Shoes!
Everything I say below is based upon my own experience and may not work for everyone. One has to experiment, and experiment and if not sure experiment some more. Being Trans or a Crossdresser is not cheap.
Buying women’s shoes can be very tricky. The rule of thumb appears to be that the male foot is three sizes larger than woman’s. [Editor’s Note: we have found that if you wear an 11 in a men’s size you will need a 12 or 12.5 in a women’ size. Your feet may vary.] This is a very loose specification but is not a bad place to start. The best piece of advice I can offer, when shoe buying is go to the shoe store dressed en-femme. Even then one has to be careful. Leather shoes stretch but plastic shoes tend not to. So this must be taken into consideration when trying to get a good fit. It is not as easy to stretch a plastic shoe as a leather one.
When buying online if you are worried about the size buy two pairs and return the one that doesn’t fit as well as one would like. (Only do this, if you know you can easily return the pair that does not fit). This is a lot of work so I say again, if you can, go to the store.
So, one has to decide what type of shoe one wants. The main criteria here is for what purpose the shoes are to be worn. For casual, flats, low heels or even sneakers would be appropriate.
Kitten Heel
For more formal occasions heels are probably required. The height of the heels is of paramount importance. I think I can safely say that the older one becomes the lower the heel. The type of heel is also an important decision. At one time I could wear narrow heels but now I have to think in terms of the width. Recently I wore a sandal with a very narrow heel and spent the whole evening wobbling about in a very embarrassed condition. So be very careful with the selection of heel height and width. If it is necessary to wear clunky heels so be it.
Wedge sandals can be quite comfortable as can sandals with chunky heels. Pumps are a different matter all together. I find that pumps with a heel, even though one thinks they fit at the point of buying, tend to grow in length due to the foot being pushed down toward the toe of the shoe. Sometimes a heel pad will fix this but more often than not one has to pack the toe of the shoe with tissue paper to hold the foot in place. I have tried pads designed to prevent this happening. They stick to the area inside the shoe where the ball of the foot normally goes and are supposed to stop the foot sliding down the shoe. I have never been successful with them.
Wedge Heel
There is nothing worse than going out for an evening and walking out of your shoes all the time.
Some time ago I bought a pair of sandals from a U.S. company called Zapatos, at one time they shipped to Canada but regretfully stopped. These sandals have a wide heel but looking from the side the heel looks quite narrow. I love them except for one reason. The cross straps are quite narrow and cut into my foot even though it is only a 2 inch heel. So if you suffer with tender tootsies buy sandals with wider cross straps.
As I stated earlier try to buy shoes, and most clothing for that matter, when you are dressed. Use discount stores if you are not too proud. I have found a lot of stores, including the big chains tend to limit there maximum size to female 10. This to me is too small so one has to search the Net for stores or outlets which sell the larger sizes. Again buying online has its problems. However, a large number of stores which specialize in CD clothing usually sell the larger sizes of women’s shoes, even tho’ they can look somewhat vampy. You usually pay shipping costs, and if they don’t fit one has to pay to ship them back.
Chunky Heel Sandal
There are a couple of brands which I know make larger size shoes. Ross Hamerson, Clarks, and Shoes of Prey. Shoes of Prey are a custom online supplier. One has to provide an accurate outline of the foot. There are many others and if the shoe makers are wise they will produce more larger sized shoes as women are tending to get bigger.
If your new shoes are a little tight stretching is of course an option. Most shoe repair outlets will do this for you at a nominal charge, or one can purchase a device that fits in the shoe like an expandable wedge which will stretch shoes. An unusual method , but reasonably effective is by putting the shoes in the freezer. I feel the eyes rolling in the top of the head here. Get a clear plastic sandwich baggy with a ziplock top. Fill the baggy with water, make sure it doesn’t leak, pack it in the toe of the subject shoes and put them the freezer. When it is close to the freezing point water expands so that the ice actually grows in size. Ergo, it puts pressure on the inside of the shoe and will stretch it a little.
There is nothing worse than going out for an evening than wearing uncomfortable shoes. If they begin to hurt they take the edge off the whole evening and can make one quite miserable. Try very hard to buy shoes that look good and are kind to you. Its hardly appropriate wearing Sketchers’ sneakers with your favorite outfit.
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Category: Style, Transgender Fashion
About the Author (Author Profile)
I was born in England in 1935 and spent fourteen years in British Navy starting in 1951. I married in 1958 and stayed that way for 51 years. My wife gave me 3 sons all now in their fifties, only one knows of my little pecadilo. Four grand children all in or completed University. I emigrated to Canada in 1968. Worked for the oil, gas and power industries until I retired at 66. My first wife died of cancer in 2009. I was introduced to Gail by a mutual friend and we have been together six years and married for three. Gail was aware of my crossdressing before we married and supports it wholeheartedly with some rules. I have to be Paul some of the time, which is fair. I am a Libra and I own it.Subscribe
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Thank you for our comment Tasi. I would suggest you try on line shopping. Tricky but possible. Although I am not sure how you would deal with North American vendors in Mexico. I do envy you living where you do.
Hugs, Pauline
Ah shoes, the bane of our existence. All good advice, Pauline. For those hgirls that might want to know more, check out my post on All About Shoes in the Sister House Library (https://www.sisterhouse.net/library/category/all-about/shoes/)o The problem I had was moving to a permanently warmer climate when I retired and wearing sandals all the time. My feet got wider and I assure you, finding a women’s 11WW in Mexico is a near impossibility. It’s too bad because the women here in Merida love their shoes and the more decoration, the better.