Ha, it's not creepy at all Nicole. It's actually very sweet and I do appreciate it. My own mother thinks I'm using my painful feet as an excuse to buy more shoes, so I'm glad SOMEONE understands!
Well, today I went brick-and-mortar store and found some shoes that I think will make everyone here cringe, but I swear they are actually pretty comfortable (at least in the limited amount of time that I have worn them):
http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/2.....18898.html
If you look at the ratings, it says most people found them wider than marked. The key to these is that 1) the tender spot on my troublesome pinky toe falls right in between the front straps, so there isn't any rubbing or pinching...and b) I was able to go up a size without having to worry about the back slipping off. All I have to do is add an extra hole. They do look a bit big, but only if someone is paying a disturbing amount of attention to my feet.
I am 90% sure I'm going to keep them. I have only worn them around the house though, so I'm afraid the slingback might rub after a while. I did, however, arm myself with some moleskins which I plan to cut into thin strips and apply to the insides if necessary. The front straps do not hurt or dig at all. I am seriously thinking of duct taping the soles and going for a walk in the mall to see how they work out. But the padding is actually quite good and I have flat feet so the lack of arch support is fine.
Before that I tried on some thong sandals at DSW. My pinky toe was hanging off the edge of the shoe. It was really very unattractive, for lack of a better word. In all fairness they were Sofft sandals and a medium width, so maybe a wide would have helped. But I wasn't really feeling them anyway. They looked too flipfloppy.
Funny you should mention stretchy fabric. I was just thinking today about those Steve Madden slides everyone had circa 2001. They were soooo comfortable.
http://bp3.blogger.com/_tVDPtb.....nt_300.jpg
Apparently they are still sold but the heel seems to have gotten bigger and I wish they came in other colors.
I don't think 2 different sizes would help. Like I said, I have the Me Too shoes in a 6 and a 6.5. The 6.5 fits both of my feet superbly in the toe box, but there's a huge amount of space in the back. The 6's are too tight in the toe area, but at least they stay on my foot. I keep meaning to try getting them stretched but I always leave them at home. Next week for sure. All I can say is it makes me sad for anyone who has to use that website.
I have one pair of 6WW shoes which have a good 2 fingers worth of space in the back. The problem with wide or WW shoes is that they are wide all over...not just at the toe box. So they usually just fall off in the back. I'm thinking of ordering the Naturalizer Voss that Angie recommended because it's a mary jane style and maybe the strap will keep it more secure. But in my experience Naturalizer always runs narrow.
I have been on designershoes.com and it is fussy foot central. Footsmart is also for fussy feet but it has some of the most god awful hideous shoes on the planet (Crocs, for example).
Anyway, I'm going to live in my Ecco sandals this weekend and hopefully they'll get a pass. They look sooo cute with my favorite skirt that I posted, so I'm already getting attached to them. It's like getting married. Really. Gosh that was a long post.
