<p>Mom has always struggled finding narrow shoes for her narrow feet. It is becoming more of a problem as she is now in her 80s and the shoes she has found that don’t fit are causing blisters in her increasingly thin skin. There are virtually no stores carrying narrow shoes in our state. (I have taken her shopping several times.) I did buy about 6 pairs of shoes from Zappos for her and NONE of them fit properly, so all were returned. Would love any suggestions on how to get good narrow shoes for dressier occasions (she is OK with the athletic shoes she wears for walking around the mall but has had several of the “dressier” shoes break on her and the ones she still has do NOT fit her well and are likely to break soon as well.</p>
<p>Thanks for any tips. Zappos has a ton of shoes, but can’t even figure out where to start and she is very picky. I am worried that she will fall with poorly fitting footwear for “dressier” occasions. It makes me crazy! She has had to throw away shoes at least two or three times while I was walking with her because the shoes literally fell apart. She can easily afford quality shoes, we just have a hard time finding them.</p>
<p>I have narrow to AAA (especially in dress shoes) foot. My go to dress shoe brand is Van Eli. Sesto Mucchi and Trotters are other brands although more expensive. OK luck with some Naturalizer but not in really dress shoes. Maybe look at Maryland Square website - I’ve ordered from there before and they carry those brands. I mostly get my dress shoes from store called Marmi (GA and NC). They do have website but prob not as return friendly as Zappos.</p>
<p>I would start by selecting the narrow width on Zappos and then reading the reviews. Pick a few pairs with good reviews and that look like shoes your mother has worn out, order them in the two most likely sizes, and let your mother wear them for half an hour around the house to try them on. Return the ones that don’t work.</p>
<p>Beautifeel shoes come in narrow sizes, as do Aravon (dressy version of New Balance). It might work to find a thicker liner sock, to protect her foot. Comfortable shoes are crucial. </p>
<p>My mom is almost 83 and has the same problem. We have had good luck at Clarks. A lot of their shoes come in narrow sizes and they will special order them if the store is out of stock. They have a good variety of what she needs, as well. Low heel sandals, slip ons etc.</p>
<p>Just called Nordstrom a few hours ago. They asked that I bring mom in for a fitting and they will order her shoes that they think will fit. If it doesn’t no problems, they will keep the shoes and we owe nothing. I plan to take her in today and get her feet sized so we can get her shoes that fit. The Clark store in our state sadly will NOT carry narrow or bring them in. Will start with Nordstrom and they will bring in any Munro that she likes in her size. That will be a good start. She is stubborn, so hard to get her to cooperate, even if it is for her safety and comfort, even tho she has NO shoes that fit her properly or are comfortable to walk in (save her very casual sports shoes that look odd with formal attire).</p>
<p>I was going to suggest Nordstrom also. I own multiple pairs of Munro shoes (Have I been wearing “old lady shoes” all these years?) I have them in both leather and other material. Good luck.</p>
<p>SAS is a brand that both has narrow and caterers to the elderly foot. Our comfort shoe stores such as The Shoe Mill carries them.
They are SAS Shoes on the web. Your can use their store locator.</p>
<p>Yes, we know the owner of the store that carries SAS in our state. He says he carries medium and wide; no market or interest for carrying narrow. Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe when we travel, we can try to make a point of helping her find appropriate footwear.</p>
<p>So happy! I was able to get my parents and H to go to Nordstrom’s and get mom to try on several pairs of shoes. We even got her to buy two pairs and order another 2 pairs in different sizes as well as 7 pairs from Zappos. I am so hopeful that she will finally have shoes that fit her properly and really feel and enjoy the difference.</p>
<p>It has become an increasing trip and fall hazard that her shoes are so ill-fiting, especially when we walk a good distance from the parking spot to where we eat and later to where we’re going–theater or opera. When the shoes don’t fit great and the ground is uneven (think poorly paved parking lot with low lighting), it makes a scary combination. I figure the GOOD, comfortable shoes are a solid base to build on. I don’t want her to start avoiding walking because she has such awful footwear.</p>
<p>She DOES have about a dozen pairs of shoes, but nearly all are too wide and none fit properly. Additionally, NONE are appropriate for walking from a far away parking lot to an event and back. None are appropriate for our trip this summer either, where we plan to go to Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone, including perhaps a few nights of eating at a nice place, PLUS a lot of walking. Her sports shoes are all white and way too wide for her and I’m sure don’t fit her properly either.</p>
<p>Hooray for finding shoes! Searching can be very frustrating. I have narrow, bony feet and my heels are especially narrow. I have the worst time finding shoes. If they aren’t cushioned or don’t fit well, I easily get blisters. I would suggest trying lace up styles or styles with adjustable straps. If I can adjust laces or straps enough to keep my heel in the shoe, the extra width in the rest of the shoe isn’t as problematic. It’s easy to poke a hole in a strap to get a tighter fit.</p>
<p>HImom, you mom should be really proud that she raised such a caring daughter! So glad that you were able to find some options for her. Here is one more thought: maybe your mom needs to donate (or toss) most of her old shoes, so she would not be tempted to keep wearing them and save the new ones for “special occasions”.</p>
<p>jym…my grandmother only bought Ferragamos because her feet were so narrow. When she passed away I was hoping my double AA feet would fit all her AAA or AAAA Ferragmo shoes…but no such luck. SAS does have a huge variety of sizes, but style-wise they are truly quintessential “old lady” shoes. I know in my family that the “old ladies” would never be caught dead in SAS shoes. </p>
<p>If you have an old-timey local shoe store, they may be able to help. </p>
<p>I have narrow, sensitive feet and hate buying new shoes. Many brands which claim to be narrow are too wide for me (Aravon, for example, was a disappointment since I love New Balance athletic shoes.) Hush Puppies used to fit, but don’t seem to anymore. I have had good luck with Clarks. I have a colleague with narrow feet and the brands that work for her don’t work for me. What does help me is going to a very old-fashioned store in the downtown section of a nearby city. It is <em>the</em> place to go locally for children’s shoes, but they carry everything: men’s, women’s, children’s, boots, slippers, dance shoes, nursing shoes, etc. The better sales folks are often able to make small modifications when the left shoe fits well, but the right shoe is a little loose. </p>
<p>And I’m going to have try Nordstrom’s. I’m just so used to going into a department store’s shoe departments, being told by the sales clerk that they carry narrow sizes in just about everything, and then, when I choose shoes that I like, informing me that the ones I picked don’t come in narrow. Really?? I managed to select only those shoes that <em>don’t</em> come in narrow???</p>
<p>Yes, we may “hide” the old shoes after the new ones arrive, so she will wear the new ones. Just got off the phone with the nice folks at Thorlo.com. They are having a special promotion–you can get a pair of socks to try for just postage of $4.90 instead of their regular price of about $15 per pair of socks. </p>
<p>We have ordered about 11 pairs of lace up walking shoes. She only wears long pants (and long dresses), so I think she could likely wear these shoes pretty much ALL the time and we can just hide all the other shoes that cause her to get blisters and keep sliding forward to bump the end of the shoe.</p>
<p>Anyone that wants to can take advantage of the special offer. We want her to try on the new shoes with the new socks, as I believe it will make a BIG difference. For me personally, I’m miserable when my feet hurt or are tired or blistered. We keep trying to convince her she DESERVES to have comfortable feet. She mostly has ballet flats, which really only protect the soles of her feet from hot surfaces or sharp items and really don’t fit her feet well at all.</p>
<p>I’m crossing my fingers that this will be a turning point–once she realizes how much more comfortable shoes that fit properly are, she will only wear them.</p>
<p>One possibility is to try a certified orthotist, a specialist who makes orthotics. My orthotist takes a narrow New Balance or Aravon shoe and custom fits it to my foot. The cost is reasonable; she sells me the custom shoes for less than the list price. I think she makes her money fitting shoes for diabetics and people with other foot problems who have doctors’ prescriptions for footwear that is covered by insurance.</p>
<p>Thirty years I could walk into Nordie’s and try shoes on for a couple of hours; now all the fun is gone from shoe shopping is you have a narrow foot. I also order quantities of shoes from Zappos in hopes of finding one pair that is comfortable. I think Maryland Square has a better selection but I hate paying to ship so many shoes both ways, especially when I end up with nothing.</p>
So glad that you were able to find some options for her. Here is one more thought: maybe your mom needs to donate (or toss) most of her old shoes, so she would not be tempted to keep wearing them and save the new ones for “special occasions”.</p>