecting a popular shoe for girls and asking to see it in my size (I think I was 11 or 12 and wearing a 10N at the time). The salesman brought out a women’s pump that was almost electric blue.  I took one look at the shoe and gave him a piece of my mind:  what color was that?  Who would wear that color??? Why did he bring me that ugly shoe?  Just because I had a long foot didn’t mean I wanted ugly shoes!! I went on and on.  The poor salesman sheepishly explained that that was the only color he had in my size.  I told him thanks and went on my way. As a result of these and similar experiences, I often wore sneakers—which I bought in boys’ sizes.  Thanks DesignerShoes.com for having a selection of shoes for the long and narrow foot like mine—I now wear an 11.5 narrow.

H

12.2.06

I’m a senior citizen and 5’10”.  Growing up in the fifties, I wore a size ten shoe because that was the largest size available.  My sneakers were the only comfortable footwear I owned, as they were men’s.

In my twenties a kind shoe man measured my feet and advised me that I needed a size eleven and I was able to buy that size though the selection was limited and they were still not as comfortable as my men’s sneakers. Eleven was also the largest size available at that time.

After my pregnancies I grew into a size eleven and a half or twelve and it’s only in the past twenty years that I’ve been able to find a good selection of my true size 12, thanks to companies like yours.  As a result of squeezing into smaller size shoes over the years my toes are bent under and ugly.  The girls of this generation are so fortunate to be able to wear their true size. I purchase over 90% of my footwear on-line or through catalogs.

Anonymous

12.1.06

Having always been a hard to fit size with a AAAA width, my most visual memory is going into the local Stride Rite shoe store, where my parents had shopped for me since walking age. At age 12, I had outgrown all the Stride Rite sizes and was into adult sizes. But because of my narrow foot width, the only shoes that fit were what I called “old ladies comfort shoes”- size 9AAA.  I walked out of the store with my Mother crying because of these shoes and promised myself when I was grown I was going to buy all the pretty shoes I could.
Forty years later and now a 10AA, I’ve done just that- I own over a hundred pairs and always get compliments on my pretty feet and excellent taste in shoes!

K

12.1.06

As a child, buying shoes was a humiliating experience for me. I can remember having to buy the “orthopedic” type shoes because that was all they had in my size, or buying men’s shoes or sneakers.  Even my mom would tell me if my feet got any bigger, I would have to wear the boxes!  My father was a shoe buyer for a shoe store, and even he could not find me any fashionable shoes.  Getting older has certainly been better for me!!  I was a size 12 until I had my daughter 3 years ago, now I am a 13, and I am so blessed that I can still be fashionable thanks to the choices at DesignerShoes.com!!

T

12.1.06

I was the 10th child of 10 children. So needless to say I got all the “hand me downs,” including shoes. I was the tallest and had the biggest feet than the rest of my siblings.  As a child, I had this silly idea that because I was the last born, then that was the reason why I was so much bigger than my sisters. Plus to make matters worse, they would tease me by calling me “Baby Huey” after a cartoon character.

Since we were too poor to buy shoes, my mother would cut the heels down that my sisters had outgrown for me to wear. When that happen it made the toes of the shoes point up like Pinocchio; I felt like a clown. I swore when I grew up that I would travel the world to find the best shoes in my size. I didn’t have to do much traveling because of  Designershoes.com. I call you my “candy shoe store.” You’ve made me obsess with shoes. They are so fashionable. Oh and the compliments, I love people looking at my feet now.

M

12.1.06

When I was a little girl, I fast outgrew the brightly colored kids’ shoe sections.  Shoe shopping was a chore during which I had to watch my younger sister try on the best ones, and I had to wear the boring black lace-ups because they were the only ones that fit.  My mom made valiant efforts to help me see it as a family trait: “Grandma’s feet were large and wide too, and here, look at mine!”  But she was just a size 9.

As I grew older and started desiring heels, I only owned a few pairs of shoes.  Dress shoes were out of the question, but sneakers were easy to get in the men’s department!  When, however, I moved to Boston, a whole new world was opened up to me through DesignerShoes.com.  I realized that my feet aren’t in fact that huge, and that they can actually look really cute.  I’m currently looking for shoes to wear with my spring wedding gown and plan to wear a strappy pair of gorgeous heels with glittery things on them.  I actually believe that I can find something like that now.

J.

12.1.06