One girl's search for shoes that fit

Bewitched by brogues

2011-09-20T20:27:00.002+01:00

I have a new heart's desire: brogues. Specifically, a pair by Accatino that only go up to 7.5UK Why can I not get my hands on these??. So that's not going to happen and instead I need to find something equivalently lovely.

As I had to finally retire my favourite Hush Puppies 3/4 length flat black boots last year, I need a replacement. I'm hoping Hush Puppies might come up with the goods again. Any suggestions on either front gratefully received.

When in Edinburgh last week I tried to do a little light shoe shopping and the only place that came up with the goods was Clarks, god bless 'em. Duo didn't have anything that really grabbed me and all the Debenhams offerings were a bit cheap and nasty. Clarks have an increasingly big range in size 9s, and the ones I got are both cute and extremely comfortable.

Also in the news: Long Tall Sally in Edinburgh carried a range of shoes by French Sole and a few other designers and so I'm now wondering if they are starting this across all their stores. I like LTS's designs but their 9 is too small and the 10 too big (same old story) so I never find anything that suits, bah.

Finally: walking boots. I went to Cotswold Outdoors recently to try on various pairs to suit my narrow feet and minimal budget. The saleswoman was very helpful and had me try on numerous makes, telling me that German makes are often wide while Italian ones are generally narrow. So I went for a pair of Scarpa Terra GTXs and road-tested them while in Scotland recently, and they were great. I got them from Rutland Outdoors, saving myself £25 in the process (they're £125 in Cotswold). Success!

And now, a new hunt begins...

2011-03-30T09:00:00.003+01:00

This time, for a pair of cute shoes to wear to a wedding. I'm thinking I really fancy a pair of Mary Jane type ones, possibly patent, with a lowish heel (although the fella isn't coming so I can wear shoes as high as I like! ;)

I've not chosen a dress yet but I'm thinking I might aim for something that would go with bright red patent shoes. Then all I need to do is find said bright red patent shoes. Here goes...

Still searching for the perfect pair of boots...

2010-02-23T23:11:00.016Z

...and while I was at it, I thought I'd update the listings on the left. It seems a few more shops have shuffled off to the great shoe shop in the sky - The Tall Lady (although they are still doing a clearance), Step Tall and a few others have closed their doors. Tough times at the moment, and the crappy exchange rate won't have helped. I hope those that remain are able to keep going through the downturn.

Speaking of the crappy exchange rate, I fell in love with John Fluevog's Heidi boots:

but have been thwarted by the rubbish Canadian dollar rate at the moment. When I was last over there I was getting C$2.20 to the pound, now it's more like C$1.60, which makes a helluva difference when your heart's desire costs C$385.

So I set about scouring the shops on the left for something similar, or something a little dressier. The criteria: flat(ish), brown, no snakeskin, must be suede or leather, round or slightly pointed toe and a sole that can be resoled (ruling out most of the plastic-soled/moulded-sole boots that are common these days). Yes, I am fussy, what of it?? I want to wear the boots with a casual dress or perhaps with jeans tucked in; basically I want a comfy but sexy pair of boots that will last for a good few years.

Here are the options I found:

But then I just found a link to here: lovely Spanish riding boots. Very reasonably priced, and exactly what I'm looking for.

The BBC highlights our plight!

2010-01-08T15:06:00.002Z

(with thanks to Iain for the link)

One high street shoe retailer has seen a marked increase in sales of larger sizes. But are our feet really getting bigger or are we coming round to the idea of "sensible shoes"?

Good to see bigfoots getting some press at last. I haven't bought any shoes in a while (apart from a £5 pair in New Look) but although things are definitely better than they were in my youth, it's still bloody hard work to get shoes above a size 8. Whether retailers take any notice of this article is another matter.

Interesting bit from Debenhams though: Earlier this week, department store Debenhams reported a boom in sales of ladies' size nine shoes - up 23% last year on 2008. It's a similar story for men, according to the retailer, which said last year sales of men's size 12s had soared while "requests for whopping size 14 and above are flooding in".

I didn't even know Debenhams stocked size 9s. I might have made more of an effort to look in there if I had, but it's probably only in a few styles, like Clarks, none of which I like very much. I wonder if you can order them online?

Amber and Jade update

2009-10-01T08:55:00.002+01:00

Just sneaked a peek at the new Amber and Jade website. They've had a redesign and have some really pretty styles - looking forward to seeing the boots as last year's designs were lovely (though I sadly missed out on buying a pair). Not sure if it was there before but beneath the size options there's a note saying if you're size 13 we'll get you some shoes, so well worth knowing if you're that size. When I've tried their shoes on in the past I've found they come up small, however, but it seems they now do a wide fitting too.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?

2009-10-01T08:44:00.002+01:00

... and how many actually fit?

I was pondering this last night as I unpacked my numerous pairs of shoes. I have about 40-50 pairs of shoes, boots and summer sandal things, and of those I think probably only 20 or so pairs fit me properly. Which says it all really - I'm so desperate to find shoes I like that I'll buy pairs that don't fit and which then end up sitting in my wardrobe. I just can't bear to get rid of them. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else hoards shoes like this!

What would be ideal would be to arrange some sort of swapmeet where bigfooted gals can bring all their shoes that just don't fit and perhaps swap them for someone else's shoes. I suppose the trouble with this is that anyone at the top end of the scale (size 11 and above, say) isn't going to have as rich pickings as someone who's an 8.5 to 10.

Unfortunately I no longer live in London otherwise I'd attempt something like this, but it might be an idea for those living in the metropolis.

Finally, if anyone knows of any good big shoe shops in the south-west, please drop me a line.

The cute shoes arrive when I am stony broke

2009-09-14T21:40:00.002+01:00

Just found these on Totally:

Really tempted to get a pair but not sure they're the right thing for my new career in horticulture...

Midsummer update

2009-07-19T22:14:00.002+01:00

Just thought I'd give a quick update on the gladiator sandals I bought from Office in their size 9 (European 42). They are BRILLIANT. I bought a pair in dark brown, then spent the late June heatwave in them. Not a single blister. I wore them day in, day out, and they stayed extremely comfortable the whole time. So just before I went on holiday, I bought another pair, this time in black, which have proved just as comfy (though they've taken a little longer to wear in). Thumbs up for these shoes. I'm waiting for them to go on sale, at which point I will be buying a pair in every colour. Comfortable, stylish, fashionable. That's a rare thing in a shoe.

The only downside is that after spending nearly a month in them in the sun, I have really stupid tan lines...

Now the search is on for a pair of flat black boots. This could take some time...

New sites (exciting!)

2009-05-10T17:05:00.003+01:00

A couple of updates and new sites added - good luck to everyone launching new large size shoe shops!

Parris Shoes
Tonia Parris has set up this site, selling a lovely range of things. The purple heels in particular caught my eye. Nice summery styles too - something I usually have difficulty finding.

Lise-Lotte Hofverberg has set up N.Y. Sko. The site is currently in Danish but she hopes to have it translated into English too soon.

TK Maxx in Hammersmith, London

2009-05-10T10:49:00.002+01:00

I popped in to TK Maxx in Hammersmith to see what they had in the way of walking boots; next to nothing, but while I was there I thought I'd see if they had any larger sized women's shoes and lo and behold, there was a whole four shelves devoted to us bigfoots. Many of the shoes were pretty minging, but there were some old Amber and Jade styles and a few pairs of Birkenstocks together with odd random makes that I didn't know. Unfortunately they only had the A&J shoes in size 8 or 11 (and even though they come up small, I'm still not a size 11!).

I also ordered some green heels and brown sandals from Next. The green heels were more like a size 8 so they'll be going back (a shame as they were really cute) but the sandals, although a neat fit, will be useful comfy and stylish summer shoes.

New Look's size 9 (42) has proved interesting - some of them, usually with square toes, fit my 9.5 feet, but the pointy ones are too tight. £16 can't be bad!

On the subject of walking boots, I tried a pair of Salomon Elios XCR boots on, and although expensive, they fit my narrow feet really well. Usually men's walking boots are really wide and blocky, but these are very cute. I took a size 10 in them though, the 9.5 was too neat with thick socks on. But Cotswold Outdoor, where I was looking, stock some ladies' boots in a size 9 - Meindl I think. The salesgirl said she had so many requests for size 8+ walking boots for women that she found it astounding that only one maker had begun to make larger size boots for women. Twas ever thus.

Office - size 9s

2009-04-24T22:42:00.003+01:00

Having sneered at Office's size 9s for actually being 42s in a previous thread, I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when, on giving them a try 'just to see', that a lovely pair of silver flats with a square toe fitted my feet! They are narrow, but with plenty of room, and even after wandering most of London today my feet don't feel tired out at all. I also got a pair of gladiator sandals, which are a little more neat, and the other 9s I tried on didn't fit, but I shall now try their size 9s more often to see if the odd pair does fit.

They also stock Blowfish, although i don't know if they go up to a size 9 in those. I've seen Blowfish on Barefoot Tess's site, and they have some really cute flats in lovely colours.

I saw a girl wearing a great pair of green leather heels with some seriously nice dark flared jeans yesterday, so am now on the hunt for a pair of bright green heels!

Sadly shoes aren't recession-proof

2009-03-25T19:44:00.002Z

Having cast my eye down my list of shoe shops, it seems that some have already fallen victim to the recession - Lush Shoes has closed its doors 'for the moment', while Steptall's website seems to be out of action.

I'm hoping that most businesses are small enough to not have horrendous overheads, but I can't help thinking the two above won't be the last to close. Good luck everyone!

Quick update - new sites

2008-11-23T17:23:00.002Z

Janine Dalton, whose blog is often a source of new sites for this blog, has launched a new website, Pretty Big Shoes, on which she hopes to have a forum and links to sources of large-size shoes. Sign up with your email address to receive updates on her progress.

Also, Katie Long Shoes has recently launched, with some lovely styles including Amber and Jade shoes among others. Look here to sign up.

Surprisingly successful day

2008-10-18T18:21:00.003+01:00

I had to go out into central London today to try to find a dress for an upcoming wedding, so I decided that as I was in the area, I might as well go to Chiltern St to see what the shoe shops there had in stock.

First place I went into was Totally Large Shoes, whose current selection is far nicer than their website would suggest. I tried on a pair of 'Penny' in black, and the 43.5 was a little too roomy. The assistant suggested I try the 42.5, and I was a bit wary, but lo and behold they were perfect. So now I have my mary janes and although they weren't cheap, they are well made and will last a long time.

Magnus had some nice boots that caught my eye, and at £80 they were pretty reasonable, but I think I'm going to wait till I get to Amber & Jade at Greenwich market tomorrow morning before I splash out on any boots. Crispins seemed to be doing a good trade, although I didn't see a great deal of interest besides a lovely pair of flat black suede boots. Too steep at £160 however.

Finally I went into House of Sole and almost bought a pair of flat patent pelle moda (moda in pelle?) ballerina-style shoes. Very cute but at £70 I'm not sure I could justify the spending.

I also managed to get some tights in M&S but their sizes baffle me - the large is for women up to 6'0 but only up to a size 14; the extra large is for women up to 5'9 but up to a size 20.

What happens if, like me, you're size 16 and nearly 6'0 tall? Gah.

I also managed to get the dress I wanted, which I'm very pleased with. A good day :)

New shoes for the autumn.

2008-10-12T15:58:00.005+01:00

So I need some new flat shoes, just to wear to work but they need to be hardwearing and fashionable. I'd rather they weren't black, because black gets kinda boring after a while.

I'd also like a nice pair of heeled mary jane brogues, or something along those lines. Something that I can wear with colourful tights (actually something else I need to research because normally tights for tall girls are only made in really boring colours) and which will look a bit different.

The final items I'm hunting for are a pair of flat black boots to wear with a miniskirt and some heeled brown boots to wear with jeans or perhaps with a pair of 3/4 length trousers.

Off I go to do my research. I have a few pairs in mind already, but I've not had time to look through the overseas sites yet. Amber and Jade (see left for link) have some beautiful new boots in but I couldn't be bothered to trek to Greenwich market this morning to buy them so I'll go next week instead.

And so it begins again...

2008-09-18T10:44:00.002+01:00

The eternal search for a pair of flat, comfortable yet fashionable yet smart shoes that I can wear to job interviews or even when I just fancy smartening up a bit (rare, I might add).

So far I've tried Long Tall Sally, who had some nice styles (some in leather, some not), reasonably priced. However once again I am forced to admit that I am not a size nine, I am a 9.5. How depressing. How many manufacturers make a size 9.5 (11.5 US)? I think I'm going to have to resort to shopping stateside again, as the selection in the UK is either way too expensive or just doesn't exist!

I've also added Designer Shoes to the list on the left, no idea why I'd left them off as they have a huge selection and ship internationally.

I'm sure I'll be back to grumble further about this whole sorry shoeshopping experience. In the meantime, thanks for all your comments and emails - it's really good to hear that this blog is a useful resource for bigfoot gals.

Stateside ordering - update

2008-07-08T20:37:00.002+01:00

I picked up my order from Barefoot Tess the other day, and am delighted with the shoes, although they sent me one pair in red, which should have been green. I sent them a message about this and they're sending me the green ones free of charge. How nice is that?

Barefoot Tess therefore get a massive thumbs up from me on all aspects, plus they have a sale on at the moment - well worth signing up to their email as you get all sorts of promotional codes that get you money off. They also have free shipping in the US if you spend over $75.

Hurrah for Barefoot Tess!

Ordering from the States

2008-06-18T10:00:00.002+01:00

What with the pound being so strong against the dollar, I ordered three pairs of shoes from Barefoot Tess. One pair of flat silver summer shoes, one pair of green patent high heels (for a wedding) and one pair of lovely 50s-style wedges in black (though I could have happily bought the red ones too). They've been shipped, so should be turning up on my doorstep in the next few days. Best of all, two pairs were in the sale so I got all three pairs for around £115. Quite a bargain given that shipping is included in that. So I will report back once they arrive.

What I liked about the site is they give the shoe measurements, which is invaluable to someone like me who usually is slightly too big for a 9 and too small for a 10. So I was able to measure my foot and order accordingly. Very excited - if they fit well I may just buy all my shoes from BFT as they have such a superb range, and very reasonable prices as well, even with shipping factored in.

House of Sole now online/shoe dyers

2008-02-01T14:38:00.000Z

I've just had a look at the House of Sole website - quite a nice selection. The only trouble is that they seem to have used stock photos on their main site and so you think "ooh! beautiful navy polka dot heels with scarlet straps!" only to find that they don't actually do them, it's just a stock photo.

I would be interested to hear of any recommendations for places to get shoes dyed. I have a beautiful pair of scarlet suede kitten-heel boots, but I've had them for three years now and have never worn them - they are just a little too scarlet. So I'd like to get them dyed a different colour. I know of one place on Camden Road in London, but any other suggestions also helpful.

More bespoke shoes

2008-01-26T23:34:00.000Z

As mentioned before, bespoke shoes are very expensive, but you know they will fit perfectly and last forever. Plus you will then have a personalised last.

I daren't ask how much they are, but Hetty Rose shoes are just fabulous and they say they'll make them to any size. Off the peg they're £300+ (wince) so I should imagine the bespoke ones are double that. Ouch, but worth it.

Also expensive (but then handmade shoes are) is Selve - the shoe individualiser. They have a range of styles, you go in and get measured and choose what colours/type of leather you want, they make the shoes up. Classic yet beautiful styles, with some really beautiful pairs of boots. If I had the money, I'd only shop here.

Caroline Groves is based on Chiltern Street in London with workshops in Gloucestershire. Lovely, quirky designs.

Size 9: 42 or 43?

2008-01-26T22:52:00.000Z

I got told recently that Faith, Shellys and other UK high-street stores have now started doing size 9s. Imagine my unbridled joy (and my bank manager's grimace) at thinking I might be able to find shoes in my size on the high street!

But no. All they seem to have done is rebranded size 42 shoes (an 8 up till now) as size 9s. The shoes are still size 8s, and don't fit. So damn frustrating.

Another frustration is that Barratts have done something weird with their Tall & Small selection by saying that all their styles now come in size 9 as standard, and the Tall & Small starts at size 10. So I tried some 9s on there (or 42s? Who knows) and they were too small. Tried the 10s, and they were so big I couldn't keep them on my feet.

Back to the drawing board then, eh?

Scandinavian shoes

2008-01-17T13:56:00.001Z

It's quite difficult researching this at times as although I speak a few languages, I'm not familiar with German or Scandinavian languages and so have to do a bit of guesswork and ask Scandi friends for their help. Anyway, I've found a few places in Denmark and Sweden, and will continue looking and adding - again , all suggestions welcome!

Kingsize Shoes (in Danish) - Good selection, but not cheap. Many of the shoes can be found cheaper on the German sites but there are quite a few new and lovely shoes.
Skowolter has a huge selection, but again isn't cheap.

Update on Elephant Feet

2008-01-17T11:37:00.000Z

Thanks to Lydia for making me aware of this - Elephant Feet is now House of Sole - their website isn't quite up and running yet and from looking at the ladies' drop-down menu it looks like their shoes start at a size 10 and go up to 13 - great news for all those poor souls with feet even bigger than mine.

When I've shopped there in the past I've found their shoes tend to come up wide, but they have some lovely styles and design a lot (if not all) of them themselves.

Also - lots of sales on at the moment. Long Tall Sally has some offers, plus Crispins and Magnus if you're thinking of a trip to Chiltern Street.

Sigh

2008-01-13T21:48:00.000Z

When oh when will Nordstrom start doing overseas shipping? It's just not fair.

Italian shoe shops

2008-01-10T22:38:00.000Z

Happy new year all! New year, new shoes... all so exciting... I'm debating a trip to Spain in the spring to do some shoe shopping, possibly a bit decadent but there are so many shops there that it'd sort me out for years to come.

Anyway, someone asked why I'd not covered Italy yet, so here goes (after some Italian tutoring from my lovely friend Andrea). A real mixed bag, much like in the UK. Some shops' definition of 'fashionable' leaves a lot to be desired but maybe that's just a cultural thing...

A lot of Italian sites don't seem to offer online shopping, which is a bit of a shame, but I suppose less so if you fancy a shopping trip round Italy!

Bigshoes.it Has a shop in La Spezia
Verdezenzero Been on this blog a while, have some very nice styles
Vezzosi Shoes – based in Rome, some lovely flats, and not tooooo dear.
Ghigo Calzature - based in Milan, huge range and a sale on at the moment...
Maxi Shoes - Has some great styles, and prices are very reasonable.
Swanky Italy - Good range of styles, prices very reasonable.
Scarpissime - Interesting styles, fashionable and prices not too hefty.
Timolati - Oooh. Prices not quite eyewatering but some really cute styles. Check out the red patent dolly heels!
Piero Calzature - has a good range of flats and ballerinas. Prices very reasonable, fashionable styles.
Piededifata - A little more "specialist interest" ie some fetish stuff, but also some really rather fantastic heels such as the polka dot ones with little bows. If I ever thought I'd wear them, I'd buy some straight away. Also some relatively normal boots but in a range of colours that us bigfoots never get to see!
Piccoli Grandi Numeri - Oh. My. God. Can I have every shoe from this place please? What a great range. Classic styles, sporty styles, "young" styles, elegant styles. It's all here and the prices won't make your eyes pop out either.
Notari Calzature has a sale on. Get in quick, there are some lovely shoes and boots on there!
Louis Big Shoes has a small range online, but shops in Rome and Napoli.
Valleverde - you have to log in to be able to see the shoes, which is a bit of a pain, but once I get my password I'll let you know if the range is any cop or not.
Wilma - no online shop but you can send off for their catalogue.
Stuart Weitzman - an American company that also has an Italian website.

THE BOOTS THEY HAVE ARRIVED

2007-11-30T13:32:00.001Z

And they are lovely. I am so pleased. So full marks to Schuh Kauffmann for coming up with the goods, quite literally.

They are fleece lined and roomy (possibly the size 9 would have been fine but I went for the 9.5 as usually size 9s are too small for me), with adjustable lacing up the back. They come up narrow, which suits me fine.

I can't wait to wear them out!

Toe cleavage?

2007-11-17T23:56:00.001Z

Well. Gosh. Um.

I had no idea toe cleavage was such a hot fetish. I stumbled across Lovely Pumps (fnarr) while looking for shoe shops in Spain. You'll be pleased to hear they do large sizes (and some of the flat pumps are really quite lovely), but each shoe is graded on the amount of toe cleavage shown.

Goodness. Anyway, carry on.

Spain

2007-11-17T23:36:00.000Z

The Spanish know what they're doing when it comes to large shoes. Despite being a nation of teensy tiny people as far as I can tell, it seems that they all have enormous feet, judging by the number of shops selling tallas grandes.

Sonia Diaz (Elche, Alicante)
Olekpie (Rivas Vaciamadrid)
Zapatotes (Barcelona)
Calzados Guellas (Seville, Cadiz, Cordoba-Malaga)
Tall Galls (Valencia and Madrid)
Jose Luis Deza (Madrid)
Calzados Alida (Valencia)
Ara Calzados (all over Spain)
Calzados Patricia Martin (A Coruna)
Calzados Cordones (Madrid)

Argentinian shops

2007-11-17T23:24:00.000Z

With all that beef farming, there's a lot of leather knocking around in Argentina. Plus many Argentinians have northern European roots and so there's a lot of tall girls around, hence they seem to have a good selection of shoes for bigger feet. What is more, they have a proper sense of style and fun, seemingly a rare thing in the UK.

Whether they deliver overseas or not, I'm not sure, but here are the shops I've found so far:

Calzados Ch y M (Buenos Aires)
Specialismo (Mar del Plata)
Feretti Calzados (Buenos Aires)
Atlas Calzados (Maipu station, Buenos Aires (take tren de la costa towards Tigre))

Bespoke and handmade shoes

2007-11-17T22:58:00.000Z

There are many companies offering bespoke or handmade shoes, and it pretty much depends what kind of style you want. Many places offer utilitarian hippyish shoes that are very comfortable but not hugely useful for smartish wear.

Runwick offers a relatively bespoke service with some nice, modern designs - made to ANY size. You choose the style, colour, heel height and off you go. They also offer a completely bespoke service.

Two new UK-based sites

2007-11-13T22:33:00.000Z

Just added two new UK sites to the list - Amber & Jade and Find That Shoe - the former does very pretty flats and heels, but the prices are high. The second has a range of great styles and prices are very reasonable.

I've added a few more links on the left - what I should say is that where possible I have tried to avoid stores selling the frumpier end of the market, but with time I'll have a special section for the more "sensible" shoes. Already amazed at how many links I've got, but keep them coming! There's hope for us all yet...

Still no email about the boots - c'mon postie!

More French sites

2007-11-12T19:59:00.001Z

Not sure if they deliver outside France, but Amatai have a good selection of shoes going up to a 44. However their styles do look like they come up wide.

No email yet telling me I can't have my lovely boots... fingers crossed...

Boot joy

2007-11-11T23:17:00.000Z

Here are the boots I just ordered:

I'm expecting to get an email from the company tomorrow saying that something's gone wrong and I can't have them, but should my dream come true and I finally get to hold these beauties in my sweaty little palms, well. I will give thanks. Actually, I'll do that once I've tried them on and they fit properly, but still.

I also ordered a nice pair of flat khaki-coloured mary janes from Taillissime on La Redoute's UK website. I've ordered shoes and boots from them in the past and the quality has been dubious, but these are leather and so will hopefully fare better. I'll report back on fit etc when they arrive in a couple of days. Their styles go up to a 45 and are reasonably priced, so well worth a look as they have fairly fashionable stuff.

Shoe shops in France

2007-11-11T17:13:00.000Z

Paris is a good bet for big shoe shops, with Sagone being the first port of call - they have a small shop on rue Parmentier (metro Parmentier) that stocks all the large sizes - not too pricey. Don't go to the shop in Les Halles as that only stocks the usual range in size 4-8. Over the road (and just by the metro entrance) is Palais de la Chaussure - which has a very nice selection and all reasonably priced. There may be other shops in the area but I haven't tracked them down yet. Both do mail order.

Also in Paris, near metro Barbès (not the most salubrious area but the girls in the shop are lovely) is Sacapuce. They have a good range of heels and boots in quite distinctive (and fashionable) styles and also do mail order. There is also Grande et Belle but I wasn't particularly inspired by any of their styles online. Looks like they have a far better collection instore.

In Rouen there is Phil Grif, but their website is a bit crap and the styles are fairly mumsy.

In Lille there is La Botte Chantilly, but their site annoys me because you click on "pointures extremes" (large sizes) and half the shoes there only go up to a size 42. So they'd do well to only link to those shoes in a 42 upwards, thereby saving themselves from my wrath. There is also Chaussures Adrien - plenty of wedding shoes although the website is slow to load and the search facility is rubbish. Quite impressed by the selection - the shoes are chic and look well-made. Prices not eye-watering either.

There is also Rymy in Parthenay, though I am ashamed to say I have absolutely no idea where that is.

Only online is Les Grandes, with a fantastic selection of actually trendy and stylish and – dare I say it? – sexy shoes. It's a miracle! Their prices are very good, plus they ship internationally (not sure about whether to the US/Canada though). Also only online is Le Shopping de Marion but I'm not sure if they will ship to the UK - sounds like she gets her shoes from the US and then resells them here.

To be continued...

Big-size shoe shops in Belgium and Netherlands

2007-11-11T15:24:00.000Z

OK, first port of call is Vanluechene in Roeselare-Rumbeke - they have an astonishing range and will do mail order; however you will need to send them the money first as they don't take credit cards online. They're not cheap but the range is excellent - plenty of boots, ballerina type shoes plus some pretty good work styles too.

Van Wonderen also has a fantastic range, but their online shop seems to be somewhat offline at the moment. They have branches in Antwerp and also in the Netherlands (more on the Netherlands later as it seems to be a mecca for big-footed gals). No prices on the website unfortunately. There is also Stravers Shoes. Their site is a bit of a pain to use in Safari on a mac but you get there in the end. If planning a trip to the Netherlands, there is also Big Shoe - nothing on the website to show you the styles but it looks like they're in the centre of Amsterdam so worth a look I reckon - go up to a 46 from what I can tell.

There is also Caland Shoes in Rotterdam - a great selection, although expensive. From their website it looks like they will ship overseas if you ask nicely, though you'll need to get in touch with them to find out shipping costs and suchlike.

I haven't used any of these sites, they're just what I've found when trawling the internet.

Addendum to the below

2007-11-11T13:51:00.000Z

I also went down to Kingston to have a look at After 8 Shoes, as their website is under construction at the moment. I wasn't particularly impressed - yet again many fairly grannyish styles with only some Hush Puppies standing out. I want cute, feminine shoes, goddamnit! Not clunky things with fat heels that could have been designed any time since the 1970s. My feet are fairly dainty for their size, and I'd like to emphasise that.

Is it too much for today's shoe designers to cater to a younger market? I feel so sorry for the poor teenagers with size 9+ feet, having to wear stuff not dissimilar to what I wore at school - clunky doc martens, men's shoes, trainers. Just because we're tall doesn't mean we don't want to look like a lady from time to time!

I'd welcome comments from youngsters with big feet - any suggestions on where to get fashionable shoes that don't cost a fortune would be great. I got sick of Clarks as a teenager, although they do offer some of their styles in a 9 these days.

Had a frustrating experience at Clarks' Oxford St store the other day - asked the assistant if they did size 9s - he said yes, in some styles, but he didn't know which ones so I'd have to pick the styles I liked and he'd find out if they did them in a 9. WTF? The Clarks store in Winchester took it upon themselves to make up their own little catalogue of styles available in a 9, which was incredibly helpful, but I don't understand why Clarks don't do this as standard!

Shoe heaven, shoe hell

2007-11-11T12:33:00.000Z

While wandering Chiltern Street in London yesterday, I popped in to Totally Shoes, a recent addition to several large size shoe shops that populate the street. Apart from the dreadful typo in their website tagline, they actually have a nice range of shoes, many of which could actually be described as fashionable. Not cheap, but then big shoes rarely are. Anyway, my eyes lighted on a pair of brogue boots by John Fluevog, a Canadian designer. Sadly they were the last pair in the shop (size 8 and just a smidgen too small) but they were so gorgeous that I've been trawling the web all morning trying to find them elsewhere. No joy. They must be a previous season's or something. Gutted. However, I was made up to discover that not only does John Fluevog ship to the UK, he also does his shoes and boots up to a size 10 (US 12) - very impressed with the range of very fashionable styles (fans of Vivienne Westwood will approve).

I also had a look in Magnus Shoes, where I found a lovely pair of brown flat boots. Thwarted again, as they only had them in a size 10 (12 US) and none in their Hampstead shop either. I need to call their mail order folks and find out if there are any left in the warehouse. I also tried Crispins Shoes and Elephant Feet, but no joy there either - Crispins generally have a great range but they are pricey. Elephant Feet had a fairly limited range and many of their styles come up quite wide - no good for my narrow, long feet.

So in the end I bit the bullet and ordered the boots I'd seen in a German online shop - Schuh Kaufmann - according to a contributor on Janine Dalton's blog, this company has bought many of the large-size shoe companies in Germany and so can offer good deals on shoes. It's not cheap, but they do ship overseas (not sure about outside Europe). The site is all in German but you can muddle through easily enough.