My right foot is larger than my left. Not enough to warrant two different shoe sizes, but enough that my right foot is usually a bit cramped in shoes that fit my left foot well. If I can find shoes wide enough for my right foot, I'll add an extra sock to the left foot to compensate.
It is a real challenge to order shoes online. But sadly, that's practically the only way to buy wide shoes. Some things that help me:
- Shoes must have rounded toes. Anything resembling a pointy toe isn't even considered. For example, I would never buy anything like these, even though they come in WW sizes.
- Shoes must not have a seam across the ball of the foot, where my foot is widest. That's why my Storm Commando boots aren't comfortable - the seam goes right across that wide spot and prevents the leather from flexing there. After an hour or so, my foot begins to hurt on that spot.
- Shoes must be made of soft leather or fabric with "give." Stiffer materials like patent leather or vinyl won't work.
Honestly, I usually resort to buying men's boots like New Rocks or Doc Martens. :P
A great resource for wide shoes is Zappo's. (
www.zappos.com) They have free shipping and free unlimited exchanges, so you can keep trying until you find the right size. It's a bit of a pain having to send things back, but it's totally free and you have up to a year to do it. The prices are similar to what you'd pay in a department store. The styles are not exactly inspiring, however.
The nice thing is that you can search by width so you don't waste time looking at shoes that don't come in wide width. They even have a selection of shoes in double wide width. Aaaah, the roomy comfort of WW!
I got some nice simple boots for work there.
