Making shoes fit

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

Hello all

Hope I am posting this in the right forum, mods please move elsewhere if needed.

Right then...a couple of months ago I bought a pair of smart heeled shoes on eBay. Tried them on when they arrived, felt like they fitted fine, so off to work I trotted in them. About five minutes after getting to work I realise my feet are slipping about in the shoes and I'm clenching my toes to stop them falling off (the shoes...not my toes ) So I wedged some toilet paper in the shoes for the rest of the day and flung them in the back of the wardrobe when I got home.

Now these shoes only cost me about £6 including p&p (they were about £35 in the shops) so theoretically a bargain Having got this bargain though I want to be able to wear them. But the problem is, it's not that they are too long for me (in that my feet are shorter than the shoes), it's more that they are too wide for me each side of my arches and therefore don't grip properly...hence the slipping. I know you can buy insoles, or pads to put in the toes or heels of shoes when the shoes are a bit too big length ways, but would this help me?

My trouble is my feet look like Daffy Duck's beak...wide toe area and then narrow each side of my arches and small ankles...Coupled with decidely unsupermodel like calves, I can tell you that shopping for shoes and boots can be a total nightmare :mad:

Any suggestions ladies (and gents ) gratefully received.

P.S. I am extremely stubborn...I know I could just pass the shoes to charity or put them back on eBay but I want to conquer these shoes as they are lovely and otherwise quite comfortable

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

(And in all the pairs of shoes and boots I've bought on eBay, this is only the second pair that haven't fitted perfectly AND saved me money )

pigpen

I have the exact opposite problem.. I have feet like an elephant huge great wide things and high instep and really skinny ankles and unseemly calves also so boots are a no go!!

I make my mother wear my shoes to stretch them a bit so I can stretch them some more. I have to buy a size bigger than I need in order to get my feet in them.. I buy my shoes from Evans but their clothes bury me!

I'd try a set of the heel grips first in the back then some of the ones which go under the ball of the foot to lift the front.

I want 'normal' feet so I can wear pretty shoes!!

Skint_Catt

I've got normalish feet, ankles but big calves, but I haven't found a single pair of shoes that don't hurt and I could wear for lots of walking. My Crocs tire my calves out and my trainers rub my heel and all my other shoes and boots make my heels &/or balls of my feet really sore. i guess I'm just odd! :rotfl:

Clowance

Buffy: would some thick insoles help or are they sandal style?

I have the opposite problem with very wide feet , I am a 6 and a half and have sometimes to buy a size 8 to get the width. Its almost impossible to get walking shoes (and I have to walk to work and back about a mile each way) so I know how everyone feels. Currently I am wearing ghastly but comfortable walking shoes to work and changing when I get there, I leave some work shoes under my desk. I am sure people wonder where the cheese smell comes from! HTH

pigpen

Clowance.. I have a handbag like the tardis so when I go out on a night I can fit my comfy shoes in.. I open my bag to get out my purse and it comes with a distinct 'aroma' .. amuses me no end but hubby thinks I am gross!! Have you tried Evans shoes (in the sale of course!!)

I am a 4 and sometimes have to buy a 6.. usually get away with a 5 though.. I love Evans shoes..

skintlass

Hi Buffy, We've all been there, I have at home at the moment a lovely pair of teal open toed shoes that fit me perfectly in the shop but as soon as I wore them outside my feet slipped so far forward that they come off at every step (and I put a pair of heelgrips in them). I try and only buy shoes with an ankle strap or t-bar as that gives more support - but that's no help to you. Have you tried asking a cobbler if they have any ideas?

Seakay

Buffy: I would go with the insole, as mentioned by Clowance, and/or some heel grips, a mentioned by skintlass. Heel grips aren't thick enough to make long shoes shorter, but they stop slipping and rubbing - I think that they work best if you wear tights, but that may be just in my head!
Insoles would make your foot very slightly higher, and so take up some of the slack around your instep - the only problem might be if the toe is already a tight fit.
The only other (really desperate) solution would be to tie a wideish piece of ribbon around the instep part of your shoe and your foot -
Couldn't find a picture to explain exactly but something between these:
http://www.schuhstore.co.uk/womens_main_frameset.asp
http://janeshilton.co.uk/shop/product/products_id/755.html
http://www.asos.com/Sarah-Jessica-Parker/ASOS/Ribbon-Tie-Leather-Shoe/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=19055

black-saturn

If they keep slipping off try a blob of blue tack on the heel.

annie-c

I think what you need is a half insole. Heel grips tend not to work, but a good leather half insole will raise your foot and push it to the back of the shoe. I am a half size and often use these on shoes that are justa little too big. I get them for £1 a pair at a nearby designer outlet village.

grannybroon

I carry insoles in my work bag as my feet change during the day! Sometimes tight, sometimes slack, sometimes just right. Sorry, no real answers to your question.

GB