Did your feet grow in your 40s? - YouLookFab Forum

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Did your feet grow in your 40s?

MuseumGal

Veteran

I am 46, and my feet have grown a solid half size over the last two or three years. It's been slow but sure. Yes I am heavier than I used to be and that is part of it, but I've been this heavy before, and my feet were not this size! All summer long I've been noticing that my toes were peeking over the edges of my sandals (that previously fit just fine), and last winter I had to get rid of several pair of beloved boots b/c my toes were uncomfortably smooshed even though I'd worn them with no problem in previous winters.

Ah well. I'm looking at this as an opportunity to start and entirely new collection of footwear from scratch that fit well, are comfortable, and look fabulous. I'd been thinking that my footwear needs to be upgraded anyway - I'm getting a little long in the tooth for the maryjanes that have dominated my wardrobe.

Is this common? Something that happens with perimenopause??

Dressing

23 replies

Latest reply was from Janet

Anonymous

I think it's pretty common. I have noticed that I need a half size up in certain shoe styles, but it sounds like you need a different size to the ones you already own. I'd take it as a lovely excuse to go shopping and try some new styles!

Adelfa

Veteran

I used to size up half a size less than 10% of the time. I recently noticed that now I'm sizing up 90% of the time! I'm in my 50s though

Peri

Veteran

Yes, I think this is pretty well documented. One of the joys of aging. Ligaments and arches spread out resulting in changing shoe size. And the reason feet hurt too. No fair!

Dana

(website)

Veteran

I used to wear an 8 or 8.5, but now it's almost alway an 8.5; however, I don't recall if I grew out of any shoes. Anyway, it makes shoe shopping quicker.

Amy

(website)

Veteran

Yes. I've gone up half a size.

Anonymous

Um, no actually. Same size as always and I'm 50 next year.

kkards

Veteran

yup, i was always a 6, then i started to need a 6.5 sometimes, then almost always. i thought it was age, but in add't to hitting 40, i was also putting on some weight. and in the last 2 years, i've dropped all that weight, and now i've noticed that some of the 6.5's are to big, and i'm only buying 6's.

Anonymous

Yep - from a 6.5 to a 7.5. Not good for short little me.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Dammit. I didn't know this could happen. I thought I did well to get through pregnancy without changing shoe size, and now I have something new to worry about...

Wendi1984

Not dramatically so far, although I do occasionally need a 7.5 instead of a 7. But I'm only 46, so there's still time.

cciele

Veteran

I've also been getting shoes half size up, but mainly to accommodate bunions (which I guess come with age!).

Mo

(website)

Veteran

Not yet - I'm 43 and holding steady.

fern

Veteran

Up half a size - and that's in the 2 years since I started upgrading my shoe wardrobe after I turned 40. It's been hard to say goodbye to my now slightly-too-small shoes. Most are fine though, since I do look for a roomy toe box when I'm purchasing.
Also, I went for a couple of therapeutic massages for my knee pain and he worked on my arches & foot tendons too, so all my shoes feel a little different.

MuseumGal

Veteran

You all have put my mind at ease that this is common (if not universal). Thank you!

One good thing about going up half a size is now that I can wear men's shoes more easily. I just bought a new pair of every day shoes - men's black leather and tweeds wingtips from Bass. Got them half price, and I LURVE them.

http://www.ghbass.com/shop/men.....=CLLE2pD-j

dakotacheryl

Veteran

I've recently turned 56 and I'm in the same shoe size as the 8th grade...that's the only thing about me that's the same size LOL.

rachylou

Veteran

Strangely, my feet seem to have shrunk. Methinks people have been foolin' with their size numbers.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I have seen my feet grow from being a teenager. I was tiny then, like a 5.5. Then I moved into a 6 in my 20s and 30s. And I was not heavier than a teenager. Now I have one bunion growing, and am 10-15 lbs. heavier, and have a great desire to add insoles to any shoe I can get away with so I the majority of time I buy a 6.5 now. I am 55.

By the same token, my hands have gotten bigger as well. Rings that fit me easily in my 30s are hard to get on. Or I have to put them on another finger. If you look at the hands of some 80 year olds, their knuckles become huge. Just part of normal aging I guess.

MsLuna

Veteran

I'm in my early mid-30's but my feet have grown a full size up since 2007 (when I ran for exercise). I do wonder too if walking a lot contributes to increased foot size. Since moving to Canada almost a decade ago, I've been walking almost everywhere!

DonnaF

Veteran

Yup; this happened to my brother who has never been pregnant. He also grew .5 - 1 inch in his forties. I keep hoping to have a growth spurt, too. It didn't happen in my 40s or 50s so I'm holding out for one in my 60s. Instead, in the past decade I've shrunk .5".

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

My feet have dropped half a size.

Thistle

Veteran

My feet grew while pregnant but have since settled back to their pre-pregnancy size. Still, my shoes choices have changed a great deal as I chase a toddler now!

Anonymous

Yes. I suppose we can once again thank gravity. In my 20's -40 I was a solid size 7 on the narrow side and continued the same even in pregnancies and after. Late 40's-50's it crept up so that now I'm usually an 8 and wider than I was. Meanwhile my height has shrunk an inch. i'm turning into a Hobbit. Nothing stays the same.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

My feet haven't grown (I'm 48) nor have they gotten bigger from running, which some people warned me would happen. However, I am getting less likely to tolerate any discomfort in my footwear, so I sometimes opt for a half-size up in a shoe or boot to give myself a little more wiggle room (I'll just add thicker socks). I just replaced my old hiking boots with some a full size up from my old size, because I've gotten accustomed to that fit in my running shoes. In my old hiking boots, I could definitely feel my toes hit the front of the boot when going downhill, and that's not so good. I can't believe I lived with that for so many years.