Ladies with wide feet, but super skinny ankles & thin calves? Let's brainstorm!

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 24 January 2015 at 1:01PM

Any suggestions for nicely fitting boots?

I recently bought a pair of Fly London 'Sara' boots; I love the Fly London styles, and in the past I had found Fly London to fit well (in fact, their lace-up 'Maos' boot I bought a few years ago still fit well...) But their latest boot renditions I have found to be really rather baggy around the ankle area. The 'Sara' boot was also too tight on the broadest part of my foot, whilst being baggy around the ankle (think 'wellington boots' - yuck!) :eek: I'm a size 7, if that helps.

What do you other lovely ladies with similar 'foot issues'

buy?!

I'm maybe asking for quite a lot

as not only will my boots need to be smart enough to wear to work, but as I will be walking to / from work a couple of miles each day the boots will also need to have a thick sole, with a decent bit of traction.

The maximum I'd be prepared to spend on them would be about £130 / £140, at a pinch..

Here is a picture of the Fly London Sara, to give an idea of their style:

I've been looking at Dr Martens Viola:

Which do look fairly versatile and would doubtless be durable, but they're not as stylish as the Sara, they look slightly less high in the leg (I'm a tall lady), and since I haven't been able to find any info on ankle dimensions they may still suffer from the same 'baggy ankle' issue that's causing me to send the Sara boots back...

Please help! :A I'm stuck wearing inappropriate non-weather-resistant (but smart) shoes at the moment; I don't want to waste a fairly substantial chunk of my wages buying something I'm not entirely happy with.

GFN123 · 24 January 2015 at 8:15PM

I feel your pain! I have just ordered these:
http://www.hushpuppies.com/UK/en-GB/Product.mvc.aspx/32633W/0/Womens/Chamber-14-inch-Boot?dimensions=0

As Hush Puppies boots/shoes are great quality with really amazing comfy insoles. I loved these as they look simple, waterproof leather and should last.

They should arrive early next week so happy to let you know how they fit. I have exactly the same issue. I usually take wide fitting shoes, but boots labelled wide are enormous round the calf, as like you I have really slender calves.

I actually got them on ebay as my size on the main HP site was sold out.

Happy to update when they arrive

If there is one handy, Jones the Bootmaker stock Hush Puppies and I've had really nice well fitted boots of their own make too.

Expensive, but Shoon stock a brand of very slim fit boots too, but good flat ones not too narrow in the foot. I'll try find a link...

Dr._Shoe · 24 January 2015 at 9:26PM

The trouble is that many manufacturers assume that if you have wide feet then you're going to weigh about 90 stone and design the boot accordingly. I take size 9 and have to be careful what I buy. I'm not excessively tall or fat (5.9 and size 12-14) I like heels and they do suit me. The assumption is that a lady with size 9 feet will be either very tall of particularly overweight hence the prevalence of frumpy designs available in the larger sizes with the nicer styles stopping at 8 or, in some cases, 7. The shops say that they don't stock them because there's no demand. How do they know if they don't sell them? GRRRRR

esmy · 24 January 2015 at 9:46PM

I bought these on a Black Friday deal. They are fairly narrow around the ankle and the leg width is adjustable. Although they're a bit higher they are very comfortable

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fly-London-Womens-Boots-P801407000/dp/B00LZI2I2Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=shoes&ie=UTF8&qid=1422132290&sr=1-1&keywords=fly+london+

(I'm a wide size 8)

heebie-jeebies · 25 January 2015 at 11:08AM

Have you looked at Duo boots? They have the end of their January sale on at the moment so there are some good prices.

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 25 January 2015 at 12:44PM

GFN123 wrote: »

I feel your pain! I have just ordered these:
http://www.hushpuppies.com/UK/en-GB/Product.mvc.aspx/32633W/0/Womens/Chamber-14-inch-Boot?dimensions=0

As Hush Puppies boots/shoes are great quality with really amazing comfy insoles. I loved these as they look simple, waterproof leather and should last.

They should arrive early next week so happy to let you know how they fit. I have exactly the same issue. I usually take wide fitting shoes, but boots labelled wide are enormous round the calf, as like you I have really slender calves.

I actually got them on ebay as my size on the main HP site was sold out.

Happy to update when they arrive

If there is one handy, Jones the Bootmaker stock Hush Puppies and I've had really nice well fitted boots of their own make too.

Expensive, but Shoon stock a brand of very slim fit boots too, but good flat ones not too narrow in the foot. I'll try find a link...

Oooh, those look lovely! I'm liking the fact that they are marketed as being properly waterproof, too - you know that the craftsmanship is going to be pretty high. Nothing worse than a leaky boot! (well, apart from a gaping welly-esque boot, I suppose!)

They seem to be made just a couple of cm too big for me, looking at the calf dimensions. Do you think they can be adjusted by the poppers on the top of the calf, or are the poppers more for fashion?

Their Kana boot looks quite nice too, slim calf with a good leg length to them (I'm a rather tall 5'10"!)They don't state that they are weatherproof like yours, though, plus they don't show photos of the boot (or sole) from different angles which is slightly unhelpful:
Hushpuppies Kana link

Please do update when your lovely Chamber boots have arrived and you've given them a twirl! Fingers crossed for you :j

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 25 January 2015 at 12:54PM

Dr._Shoe wrote: »

The trouble is that many manufacturers assume that if you have wide feet then you're going to weigh about 90 stone and design the boot accordingly. I take size 9 and have to be careful what I buy. I'm not excessively tall or fat (5.9 and size 12-14) I like heels and they do suit me. The assumption is that a lady with size 9 feet will be either very tall of particularly overweight hence the prevalence of frumpy designs available in the larger sizes with the nicer styles stopping at 8 or, in some cases, 7. The shops say that they don't stock them because there's no demand. How do they know if they don't sell them? GRRRRR

I feel your frustration. I went on a boots shopping trip a couple of weeks ago, in a Quest to find the holy grail of footwear in the January sales. I couldn't quite believe that nothing that I tried on fit satisfactorily! :eek:

There's obviously a niche in the market for people like us. If only there were a few more manufacturers who would take up the challenge, we'd be a captive audience!

Have you had success with any particular brands / styles?

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 25 January 2015 at 12:57PM

esmy wrote: »

I bought these on a Black Friday deal. They are fairly narrow around the ankle and the leg width is adjustable. Although they're a bit higher they are very comfortable

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fly-London-Womens-Boots-P801407000/dp/B00LZI2I2Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=shoes&ie=UTF8&qid=1422132290&sr=1-1&keywords=fly+london+

(I'm a wide size 8)

They're lovely; if it weren't for the really high wedge (I'm 5'10"), and smooth sole, I'd snap them up! Shame that Fly London aren't making that finely fitting leg in any of their flatter, hardier styles.

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 25 January 2015 at 1:01PM

heebie-jeebies wrote: »

Have you looked at Duo boots? They have the end of their January sale on at the moment so there are some good prices.

I have checked out Duo, and although there are a couple in the sale that look like they might be a good fit, they seem to lack the rugged sole that I'm looking for.

Thank you for the recommendation, though! :beer:

GFN123 · 27 January 2015 at 10:54PM

Well they're here

Absolutely fantastic quality. I'm really impressed. The foot size is perfect (I buy Clarks wide normally).

Yes! You can tighten them with the poppers

they are a great fit. Not ultra slim, more 'normal' but I'll wear with skinny jeans a lot and the poppers stop the welly look!

Happy to post circumference measurements? They come in black and dark brown too.

Am trekking all round London tomorrow so will update on comfort.

Very happy so far. Will be going back to Hush Puppies for sure

A_Phoenix_of_Tangerine · 29 January 2015 at 6:46PM

GFN123 wrote: »

Well they're here

Absolutely fantastic quality. I'm really impressed. The foot size is perfect (I buy Clarks wide normally).

Yes! You can tighten them with the poppers they are a great fit. Not ultra slim, more 'normal' but I'll wear with skinny jeans a lot and the poppers stop the welly look!

Happy to post circumference measurements? They come in black and dark brown too.

Am trekking all round London tomorrow so will update on comfort.

Very happy so far. Will be going back to Hush Puppies for sure

Wahoooo! :j That's great news! Thanks for reporting back :A

I actually found that Cloggs had a pair of those Doc Marten Moll Viola's I was talking about in my first post, in their sale at just £62 (they're normally £130)... I found a discount code, also, which took them down to a rater bargainous £51!

They arrived earlier today, and thanks to the nice little buckle at the top of each boot, they fit really well! The ankle is a little loose, but because the leather is thicker & better quality than the Fly London Sara boots they don't look oddly baggy - in fact, considering these boots are DM's with their standard 'bouncing sole', they look surprisingly smart in the flesh!

So, it seems, my Eternal Quest may now be over...

At least until the next pair of shoes!

Thanks for your help. x

Ladies with wide feet, but super skinny ankles & thin calves? Let's brainstorm!

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