Shoe shopping rant

[Apollonius]

Just as bad at the other end of the size spectrum. Mrs A is at best a 4 and finding good quality stuff in that size is hard. She often ends up with children's stuff. Cheap, yes, but not made to last.

 

[Soltydog]

As a man with wide size 12s I cam sympathise. A few years back things seemed to improve & many places stocked 12s so i could normally find some that i liked & fit well, but now it's harder & harder to find any Some brands are just too damn narrow & I never even try them now, worst have to be adidas trainers & shimano cycling shoes that I have tried in the past. Shoes normally from clarks for me too, but saying that I think I've only bought 2 pairs in about the last 7 or 8 years, cycling shoes however

 

[vickster]

@Apollonius My boss has just sold a load of size 3-4 designer stuff, jimmy choo, loboutin et all..so they exist if you want significantly higher priced stuff that lasts! You may not want her know that though!

they don't sell those in a size 9e

 

[London Female]

I don't have any problem buying shoes in general for daily wear but I have recently been trying to buy a pair of walking boots and have had no end of trouble. I am size 4 but with wide feet, I have already returned one pair, am now trying the second pair around the house and they are not much more comfortable and will probably have to go back despite a full fitting with measuring etc.

 

[MikeG]

I solve the "I loath shoe shopping" issue by not shopping for shoes. I only own 3 or 4 pairs of shoes, plus sports shoes, and make them last 10 years or more.

 

[Apollonius]

Well thanks for that Vickster, but Mrs A is only interested in cycling, horse riding and skiing stuff. She does not do fashion.

 

[vickster]

She'll be fine with kids stuff then. Quite often see little womens cycling shoes on the bargain pages

 

[young Ed]

i feel your pain! size 12 with pretty wide feet here and size 13 cycling shoes, i buy all my shoes on the internet and never have a problem..... they are the worlds biggest work boots you have seen
Cheers Ed

 

[SteCenturion]

She is lucky to have quite small feet for her height actually!
Mine probably aren't a true nine, but they are wide like a platypus!

Hi again vickster & all who struggle with Cycling Shoes (I can't comment on ladies dressy up shoes coz I only wear 'em on a Tuesday).

Most of you will be fully aware that Italian sizing is a little on the petite & narrow side.

The problem I have read & ultimately found 1st hand are the toe boxes of shoes.
This is to say the front section where your metatarsals etc live (as if you didn't know).

I have found 2 brands that are worth investigating for those with a wider foot & surprisingly both are Italian.
They are Gaerne (who also make motorcycle boots) & Giro (of head protection hat fame).

I have cycling shoes from both these brands & broad feet size 9 > 10 (brand dependent).

While you still have to 'size up' one size from your normal casual or office shoe, I have found the comfort & quality to be fantastic.

The Gaerne in particular are phenomenally comfortable, admittedly I have 2 pairs of the top of the range Carbon G.Chrono but they are hand made, supple, breathable & stable on the foot, plus they are very adjustable with the Boa closure system.

The Giro shoes also are (I find) supremely comfortable (if slightly narrower than Gaerne) & I believe come with several insoles of different support types in the high end models (3 insoles inc I believe).

I hope this might help at least 1 or 2 of you out there, at least regards cycling shoes.



Edit.

Chain Reaction Cycles as mentioned by vickster have a fantastic 12 months returns policy, so plenty of time to walk around on the carpet in them & you can often get high end Gaerne or Giro cycling shoes in last season with a large % off.

 

[Profpointy]

[QUOTE 3155271, member: 259"]I get them from a man who's been making them since the 60's, and keeps lasts for all his customers. He's in Liege in Belgium.

The price is about 300-400 euro depending on the shoe, but as I said, these things last forever, and your first pair is the priciest.[/QUOTE]

Bloody hell, that's pretty good. Not far off that for a pair of Crockett's off the peg, at least if you buy them full whack from their shop

 

[DRHysted]

My right foot is a 9.5 wide, my left 9.5 medium wide. Normal shoes fit my left but crush my right. I spend most of my time in size 10 safety boots (work requirement). I luckily found some walking boots which stretched well (in Go Outdoors of all places), so that covers leisure. I have a pair of dress shoes (for which I have scrubbed all memory of the price) which have been out of the box twice in the last 9 years (they were fitted). Cycling wise I have 1 fits well (Northwave artic) 1 not bad (HRH) 2 numb toes (DHB) 1 agony (Northwave). I'm currently trying some Giro HV, the left fits like a glove, I have to leave the right packed out overnight.

 

[SteCenturion]

i feel your pain! size 12 with pretty wide feet here and size 13 cycling shoes, i buy all my shoes on the internet and never have a problem..... they are the worlds biggest work boots you have seen
Cheers Ed

Hello young Ed, young fella me lad.

Father in law is 6ft 5" (that's why my missus is 6ft 2") & he is size 12 > 13 (brand dependant).

This might not suit you, but I often see, nice trendy/good looking shoes & trainers in Tk Maxx, usually in the (reduced even further section) & if you can be bothered with a good rummage could turn up some quality top end high street designer brands.

Edit.

As they are 12's > 13's they are usually cheaper too as not quite so popular.

It can be a bit hit & miss but worth a punt.

 

[young Ed]

Hello young Ed, young fella me lad.

Father in law is 6ft 5" (that's why my missus is 6ft 2") & he is size 12 > 13 (brand dependant).

This might not suit you, but I often see, nice trendy/good looking shoes & trainers in Tk Maxx, usually in the (reduced even further section) & if you can be bothered with a good rummage could turn up some quality top end high street designer brands.

Edit.

As they are 12's > 13's they are usually cheaper too as not quite so popular.

It can be a bit hit & miss but worth a punt.

not much good for me as spending all my free time outside on various farms i need proper steel toe cap dealer boots and i manage to get the odd bit of running in which require proper trainers so these 'swaggy nike trainers' aren't much good for me and any smarter business type shoes aren't much good either

thanks for the tip though!
Cheers Ed

 

[Booyaa]

Anyone else think shoe shopping is the task of satan?!?

I went in to the shop on Friday, walked out 8 minutes later with a lovely pair of well fitting shoes without a problem. Easy lark this shoe shopping.

 

[Ganymede]

Hi @vickster, I'm sitting here idly and googled "handmade women's shoes" and quite a few options came up - some of the ones that look blokey do women's shoes as well - but frustratingly there was nothing much on anyone's websites about how much you might expect to pay. I would think it might be worth a few email enquiries to find out. I'm tempted myself, even with my fairly ordinary size 6!