Extra Wide Shoes?

[Owen'nZoe]

DS1 (7) has very wide feet, and we are in a real bind finding shoes this year. The selection in extra wide shoes has always been slim, but this year he is in a 3.5 XW, and there is literally one pair of sandals that we've been able to find in that size - and he hates it. We've tried ordering sandals he liked in a 3XW and a 4 XW - and neither really fit properly. For stores, we've tried a local Stride Rite, and then all the standard online stores - Stride Rite again, Onlineshoes, Shoes.com, shoebuy.com, zappos, etc.

Does anyone out there have a kiddo with extra wide feet? Are there other stores I could try? Or maybe shoe brands that only come in wide, but run even wider and have half sizes? Help!

[K1329]

I"ll be checking back for replies - my ds has an XW foot size, too. I've often been frustrated trying to find shoes for him, and, they're typically so much more expensive! However, I haven't found any stores beyond the ones you've mentioned.

[Owen'nZoe]

I hear you, K! It wasn't so bad when he was a toddler - there was a decent selections. But now that he is in big kid sizes, the selection is awful and the prices are really high. And, he is starting to have really strong opinions about what his shoes look like, which would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that the styles he likes often just don't come in his size.

I did have a couple breakthroughs in sporting goods this year, though, that I'll share since you're in the same boat - first off, Willits makes soccer and baseball cleats in extra wide. They cost twice as much as the ones you can pick up in regular widths, but they fit! Second, for ice skates and online skates, the adjustable skates are terrific! We picked up a pair of adjustable Riedell ice skates (size 3-6), and it is the first time he's ever had a pair of ice skates that didn't squish his feet. They make the boot wide enough for the largest size in the range, so when you adjust it to the lower sizes, it makes for a short, wide boot that is just perfect. Now, I doubt they'll work so well on the upper end of the range, but I am so happy he can skate for a couple years in them without being in pain!

[4evermom]

Maybe try some size 4W when he's a 3.5XW, as well.  I've never had good luck at Stride Rite.  Many of their wide shoes are pointy or short through the toe box.  I've taken to really looking at the shape of shoes, both how boxy they are through the toes from the top view and how much height they have from a side view.  I was excited when I found some Newport Keens at a thrift store but they had little height through the toes even though the width was a nice foot shape.  But another style of Keens works for him.  There is so much variation from style to style even if you find a brand that works.  Some brands don't come in different widths but run wide.  And some brands that have XW are the same as another brand's W.  We're in a sweet spot where ds's feet are just a little smaller than mine so I can try them on and see how they'll fit him (my feet are wide, too).  He is also sensitive about other comfort issues so it's a real challenge.  Anyway, no really useful advice but plenty of sympathy!

[Owen'nZoe]

Thanks for the advice of looking at the profile as well as the width. That is a great idea.

And yes - I've been less than impressed with Stride Rite. My son definitely has very wide feet - his dad's feet are EEE, and DS's feet look like a smaller version of dad's. Yet, at the local Stride Rite store, we've had them size him as everything from XW down to average width (!?!), and it really seems to depend on what they happen to have in stock at the moment. Don't have extra wide in stock? They tell me he's a wide. Don't have any wides at all in stock? Miracle of miracles, his feet are suddenly average.

We did order a pair of Sperry's in 3XW and 4 XW, and neither fit. His toes were squished in the 3's, and the 4's looked like boats on him and his foot moved around all over the place inside them. Maybe we need to try the same in a different brand - I just feel so bad ordering all these shoes and then returning them when they don't work out - and it is time consuming!

[K1329]

Thanks for the sporting goods info! I'm quite sure it will come in handy. My ds is 4, and is only just starting to voice shoe preferences. To date, he's wanted rain boots & light up sneakers, neither of which I've been able to find wide enough. Poor guy.
I get the sense that a wide foot is pretty common, but, the extra wide is a rarity!

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by Owen'nZoe 

We did order a pair of Sperry's in 3XW and 4 XW, and neither fit. His toes were squished in the 3's, and the 4's looked like boats on him and his foot moved around all over the place inside them.

That's when I'd consider trying a Sperry's 4W...  or 3.5W if they come in half sizes.  Longer size means you might need W instead of XW.

Don't worry about all the ordering and returning.  Ya gotta do what you gotta do when it comes to shoes and kids.  They're investing in customer loyalty and banking on convenience.  They'll come out alright.

[Owen'nZoe]

OK, I get the logic - since the length of the shoe is slightly longer for a given size each time you go up a width - but if I hold his foot up to the bottom of the XW shoe, his foot is wider than the sole of the shoe. Would it really be a good idea to go narrower to get the correct length? Maybe we'll just need to try it and see.

It seems very rare to find a shoe that comes in a half size once you hit size 3 Youth, even in just wide. I really don't get why. I know there isn't a huge difference between full sizes, but I can see a 3.5 XW would be just perfect.

[4evermom]

If his feet are shifting "all over" and by that you mean side to side as well as front and back, then the 4XW sound too wide as well as too long.  It *could* be that the shoes are OK when the bottoms seem narrower than his feet because they sometimes curve out wider from there.  I've been known to put shoes on ds in the house and have him play a while with them on.  Then I can take them off and look for pressure marks.

[Owen'nZoe]

Ohhh, I see what you are saying. That does make absolute sense. I did a really poor job of describing the fit. His feet weren't actually sliding in the shoe (although that is exactly what I wrote, isn't it?!), but there was space in front of and behind his foot. Regardless, maybe we'll give the regular wide a shot. DS has absolutely no arch (his dad has none either), so his foot really fills in the space width-wise, especially in the middle where the average foot narrows. Sorry for the poor description!

[4evermom]

Good luck!  We've had some success going up half a size to get a little extra width...  Keep in mind that if a brand only comes in W, and not XW, it might be the same width as the other brand's XW.

[Owen'nZoe]

Just wanted to give a quick update for you other XW shoe mommies - we finally found and went to a local store that specializes in XWs. It was fabulous! The gentleman who helped us confirmed that DS's feet are, indeed solidly in XW territory, and put him in a Keen sandal. DS was in heaven with 2 styles and 3 different colors to choose from for each. He couldn't believe he had more than one choice, and he actually really liked 2 of them. Of his top 2 choices, one pair fit perfectly, and the other pinched his toes (even though they were just different colors of the same style), so that made the choice easy. They were $55, so expensive, but about what we generally expect to spend on his shoes.

So, Keen it is, and the local shoe store it will be from now on!