Do nice shoes ALWAYS hurt?

Yes . . . that pain is the price you must pay for style and beauty . . .


To be serious about this, i have read in trade journals (i once sold shoes for a living) that women have a serious ego problem with shoes, and consistently buy shoes that are too small. A women who would be best served with a size 9 buys an 8 and insists that is her size, then complains about the shoes. We used to insist that women try shoes on before they left the store, and if when they attempted to return them there was any scuffing of a nature to indicate that they had worn them in a routine fashion, we would not accept them as a return. The policy was prominently posted by the cash register, and in that state, we didn't have to take them in return (in that state, underclothing, shoes and socks could not be returned to stores if the vendor refused them). Nevertheless, every day women would come in with shoes which were too small, demanding their money back, or a return, and insisting that these shoes were not properly manufactured, it couldn't be true they had always worn a size "X", these shoes were a size "X" and they made their feet hurt.

We did not have these problems with men.

I strongly suggest that you swallow your pride, go to a high end shoe store with clerks who do fittings, and have your feet properly measured, then buy that size, even if you think it is too large.

A properly fitted shoe will not hurt when you buy it.

If your shoes warp, then there is something wrong with the quality of the shoe manufacture. You shouldn't be wearing shoes after you've worn down the side of the heel - not good for your ankles/knees/hips. If there is a regular problem with you wearing one side of your shoe well before the other, you should probably consider a gait assessment.

Good advice from both above.

The hurting shoes thing is something that strikes runners as well and for the reasons listed by Setanta. Wrong size.

I ran for a year, fighting back against excess rubbing on the inside of my right foot and chaffing on my Achilles on my left. Couldn't figure it out because the shoes were the size I had always worn :10.5 . (Dat's me.)
Finally went to a really good running store whose employees didn't curl their lip at this 'light-truck model' of a runner and had my feet fitted into a pair of good shoes. um. Size 11.

They felt H U G E. In my running jounrnal, I dubbed them "Bigfoot" (you name each pair of running shoes so you can keep track of the wear and mileage on each. I know, talk about obsession. My current pair is Glojack because the soles glow in the darkness. Sad. Yes.)
ANYway, foot problems disappeared. Gone. can run for miles with no chaffing. Huh. Sometimes experts are experts.

The saying in fashion is fit is everything.
Go to a good shoe store.
Watch how all the salespeople work (who is giving people the rush job? unuh. ) pick one and get fitted.

Good Luck.
Joe( )Nation

I have shoes with little heels that don't hurt.

Mind you, I'd not walk long distances in them. I can only do that in good walking shoes these days!

EVERY pair of shoes (bar one) I have ever bought hurt me. I have worn size 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5 and even a 10 in a boot, trying to get anything to work. I have been fitted (professionally) in several different stores and given a range of 8-8.5 as my shoe size. I have very wide feet with high insteps and so a regular size 8 or 8.5 will not fit me. I get wide width shoes and still they are not comfortable. I don't care what size I have to wear, I will wear it even if it's a bloody 11! I just want a pair of shoes that don't hurt me! I swear it is the style of shoes or my feet are totally effed up!
When I was in Ireland for a visit I went to M&S and saw a pair of walkabout shoes that were very basic. I bought a pair (they are of a cheaper quality so I didn't care if they were uncomfortable, I could just throw them out). They were like frigging cushions. I do not feel like I have shoes on at all. They are so supple and soft they "give" where I need them to and I can walk for miles in them. I wore them until they fell apart (not a long-lasting quality shoe!) so next time I went back to Ireland I bought 6 pairs!
http://www.marksandspencer.com/Footglove-Widefit-Wedge-Shoes/dp/B001MV3IQ4?ie=UTF8&categoryNodeID=42967030&mnSBrand=core

Those pointy shoes women wear hurt the most. They leave quite an impression on my back side.

What ehBeth said.

You'd be much better off investing in 2 or 3 really good well-fitting shoes than a bunch of cheaper ones. And high heels are deadly on the body. I wear them only when going out for dinner - certainly not for dancing (unless it's New Year's Eve)!

The only shoes I can buy that don't hurt me, at least at first, until I wear them in - are sandals. My left foot is bigger than my right foot - I'd say by half a size. So if I buy a size 6 (American) which fits my right foot - my left foot is squished. If I buy a size 6.5 to fit my left foot - it slides up and down on my right heel and I get a blister there- it never fails. So I've learned to buy the 6.5 and wear two socks on my right foot. This works for boots, sneakers (trainers) and walking shoes - but if I'm wearing a dress and have to wear panty hose I just make sure I have sling back shoes with a strap that I can tighten up so they don't fall off my smaller foot- weird...and it makes no difference how much money I spend on shoes it's always the same.

I used to wear down my heels unevenly too - but I don't do that anymore- I don't know what I changed about my gait, but I guess it's more even now.
Anyway - you're not alone with this problem.

Just curious, Aidan, are you left-handed?

Joe(looks down, squinting)Nation

No. And my mother is right handed too and her left foot is bigger than her right foot too. My left arm is a little bit longer than my right arm too. If I'm wearing a sweater or blouse that fits my left arm perfectly - I have to turn the sleeve back just like a quarter or half an inch on my right arm.

Funny thing is, I thought I was buying mismatched shoes or that there was some problem with the pattern or manufacturer of all my sweaters and blouses - that they had messed up and made the sleeves just the slightest bit different lengths. Then I figured out that if it's with ALL my shoes and blouses - it's probably the fact that my feet and arms are just ever so slightly different sizes or lengths.

I think my feet have grown in the past year too. I've always worn 9's. Bought some new 9's, they were too small. Hmph. Stupid Nikes, making a bad pair of shoes, my other 9's all fit perfectly. Then it dawned that my current shoes are touching the ends of my toes in a way they didn't used to. Think I'll try some 9.5's. (Or at least have my feet measured and see.)

aidan, I had the thought that you must not be the only person with the problem of differently-sized feet, found this (among others):

http://oneshoetwoshoe.net/?gclid=CMe0s9PqiKACFZdM5QodRzu5kg

I'm "right-handed," and my left foot and hand are larger. However, i have two brothers, both of whom are/were left-handed, and both my mother and father are left-handed. However, i was raised by my grandparents, who were both right-handed. Right-handed people tend to hand things to the right hand of whomever they are facing--i suspect that i was unconsciously "trained" to be right-handed as an infant.

Heeven- I have lousy feet, and a bad back. Therefore, I need a shoe that throws the foot a bit forward, to take the pressure off my back.

There are a lot of shoes out there with a wedge heel, which fills the bill, but they are usually too high, or too low. I didn't want to spend the money, but I finally took myself down to SAS, who is known for its "comfort" shoes.

Of all the styles, this was the only one that was exactly right. http://www.sasshoes.com/main/view_styles.php?catid=2&prodid=47

I call them my "old lady shoes", but they are wonderful for me. I was fitted, and the salesman suggested that I buy a 7 1/2 wide instead of a 71/2 medium. Sheer heaven.

I was very surprised to see your shoe, that seems to have the same kind of heel as mine. Too bad that I probably can't get them in the US. They are far more stylish than the ones that I bought, but ah, such is life.

Didn't answer the original post... quality and construction definitely makes more of a difference in high-heeled shoes than other kinds. I find Clark's to be really comfortable. I couldn't find any t-straps (they usually have some) so this is kind of random to give an idea:

http://www.zappos.com/indigo-by-clarks-sylvie-black-leather

aidan - I believe there are websites where you can trade. My best friend from High School has similar issues (a 7 narrow and a 7 medium) and she's been able to trade since we were in school which was a while ago. I imagine with the Internet it's considerably easier.

Oh and shoes should never hurt. Don't buy them if they do. Get them fitted, buy something else, take them back, whatever. I wear 11 wide and was a 10 for years, then gained weight and hit the 11 sizes. Now that I've lost, I'm still an 11 but that might go down at some point. Also, recognize that, as you age, you can lose some of the fat pad at the bottom of your foot, and that can contribute to discomfort/bone spurs, even if you haven't had any weight changes.

Notice if certain brands of shoe fit you better than others.

I know for instance, you could give me a pair of Franco Sartos in my size, and I know they would fit perfectly, even without trying them on.
I consider them a mid price shoe.

I can try on all the Aigner shoes in the world, and would not find one that didn't hurt.

35 pounds equals about $54 american. I hate to tell you this, but IMHO you're not going to be able to get anything more than casual knock around shoes for that price.

I'll usually wait for sales where something that costs $120 comes down to $90.

$90 is nothing to sneeze at for me, so that means I take care of my shoes, to get the most out of them.

Italians make the best shoes. Go to Italy, find a good, young, un-married shoe maker, drag him in the back room and screw his ears off. Get him to make you several pairs of shoes, then dump him like a hot rock.

Rinse, repeat as necessary . . .

Sounds like a plan.

I was just going to mention Franco Sartos. I'm wearing a gorgeous pair of their Yves shoes in purple leather and suede right now. Always comfortable.