My feet

I have spent the last week trying to buy a new pair of walking shoes that will take me from pavements to hiking trails when we travel to the UK and Ireland in two weeks time.

Frankly, my feet are too big. They aren't gigantic on the spectrum of feet but they do not fit into the normal range of shoe sizes stocked by most women's shoe retailers. When I was growing up I was always confident that I was a 10 and a half fractional fitting. Now when I say that to retailers, they look at me perplexed, is that US or UK? I used to shrug and then I did a lot of research to find that I am in fact mostly a US 10.5 but because so many shoes don't come in half sizes I am a US 11 which is UK 8.5 and Eur 42.5 when the retailer has these in stock..

As I morphed into an adult, I dreamed of wearing a stylish pair of shoes. To find any that would fit, I had to go to the specialist shoe store. It was the shop for feet that are too big, too small, too wide or too narrow. One place in the city in a tiny arcade accessed only by lift. Even then there were usually just two possible contenders that fit my feet. Not any more because real shoe shops now stock all sizes, or at least on the day the stock arrives.

I have often requested a size 11 to be told, "we had one pair in that size but it was sold on the day they arrived". Do shoe stores honestly think there is only one person in Sydney with big feet? I know they cater to the average and that is why sale tables groan under the weight of excess average shoes.

Desperation has in the past led me to make very bad decisions about shoes and consequently I actually wonder if I know what is a good fit feels like any more. My cupboard holds several pairs that I swear felt perfect in the shop but now either squish and cramp my feet or flip-flop around giving me blisters after 5 minutes of walking. Sometimes, I am convinced that the shop attendant switched the shoes somewhere between the try-on chair and the checkout.

Today, as I trouped from store to store, I found that "no we don't make walking shoes in your size in the woman's range but the good news is we can fit you into a man's shoe". While, I have a wide foot by women's standards, my foot is narrow in the men's range.

Add to this, the anomaly that my left foot is half a size smaller than my right foot and on both feet my second and third toes are longer than my big toe. Oh woe is me..

Still recently I found that my feet don't like the shoes that I wear and I have suffered in the foot department. Perhaps because I am more active. I used to be a sloth. Having two bruised second toes is becoming the norm and I don't like this problem..

For years, I limited myself to four pairs of shoes. One pair for the gym, another pair of black lace ups for my day activities and  one pair of boots for winter dressing up and a pair of sandals for summer dressing up.

About 4 years ago, I lost a lot of weight and decided that I deserved a wardrobe upgrade and splurged on several pairs of shoes but they sit like unwelcome guests in my cupboard while I choose the ones that I know will be comfortable.

So today, after trying on countless pairs of shoes and matching them with different socks and worrying that my feet will swell when I walk, I have ended up with a pair of men's walking shoes, a little too roomy especially on the left foot and RED.

After years of having a wardrobe of black shoes, I now own a pair of red walking shoes and I think if I can just get the left foot appropriately snug rather than moving inside the shoe, I might enjoy this foray into new footwear.