Where To Find Cute Shoes Over Size 10

I’ve always been a tall girl- the tallest girl in the class, the tallest on the soccer team, the tallest in the family. By 3rd grade I wore a size 7 shoe, so I’d steal my aunt’s shoes and wear them to school- the cutest platform sandals ever, that no 3rd grader should be wearing, let alone to run around the playground. My battle with big feet has been a life-long challenge, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re also on #TeamBigFeet, finding cute shoes in your size is possible!

At 5 feet 10 inches (yep, I’m almost six feet tall!), I wear a size 12 shoe. Of my 4 sisters who all teeter around 5 feet 7 inches, most of them wear a size 10 shoe. My mom, who’s 5 feet 8, wears a 10 wide, and my dad wears a men’s 12 at 5 feet 9, so the big feet curse is certainly hereditary. (My husband is also tall with big feet, so while Narayan isn’t even 2 years old yet, he wears a size 8.5 shoe, which is the average shoe size of a 4 year old)!

Junior high was rough. I remember going back to school shopping and not being able to find any size 11’s, so I would squeeze my feet into size 10’s and have trouble walking around campus. By the time P.E. rolled around midday, I was relieved to take off my shoes and walk around the gym barefoot for the few minutes I had before putting on sneakers that were also at least a size too small. After spraining both feet from stuffing them into shoes that didn’t fit, I saw a podiatrist who warned me that if I didn’t stop squishing my feet into shoes, I would develop hammer toe and much worse. At that moment, I made it my mission to find shoes that fit, and it was HARD, so say the least.

By High School my foot was a true 12, but I could stand to wear an 11, so I was happy with Sketchers and cute flats and sandals I’d find at Payless, along with a couple UK brands I found in San Francisco at some of the upscale boutiques. Until I found Steve Madden, I really didn’t have any hope of ever wearing shoes that were cute and actually fit comfortably. During college I lived in flip-flops, so shoes that fit properly weren’t that important, but once I entered the working world, I needed shoes appropriate for the office. Thankfully, Nordstrom came to the rescue with a few brands that exceeded size 11, which today has grown into a long list of brands that carry some amazing styles in my size 12 and beyond. From that point on, I found countless brands that carried 12’s and my shoe closet continues to grow, sometimes with the same shoe in multiple colors!