FOOT HEALTH
The unstoppable rise of the ladies’ shoe size H
ands up who’s ever almost been reduced to tears in a shoe shop when, after a thorough search, you work out that the largest size they stock is a 6? “I won’t come back here,” you think, humiliated and shod in a pair of gentlemen’s brogues. “My big old size 9’s are
destined to spend their lives in men’s shoes.” Fear not, ladies. For those of us that have larger feet, things are about to change. Jane Winkworth, the founder of shoe company French Sole, has recently
acknowledged that ladies’ feet are getting bigger. “When I started designing, the standard UK size was a 5,” she said recently in an interview. “Now, girls of 16 or 17 are taking a 7.5 or an 8. Each generation has bigger feet, and it’s because they are better fed and everybody does a lot more exercise.” Monica Lott, who runs Norwich-based online shoe retailer FYFO alongside
husband Martin, has noticed the increase in demand for larger shoes for ladies. “It’s very hard to ignore,” she says. “We receive a lot of interest in our shoes, which is marvellous, but it’s very disheartening when we have to tell customers that we only sell up to a size 8 for ladies shoes. We’ll be looking at getting larger sizes in stock in the near future; why should women with larger feet be left out? You can’t expect ladies to wear mens’ shoes – and high heels aren’t just for smaller feet.” W J Liggins, the Chairman for the Institute of Chiropodists and Podiatrists, has
noticed that womens’ feet sizes are increasing - but that larger shoe sizes are relative to height. “Although feet are getting bigger, they remain proportional to the individual,” he explains. “It is generally held that the proportions are roughly 15.5% of height for males and 14.5% for females. In other words, the population in developed countries is becoming generally larger - and feet are getting larger as a result.” Laura West – Secretary of the Society of Shoe Fitters agrees with Mr. Liggins.
“The population has been steadily getting taller over the last 20 years and therefore feet are getting larger in proportion. This is not just a problem for ladies though, girls as young as 12 are tall and have adult size 8 and above and to find school shoes it is nearly impossible”. “I wish I had a £1 for every call I have received from distraught parents – often
in tears and letters we have written to head teachers explaining the problem” says Laura. “This is one of the perils of not making shoes in the UK, suppliers do not want or need to produce hundreds of pairs, it is uneconomic for them. We do have an excellent member – Ellie Dickins of Ellie Dickins Shoes, Hungerford - whose shop specialises in footwear for taller ladies as she personally experienced this problem. Ellie has searched the world for good brands in large sizes and her staff are all SSF trained to fit.”
Ellie explains: “Having had size 9 feet at the age of 11, and now a 10 1/2, I had spent most of my life struggling to find, stylish, shoes, in modern designs that fitted. I decided to open a shop in March 1999 specialising in Larger sizes. I stock all the way up to a size 12 (46) for ladies, complete with 1/2 sizes. I have found over my 13 years of trading that the average size has grown from a 5-6 to a 6-7. I have numerous ladies coming in with their daughters with size 8, 9 ,10 and 11, and these are young teenage girls that have no other place to go. We manage to fit them in a range of styles that they feel match the designs their contemporaries are wearing. “Most manufacturers sell in pack sizes, and for every 4 pairs of a size 6, there is only 1 pair in 7 1/2 or 8,” she says“ If, as a customer, you’re not there when the stock has recently be delivered, you are unlikely to get your size. At Ellie Dickins, we have no restriction on how many we buy of each size, and we have over 100 styles in a size 8 or over.” So, this seems to be a problem that’s got natural causes. Due to a better diet
and more exercise, we’re getting bigger - and as a result, our feet have followed suit. But how have other women taking a size 8 shoe negotiated the stormy waters of shoe-buying? “I’ve always found it difficult to find shoes that fit me properly,” says Francesca
Woollon, who takes a size 8 shoe. “So many shops don’t make decent footwear if you’re over a size 6; it’s so frustrating. They make heels that look lovely in a size 5, but like canoes when they get up to a size 8. I can’t ever find any high heels that don’t rub me, or cause me pain by the end of the night. I always end up buying heels a size too small and kidding myself that it’ll be OK, but after a night of agony I fling them off and never wear them again.” Fellow size 8 devotee Lauren Cook has also had her fair share of foot issues,
due to having large feet. “When I was younger, being a size 8 used to be a problem, as not a lot of stores stocked ladies shoes in that size. However, I have noticed that within the last 10 years or so, size eights have been far more readily available,” she says. “I don’t know if this is because the demand for them has increased, or if they have started listening to the complaints of the larger-footed lady. I’ve also noticed that the cheaper the shoe shop, the less likely you are to find bigger sizes.” French Sole’s Jane Winkworth should perhaps have the last word, as this foot phenomenon shows no signs of stopping - or slowing down. “In the 23 years I have been producing shoes, I’ve noticed that the average shoe size of women has increased from a 38/39 to a 40/41, which is reflected in the stock we are ordering for our stores and mail order,” she says. “I saw a huge gap in the market and a demand for larger sizes for women up to a 44, which many retailers simply do not cater for at the moment.”
Contacts:
Monica Lott FYFO:
info@fyfo.co.uk www.fyfo.co.uk
Rebecca Stone on behalf of Jane Winkworth:
rebecca@frenchsole.com Ellie Dickins:
Ellie@Elliedickinsshoes.co.uk Laura West,
Society of Shoe Fitters
laura@shoefitters-uk.org www.shoefitters-uk.org
26 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• FEBRUARY 2012
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