Dear Ms. S. Lady,
When I measure my longer foot it comes out as a 9 M, but I’ve never had an arch since I was a child (neither did my Mom) and my foot hardly narrows at all toward the ankle (3.75 ” at the ball of the foot 3.5o” at the ankle) so I end up wearing 9 1/2 W and 10 W to try and have enough shoe to accommodate the depth of my foot. I’ve actually had shoe sales associates advise me to buy men’s shoes because they felt the anatomy of my foot was more masculine. I also have an issue with how narrow my heel is , most shoes are huge at the heel, I can step right out of them, I leave slip on shoes in the well of cars and on stair steps. I’m constantly trying to find gel inserts to put inside heels to snug them up. Any suggestions for brands that might fight without so much fussing
Rosie
Dear Rosie-
Such an excellent question. And so interesting that you’ve been getting such perverse advice from shoe stores, telling you to buy men’s shoes. Granted, I do not have the pleasure of seeing your feet first hand and seeing how they fit into shoes. But based on my years of experience, I’m going to make some assumptions and offer my recommendations.
Flat feet do cause shoes to fit differently even though the length measurements can be correct. One of the signs of “different fit” is gapping at the sides when you wear ballet flats, for example. You do need to narrow your options by style to Mary Jane type shoes or to shoes that have a vamp that goes up toward your ankle…. loafers for example. This may be what the shoe store attendants were thinking. “Get Rosie to wear men’s loafers or oxfords and it will be fine.” Loafers, oxfords and Mary Janes, fortunately for you, can also be found in great abundance and in very feminine styles, or at least in styles and colors that would never be available in the men’s department!.
Heel snugness is an issue for you because you are wearing shoes that are too wide. I’m assuming here that your feet are about 9.8 inches long? That would make them a size 9.
http://www.designershoes.com/size-chart. Try sticking to the style types I’ve recommended in a size 9M. In my long career in this business, I’ve never encountered anything that will successfully “snug” a loose heel. And, believe me, I’ve tried. If you go to a large store like Walgreen’s that has a foot care section, they will often have a hanging rack of sticky backed gizmos of various thickness that will go into the upper back of the heel . They work if the problem is very minor. If your heel is seriously narrow, even after you go back to a medium width, you may need to explore slingback options that also have the high vamp or Mary Jane strap. I know this limits your fashion options. But you will definitely want to find some shoes that you can wear comfortably without worrying about throughout the day!
In the olden days, shoemakers made “combination lasts”. You could actually buy a shoe that was a size 9 in length, a wide at the front and a narrow at the heel. This doesn’t happen anymore. The last company I know that did this was Ferragamo.
Best wishes,
The Shoe Lady
