<p>Ok, I don’t know if this is just me or not… but I need to ask everyone a question… especially the parents out there… </p>
<p>Has anyone noticed that shoe sizes are changing??? I haven’t gone shoe shopping in at least a year… (other then a pair I bought with kathiep… Just not a giant shoe shopping fan… so when i do go I buy multiple pairs…) but My sister and I were talking about this today when we were going shoe shopping… I mean, as a woman, If I go pants shopping, I know that I am a size 2 in one brand, size 4 at another, size 6 at another… (why can’t women do their pants the way men do???) but for the past 10-15 years I have ALWAYS been able to walk into a shoe store and buy a size 9 sneaker and a size 8.5 dress shoe when no socks are needed.</p>
<p>Today I went shopping and came home with two pairs of sneakers size 8’s and one pair of dress shoes size 7.5! Are they trying to make big footed woman feel better about themselves or something??? Every single size 9 that I tried on had my feet swimming in it. Even my lawn mowing sneakers that I purchased about 7 years ago during college are a 9… and they are the same brand as 2 of the shoes I bought today! (an 8 and the 7.5). I bought another pair of that same brand a little over a year ago and I checked… they are a 9 also. Did shoes really shrink a size from last year to this year?? I thought maybe just that brand shrunk, but the other pair I bought today are a completely different brand and I had to get an 8 in them… same thing with all the other shoes I tried on today… </p>
<p>Just thought I’d poll the parents since you guys probably do shopping for yourselves and possibly your children as well…</p>
<p>When I wear sandals I wear a smaller size( by 1/2), as my toes are short for the length of my arch - but otherwise , I used to wear a 6.5 shoe before I had kids, but now almost 30 years later , I am more comfortable in an 8.</p>
<p>I expect sizing depends on the brand. Also sometimes different vendors will have different sizing/quality. Doc martins for example used to be made in England , now are made I think in Indonesia & Egypt , where manufacturing process is a little different.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure that shoes are being made wider. I used to wear a medium width, but 20 years older, 15 pounds heavier and 2 kids later, I now wear a narrow. How could my feet have gotten narrower?</p>
<p>I’m at the small end of the spectrum. I don’t think it’s changed there, but don’t know about bigger sizes. </p>
<p>At least you have sizes (7-9) in which there is lots of selection. I have always worn a 6 wide, and finding shoes is a nightmare. There is extremely limited choice and few in stock of what they do have. Most of Penney’s shoes now are in wide only in 6 1/2 and up. Ug. Do they think just because our feet are short, they can’t be wide? Ditto for other brands. There is definitely less selection than 10-15 years ago in these sizes.</p>
<p>srystress, you better hope that this doesn’t trickle down to the smaller sizes or you will be shopping in kids!! :)</p>
<p>Either that or maybe with their new found sizing more people will wind up in your size and they will start making more of them for you! </p>
<p>when i went through my “skater shoe” phase I always bought size 6.5 mens… there was always a ton of selection in that size for me to pick because apparently not too many men who are into skater shoes wear that size!</p>
<p>my best friend is opposite of you - she’s 6 ft tall and is like an 11 or 12 in womens shoes. The selection is just awful. I remember she had to special order her wedding shoes and everything.</p>
<p>I wore a size 6 all my life until I had children and needed a 1/2 size larger after each one. I now usually wear a 7, and the last shoes I bought (about two months ago) are a 7so I have not noticed the sizes getting smaller. If I remember correctly, a ladies’ size 6 is equivalent to a kids’ 4. In fact, I have a couple of pairs of shoes that I bought in a kids size 5. They usually cost a little less in the kids’ dept, too.</p>
<p>Don’t get me started on shoes. I have always had a narrow foot, 4A for dress shoes. Even Nordstrom doesn’t have much of a selection these days. My running shoes are custom fit and I haven’t been happy with those lately. I would be happy if my feet got a little wider as I got older.</p>
<p>I haven’t noticed any change in sizing at all. I was a size 5 before kids (AWFUL to find) and since kids I am a 5 1/2, thank goodness. At least in the “normal” size range. On-line, very easy to find now a days.</p>
<p>I have had the same experience as the OP. Was a women’s 10 since I was in college. About 3 years ago, all of a sudden 10s were always too big. Had to go to a 9.5 in most shoes.</p>
<p>Funny…my experience is that shoes are made smaller and narrower. I have to search for shoes that don’t hurt across the widest part of the toe area. Go figure.</p>
<p>Aside from the change following pregnancy, my shoe size has remained constant when I shop. So no, I have not experienced this phenomenon. I am an 8.5 90% of the time and have been so for 20 years.</p>
<p>The last 8 1/2 shoes I bought were the ones I got married in – they were too tight. That was 25 years ago, and I’ve been a consistent 9 since. But lately I’ve noticed that some 9’s are too big, and I’ve had to go down a half-size – and sometimes even to an 8. </p>
<p>One of the reasons I like Zappos is for the recommendations that people give whether the shoes run big or small. I also think that some of the sizing issues come from European brands.</p>
<p>I don’t know. Before I had kids, I was mostly a size 7; since I’ve had them, over the past two decades, I’ve been a size 9 in all styles that I purchase–sneakers & dress shoes. Haven’t noticed any changes in sizing, but haven’t seriously wanted to buy any shoes since the walking shoes/sneakers I bought last summer; size 9 as usual.</p>
<p>Now that you mention it, I have had to buy 1/2 size smaller in recent years. I still try on at least two sizes to see what feels the best but it used to be very consistent and now it’s more hit or miss.</p>
<p>Was a size 9.5 AA, AAAA heel before kids. These days I wear a 10 because 9.5s are increasingly tough to find, and 11 in sneakers. Finding narrow shoes? I gave up on that long ago. Naturalizer used to have great stuff in AA/AAAA. Now I just try to find styles that won’t give me killer blisters.</p>
<p>Size 11 dress shoes are so huge as to be ridiculous, but are perfect for sneakers, and the difference is more than the socks I’m wearing. Go figure.</p>
<p>My shoe size is the same and has been for years. I wear a 10 in pretty much everything, except my nikes are always 11. Last year I had to call every store within 75 miles and have the only two pairs of size 11 running shoes shipped to my house because there were literally NONE anywhere in any brand. I WISH shoes were getting bigger! I don’t even consider whether or not I like a shoe anymore, if it fits I get it because it’s a miracle to have found a pair that even fits. Most shoes don’t seem to even come in my size these days, 9 times out of ten the biggest shoe there is in a particular style is too small.</p>
<p>Although, I have freakishly narrow feet, so no shoe is really going to fit anyhow.</p>
<p>I haven’t noticed a change, but it would make sense. Apparently women’s feet are getting larger and wider because of Title IX–the women who grew up playing sports have, on average, larger and wider feet than previous generations.</p>
<p>I am wondering if the shoes you buy are sized in British units instead of American and recently changed their labeling. The British size 6 is an American 7, etc.</p>
<p>Ema, you sound like my friend. She was like I hope shoes get bigger that way they start making more for me… lol. Wait till you have to pick out your wedding shoes!</p>