Ask FGG: Where can I find cute shoes in wide widths?
We'll help you find adorable styles with plenty of breathing room
Toni’s cute Keens
Here’s a recent question for Ask FGG:
Can you help a sister find some wide width shoes that don’t look like they belong to someone’s grandma?
We loved this question, because we get it. Although not all fat girls wear a wide width and not all grandmas are dowdy, we are familiar with clothing stores that offer plus size “styles” only a sack of potatoes could love. Why the fashion industry relies on assumptions such as “larger size = tall woman” and “plus size women don’t care about fashion” is beyond us.
But fortunately, when it comes to wide width shoes, the tide appears to be turning in the fat girls’ favor. If you haven’t seen it already, here’s our guide to fall boots that fit wider calves, and here’s a few retailers that offer cute shoes in wider widths:
Zappos.com – The reasons to love this company are myriad. First off, you can search for your size and width from the home page. Second, they have a decent selection of dress shoes in wide widths, including the Bella-Vita Sante in silver patent leather – how cute are these? Third, they offer free shipping on purchases AND returns. And finally, nce you find a brand you like, you can sign up for email updates when new styles arrive in your size.
Avenue’s Cloudwalkers – An entire line of fashionable shoes in a wide width. How great is that? Check out these Paige Peep Toe Woven Wedges–adorable! While they only offer two styles in a WW width, these cute, current styles are a step in the right direction. Since Avenue recently added size 7 to the Cloudwalkers lineup, they seem like a company who will listen to customers’ input, so drop them a line and let them know what you’d like to see in your size.
Torrid – The name says it all: these are not shoes for shy girls, and they’re sized to “fit a wider foot and calf.” Take the Red Patent Quincy Cuffed Heel. ‘Nuff said.
Designer Shoes – Efficient shoppers who like to get in and out of a site quickly will love this site, which lists shoes by size and width in the sidebar. Click your size/width combo and instantly see what they have in stock. They carry a lot of the Naturalizer line, especially for WW widths, and while this isn’t the most cutting edge in terms of style, we found a notable exception: these Princeton strappy heels. (The Naturalizer web site has two pages of styles in an extra wide width).
For you girls out there who wear a wide width shoe – what are your favorite brands, and where do you buy them?
I only use Zappos when I am shopping for a brand that I already know the fit of. I feel it’s just too time consuming to try to get the fit right in an unknown brand in online shopping. I might also use to get a style I have in another color, too.
I’ve found that wide width is getting impossible to find at the mall. My Naturalizer store says they carry NO wides but will order it for you with home delivery and you can return it at the store if it doesn’t fit provided you retain ALL of the shipping paperwork and receipts. They’ll return it to store stock if it doesn’t fit and maybe it will be there for the next person, but purely by accident.
My best store luck has been at Nordstrom’s. I don’t shop for much in the way of occasion shoes, but for sandals and comfort shoes they carry a lot of styles that run a bit wide which can often be enough. Ugg, some Merrell, Clarks…these have worked. Mine ordered me a wide width in a Naturalizer shoe with free shipping to my home, which I thought was great. I don’t know if you get free shipping from their website, though. I’ve found that their staff tend to specialize by shoe style, and in locating the one who knows the comfort shoes, I can get shown a better variety. I love that they are trained not to come out empty-handed because I have found some shoes I would not have considered on my own.
Several plus size catalogs have a shoe collection with wide widths available, but I’ve never ordered from them.
I really like the sizing on Easy Spirit shoes best of all but they can be difficult to locate; their double wide is way too wide for me, but I require a double wide in Naturalizer.
I know Hush Puppies has wide and double wide, but the styles are just not for me.
The hardest thing for me to find regularly is athletic shoes. I like cushiony shoes and New Balance (which has the most offerings in wide, I think) is never cushy enough inside for me. Surprisingly Nike wide is great for me. Their regular width is very narrow so I assumed their wide would not be wide enough, but I was wrong. I have a pair of Ryka shoesI found at a DSW store that I love and which are a regular width but the brand is hard to find in my town otherwise to know if the fit is consistent across all styles; this style is sort of a low hiker.
I’ve also found that socks can be tricky for wider feet. Macy’s carries really cute socks. Their “Hue” line fits well but their “Hot Sox” line is like wearing a tourniquet. I noticed that some plus size knitting books I have each have sock patterns with instructions for how to increase them to fit a wide foot and/or ankle; even if you don’t knit, you may know somebody who would knit you some if you buy the sock yarn.
Thank you so much for this post! I have problems with my toes as well as having enormous wide feet and the only shoes I’ve found (in Australia) that fit properly are Kumfs (http://www.kumfs.co.nz/) but they don’t have many cute flat styles that cover your toes, are really expensive and I can never find what I want online meaning I have to go to the one store near me which might be able to order in what I want. Now I’m totally going to buy myself some of those Phoebe Ballet Flats from Avenue *fingers crossed* they fit and I can buy more!
They have a wide variety of shoe widths..no pun intended..lol
http://www.harrys-shoes.com
The Great Internet Shoe Store!
1-866-4-HARRYS (1-866-442-7797)
2299 Broadway at 83rd Street
New York, NY 10024
Harrys Shoes for Kids
2315 Broadway (1/2 Block North of Adult Store)
New York, NY 10024