I always seem to like the Men's styles better, hmph.
January 27, 2011 12:44 PM Subscribe
Are these Men's Sorel boots appropriate for women, in terms of fit?
I prefer this style versus the traditional Caribou style made for women. I've never owned a pair of Sorels so I'm not sure if they would be an appropriate fit if I sized down or if the men's and women's styles are that fundamentally different that it wouldn't be a great choice. I typically wear a size 8 in women's size shoes/boots, if that helps.
I prefer this style versus the traditional Caribou style made for women. I've never owned a pair of Sorels so I'm not sure if they would be an appropriate fit if I sized down or if the men's and women's styles are that fundamentally different that it wouldn't be a great choice. I typically wear a size 8 in women's size shoes/boots, if that helps.
Your feet don't have vaginas on them. If they come in your size and you like them, get them.
I wear an 8 or an 8.5 and have no problem fitting men's shoes as long as they come in my size (which is usually a 6 - you may need a 5, though - my feet are on the big size for 8's).
posted by Sara C. at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
I wear an 8 or an 8.5 and have no problem fitting men's shoes as long as they come in my size (which is usually a 6 - you may need a 5, though - my feet are on the big size for 8's).
posted by Sara C. at 1:03 PM on January 27, 2011 [2 favorites]
as a women's 8 is a boy's (not men's) 6
Untrue. I can send you photographic evidence of my size 8/ish feet, my ladies 8 and 8.5 shoes, and my "men's" 6's in several styles.
According to this site, a child's 6 would fit someone with a 5 inch foot. My women's size 8 feet are about 9.5 inches long.
posted by Sara C. at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2011
Untrue. I can send you photographic evidence of my size 8/ish feet, my ladies 8 and 8.5 shoes, and my "men's" 6's in several styles.
According to this site, a child's 6 would fit someone with a 5 inch foot. My women's size 8 feet are about 9.5 inches long.
posted by Sara C. at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2011
Sorel Men's footwear size chart
Sorel Women's footwear size chart
In women's footwear, medium width is B, wide is D, and any other width tends to be specified by letter. In men's footwear, medium width is D and I think wide is E but I'm not sure. The width letters seem to run consistent across countries and manufacturers, in my experience.
posted by thatdawnperson at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2011
Sorel Women's footwear size chart
In women's footwear, medium width is B, wide is D, and any other width tends to be specified by letter. In men's footwear, medium width is D and I think wide is E but I'm not sure. The width letters seem to run consistent across countries and manufacturers, in my experience.
posted by thatdawnperson at 1:30 PM on January 27, 2011
I'm pretty sure if you're going with Men's or Boy's shoes, you size 2 down. I wear a women's size 6, and the boots I'm wearing now are a boy's size 4. It looks like those Sorels you linked to only go down to a size 7.
posted by a.steele at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by a.steele at 1:45 PM on January 27, 2011
I wear a women's size 6, and the boots I'm wearing now are a boy's size 4.
I have a pair of Sorel boots pretty similar to the ones you linked to and I wear a boy's 5-ish where I usually wear a women's 7.5 for most shoes [not disregarding general size charts just saying that's my experience with Sorels]. They are a little big on me and the boy's sizes are shorter over the calf which is actually a plus for me. The good news about this sort of boot is that you can adjust the liners to get a better fit. My feet are wide, however, so one of the differences between male and female boots may be the width.
posted by jessamyn at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2011
I have a pair of Sorel boots pretty similar to the ones you linked to and I wear a boy's 5-ish where I usually wear a women's 7.5 for most shoes [not disregarding general size charts just saying that's my experience with Sorels]. They are a little big on me and the boy's sizes are shorter over the calf which is actually a plus for me. The good news about this sort of boot is that you can adjust the liners to get a better fit. My feet are wide, however, so one of the differences between male and female boots may be the width.
posted by jessamyn at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2011
Oh, in case it wasn't clear, I'm not wearing Sorel boots. Mine are Fryes and they're actually just children's boots (not specifically for boys or girls).
posted by a.steele at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by a.steele at 2:10 PM on January 27, 2011
A boys 6 and a men's 6 are the same thing. It's Girl's to Women's where the sizes don't match up (Girls go from about a 3 or 3.5 to a 6 or something all of a sudden.)
I wear a 8 in Women's and I can wear a 6 in Men's but I have wide feet. If you have narrow feet it might not work. I sometimes wear men's shoes because I need the extra width.
posted by artychoke at 2:19 PM on January 27, 2011
I wear a 8 in Women's and I can wear a 6 in Men's but I have wide feet. If you have narrow feet it might not work. I sometimes wear men's shoes because I need the extra width.
posted by artychoke at 2:19 PM on January 27, 2011
The only difference I've been able to determine between mens and womens sizes (once you convert for length) is that men's shoes tend to be proportionately a bit wider. Unless you have narrow feet, I would not expect it to be a problem. It does look like you'd be a 6. I wear a 9 womens, edging up to a 10 because wide shoes are hard to find, and wear a men's 7. It's been my experience that the 7 is the smallest mens size carried in many stores, so you may be over in the boy's section just for that reason.
These look like winter boots. If you can't find a 6, you might be able to wear two pairs of fluffy socks and pull off the 7. That's a common trick for winter shoes, but it's a bit risky if you're not already familiar with the fit of the shoe/boot in question.
posted by Karmakaze at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2011
These look like winter boots. If you can't find a 6, you might be able to wear two pairs of fluffy socks and pull off the 7. That's a common trick for winter shoes, but it's a bit risky if you're not already familiar with the fit of the shoe/boot in question.
posted by Karmakaze at 3:02 PM on January 27, 2011
I have that boot in a Men's size. I wear 10-10.5 womens and I think the boot I have is a men's size 9. Probably and 8 would have been a better choice as they are quite large and much wider than most of my boots. I wear them when it really snowy/nasty out. I can wear thick wool socks and they are still a bit loose but are by far the best snow boots out there.
posted by sulaine at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by sulaine at 3:30 PM on January 27, 2011
The "average" width for men's shoes is D; the "average" width for women's shoes is B.
But it don't matter none, because 7 is going to be significantly too big for you if you wear a size 8 women's. You need either a 6 1/2 or a 6. (Go by your Euro size, which will be 38 or 39.)
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2011
But it don't matter none, because 7 is going to be significantly too big for you if you wear a size 8 women's. You need either a 6 1/2 or a 6. (Go by your Euro size, which will be 38 or 39.)
posted by Sidhedevil at 6:05 PM on January 27, 2011
According to this site, a child's 6 would fit someone with a 5 inch foot. My women's size 8 feet are about 9.5 inches long.
I don't know what that chart is measuring, but I am a women's shoe size 7 and regularly wear a boy's size 5. I have the Sorel's mentioned above; they are wide, but my feet are on the wide side. If your feet are average to narrow I wouldn't recommend men's sizes.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2011
I don't know what that chart is measuring, but I am a women's shoe size 7 and regularly wear a boy's size 5. I have the Sorel's mentioned above; they are wide, but my feet are on the wide side. If your feet are average to narrow I wouldn't recommend men's sizes.
posted by oneirodynia at 6:46 PM on January 27, 2011
A child's 6 that fits a 5 inch foot is a Baby size 5. Baby sizes start at 0 and go to 13 then start over at 1 and go straight up to Men's. Girl's wear baby/kids sizes until 3, I think, and skip over to about a 5 or a 6 in Ladies. All the other sizes go up together - Ladies is the one that diverges and doesn't match anymore. God, I worked in shoe stores for too long.
posted by artychoke at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by artychoke at 7:19 PM on January 27, 2011
My feel are average to narrow and I wear men's shoes all the time. I sometimes need to go down a size, and I don't think I'd ever experiment with loafers, but seriously, it's fine. OP will be fine. Her feet are not going to spontaneously combust if she buys a pair of men's shoes.
posted by Sara C. at 7:26 PM on January 27, 2011
posted by Sara C. at 7:26 PM on January 27, 2011
The 1964 PACs are very wide, partly because they're wool-felt-lined and partly because they're floppy 1960s winter boots. They're almost "anti-fit", more like lined wellies than modern boots. I find them a bit clunkier than I might like on my size-10.5 manfeet. (I bought them for Ottawa winters, before Sorels were a Thing, though; it's just turned out handy that now that mine are nicely broken in three years later I can be all trendy-like.)
The width does provide a nice snowshoe effect.
I wouldn't buy them without trying them on for the aesthetics let alone the fit, unless it was easy to return them. I believe the men's Sorels that are not 1964 PACs are not quite as, uh, retro.
See this recent question about them, where the poster complains about the fit.
posted by mendel at 8:13 PM on January 27, 2011
The width does provide a nice snowshoe effect.
I wouldn't buy them without trying them on for the aesthetics let alone the fit, unless it was easy to return them. I believe the men's Sorels that are not 1964 PACs are not quite as, uh, retro.
See this recent question about them, where the poster complains about the fit.
posted by mendel at 8:13 PM on January 27, 2011
My feel are average to narrow and I wear men's shoes all the time.
I was specifically referring to Sorel boots; sorry if that wasn't clear.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:34 AM on January 28, 2011
I was specifically referring to Sorel boots; sorry if that wasn't clear.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:34 AM on January 28, 2011
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