Dear shoe lady,
A desperate call from a plus size lady. I’ve been wearing mens shoes for almost a decade. I can’t even wear women’s shoes anymore because the sizes are too small. I used to wear women’s size 13 until load and behold my feet spread because of my weight which is fine but I learned at a young age to take care of your self and always be professional. I wear size 13 in mens because there comfortable and wide enough not to hurt my feet but there too long in the length.

I am flat footed and I am on my feet eight to ten hours a day and I love to walk. I am starting school again and there are no professional shoes in any store in NYC that cater my size. I swear off spikey heels because of the fear of the heel breaking and me falling. I measured my foot which is 11 and a half inches to 12 inches in length and 5 and a half inches in width. I will love to learn to wear thick heels for the office. I experiment on shoes in the size of 13 wide but they were tight in the width so I’m thinking 13 double wide to 14 is my size but unsure. Shoe lady you are my last hope HELP!!!! PLEASE A DESPERATE CALL FROM A PLUS SIZE LADY.

Dear Shannel-
DO NOT DESPAIR! Here is the goal. Men’s shoes or women’s shoes, we want to get you the right shoes so that you feel terrific when you are at school and at work.

First, I question your measurements. If you wear a size 13 in men’s shoes and you measure your feet at 11.5 inches to 12 inches, then you need to be looking for a woman’s size 15. They are hard to find. But DesignerShoes.com has 131 styles. Trying to fit into a size 13 shoe will be very depressing indeed.

Second, understanding your real requirement for width can be tricky too. A 5.5 inch measurement for width is a WW or extra wide in a size 15. When you narrow it down to WW, there are only seven choices. But width is deceiving. You may need an even wider width if your feet are thick from top to bottom. Or you may be able to wear a medium or wide if the shoe is long enough, and the right style and your foot is flexible. Read more about wide feet here.

Now back to the problem at hand. As much as we don’t like it, a whole lot of us, your Shoe Lady included, have had to shop in the men’s department for shoes sometimes. For work and for school, I recommend finding a shoe with a thick cushioned sole that is wide enough and long enough. Try the Clark by Tamarac.

Clark by Tamarac is a Low Heel Casual Loafer

I also recommend going to a store that carries New Balance shoes and finding something comfortable in your size. And, one more thing…. in New York City, you may not be able to find shoes in your size, but you can find shoe stores that have pedorthists. Your main goal MUST be to care for those hard to fit feet. Don’t punish them. A good pedorthist will help you understand how to do that. And a pedorthist may be able to help you find some men’s styles that will be appropriate for work and school.

As for those 131 size 15’s – once you have comfortable, every day shoes, then look for shoes for play. There are some very cute ballet flats. In a couple of weeks we will have some “Ugg” style boots in your size. Some of the styles that work may be fabric shoes. Look at the Sanuk styles. Look at the Cape Clogs styles, they are made in Scandinavia with wood soles. We have two styes available now that go to size 15. I recommend the gold –

Gold by Cape Clogs is a Mid Heel Casual Mule

, not something you’ll find in the Men’s Dept.! And look at the new Fit In Clouds line. If the size 14 in that brand works for you, you will have party shoes at less than $30 a pair!

I wish the choices were greater. I know those Shoe Fairies at DesignerShoes.com are working on it for you.

Best wishes in your new academic program,

The Shoe Lady