Growing up in Chicago years ago, I remember my mother taking me to buy shoes.  I was so embarrassed as a child for being tall and having large feet.  The salesmen in the shoe stores stared at me, as though I was a freak.  I sometimes think that I willed myself to stop growing.  I viewed shopping for shoes as the biggest nightmare anyone could have.
But my parents kept telling me that someday, I would be beautiful; that I could wear any clothing in the world.  They said over and over that tall people are beautiful, that one day it would be easy to buy shoes and God Bless them, they were so right!!!!  I have modeled in my life and my height of 5 feet 9 inches opened doors everywhere I go.  I wear a size 11 and have worn this size since I was 12 years old.  I love my height and my large footprint. Thank you Designer Shoes.com

M

11.21.06

I am 25 years old, and I have been wearing size 12 shoes since I was 12 years old! My favorite shoe story starts in the beginning, and by that I mean my birth. My Mom loves to tell this story. She doesn’t have the smallest shoe herself (10 M), but anyway, she LOVES to talk about my size. She had me through a natural birth, no drug, which explains why I am her first and only child. She says that once I was handed to her, she was like, “What a beautiful baby!” Then, she looks down and goes, “Look at her feet…They are HUGE!” I have the ink prints to prove it…I was wearing a size 6 in women’s at birth…or at least it looks like that. I used to want small feet, but I have learned to except and love my size 12’s. A joke that I like to tell is, “You know what they say about women with big feet.” Everyone always replies, “No, what?” And I say, “I don’t know either! Maybe you could tell me!”
Happy Holidays, Designer Shoes! I love you! I bought a pair of black and brown boots in May at a knockout price of $50, and some Kimel low pumps for $70, and they are in high rotation. I love you guys!

T

11.20.06

Where do I start?  I have always had large feet.  I can remember as a young girl, around 11 or 12, taking a train with my mom from Gary, IN to Chicago to shop for shoes right before school started.  All the shoes were so pretty, but they all looked like shoes the older ladies wore to church (smile).  After about 5 hours, we left and boarded the train back to Gary with a pair of navy blue Keds and a “nice” pair of black dress shoes (way too mature for me).  I was mortified because all the other girls had up to date, more fashionable shoes.  Fast forward through high school, sports, college basketball, and now 26 years old and practicing law.  I feel so good when I get compliments for always looking so well dress from head to toe.  At 6’2”, you can imagine the presence I have in court.  Because I draw so much attention, I must look well dressed at all times… nothing pulls an outfit together like a nice designer shoe.  Thank you so much designer shoes.  You guys are the best.  I feel like you guys are my long distance girlfriends.  All I have to do is call and ask to speak with Denise.  She tells me exactly how things look: color, fit, etc.  I have never been disappointed with an order and thanks to DS, I never have to feel the disappointment I felt as a little girl riding back on the train with the same identical shoes my gym teacher wore.  Forever-indebted

M

11.20.06

I had the humiliating experience of renting roller skates; the young (& cute) boy behind the counter teased me so about my BIG feet.  So when I had the chance to go ice-skating, I told my mom how embarrassed I was to rent size 10 ice skates and to my surprise and delight, she offered to buy me skates!  Of course then she told me she didn’t want me to go ice-skating for fear I would fall!  I loved those beautiful large size ice skates.  Thanks Mom!

P

11.17.06

For as long as I can remember, I have always had big feet. I guess that here in America where specialty sizes are easily available, a child with big feet isn’t easily traumatized; however I grew up in a country in Africa where most women had ‘small, feminine feet’ and as such I went through life virtually barefoot because there were no stores that had sizes for women like me. By the time I was 10 I was a size 10 and today at the age of 32, I am a size 13W!

I have been in the U.S for a little over a year now and began my search for shoes my size. Fortunately, I discovered a few online stores that serve women like me, but I also discovered that these stores usually don’t stock a large number of these shoes (for instance they may stock only one pair of size 13W) thereby leaving me to have to make do with a medium size if any at all.

I have also found that the larger the size, the clumsier the style of shoe. This is very sad because I love fashionable high-heels and pointy-toe shoes.

I have been able to acquire a few good shoes, but my greatest desire is the day when I will be able to have access to a wide variety of fashionable shoes in my size, by just clicking a button on my computer! I hope that dream comes true someday very soon.

Z

11.17.06

I was 16 and our school “dinner dance” was fast approaching.  I hadn’t really attended a formal occasion such as this – in fact, I tended to avoid them due to my massive shoe size (size 13).  I found it absolutely impossible to find shoes in my size anywhere in Perth for day-to-day wear, let alone a formal occasion!

I was in tears often when it came to not being able to find shoes and this particular time was no exception!  I had my Mum running all over town trying to find (at the very least) a half decent pair of heels for me to wear with my beautiful cocktail dress.  It wasn’t to be though…I ended up having to wear clog like shoes and nobody could find shoes that would (even remotely) match my dress!  So there I was at my school “dinner dance” with a stunning dress and horrible shoes which did nothing to compliment the dress!  I will never forget that evening – and not for the memories of being with friends but because of my memory of my hideous shoes!!!!

A

11.17.06

When I was young, not one store had size 11N shoes.  My mother had to drive me to another city once a year to get 3 pairs of shoes in my size. One was a pair of black flats for dress.  Now that I am an older person, if I had the money I could buy any style or color I want.  It was horrible to endure the pain of not being in style at an age when it was so important. I never could have what the other girls were wearing.  Now that I see all the shoes I want, I can’t afford them.  It is so great to know that others won’t have to suffer like I did.  Thanks for making shoes for real people.

S

11.17.06

It was the Sixties. I was in junior high and hit a growth spurt. Suddenly, I was not just skinny, gawky and self-conscious; I was also officially Too Tall. The cute boys and popular girls meandered below ignoring me. I remember Mom taking me to the ‘Tall Girl’s Department’ at our local store; racks and rows of sad cardigans with their arms hanging down like drooping flags. Awful.

But my shoes were my real problem. My feet went from size 7 to 8 to 10 to 11.I worried that they’d just keep going on forever. And they were so narrow. If they could just be squeezed into a medium width, I’d be “normal” again. Sure, I could find special sizes in ugly styles, but the times demanded Desi Boots and all manner of fads that I could never wear. Back then, it seemed like my fate was sealed: I’d never fit in.

There was a strikingly beautiful model named Verushka, as exotic and rare as her name. I read that her feet were size 15, and she underwent excruciating surgery to shorten them a little. I was jealous. Not anymore.

I look back on those days with such tenderness and rue. Today, I like being tall. I think feeling “abnormal” helped develop my character, and strengthened my empathy for others who are “different.” Oh, and I like my feet.

They did, of course, eventually stop growing. They’re still thin—not skinny but delicate. And while I was changing, the world changed with me. I wasn’t alone anymore. There were shops and catalogues that stocked my size in real styles.

And when the Internet came into its own, I felt like I’d hit the jackpot: so many choices, so many familiar stories, so many wonderful women and wonderful shoes. I’ll never be rich, I’ll never be a Sex-in-the-City shoe fanatic, but I’ll always feel good when I look down.

When I became a vegan and didn’t wish to buy leather anymore, I worried I’d be stuck in canvas forever. But yet again, I found a supportive community, beautiful choices, and understanding vendors.

I am blessed. I have health, family and, as DesignerShoes.com puts it so well, I “leave a larger footprint.” Shoes aren’t everything in life, but like everything in life, it’s better, sweeter, and easier when you feel attractive and in good company.

TS

11.17.06

About eight years ago, my sister was getting married, and I was in her wedding party and needed dressy shoes.  I wear a size 12 narrow, and have always had great difficulty finding shoes.  With great excitement, I discovered a store called “The Forgotten Foot”.  I drove close to an hour to get there, only to be told that they only carried 12 mediums, not 12 narrow.  I literally stamped my foot and exclaimed, “You forgot me too!”  I ended up buying a 12M, and inserted a pad under the sole so it wouldn’t slide around quite so badly.  However, it was not a satisfying experience.

L

11.17.06