Sentiments of a Gal with Wide Feet

I have big or rather wide feet! I say this because I find it hard to find shoes, which I like that fit comfortably. I am a size 7. However, when I try on shoes, I end up facing the decision to purchase a size 8, 9 or even 10 just so the shoes can accommodate my wide feet but at the disadvantage of having that extra length. If I do decide to buy the bigger sized shoes, I take the risk of tripping or losing the aesthetic value of the shoes.

My professor in college said that wide feet and splayed toes may have an anthropological basis. In the highlands, where people engage in farming by terracing the mountainside, they had to use their feet to brace themselves in navigating the muddy mountainside to prevent slipping or falling. In the context of evolution, the body has a way of adopting to the environment. As the years pass, people developed wider feet and splayed toes to make it easier to climb the muddy mountain side while tilling or planting rice, fruits and vegetables. This genetic adaptation then became transmitted to the succeeding generations. As you might have guessed, I am belong to the succeeding generation of Igorots. If this is the case, then I can't do anything to change this physical characteristic except perhaps through an operation, which I am not willing to take.

Meanwhile, I have to go around this trait. This means preferring open shoes or sandals that let my feet breath. Recently, I purchased these purty (pretty) sandals or tsinelas from a supermart. The design and color caught my attention. I grabbed a size that looks wide enough and surely it did. It costs $2 (100 pesos). You can find similar items for the same or cheaper prices in other stores. Its really very pretty and it does not make my feet look that big (although they still look big : )

Another means of dealing with this problem is to find double wide shoe stores online, unless you can find such stores in Philippine malls.

You can also try shoe brands selling soft leather shoes such as Hush Puppies and Naturalizer, go for cloth-made shoes, or find your own pretty tsinelas.

Don't forget to inform me if you find shoe stores or brands that accommodate people with wide feet... Thanks! Ciao!