Question About the Fit of Sandals

Living in South Florida, I see many, many women in sandals much of the year. One puzzling thing I have noticed that some women do, especially with sandals that have a slight heel, is they wear a sandal so short their heels hang off the back of the sandal a good inch or more.

It looks really uncomfortable to me, but it is such a common sight that I am begining to wonder if maybe I am wrong. Should a sandal fit that way? I thought a well fitting sandal would allow the complete length of the foot to sit on the shoe and not hang over.

I also frequently see women wearing sandals so narrow for their foot that their little toe and sometimes even one more toes hang off the edge. That looks uncomfortable too.

But the thing that puzzles me most is the heel-hanging-off-the-end-of- the-sandal fit. Can anyone explain this to me? Is it a fashion trend or what reason would a woman have for wearing her sandals that way?

I think that women will wear whatever looks good -- to them. I hate to see an ill-fitting shoe on anybody's feet. Hanging toes and heels obviously are not well fitting. I have a very narrow foot. It's hard for me to get a sandal that my feet don't slide through. I'm lucky enough to be able to shop at trunk shows so I can order my shoes custom-made in a 4A width. Sometimes they fit, sometimes they are still too wide. Clunky (Birkenstock, croc type) sandals should also be well-fitting. To me, a foot hanging over the front/back of a shoe looks as bad as ill-fitting clothing.

You are definitely not seeing a "look" other than a sad one.

--Judy

A lot of people don't realize that their feet continue to grow throughout their lives and still think they wear the same size shoe they did ten, fifteen, twenty years ago.

I'm a part time wardrobe consultant and one of the first things I do with my clients (after I 'clean' their closet) is to take them and get them professionally sized in the afternoon.

All of my clients to date have been at least one half size larger than they thought they were.

In other words, people are buying their shoes too small.

Also, shoes never need be broken in. That is a huge myth with shoes. If they aren't comfortable and don't fit when you buy them, they'll never be.

That's a good point about people not being aware of what shoe size they really should wear. I've seen a podiatrist on one of the talk shows who said women really do have a tendency to wear shoes that are both too narrow and too short. Well, you can't wear a shoe that is too short if it is an enclosed shoe, but you can still wear it too narrow and compress your forefoot too much for the health of your foot.

I suppose it is easier to get away with a sandal that is too small because the excess just hangs over. It still seems as if such a fit would be very uncomfortable for different reasons.

I have hard-to-fit feet because my feet are too narrow for most wide shoes and too wide for most regular or medium width shoes. Judy above reminded me of something I never think of and that is the challenge of women with narrow feet. I have never had that challenge so I tend to forget that such women have a hard time getting a good fit too.

I was like as a teenager, but no way now! My sandals have to fit and look right. My biggest problem is the heel. My heels are slightly wide, so I have to be careful when I buy wedges. No matter style the wedge is my heel just fits it. One store I have been buying sandals and have been having great success is Bealls of Florida. So far I have purchased two pair of sandals and they fit great, front and back. The same for JCPenney.

One reason for this might be that the women have gained a considerable amount of weight since buying those shoes, yet they continue to wear them. An increased amount of weight will most definitely increase the spread of your foot. My shoe size was almost a full size larger during my "fat years". :p

Hi, excellent question:)

I prefer my feet to FIT in the sandal:D without my heel hanging over!

Apparently some women do not pay much attention to the foot and the way it fits in sandals. They buy whatever shoe attracts them...instead of shopping around until they get something with the proper fit. They don't seem to be too concerned with whether of not the shoe is too short as long as they like it. This is one of my pet peeves as it looks ridiculous. I was in a shop in St. Maarten with a friend and she was ready to purchase a pair of shoes...her heel was hanging off the shoe but she was crazy about the shoe. When I called her attention to it, she was slightly annoyed that I told her, but it ended up that she did not buy them. Maybe my comment made her more aware for the next time.

I, too have narrow feet. They used to be 4A but are no longer that narrow. Yes, they do spread as we age. I have just bought my first pair of Munro sandals. The salesman in Nordstrom told me they are their most popular sandal. I never realized before than most sandals are not made for narrow feet and it is awesome to have a pair that are. I am afraid they will be worn out before our cruise as I just wear them all day. Are the "heels hanging over the sandals" sale sandals perhaps and the right size was not available?:eek:

I've always wondered about this too:confused: Why do people buy shoes that don't fit? The heel hanging off the back of the sandal is what causes a lot of the dry, cracking skin. I've seen it being done in a shoe department and I wonder why the salespeople don't bring out a larger, wider shoe for them to try on.

I think a lot of people think that shoes are supposed to hurt until you "break them in", not true, if the shoe doesn't fit when you buy it, it will never fit well. They will stretch because of sheer force, then the shoe doesn't look so good because it is contorted.

Apparently some women do not pay much attention to the foot and the way it fits in sandals. They buy whatever shoe attracts them...instead of shopping around until they get something with the proper fit. They don't seem to be too concerned with whether of not the shoe is too short as long as they like it. This is one of my pet peeves as it looks ridiculous. I was in a shop in St. Maarten with a friend and she was ready to purchase a pair of shoes...her heel was hanging off the shoe but she was crazy about the shoe. When I called her attention to it, she was slightly annoyed that I told her, but it ended up that she did not buy them. Maybe my comment made her more aware for the next time.

Was that store in the Marigot Mall by any chance? On the ground floor?They had a lot of cool shoes in there.

My pet-peeve is toes overhanging! It's just makes me shake my head, while I think that they either don't understand the true fit of shoes or buy one on sale or clearance, regardless of how it fits. My #1 motto is that life is too short to wear uncomfortable shoes! The shoes must be comfortable and fit properly, or they don't go home with me! There is just nothing like well-made shoes that fit properly. And I agree with what someone said about shoes having to be broken in - poppycock! They don't need to be if you buy good shoes.

Carmen, tell us how you really feel:D ;) we need to get you out

your shell....:)

Just kidding...I hope you know that:D

I never really thought about if my feet are narrow or not, but my toes do tend to slide over the edge of my sandals, even though I find the shoe fits otherwise. Maybe my feet are narrow, lol.

I know I wear almost 2 sizes smaller now than I did when I was a teenager. I lost alot of weight since then (I'm 41 now). In high school I wore a 7 1/2 and now I wear a 6, smaller if it's a tennis shoe. They probably also changed the way they size shoes these days...I don't know. But I can buy my athletic shoes in the kids department. :p I bought a pair of New Balance tennis shoes (plain white, no sparklies or pink stuff) and it was half the price of what I would have paid for the women's sizes.

I'm going to have to have my foot width measured to see if it's narrow. What's considered narrow? :rolleyes:

I never really thought about if my feet are narrow or not, but my toes do tend to slide over the edge of my sandals, even though I find the shoe fits otherwise. Maybe my feet are narrow, lol.

I know I wear almost 2 sizes smaller now than I did when I was a teenager. I lost alot of weight since then (I'm 41 now). In high school I wore a 7 1/2 and now I wear a 6, smaller if it's a tennis shoe. They probably also changed the way they size shoes these days...I don't know. But I can buy my athletic shoes in the kids department. :p I bought a pair of New Balance tennis shoes (plain white, no sparklies or pink stuff) and it was half the price of what I would have paid for the women's sizes.

 

I'm going to have to have my foot width measured to see if it's narrow. What's considered narrow? :rolleyes:

If your heels "slosh" around in a closed shoe or your feet slide towards the front of a shoe, you have narrow feet. When I lost weight, my feet only got 1/2 size shorter. My feet have always been at the widest a quad A. They used to make shoes with different width heels to accommodate narrow feet. Salvatore Ferragamo still cuts a few styles in 4As as does Stuart Weitzman. I'm a lot older than you (55) and it's literally a pain to buy shoes. I'm just glad I am able to buy what I can now. My shoe salesman at Nordstrom always orders 4A Weitzmans for me without even telling me. He knows what I like and what will and will not fit.

Ill-fitting shoes can cause all sorts of foot problems -- blisters, hammertoes, bunions, corns -- etc. Shoes that are too wide can cause problems that are almost the same as shoes that are too narrow.

--Judy

Carmen, tell us how you really feel:D ;) we need to get you out

your shell....:)

Just kidding...I hope you know that:D

Haha, that's what my boss says! but he says on the plus side, he never has to wonder where I stand on something or if I'll stab him in the back. I told him, "If I'm gonna stab you, you'll see it coming!"

Haha, that's what my boss says! but he says on the plus side, he never has to wonder where I stand on something or if I'll stab him in the back. I told him, "If I'm gonna stab you, you'll see it coming!"

too funny! I am very VERY lucky...My boss is super:D

Sure, he has a few quirks but it is really a pleasure to work for him.

Now, the guy he replaced?:eek: that is another story altogether!

He was here for a long, long, long time.....and as soon as he retired,

and this one took over it was like a new light was set on the office....

something clear that was such a help.

The old one was from "the good ole boy network" and the entire

feeling of the office changed when Jack took over!:) :D

I truely enjoy coming to work now....besides, gotta keep an income

in order to cruise;)

sorry I got totally off topic of comfortable sandals.....forgive me!

I never really thought about if my feet are narrow or not, but my toes do tend to slide over the edge of my sandals, even though I find the shoe fits otherwise. Maybe my feet are narrow, lol.

I know I wear almost 2 sizes smaller now than I did when I was a teenager. I lost alot of weight since then (I'm 41 now). In high school I wore a 7 1/2 and now I wear a 6, smaller if it's a tennis shoe. They probably also changed the way they size shoes these days...I don't know. But I can buy my athletic shoes in the kids department. :p I bought a pair of New Balance tennis shoes (plain white, no sparklies or pink stuff) and it was half the price of what I would have paid for the women's sizes.

 

I'm going to have to have my foot width measured to see if it's narrow. What's considered narrow? :rolleyes:

My first job was in a shoe store. We were not allowed to ask a person's size or we would be fired. Consequently, I had to measure a lot of feet- men, women and wiggling babies.

In U.S. sizes, a women's medium is a "B". A, AA, AAA, AAAA, etc. are considered narrow widths, the more A's the narrower.

Also, you have to take into account your instep (the top of your foot over your arch). Some people who have very high insteps have a difficult time fitting their foot into a shoe.

My MIL cannot wear slides, clogs, mules for this reason, her foot simply will not go down into the shoe far enough. This would result in her heel hanging over the back of some sandals. She always needs a back strap on her sandals.

I have a thin flat foot, low instep, no arch to speak of, so there is always space between the top of the shoe and the top of my foot. This means that my foot can slide forward out of a sandal.

Trying on different styles and brands is necessary to find the right sandal, also one should not be married to one size. I vary from 8, 81/2 to 9.

Wow...thanks for all of the information. It's amazing how I never realized the different widths in shoe sizes! I always just ask for my size...never took the width into consideration. That could explain why I always get blisters...from my feet sliding around. I hope I don't have to go looking for narrow shoes....there practically aren't any! :rolleyes:

Wow...thanks for all of the information. It's amazing how I never realized the different widths in shoe sizes! I always just ask for my size...never took the width into consideration. That could explain why I always get blisters...from my feet sliding around. I hope I don't have to go looking for narrow shoes....there practically aren't any! :rolleyes:

Make friends with people in shoe departments! They will look out for you and when you come in, they will tell you what they have in your size. I had a friend who wore a quad. Every time she walked into the shoe dept in a specific high-end department store, the guy would just carry out every shoe they had in a quad. She was always prepared to buy 3-4 pair if she liked them, because there would be many times that their were none or slim choices (no pun intended!).

And it's not just the ladies.

Many men wear clothing (including shoes) that is not sized properly for them.

When a customer comes in our store for a suit or sportcoat or pants, I don't ask what size... I take something off the rack that I estimate is the right size (and I'm pretty good at it) and I don't mention size until my customer decides he likes the fit. For dress shirts, I take actual neck and sleeve measurements. Feet always get measured for shoes!

One of the biggest problems with men's clothing is that many men are unable to deal with a proper fitting pair of pants...in order to keep that waist size number down to where it was when he was in high school, he wears the pants about 4 inches below his waist - under the awning, so to speak...

Wow...thanks for all of the information. It's amazing how I never realized the different widths in shoe sizes! I always just ask for my size...never took the width into consideration. That could explain why I always get blisters...from my feet sliding around. I hope I don't have to go looking for narrow shoes....there practically aren't any! :rolleyes:

Something else. I've noticed that no matter what my "regular" size is, if I want a flat shoe it's best to get at least a half size larger. It's been that way for years, regardless of age or weight. And I forgot that at first when flats came back in fashion this year.

Oh, and I noticed that zappos.com has lots of shoes in narrow widths. I haven't bought any from there (yet), but they really seem to try to accomodate all, size-wise. And style-wise.

Just adding in! FWIW, my feet are still in great shape and blister-free, and I'm mid-dinosaur (late 40s).

To: Mamatried.....yes, that's where the shoe store was and they had a lot of very attractive shoes. Just wish my friend had been able to find what she liked with the proper fit. On top of everything...how could it be comfortable to have your heel hanging off the back of the shoe?!

Something else. I've noticed that no matter what my "regular" size is, if I want a flat shoe it's best to get at least a half size larger. It's been that way for years, regardless of age or weight. And I forgot that at first when flats came back in fashion this year.

 

Oh, and I noticed that zappos.com has lots of shoes in narrow widths. I haven't bought any from there (yet), but they really seem to try to accomodate all, size-wise. And style-wise.

 

Just adding in! FWIW, my feet are still in great shape and blister-free, and I'm mid-dinosaur (late 40s).

mid-dinosaur???:eek: no way.........I am 49 and have never

heard that??? You are as young as you feel:D

dinosaurs???:confused: wouldn't that be something from prehistoric

times? Come on now.....

mid-dinosaur???:eek: no way.........I am 49 and have never

heard that??? You are as young as you feel:D

dinosaurs???:confused: wouldn't that be something from prehistoric

times? Come on now.....

"Dinosaur"?? I am 51. Hell last year I dated a very hot 31 year old for a short while...believe me numbers don't mean a thing!! :D