Shoes for fussy wide feet with narrow ankles! - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Shoes for fussy wide feet with narrow ankles!

birdie99

Hey YLF community, I hope you can help me out! I have a new job in a conservative place that will require me to wear closed in shoes/low-mid dress heels. I find shoes very hard as have long toes, a wide forefront and narrow ankles and most new shoes are uncomfortable. Shoes with a strap are normally best but gosh I’d love to wear pumps or something fashionable. Anyone got any gems they can recommend? Thank you!

General

16 replies

Latest reply was from Joy

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

When you say narrow 'ankles', do you also mean the heels of your feet are smaller proportionally to your wider forefoot (like duck feet), or is it just the ankle bone (above the foot)?

birdie99

Oh dear, yes I think they might be duck feet!

birdie99

No no, I’m looking again and think it’s just my ankles are narrow which is why shoes just slip straight off.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

First, do you have any brands (or styles) that do tend to work for your feet? Even if not dressy shoes...just shoes that work and feel good. That will help us.

I'm not sure I understand your point about ankles because usually only boots would cover the ankle, not shoes, no?

birdie99

Hello Suz, sure - I should say I’m
In Australia so normally buy shoes here. I had one pair of Aquatalia boots that fit well but don’t have any other overseas brands to compare.

I end up wearing sling backs with adjustable straps as otherwise my heels just slip straight out. But sling backs are not comfortable (or at least I haven’t found any that are wide and comfy in the front) and my long toes get squashed.

Does that help? Thank you!!!

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Hmm I think I understand - I have a wider forefoot but narrower heels & ankles, yet my heels do stick out a little at the back (so I can wear slingbacks & ankle straps if they're adjustable). I'm a D-E width with 'average' toe length - Attaching a photo for you to judge lol.

My go-to brand is FitFlop's shoes & 'proper' sandals (not their flip-flops), because they have that adjustable back strap you mentioned & are comfy.

Some of their styles do look orthopedic, but it really does vary (not sure of their Australian selection but I've bought them in Hong Kong & the UK). See also: Some leather boots I own from them.

This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

birdie99

Those toes look good to me! And what lovely boots. Thank you for the brand suggestion.

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Thanks haha - no idea if your toes are much longer than mine, but if you have a similar foot shape then hopefully FitFlop should work for you too!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Hi Birdie from a Kiwi. Could you put a bit of info in your profile possibly? Even just Australia helps. Do you look at Styletread? You can do quite a lot of filtering on that site, I have ordered quite a few pairs there with a good success rate. Could you consider a Mary Jane kind of pump? The straps might help them stay on?

birdie99

Thank you Kiwi Jenni, I do use Style Tread but so much of it has to go back. Thanks for the tip to add info. I’ll do that now. x

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Great! Just saw the info. Thanks.
I am sorry so many Styletread purchases have had to go back

kkards

Veteran

Is there a really good shoe store near you? And by near you, I’m thinking with in a 2-3 hour drive. Because I think this is something that you would benefit from trying multiple pairs at the same time, and hopefully with a shoe professionals guidance. Then hopefully you’ll have some brands/styles that you know work and you can than order online

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I searched for you, found some Diana Ferrari Mary Jane type pumps with low heels and a strap and some reviews saying they “ran big” on Styletread- which might help the long toes? They were quite plain in blush, stone or black.Looked fashionable to me! But I like KKards’ idea of a store maybe, a biggish shoe store or department store, to get an initial idea?
Do you live anywhere near a David Jones?

anne

Veteran

I am also Australian, and have the wide feet, narrow ankle combination.Not long toes though. I wear orthotcs, which adds my extra element of shoe difficulty.

It's difficult, and I just get shoes with straps and they aren't fashion stars. I often shop at Paul Carroll and have sometimes got something like this https://www.paulcarroll.com.au.....5?nav=5876
if you were allowed sling backs, https://www.paulcarroll.com.au.....4?nav=5876, although I am not sure about the long toe fit.

Carol

(website)

Veteran

I'm no expert, but I used to wear Dexflex all the time, a Payless comfort brand. Many are still available on Poshmark, etc. even though Payless went out of business. Some are still new, too. I liked that they were reasonably fashionable, and I could get around in them. They had regular and wide.

Joy

Veteran

Buy a hole punch and use it for adjusting straps I find erring on the side of too long makes for a best fit.