I have thick ass feet so shoes don't fit...

I have really thick feet. Not wide, but thick. I guess it is from doing Taekwondo. Anyway, my problem is that I can find shoes that fit length and width-wise, but not enough height-wise if that makes any sense. So the top of my toes (especially my big toe) gets crushed whenever I walk and sometimes the whole top of my foot is just in pain whenever I wear shoes.

Sizing up does not help, my feet just slide everywhere. Wider shoes are harder to find, but they still don't give me a good fit. What can I do to stretch shoes out (I do use shoe trees)? I'm tired of getting crazy ass blisters breaking in new shoes.

I normally wear a 10D/E.

I have very high insteps and wear a 13 3E to accommodate. I also must wear blutcher (or derby) cut shoes. Given the poor fit, I'm starting to look at bespoke options, but given a limited budget, may not have a short term solution.

If your problem is space at the toes, I don't know how to help. Sorry.

You can take your shoes to a shoe repair shop, or if this is a recurring problem for you, you can buy a shoe stretcher to stretch shoes yourself. Here is one example.
http://www.canemart.com/pc/101-001/s...-p101-001.html

If you are willing to spend $1,000 for a pair of shoes, you can ask some makers to modify their lasts for you. Edward Green did this for me several years ago.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...=modified+last

Bic

I have a similar problem. I had numerous people measure my feet at 12EE. I went to a really good guy that knows about fitting problem feet, and he measured me at 11.5D and said I have the thickest feet he's ever seen.

If you ever look at the hands of laborers, they are very thick. I think that is probably what has happened to my feet from carrying huge backpacks and running and just generally abusing my feet.

So, his solution was to size up and then stretch them. I needed all kinds of stretches in various places. He said if need be, he could build up padding in the heel or whatnot.

I don't know what to call this guy. . . a shoefitter? But find one and be amazed.

If they are sufficiently thick, I hear you can make good money bouncing them up and down for rap videos...

Alden cannot be beat, if you got unusual feet.

Maybe you will like the Super D if they still have your size.

Good luck

Originally Posted by Dewey

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Alden cannot be beat, if you got unusual feet.

Maybe you will like the Super D if they still have your size.

Good luck

That's hilarious. I didn't know those existed.

Originally Posted by cheessus

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I have really thick feet. Not wide, but thick. I guess it is from doing Taekwondo. Anyway, my problem is that I can find shoes that fit length and width-wise, but not enough height-wise if that makes any sense. So the top of my toes (especially my big toe) gets crushed whenever I walk and sometimes the whole top of my foot is just in pain whenever I wear shoes.

Sizing up does not help, my feet just slide everywhere. Wider shoes are harder to find, but they still don't give me a good fit. What can I do to stretch shoes out (I do use shoe trees)? I'm tired of getting crazy ass blisters breaking in new shoes.

I normally wear a 10D/E.

i have the exact same problem. i know how you feel. I wear 10D/E also. I've only come to realize this lately. I've been ordering a lot online recently without having prior experience with these particular shoes/brands and now i'm stuck with them. I'll probably throw them on here, but still, i'm upset cuz i like them alot.

i have a pair of canali loafers that i can't even get my feet into as well as a pair of ferragamos that i can get in, but hurts like hell on the top of my foot. The width and length are fine.

Does that stretcher thing work ^^^? cuz it looks to only strecth width and length. Right now i've got shoe trees in them, hoping that they will stretch a little.

What are ass feet?

I have a similar problem, although my toes don't hurt, just the tops of my feet.

I used to buy wide shoes, but over the last couple of years I've discovered that I can fit into a US10D in most shoes (even Ferragamo Tramezzas, which most people claim are narrow).

The secret is to find manufacturers, or specific models on specific lasts, that are designed with a high instep. The best way of describing this is to look at the shoe side-on, in profile. If the shoe has a low instep, the laces will not rise much from the point where they start (ie nearer the toe of the shoe) to where they finish. If the shoe has a higher instep, however, there will be a noticeable rise, or slope, where the laces are located. This, of course, gives more vertical room in the shoe.

In my experience, I have found that Italian shoemakers such as Santoni and Ferragamo (particularly the Tramezza line) have a higher instep and US and English shoemakers. When I wear balmoral shoes, I can do up the "v" of the laces so that they come together (or very nearly do) when I wear my 10D Santonis or Tramezzas. However, when I tried on brands such as Allen-Edmonds (even in an EEE fitting), John Lobb Paris, Church's and Alfred Sargeant, I could not close up the "v" of the laces and even so, my feet still felt like they were being crushed in a vice.

Therefore, if you have the opportunity to do so, try on some shoes by Italian manufacturers as they do, in my limited experience, tend to make their shoes with higher insteps and this might help you more.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

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I have a similar problem, although my toes don't hurt, just the tops of my feet.

I used to buy wide shoes, but over the last couple of years I've discovered that I can fit into a US10D in most shoes (even Ferragamo Tramezzas, which most people claim are narrow).

The secret is to find manufacturers, or specific models on specific lasts, that are designed with a high instep. The best way of describing this is to look at the shoe side-on, in profile. If the shoe has a low instep, the laces will not rise much from the point where they start (ie nearer the toe of the shoe) to where they finish. If the shoe has a higher instep, however, there will be a noticeable rise, or slope, where the laces are located. This, of course, gives more vertical room in the shoe.

In my experience, I have found that Italian shoemakers such as Santoni and Ferragamo (particularly the Tramezza line) have a higher instep and US and English shoemakers. When I wear balmoral shoes, I can do up the "v" of the laces so that they come together (or very nearly do) when I wear my 10D Santonis or Tramezzas. However, when I tried on brands such as Allen-Edmonds (even in an EEE fitting), John Lobb Paris, Church's and Alfred Sargeant, I could not close up the "v" of the laces and even so, my feet still felt like they were being crushed in a vice.

Therefore, if you have the opportunity to do so, try on some shoes by Italian manufacturers as they do, in my limited experience, tend to make their shoes with higher insteps and this might help you more.

That's weird, I just bought a pair of Tramezzas and it was too small for me. I have two other pairs of Ferragamos in the same size (10D) and they fit fine. In fact, my Ferragamo Bruce captoe oxfords are the best fitting shoes I own.

Is having a high instep the same as having a high arch? I'm about as flatfooted as they come...

i'm new to this as well, but i'm guessing high instep has to do with how close the laces start relative to the heel cuz this affects the size of the opening for your foot to get in and therefore at the same time, the height of the shoe.

Originally Posted by cheessus

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Is having a high instep the same as having a high arch? I'm about as flatfooted as they come...

No, having a high instep means that your foot is, literally, high. That is, the vertical distance from the sole of your foot to the top of your foot is larger than usual.

Originally Posted by doughboyr6

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i'm new to this as well, but i'm guessing high instep has to do with how close the laces start relative to the heel cuz this affects the size of the opening for your foot to get in and therefore at the same time, the height of the shoe.

Not quite, although that can be part of it.
However, a shoe that as a wide opening for your foot to go into, can still be quite "flat" if you look at the shoe in profile.

If you think of the toe area of the shoe as being relatively flat - ie horizontal to the ground - the area where the shoe laces up should then start to slope upwards. In shoes that cater to people with a high instep, the upward slope will be more pronounced than in shoes that do not.