Help With Shoe Sizes

[Belinda]

I have always bought my femme shoes in a size 7 which is my proper foot size for male shoes. However, I have read online many times that crossdressers should buy shoes a size bigger than their normal shoe size. Is this correct, I do get terrible trouble with my feet after wearing a fairly low pair of heels, usually discomfort that lasts for days after only wearing shoes for a few hours. I would love to wear some fab high heels if I could get a comfy pair in a size 8. Ladies I leave it to your expertise.

[Leeza]

there is a difference between woman's and man's shoe sizes. The woman's shoe size is 1 to 2 sizes larger than the man's meaning that if you wear a size 7 mans you will wear a 8 or 9 woman's.

[Anthony Simon]

I thought this post by Bernice was useful:

http://crossdressers-forum.com/forums/v ... th#p151910

What she says about width seems particularly important to me - and confirms my impression that most women's shoes are just too narrow for me.

I've bought a few pairs (actually 3 and a pair of boots) at Evans outlets in London's Oxford Street. One is a standalone store and the other is in BHS. These cater for the, ermmm, larger woman - and, whenever I've been in, have found the service from OK to very good. On one occasion the women serving saw the shoe I was buying and decided maybe they'd like a pair!

I don't know if there's an outlet near you. This is their website:

http://www.evans.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store ... ageSize=24

I confess to still be struggling to get a woman's shoe I feel totally happy with. But I also had years of searching before I found a man's shoe that I liked.

[KimberlyS]

I the US I get my femme shoes 2 sizes larger than my male size and in a medium width. That has worked well for me. I find many male shoes too wide for me.

[Paula G]

Generally I find I am the same size (UK 8 EU 42) whether mens or womens, but sometimes I can take a smaller, it seems to depend on the style. I have heard it said that for higher heels then go up a size, but I'm not sure of the reason or the wisdom.

[Carol Ann]

I wear an 8 in a man's shoes but need a 9 or 91/2 in a women's shoe. I prefer to try on my shoes if buying in public (hon no sweat). If you buy off the internet always read the return part as if they need to be return for a different size you can do that.

Shoes are funny in size because of who made they, have fun hon

[Tamroi]

I have many great successes with Payless size 13 wide femme.

[Mersades]

I usually get a size 12 in a woman's shoe. I wear a men's 10 1/2. 80% of the shoes I try on fit me fine. The two problems that I have are 1) Pointed toe shoes usually don't fit well. If I go to a 13 then the toe part is okay, but the shoe is too long. 2) For some reason several of the shoes press down on my toes on one foot, causing a sore to develop on the top of one or more toes.

[Anthony Simon]

For some reason several of the shoes press down on my toes on one foot, causing a sore to develop on the top of one or more toes.

That sounds a bit like what happens to me. When I'm stressed and angry, I tend to tense up my right shoulder, kind of hold it in a clenched up position. It's like I'm trying to hold myself in physically. But the result of that is it puts the rest of my body out of true.

Quite often the tension travels all the way down my body and to the other side - i.e. to the left foot. That can lead to problems like sores there. At one point I got so wound up the cumulative result (over months) of that tension meant that I had to go to a chiropractor.

I've found that wearing women's shoes means I notice the problem when I don't if I'm just in men's shoes.

[April Rose]

I wear a size 10 in men's shoes, a size 11 1/2 or 12 in women's. I have to try them on.

[Becca Cooper]

I must be an oddball then, because I wear a US 12 mens in narrow width (thanks mom ) and a 12 wide in womens.

I too heard that they run a size bigger so I had ordered a 13 wide and they were way too big. I was able to exchange them for a 12, and even those seem to have a little room behind the heel. Not sure if that's normal, but they didn't offer 1/2 sizes and they are comfortable so I'm okay with it.

I have since bought two other pair os 12's and they both fit me fine as well. Mens 11's and 11 1/2 dont fit me. Of course with narrow feet I have only found one brand of shoe that fits well, so maybe it has something to do with the brand.

[MichelleZ]

I've found out it's best for me to try ladies shoes on first because they vary so much. I have some 9.5 wide widths and a few 11s, and many in between that fit perfect. No mail ordering here.

So I dress appropriately with nylons on, visit the store's lady shoe areas and try lots of them on

[Nicole]

It also depends on what kind of shoe or boot you are wearing I guess?
I have pretty big feet, unfortunatly, and finding nice shoes in my size is hard.
Lucky for me a I have friend with pretty big feet too who orders them online at some
times. Since I don't have my own yet I can try hers on to see if it is the right US size.

[Paula G]

Definitely best to try on first, always, yesterday I was doing some shopping looking for some flat or low heeled boots, one pair of size 8s were too small, another pair of 7s were too big.

[Amber Chen]

I take a size 8 1/2 men's shoe, and a size 10 women's shoe, but I always have to try on the shoe and walk around the shoe store a bit to check out the fit. Oh, remember to use the socks or hose you normally plan to wear with the shoe!

It's nice to go by the 'Shoe Carnival', they often offer a 'buy 2 pair, get the 3rd pair at 1/2 price' deal. I've bought my last 2 pairs of Reebock Classic walking shoes in a women's size 10. They fit me way better than the men's style size 8 1/2. I can't figure out why.