Do These Go to 11?

Shoe shopping has always been a challenge for me.  I’m 6 feet tall and, well, my feet are large.

My young nephew once marveled at their enormity in classic  Three Little Pigs fashion:  “Aunt Jenny, what big feet you have!”  I replied with:  “Big enough to keep me from tipping over.”  And they are, just.

I suppose that every woman thinks her shoe size is the one there is never enough of.  But those of us wearing anything larger than a 10 understand that, in most cases, there were never any available to begin with.

Nigel Tufnel This is Spinal Tap

"Do these go to 11?"

When I venture out and ask to see a shoe, I can’t help but put a little English on the question I repeat over and over: “Do these go to 11?”

Sometimes I get lucky.  Other times, not so much.  On those occasions I head home, fire up my MacBook and see what’s shaking at Zappos.

I discovered Zappos a few years ago.  I had my doubts about buying a shoe without first slipping it on.  But, since Zappos has a generous return policy and pays the shipping both ways, I figured what the heck?  There are thousands of styles to choose from in extended sizes — with an impressive range of width options.  And Zappos photos are well detailed, showing the shoes from every angle.  As such, there are more hits than misses.

These days, Zappos sells more than shoes.  So, before I finish writing this, I could quite possibly confide that, in addition to the  “5 ballet flats (12 Days of Christmas style), 4 smart work pumps, 3 sling backs, 2 stiletto heels,” I could already quite possibly have ordered the printed fabric hobo bag bearing the image of “a partridge in a pear tree.”

Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    Since writing this piece, I have discovered a fantastic source for wide calf boots: OneStopPlus.com. They offer amazing styles for Fall. And they fit!

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