barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (05/23/85)
I'd like to go on record as agreeing tht it's hard to find non-stylish but comfortable shoes. In fact, it's hard to find shoes that even approximately fit if you're an unusual size. At 4'10" and wide-boned (my father's 5'6" and wears a EEE width), my feet compute out to 5 1/2 C or 5 D on a shoe chart. Most stores don't believe such people exist and refuse to cater to them. After years of looking I managed to find a place that sold me some medium heel, 5 1/2 D toe/B heel shoes. I paid $75 a pair for them six yers ago and have been paying $10 every year or so since then to get them repaired. Not too bad a bargain on the whole. But...what do I do for walking shoes? Not running or jogging or tennies. Shoes I can walk ten hours a day in with nice thick soles and ankle support. Back in 1975 I got a pair of Wallabies. Ugly but comfortable. And in my size. They were the last ones the store and they were mismatched (one was tan, one was brown), but who cared. When I got back from Japan, I tried to get another pair, but the store was still sold out. Now it turns out the manufacturer has discontinued my size for the same old reason. People like me don't exist. Or at least not enough of us exist to be worth selling to. Or even to be worth answering when I wrote the manufacturer a letter, enclosing a self-addressed stamped envelope. Anyone out there know anyone who makes walking shoes for /hobbits/ urr... short, wide-boned women? --Lee Gold
ben@moncol.UUCP (Bennett Broder) (05/28/85)
>I'd like to go on record as agreeing tht it's hard to find non-stylish >but comfortable shoes. In fact, it's hard to find shoes that even >approximately fit if you're an unusual size. At 4'10" and wide-boned >(my father's 5'6" and wears a EEE width), my feet compute out to 5 1/2 C >or 5 D on a shoe chart. Most stores don't believe such people exist and >refuse to cater to them. > >Back in 1975 I got a pair of Wallabies. Ugly but comfortable. And in my >size. They were the last ones the store and they were mismatched (one >was tan, one was brown), but who cared. When I got back from Japan, >I tried to get another pair, but the store was still sold out. Now it >turns out the manufacturer has discontinued my size for the same old reason. >People like me don't exist. Or at least not enough of us exist to be worth >selling to. Or even to be worth answering when I wrote the manufacturer a >letter, enclosing a self-addressed stamped envelope. First, a flame directed at the shoe buying public. Sizes are not the scientific quantity that the shoe buying public assumes they are. People say, "I only wear a size 8". 8 what??? Not 8 inches. Not 8 centimeters. Actually (to throw in a little history) it used to be 8 peppercorns. Back when shoes were made to order by hand, the army wanted a way to stock boots that would be ready to wear when needed. They devised the peppercorn measurement system, and unfortunately, it has never been revised. Whether you believe this little piece of shoe lore or not, there is no question that the current system used to size and sell shoes is highly flawed. After all, we measure the foot in two dimensions (length and width), but totally ignore the most important 3rd dimension, girth. Oddly enough, this is the dimension that most concerns the manufacturer when he constructs the lasts that the shoes are made on. The moral of the story: Don't be afraid to try on shoes in sizes bigger or smaller than you normally wear. Take your time and buy shoes that fit, not shoes that have the right number printed on the label. Second, (If you really can't find a pair that fits..) Clarks of England is an importer, the Wallabees, for example, are made in Ireland. If they no longer make or import your size, then you are pretty much out of luck. I think you would do better dealing with a manufacturer. Dexter shoe company makes all it shoes in New England, they have a pretty good selection of reasonably priced casuals. I suspect that if you sent them a note, they would let you know if they stocked shoes in your size, and failing that, whether they would be able to make up a pair in your size by special order. Domestic manufacturers are often willing to accomodate these requests (though they may add a few dollars to the price), particularly if you are not terribly concerned about getting a particular style. Hope this is helpful. Ben Broder ..ihnp4!princeton!moncol!ben ..vax135!petsd!moncol!ben
CJC@psuvm.BITNET (05/29/85)
> >I'd like to go on record as agreeing tht it's hard to find non-stylish >but comfortable shoes. In fact, it's hard to find shoes that even >approximately fit if you're an unusual size. At 4'10" and wide-boned >(my father's 5'6" and wears a EEE width), my feet compute out to 5 1/2 C >or 5 D on a shoe chart. Most stores don't believe such people exist and >refuse to cater to them. > I have short wide feet too, and for years I've been getting walking shoes in boy's sizes. It's not a perfect solution - the heel is usually too wide and the styles are chancy - but it's better than anything I've found in the womens' section. The recent Sears catalog has offered some shoes in wide and extra wide sizes; I haven't had the courage to get mail-order shoes yet, so I'm asking - has anyone tried them? >After years of looking I managed to find a place that sold me some >medium heel, 5 1/2 D toe/B heel shoes. I paid $75 a pair for them six What marvelous luck! I remember my mother talking about combination last shoes (that was in the 50's) but I thought they had vanished to the place where all good things go, I hadn't come across any evidence of them for many years. --Carolyn J. Clark Bitnet: CJC at PSUVM ARPA : cjc%psuvm.BITNET@Berkeley
barryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (05/31/85)
Back when I was young, naive, and persuadable, I tried buying 6Bs. But I disliked getting blood all over the inside heels from the blistering. (The salesmen said they'd stretch them wider and put in a heel pad to make them shorter. My feet weren't convinced; they just blistered and bled.) I have found that about 50% of the 5 1/2 Cs fit me comfortaly. That's not a high enough that I'm wiling to go the mai order route, let alone have a special order made up--and then find it's in the wrong 50%. --Lee Gold