I was born with feet in the 1st percentile of the population and they stayed that way even despite getting taller. Now every shoe shopping experience is awkward af.
You have different shoe sizes for men and women? WTF?
Just so you know: Women shoes are different in both width and length*.
Probably because men often need wider shoes.
Well, that’s why you still have mens and womens sections in the shoe shop. But it definitively makes it easier e.g. to find a shoe for a woman with wide feet, just take a mens’ sneaker in the same size.
Where do you live that they don’t?
In Japan everyone knows their shoe size in centimeters. Those stay the same regardless of gender or whatever other crazy unrelated topic to how big something is.
That would make it a foot measurement, not a shoe size.
It would except for the fact that shoe sizes here, from babies to adults are only sized in centimetres. If there are international sizes printed on the shoes, they have no meaning to residents in Japan. Check the tag inside your shoes; If they have international sizes printed on them, you’ll see Japan’s is in centimetres, and may have EE (or more Es) next to it to denote width. If there is nothing, then they are standard width.
Children’s clothing is also sized in centimetres. Makes things really simple.
This is probably gonna blow your mind. But most shoes are worn on feet. Crazy, uh?
size in centimeters
Measuring like that would be even easier in the US, where the answer would always be simply “one foot”.
It’s normal for men to have wider feet, with a wider and longer toebox compared to the length of the foot. Length is only one dimension of several. (Though a lot of people don’t think to re-lace* their shoes for arches.)
It’s unclear how much of that is upbringing. The toebox length is gendered, but toe and foot width go up wen spending a lot of time barefoot, and toe width goes down in pointed shoes that can eve n make toes ‘tuck’ and cause bunions.
A women’s 9 1/2 double-wide fits me about the same as a plain Men’s 7. Women’s dress shoes are rarely in wide, and NEVER double-wide. Though I’ve found success with Aussie brands because going barefoot is normal there and so the shoes are often wider for everyone. We’re also seeing the toebox become a more slanted natural foot shape, instead of the weird point symmetrical one.
Bodies can be complicated, and one size/shape isn’t for everyone. The way we live and dress absolutely changes the shoes we need, too.
My most recent shoe purchased was decided because the arc in the shoe perfectly marched my own. Also i do have rather wide feet and did go barefoot a lot as a kid. Funny thing im the only in group that still has arches.
I recommend re-lacing. Autocorrect changed it to ‘replace’, but changing how your shoes are laced really helps. I have a very high arch, and found that I didn’t actually need much arch support in the shoe itself, I just needed the tongue not to be pushing down on it. It means the shoes now feel tight and secure around my ankle and toe, I don’t have to go up a size to fit my arch. Much more comfortable!
Huh! That’s very interesting. I’ve never thought abou lacing having an impact on fit. I also have high arches and I’m definitely giving this a try. Thanks!
Yes but the number doesn’t have to change. Just like in the US, they use letters to denote relative foot wdith vs. the average. No need for multiple numbering schemes.
Just like in the US
The letters denoting widths exist, but they’re not used. Very few US shoe brands offer different widths on the same size shoe. Some offer two. A handful three, and now you’re talking about workwear, not trainers or anything else. Generally, US shoe widths are decided by whether it’s a mens or womens model.
My fellow lemming, I worked in a shoe store in the US for two years. I can tell you that yes, in fact, every shoe has an associated letter denoting width along with the number denoting length.
However, unless the width is special it may or may not be printed on the box.
I have also worked shoe retail. US household name brands makes single widths for the majority of their available shoes. If you have narrow feet try the equivalent size in the women’s model. If you have wide feet try the men’s options. The lasts are different. I’m aware you can do better than what is available in a standard retail setting. I’m generalizing.
It is more accurate, but for most people it probably makes it more work. If most [Group A] need [Item A], it gets labelled that way so they can be sectioned that way. It probably would be better, especially for more uncommon shapes, to use measurements. But most people don’t want to do that for everything, they want an easy answer so they can go home. A lot of women I know have never bothered to get their bra size professionally measured, and that’s a readily available service that saves so much literal pain.
Reminds me of mens/womens deoderant. IIRC the real difference is that one is creamier (for body hair) and the other is powdery (for shaved skin). So sometimes men might want women’s deoderant or vice versa, and the labelling CAN obfuscate that.
Shoe sizes are Unisex here in in Europe as well as in Asia. And in Asia they are even smarter - they simply use centimeters, while we use “Paris Points” of 2/3s of a centimeter.
Don’t bother…my gf has small feet also and we go shopping in kid’s department/shop
Same. Sometimes it’s the same shoe at a discount, other times kids shoes are lower quality.
Or if you’re into it, they can light up with each step
Same. My girlfriend also used to have massive tits. We’re talking DDD’s. She ended up getting a reduction, but it was funny because she used to have to go to Lane Bryant for tops and Kids Foot Locker for shoes.
I swear to fuck there was another lemmy user that was really tall but had like size 4 feet and there was a pretty cool AMA
Ya I remember that. They had a pic of them in business attire I think
Edit: Here is that post:
https://lemmings.world/post/19924381
Same person
Dope, they’ll go down in Lemmy history for having funny proportions
Yes, I remember this too! 😂
Can we see a pic of your feet with your legs in the shot too? This is very interesting
Unclear if on topic, or foot fetish.
Corn likea da feet
Dear feet lovers: does size matter? Actually curious if you care about that.
Foot enthusiast here, For me it’s more about the shape and if they are well cared for.
Edit: It’s also about how she uses the feet ;)
Why the hell not?
Those kickers look pretty normal!
Have you looked into shoe inserts that essentially reduce the size of the shoe interior? My friend has extremely small feet and faces a similar problem of not finding shoes that are small enough, and I think she’s had some luck with the inserts
The Brannock has ruled. Misses section is right this way…
AFASS - Assigned Female At Shoe Store
…i shop women’s shoes when i can; they generally offer a much wider selection…
And they’re so much more comfortable, it’s ridiculous. It’s like the shoe industry decided, several decades ago, that men don’t want comfortable shoes.
Comfort or pockets
Fair. Men get pockets, but shite shoes. Women get comfort, but no pockets.
Hol up, y’all have pockets on your shoes? I’m getting neither comfort nor pockets.
Ah yes the two genders
i have bad news, they decided that no one wants actually comfortable shoes. Women just get slightly less actively uncomfortable ones.
minimalist shoes are a whole different universe, i love my wildlings winter shoes because they’re basically just thick socks with a rubber outsole.
You know how people have to “wear in” their shoes to avoid chafing? yeah that’s just not a thing with good minimalist shoes.
Lmaoooooo 🤣🤣🤣💀
I’m just confused by why you keep getting your feet measured. I haven’t done that since my feet stopped growing, I know my size by this point
How I imagine it:
“I’m size 3”
“No you’re not”
“Yes I am”
“You can’t be”
“BRING THE DEVICE”
Or like look at the size 3 they currently are wearing.
Yeah but maybe their toes are just jammed up all the way to the front and they don’t know how shoes work! You never know!
I only got my feet measured for a new pair of running shoes at a new running store that just opened up. You’re right - I don’t have to combat the Brannock device on a regular basis.
What’s shoe shopping like? I have a friend with size 6 or 7 feet and he says he often find cheaper shoes because he gets away with buying kids versions of sneakers. On the other hand I’ve got wide feet so my options are often limited.
Shoe shopping in a store rarely happens. I can go to Kmart or Target and find shoes in the kids section, or go online. I was only going into a proper shoe store this one time to get a new pair of running shoes.
Oh I’ve got wonky feet so I have to physically try shoes. The only time I order online is when I order the same model.
Do they get sore all the time? That sounds like a lot of weight on not much area.
Not as much as you would think. The body is incredibly adaptable. I have pretty strong foot and calf muscles that distribute the load I guess.
OP is a Rob Liefeld character.
In all seriousness I hope you can find a decent specialty store that will get you comfy/stylish/both shoes.
my sister’s foot size is 12. She has larger feet than me and I’m AMAB
AMAB
A Massive-Ass Bastard?
Assigned male at birth.
No, no I think the other guy is right.
That’s not very nice.
Get me a small man’s foot-suit, please.
I get the reference!
Be careful what you wish for. Small feet on a man mean you’ll be sentenced to a life of small dick jokes. Which is certainly not the worst thing in the world but it isn’t great.
My message was a tenuous reference to Flight of the Conchords (New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk-comedy duo). So it’s understandable that it was misunderstood, however, I did appreciate your thoughtful response.
Here’s the song if you need a laugh: https://youtu.be/yjfSZu246zE
Why do they measure your feet as an adult? Is that common in the US? I don’t think i had my feet measured since I was 15 or so.
Edit: I also want to applaude you for wearing Spiderman socks in this specific post!
Cause it takes about 30 seconds and makes sure you actually have the right size shoe.
Speak for yourself… I use my Brannock device each morning to check my feet and see if my junk got bigger from the chemicals.
It’s absolutely not common unless you’re getting custom shoes or some other 1%er activity
Do you NOT try to fit into any clothing you buy?
I never buy clothes online, exactly because I always try them on to check the fit before buying them. I haven’t measured my feet since I was around 15. I know my foot size, so I know that shoes in the range 42-43 are a good fit, depending on the shoe model. I don’t need to measure my feet when I buy shoes to confirm that they’re still around size 42.5.
I mean, your feet typically don’t really change size after you grow up? I just buy whatever size I last bought.
Edit: tho to be fair it’s not even always the same size because the size that’s comfortable highly depends from shoe to shoe, I always have to try on a few pairs to be sure.
Depends on if you get into barefoot style shoes or not.
Every shoe store I have ever been to, including thrift stores, had one of those foot measuring things.
Thrift store? Believe it or not, 1%er activity.
REAL people make their own shoes out of roadkill….
damned 1%
I don’t think anybody is asking to measure his feet, but these measurement devices are practically everywhere that shoes are sold, so it’s easy to check for yourself.
—what size?
—three
—… please come this way
As a woman, I think it’s stupid that shoes are gendered in the first place. My shoe size is in the realm that exists for both men’s and women’s shoes. So in shoe stores I can grab the same sneakers from the women’s and the men’s section. Just sort the damn shoes by size and let people pick the ones they like ffs.
Not just shoes, all clothes. We can come up with better terms, like tapered or straight line. Whatever would be most descriptive. It’s ridiculous.
To be fair, I don’t think it’s “ridiculous” to sort e.g. jeans into the broad categories of “typically wider or slipper hips/thighs compared to length” or t-shirts into “typically broader back vs. typically larger chest”.
The mens/women’s categories are probably the coarsest categories that makes sense, since the average man’s and women’s body are so different in so many ways.
The point is that you described it exactly as it could be described without using gendered terms.
The first few decades of my life I assumed that there’d been all sorts of important orthopaedic/podiatry research done into the difference between men and women’s feet, gaits etc that meant wearing sports shoes sold as “women’s” would in some way cause my feet long term harm. Nope, it was bullshit marketing all along.
I wouldn’t be surprised if on average women’s feet were narrower than men’s, but even if that’s the case, just make narrow and wide versions of shoes and let people pick the ones that fit their feet. Surely there are men with narrow feet and women with wide feet. It just makes no sense.
I have had to wear shoes 1 (or .5 depending upon the model) number larger due to wide fronts.
Barefoot shoes! Started wearing them 2 years ago and will never go back. I hadn’t even realized how much regular shoes crammed my toes together until I started wearing actually foot-shaped shoes. And my feet are narrow.
I’ve heard of them quite a bit.
Might try if I get the chance.
I recently learned that there’s a size rating for width. It goes from A to E, and says something about the length/width ratio of the shoe. Made my previous shoes a lot easier to buy (I also struggle to find wide enough shoes).
Well, guess I need to look for my width rating.
Not that it matters, because the shop ppl won’t understand.
And even if they do, it’s useless if they don’t have what I need.Goes further than that, my feet are technically 11EEEEEE but I usually have to get a 12EE since basically no one in the world makes 6E if not custom made.
