It used to be true that bigger was considered better. Big bank accounts, big cars, big houses were the battle cry. The pendulum seems to now be swinging back the other way. Financial independence is great, and being poor is no picnic, but the excessive wealth and greed of the 80’s and 90’s (see “Wolf of Wall Street”) is making way for a generation who doesn’t necessarily aspire to be part of the 1%. Gas-guzzling Hummers and SUVs are transitioning into fuel-efficient hybrids. McMansions have become cliché as the shelter magazines implore us to choose quality design over mega mass production.
There are a few things that I believe can never be too large. A broad smile can never be too big and I’ve never thought I would rather have a smaller piece of chocolate cake. However, there is definitely one area where I can attest that size matters and bigger is not better: feet.
When I was 12 years old, during those awkward tween years, I began the 7th grade at four foot eleven inches tall, 100 lbs, and sporting size eleven shoes. I moved like a deranged stork, all long limbs and big hands and feet, plodding along about as graceful as a grizzly bear. Yes, you read that right – I wore size eleven shoes. I usually attribute this anomaly to growing up in Florida where I ran around bare-footed all summer and most days after school. It stands to reasons that if your feet are unimpeded in their ability to spread out you’re going to end up with some whoppers. It’s a theory.
Back in 1976 there were NO size eleven shoes for girls. I did luck out in that we were in the middle of the earth shoes craze, which were somewhat gender neutral. I could get away with sporting men’s size nine shoes as long as they were sneakers, flip flops, or those life-saving earth shoes.
Fast forward four decades and the selection of shoes for us big-footed wonder gals has improved somewhat. I am still surprised that in most stores the selection of size elevens almost never includes anything dainty or flat. The limited assortment usually includes three and four inch high platforms and boots, with limited sensible pumps.
The industry seems to be slow to fully respond to the upward size trend. The National Shoe Retailers Association tracks sizes and has reported that foot size has grown by a size or so over the past three decades. “For women, we say 8 1/2 is the new 7,” said Mark Denkler, chairman of the National Shoe Retailers Association (accessed and cited April 3, 2014 http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/173960701.html?refer=y).
Being that most of us in the land of the big feet are not tiny women – I’m now five foot eight having grown somewhat into my large extremities – we’re usually not looking to add several inches to our already tall stature. I’m telling you, there is a goldmine of opportunity for a savvy shoe designer who finally realizes that flats and cute shoes in sizes ten and up have a ready and eager demographic who are hungry for product.
It turns out I’m in very good company; there are some very famous big-footed gals. Would you believe that Jacqueline Kennedy wore a size ten? I know, she was so dainty! Michelle Obama wears size twelve shoes. One of my favorite actresses, Allison Janney (who is SO my pick to play me in a movie) also sports size elevens. There are many others: Kate Winslet, Uma Therman, Meg Ryan, Audrey Hepburn (!) – all size eleven girls. I wish they would tell me where they find all their fabulous shoes.
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/fred_baby/3447565002/”>fred baby</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>
Truth be told, over the years I’ve made peace with the fact that I can’t change the size of my feet. I can lose weight, change the color and style of my hair, even bleach my teeth, but my feet are my feet and they’ve carried me on some great adventures. I try to take good care of them and treat them to a pretty pedicure on a regular basis. I wonder where they’ll take me today?
Do you have a physical attribute that you would change if you could? Do you have a feature that you’ve come to accept and even love because it makes you unique?
Cheers,
Kimba
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my site thus i
came to “return the favor”.I’m attempting to find things to enhance my web site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
Wow! That was really interesting. I never thought about what it would be like to be a girl having to look for size 11 shoes. It is hard enough finding a size 9, and I rarely see anything over a 10 when I'm looking. I loved hearing about all the famous women that had larger feet–it's awesome to celebrate diversity, and there definitely seems to be a market for larger pretty shoes! 🙂
~Christina
I remember when finding size nine shoes was a big deal. Zappos is an online shoe company that has adapted to the larger shoe size demand. But, has anyone out there had much luck with buying shoes online? I've tried once or twice to snag a great deal online, but I find that I really need to try shoes on before I purchase.
Kimba, you made me laugh! Thank you for the way you share life stories with humour. I don't have the exact same problem, but I can relate. It's so hard to find 5 1/2 extra wide in anything. And I absolutely love beautiful shoes. I've ruined my poor Barney Rubble feet by squeezing them into too-narrow shoes.
5 & 1/2 – you have the opposite problem from me! I'm envisioning you have no options except mary janes. And there are few things more miserable than a shoe that doesn't fit.
love the toenails!
I am very small and have difficulty finding clothes to fit. Petite size I often for taller petites than I am!
My Aunt Terry has the same problem. Any good internet shopping sites you could recommend for her?
Brilliant Kimba and I can relate – my shoe size is 8 1/2, but I have wide feet and more often than I care to think about have had to resort to buying larger sizes simply to get a shoe wide enough – which in itself wouldn't be so awful accept that the shoe then flops around and you get blisters … anyway, like you I've made peace with the issue but I do wonder sometimes if half the reason I'm still in Hawaii is that everyone here wears sandles year round. 🙂
I must say, returning to my FL roots so I can run around barefoot would have its advantages! Nothing like your toes in the sand, eh?
I watched my six-foot sister agonize over shoes for her size eleven feet during the sixties. She had the added complcation of flaming red hair. And being told this or that simply don't go with that hair. I never had those problems. Being blonde, however, I often wished I had eyelashes. Sigh.
My sister is a ginger too! She has gorgeous long auburn hair with natural highlights. I feel you on the eyelash front – ever found a mascara that you like/love?
Your feet only match the size of your heart! I've fretted about my large hips all of my life, but finally learned that they are here to stay, so just have to search a little harder for clothes to fit right. Funny post!
Ah, yes dear – I got a bit of your hips too!
I really relate to this as I have unusually wide feet. As a child I had difficulty getting shoes. I had to buy boys' sneakers, and they only came in white. At that time, few people wore white sneakers. I've never had a full range of shoes to wear, and with my high arches, it's even tougher. No dainty slipper shoes for me! Yes, we all miss out on some things in life!
The white sneakers! Totally forgot about the bright white men's sneakers. I constantly looked like I was headed out to play tennis.
Hi Kimba! Wow! Who knew that my size nines were actually sorta normal these days? And although I count myself in with the whole smaller living, more and big is not better camp–you make a GREAT point by reminding that you can't have too big a smile or heart! And as for things I would like to change about myself about the only thing that is sort of bugging me lately is the bags under my eyes. But I've always felt that big smile covered up a lot of flaws so that's what I will focus on instead! ~Kathy
I only have two comments. 1) I love a man with big feet. Just sayin'. and 2) I love your toenail polish design! LOL will share socially. ;0)
Thanks Carol. Sometimes when I'm sitting in a stuffy meeting I think about my girly pedicures hidden in my sensible pumps and it makes me smile as I'm watching another too-long powerpoint.
Kimba, I so enjoyed reading this. As a shoe lover the thought of not having a buffet of shoes to choose from is unthinkable! lol
I sometimes get on my husband about his having too many shirts. He calmly walks into the closet, counts the number of pairs of black shoes that I own, and its husband for the win. To be fair, I hold on to my size 11 shoes forever – re-heeling and re-soleing are my life savers.