The boys and I wear approximately the same size shoe.
I have been having an exceptionally hard time lately finding shoes that are comfortable. I can tell, usually right after I’ve slipped a shoe on, and before I even stand up on it, whether or not my right foot is going to like it. It’s my right arch that’s giving me fits, and thankfully, this particularly pair of Asics seems to feel pretty decent. I did ask if I could return these if I don’t wear them outside, but discover that they aren’t actually as comfortable as I’d hoped.
The trick, I found, was to quit shopping in the women’s shoe section and look at the men’s shoes. I hate having big feet. They are long AND wide, which means nothing cute fits. Or feels good.
(Oh, except my Keen’s. I have a deep and abiding love for my Keen sandals…) (oh, and I’ve added a red pair since that post last March…)
I realized later, that I won’t need to return them if *I* don’t like them. Because…yeah. The boys are wearing 9s and 9.5s. (These are a 9.5, which, for those of you keeping track, means I wear a women’s size 11. Like I said: big feet.)
I’ve started exercising, and I’ve needed something to wear for that torture that doesn’t make my feet feel like they need to be amputated (which is what is going on with my current Nikes). I do need to lose weight, but my goal is not weight-loss. No, my goal is this: we are planning our summer vacation, and that vacation will include a fairly significant amount of walking/hiking, that will require a level of fitness that I do not currently possess.
In other words, when we hike the Grand Canyon, I don’t want to get left to die IN the canyon because I was so out of shape that my family left me behind.
It’s good to have goals.
Oh, I’m sure that your adoring children would never forget and leave you behind in the canyon. They may go to the top of the canyon and mock your inability to hike, but surely that wouldn’t LEAVE you!
With my feet swelling at the end of this pregnancy, I’ve resorted to mens 11 sandals. 😛 Take comfort that some gal, somewhere has bigger feet than you! 😉
I used to wear a 6 medium (I’m 5’4″), but after the twins, I went to a 7C. : ( Apparently there is a ligament across the width of the ball of your foot. And like all ligaments when pregnant, it loosens up. Why Mother Nature would think a pregnant woman needs a loose ligament under the foot is beyond me! But I digress…. post twins, my feet were bigger, fore and aft. booo
I like Nike. Their shoe isn’t as deep, so the shoe doesn’t hit my ankle, and their last is a little wider in the toe area, fitting my stretched out ligament very well.
I have exactly the same size feet as you! I feel your pain about shoe buying. My latest shoe obsession are Crocs – any color, any style as long as they are on sale. I own 5 pair right now. I also have a pair of Saucony gym shoes that I love. The great thing about hiking the Grand Canyon is those donkeys – if you wear out, you can get a ride on a donkey (just don’t look down)! Love your blog!
I feel your pain… I wear a 10.5, but they don’t MAKE them! I have to get either a 10 and suffer, or an 11 that slides on my foot. I have to stuff batting scraps in the toes of my 11 dress shoes to keep them on my feet. BTW… there is NO SUCH THING as a COMFORTABLE dress shoe for a foot my size. What’s with those “pointy toe” things? My feet don’t point! I usually do get a men’s size for my jogging shoes (not that I jog, but they have more cushion than the cross-trainers). Hope you find the PERFECT pair.
You will LOVE the Grand Canyon. It is one very awesome place! We admired it from above (due to my bad knee issues at the time), and I so admire your plans to hike into the canyon.
Kat
Imagine having big narrow feet. I wore 10.5 quad A with a 5A heel when I was 40. The most narrow Mens shoes are B if you can find them.
No cute pumps, slip-ons or stylish footwear for me. But I found as you have, that your feet continue to grow as you get older. Life’s cruelest betrayal.
I just ordered Women’s Asics from Zappos. Size 14 Medium in the only color they come in; BIG FOOT BLUE.
If you find a shoe that you like and it fits you …. buy it in every color they have.
Suzanne,
I wear a size 12 in womens…try to find that one in your local shoe store. No wait, don’t waste your time looking, they are not there. I have to order everything I wear. When you do that, you don’t know if they are long or short in the toe until you get them. What a hassel. I have long, medium feet. My husband always tries to direct me to men’s shoes but they are too wide and slip up and down or just feel loose. I went to a foot doctor once and he told me to wear a good shoe with very good support and suggested New Balance in the 800 series. Every pair of shoes I put on hurt my feet until I discovered the 800 series. Aaahhhh! No pain. I wear them all the time. Oh, and I just ordered a pair of cute sandels from Overstock.com….wore them one day and was in pain for 3. I’ll keep my New Balance.
not dying is one of my goals as well!
I tell my family, I’m not old..I just have OLD FEET! Yuck! You are going to hike the Grand Canyon? Does that mean you might be hitting Phoenix? I have a pool you can cool your tootsies in! I would love to meet you in person…
Ed says to tell you to buy a pair of Nike Air. He’s got all his runners and his coach-friends (and their runners) wearing them, and he’s making me get a pair, too (even tho I am NOT a runner!) He says to wear them walking, and wear them all around. Maybe even quilting.
On topic, those boys wouldn’t dare leave you in the GC. You’d find a way out, and they know you’ll then get your revenge on them!
Ed mis-spoke– the shoes are Nike Free, not Nike Air.
Good thing one of us is perfect….