Although it sometimes embarrasses me to admit this, I am a large-footed woman. It is true. I wear a size 11. I know that a size 11 is not really that big when compared to some other women’s feet, but I have been taught that the average female foot is supposed to stop at size eight and a half. I have treaded along on these big feet since I was thirteen and have heard all the usual jokes about it.

People may think that jokes about big feet are pretty darned funny but trying to find a decent pair of large shoes is no laughing matter. I have a very difficult time finding shoes that fit and trying to find a pair of cute large shoes is nearly impossible. I am required to wear business shoes at work every day and I have to settle for what I can find at local shoe stores. I am usually only able to find shoes sized ten or below and I have forced my size eleven feet into size ten shoes more times than I care to remember.

I have looked around for a shoe stretcher to turn my small shoes into large shoes but I have only seen the kind I want on the internet. I am not a big fan of shopping online and can’t bring myself to order a stretcher this way. I always feel like the product is not going to be in real life what it appeared to be on my computer screen and then I am just going to be stuck with it. 

Having big feet and not being able to find large shoes is a real problem for a lot of women. I once went to a sporting goods store to find shoes and I was confident that they would carry a wide variety of large shoes because they have basketball playing women to answer to. This was not the case. At a local Dick’s store I was laughed at by a salesperson and I quickly learned how the store got its name.

If you are stuck in the same boat I am, no joke intended, don’t give up. There are large shoes out there, just not many. I have resorted to wearing men’s shoes in many cases and have not had a problem doing so. This, of course, only really works for running shoes and the like. When it comes to dress shoes, you are in for more of an adventure there.