Difference in shoe sizes

Lullabelle

Lullabelle

Midlands, England
Joined
14 Oct 2012
Local time
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9,440
Location
Leicester UK
This afternoon we went into a garden centre for some plants, Mountain Warehouse have some space in there so we went and had a look because I am after light weight walking shoes for our holiday later in the year. We found the perfect pair, size 5 was a bit too snug whereas size 6 was perfect. Whilst trying them on my husband found some walking sandals, again something I want, they are a size 4!

All the shoes I own range from size 4-6, depending on the style and make. No wonder I find shoe buying such a chore.
 
TBH I find the same with clothes - I mean seriously what does 'medium' mean ?? I have had coats labeled 'small' which fit perfectly and some others I have had to buy 'large' [and I do NOT regard myself as 'large' for a man]. Why can't they label the things with measurements and then we all know what we are looking at ?
 
Buying clothes is such a problem. One of my favourite dresses is a size 12 and fits perfectly, where other clothes I have got are a size 18 and barely fit. And one of my granddaughters who is almost the same size as me takes a size 6! I know they changed the way they size clothes a couple of years ago, but this is ridiculous.

As for shoes, I usually wear trainers these days but even they vary according to the make. Just to make things even more difficult, I am left-footed, and my left foot is one size larger than my right. The last time I went shoe shopping in actual shops, I spent two days going around every single shoe shop in the area. In the end I walked into one and told the assistant that if she could find a pair of shoes that fitted me, I would buy them. She brought me a pair of boys shoes - not much different to the ankle boots that were all the rage at the time. They fitted perfectly and, because they were children's shoes, they were a lot cheaper than the adult equivalent.

I also bought a pair of boots from a fetish shop :D I had no problem with the fit - they were open-toed and open-heeled. They had 4" heels and were so comfortable it was unreal. My manager told me they were unsuitable for work - her boss (one of the directors at the hospital) over-rode her, said they were lovely and asked me where I got them from :roflmao:
 
Elawin said:
I know they changed the way they size clothes a couple of years ago, but this is ridiculous.
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Isn't it something to do with realignment of what is considered "normal" size in the new, obesity dominated world? Yesterday my wife (who is, and mostly always has been a size 10) went to buy some new dress shorts. She tried on a pair of size 8's - they were huge - she ended up with size 6's!
 
sidevalve said:
That is way too much information :eek:
I must admit to being baffled by the difference in shoe sizes between USA and Britain and Europe - I mean why ? Surely every manufacturer wants to sell his product all over the world so why not standardize the sizes
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I prefer the European sizes, but the ones that fit me best are not normally obtainable in the UK - UK sellers only seem to stock the ones that are the equivalent of UK sizes, so I'm still stuck.
sidevalve said:
That is way too much information :eek:
I must admit to being baffled by the difference in shoe sizes between USA and Britain and Europe - I mean why ? Surely every manufacturer wants to sell his product all over the world so why not standardize the sizes
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I prefer the European sizes because they are a nearer match for my feet. Unfortunately most UK stockists only stock the European sizes equivalent to the UK ones, which defeats the object.
The best fitting shoes I have ever found were some of the Austrian wooden sandals, where you go in the shop and choose a "blank" the size of your feet and they are finished off for you, or the Japanese ones which are really only a flat piece of wood on blocks with a strap. Unfortunately I cannot afford to have shoes made especially for me.
 
I own 2 pairs of shorts that were purchased from Next, different styles but 1 pair is 12 and the other 14, both fit really well.
 
epicuric said:
Isn't it something to do with realignment of what is considered "normal" size in the new, obesity dominated world? Yesterday my wife (who is, and mostly always has been a size 10) went to buy some new dress shorts. She tried on a pair of size 8's - they were huge - she ended up with size 6's!
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Yes but some of the store "own label" clothes still vary in size, presumably because of whoever manufactured them. I bought a couple of dresses in M&S - one fitted perfectly, the other seemed OK until I got it home and it split when I tried to turn round to reach something. M&S were adamant they were not going to change it because it was the same size as the other one I'd bought. In the end a supervisor got a good old-fashioned tape measure out and compared the two. It was replaced immediately with a size larger.
 
Elawin said:
I also bought a pair of boots from a fetish shop :D I had no problem with the fit - they were open-toed and open-heeled. They had 4" heels and were so comfortable it was unreal. My manager told me they were unsuitable for work - her boss (one of the directors at the hospital) over-rode her, said they were lovely and asked me where I got them from :roflmao:
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I love it! After all though, its the toes and heels that tend to be the uncomfortable bits so it makes sense they were comfy - but didn't they have stiletto heels?
 
Elawin said:
Yes but some of the store "own label" clothes still vary in size, presumably because of whoever manufactured them. I bought a couple of dresses in M&S - one fitted perfectly, the other seemed OK until I got it home and it split when I tried to turn round to reach something. M&S were adamant they were not going to change it because it was the same size as the other one I'd bought. In the end a supervisor got a good old-fashioned tape measure out and compared the two. It was replaced immediately with a size larger.
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I use M&S for their bra fitting service and underwear. Both are way better than any other store. The store in our town is like going back into the 1950's! Their clothes are so old fashioned however the store at the closer retail park is more up to date but their clothes are still behind the times.

It will be a shame to see them go but they haven"t moved very far forward.

Their beef and onion crisps are delicious :happy:
 
morning glory said:
I love it! After all though, its the toes and heels that tend to be the uncomfortable bits so it makes sense they were comfy - but didn't they have stiletto heels?
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The heels were a little bit chunkier than stilettos - and they were fabric too, which made a lot of difference. They were like these but with lower, slimmer heels

boots.jpg
 
...if you Google dress shorts, men's shorts come up not women's. However, Wiki says:

Bermuda shorts, also known as walk shorts[1] or dress shorts, are a particular type of short trousers, worn as semi-casual attire by both men and women. The hem, which can be cuffed or un-cuffed, is around 1 inch above the knee.
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