SIze 12 Shoes

December 28, 2004 2:41 PM

Does anyone know of a good, not horrifically expensive place to get feminine, cute shoes in a women's size 12? I can find really crappy shoes (payless.com) or drag queen shoes (do your own searching) or really expensive ugly stuff (anywhere on the web) but I was wondering if anyone out in mefi land has a good resource. I am at the end of my rope.
posted by u.n. owen to Shopping (15 answers total)

A friend of mine also has size 11 1/2 or 12 feet, she's got a devil of a time finding shoes she likes and can actually wear. She got "lucky" one day when we were shopping at Wal*Mart of all places...she came out of there with 5-6 different pairs of shoes that she really liked. She basically said that once she finds a source of shoes, she has to grab as many as she can because she has such a hard time finding them in the first place.
posted by aedra at 3:06 PM on December 28, 2004

Response by poster: I've had the same horrifying experience of actually looking at walmart shoes. But rarely have I seen much worth wearing - could be 'cause I almost never shop there and just haven't been lucky. :)

Even the local payless, my standby for huge shoes, carries roughly 10 pairs in the ugliest styles imaginable. My old payless before I moved was much better. *sniffle*
posted by u.n. owen at 3:11 PM on December 28, 2004

Here's 411 pages of shoes in size 12.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:26 PM on December 28, 2004

She said that she doesn't usually find anything at Wal*Mart either but fluked out that day. I'm not sure where she normally gets her shoes as she's now living in Edmonton, AB and I'm in Quebec.

Good luck in your search!
posted by aedra at 3:29 PM on December 28, 2004

And if I may add on to someone else's question because it is so similar, what about cute, feminine *wide* shoes, too? Not explicitly mentioned by u.n. owen, so I chimed in.

On preview: OK, zappos has lots of shoes. People with abnormal shoe sizes in my experience are wary of buying online. Or is it just me?
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 3:30 PM on December 28, 2004

I've had great luck with Zappos.com (size 11 representing!). Running a quick search on size 12/under $40 brings up something like 700 results, plus the shipping's free, and the customer shoe reviews are reasonably helpful.
posted by Vervain at 3:33 PM on December 28, 2004

(d'oh! beaten to the punch, it seems...)

It's definitely worth the risk of ordering, I'd say. I wear something between an 11 and a 10 1/2 wide, and was able to find two pairs that fit fairly well. Just be sure to read the shoe reviews...they often say that certain shoe ranges/brands run true to fit or not, narrow or wide, that sort of thing. And their return policy is pretty relaxed.
posted by Vervain at 3:39 PM on December 28, 2004

What is Winners called in the US? TJMaxx?

These large stores sell 'designer' merchandise (sometimes it's design, and sometimes it's, well, 'design'). The inventory changes every week. They appear to buy line remainders, at greatly reduced prices. The styles are current, but not all sizes are available in a given line.

In any event, these stores have shoes. Lots. In lots of sizes. I saw beautiful shoes in a Vancouver Winners in sizes above 11 for women. But damn, they didn't have them in MY size
posted by seawallrunner at 4:38 PM on December 28, 2004

Stopped into a Taryn Rose store last weekend and was sooo happy not to be laughed at when I meekly asked how big their shoes run. I'm a size 10 1/2; their shoes run up to a size 12. The owner/designer of the line is a former orthopedic surgeon (USC grad) who quit practicing medicine to design super-comfy footwear.
posted by Asparagirl at 5:44 PM on December 28, 2004

Howling Wolf once was known as Big Foot Chester--he wore a size 16.
posted by y2karl at 8:41 PM on December 28, 2004

Although I'm merely a size 9, 9.5 or 10 (depending), I'll also recommend Zappos -- they're really good about exchanging shoes for free if the size you order doesn't fit you. (Provided you don't wear the ill-fitting shoes outside on rough concrete and scratch them all up.)
posted by lisa g at 1:05 AM on December 29, 2004

Another online option is Designer Shoes, different but not necessarily better than Zappos. Offline, I was thrilled last year to stumble upon Nordstrom's "Overs and Unders" event. They bring in current, fashionable shoes in sizes under 5 and over 10. That was in the fall, I wish I could remember exactly when but I'm sure they could tell you. I was surprised how many manufacturers make my size (I'm an 11), I guess the stores just don't carry them. Lastly, Payless has a website, in case you are looking for a particular style they carry.
posted by cali at 3:34 AM on December 29, 2004

Zappos is fantastic. I buy shoes from there all the time (I am a size 9 1/2 US, which is a hard size to find in stores).

Some brand names I love that offer shoes in size 12 include Munro American, Softwalk, Ros Hommerson, and Propet. Taryn Rose shoes are fantastic, as Asparagirl says above.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:16 AM on December 29, 2004

I wear a 14. Nordstrom has always done me right.
posted by black8 at 10:50 AM on December 29, 2004

Wide shoes can be found at the Avenue stores in the US - they are a plus size store. They also sell them online (the sizes run true) and you can return them at any of their stores. The only problem I've seen is that they start at a size 8.

I have also had excellent luck at Nordstrom's - they come with a free return shipper. I also have fairly good luck with Naturalizers - you can also purchase online and return to the store.

For larger shoes, you may want to try individual brand websites, like Clarks, which list several website you can purchase from as well as area stores.
posted by blackkar at 11:01 AM on December 29, 2004