WOMEN'S SHOES Sizes aren't keeping pace

Women's feet are getting bigger, but shoe manufacturers aren't keeping up.
By LEIGH GROGAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Feet, don't fail me now. I must squeeeeeeze into these size 8s!"
Call it vanity, call it pride, call it painful. The fact is, our feet are getting bigger as the decades pass -- and shoes aren't keeping pace.
Just try shopping for a fashionable pair of women's size 12 or 13. Podiatrists say American women are smushing their feet into too-small shoes, leading to painful hammertoes and bruised egos.
The average American woman wears a size 9 today. That compares with a size 51/2 or 6 in the 1960s, according to the Professional Shoe Fitting Manual, a shoe-size training book by podiatric historian William Rossi.
Guys, too
Men's feet have grown, too, but not as much as women's, according to the National Shoe Retailers Association. The average American man wears a half size larger -- a 10 or 101/2 -- compared with 20 years ago.
This widening and lengthening of feet is part of a head-to-toe expansion nationwide. Americans overall are simply getting bigger.
Adults are about an inch taller and close to 25 pounds heavier than in the 1960s, according to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Podiatrists say that a larger girth, combined with daily plodding over hard surfaces such as concrete and shopping mall floors, forces the foot to flatten and lengthen.
That's one reason for the increase in shoe size. Other factors include genetics, pregnancy and, some say, the passage of Title IX, which put more teen girls on hard playing surfaces, such as basketball and volleyball courts. Nutrition also plays a part. Dr. Stephen Medawar is a podiatrist with the University of California-Davis Medical Center in Carmichael. He says children are eating better and growing faster than their parents.
"They get more protein, take more vitamins and then there are the hormones fed to fatten the chickens and turkeys they consume," he says. "I have to believe that's having an effect, too."
While the bigger-feet trend marches on, shoe manufacturers have been dragging their own feet to respond in a fashionable manner.
Clothes call
Contrast this with the apparel industry, which continues to answer the demand for plus-size clothing for both business and casual needs. Stores such as Avenue, Irene's Fashions at Large, Catherines, Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant and specialty lines such as Doncaster clothe women up to size 34 in attractive fashions.
But when it comes to footwear for bigger feet, you're more likely to hear the words "sensible shoes," "old-lady shoes," "clodhoppers" or sporting terms such as "boats and skis."
When a shoe manufacturer actually creates a fun, sexy shoe in, say, a size 11 or 12, stores traditionally don't buy enough. So unless you're camped out in the stockroom, these styles and sizes disappear fast.
Barbara Thornton is founder and president of DesignerShoes.com. The footprint lingo is her mantra. Her Web site sells women's shoes sizes 8 to 15 in a variety of widths, and she owns a store in Boston.
Thornton wears a size 111/2, so she considers herself an expert on the subject.
"We're known for selling shoes that women haven't been able to find," she says from Boston. "You know, girly shoes. Think about a woman with a size 12 foot. Where will she find attractive shoes? She might shop catalogs for boring old-lady shoes or visit the men's department and buy a pair of Cole Hahn loafers to wear with a pantsuit.
"The alternative is something fun and sexy, which is what she should have."
On the Web site, the Valentina-style footwear is just that. There are sassy tweed pumps, slingbacks with satin ruffles and paisley suede boots.
Thornton's customers shop online. They also take trains, planes and cars to get to her store.
"We had one woman who moved to New York City, and her foot grew two sizes, probably from all the walking," Thornton says.
Like many women with larger feet, Thornton once wore shoes that were too small. She believes women tend to think that if they have bigger feet, they'll just fit in the biggest size out there, and often it is a size 10.
Sore subject
"Because of that, I have all sorts of foot problems from wearing too-small shoes," she says.
Wedging feet into too-small shoes can lead to all manner of foot-related problems such as hammertoes, corns and bunions.
Podiatrist Medawar says there are technically 28 measurement points on a foot, but most people don't take the time to get fitted properly.
"If the shoe is too small, the foot pronates, or rolls over, against the ground," he says. "The longer the foot is in this confined space, the greater the chance for problems to occur."