It's can be difficult to find the right sized shoe whether you have wide or narrow feet. The hardest sizes to find are usually wide sizes. Having large feet does not have to mean you should pay higher prices to have custom made shoes. There are many online shoe stores that concentrate on those hard to find sizes. In addition, a great many of those sites offer shoes at reasonable prices and are usually less than you find at a regular retail shoe store. While it is difficult for both men and women to find the right wide shoes and larger sizes, there are ways to get the shoe that will work best for you.

Strapless shoes and sandals are a great solution for anyone with wide feet wanting good looking shoes that fit well and work for all occasions. Sandals are readily available in large sizes, can be readily adjusted for a perfect fit, and generally cost less than conventional shoes. Slip-on shoes and sandals generally don't work as well, however, for athletic wear, formal wear, or for work. In this case, if you contact retailers online or via the mail, you will find that many offer the shoe sizes you need. It is just a matter of special ordering them, and they are often much less expensive than you may think.

As a general rule most retail stores stock few if any wide shoe, and if they do, it is not uncommon to find shoes on backorder, especially if the style is popular or trendy. In the case of online stores, there are generally two types of sites; there are sites that sell exclusively from stock and sites that ship directly from the manufacturer's warehouse. The latter is the best type of store for finding wide shoes as they can and often do offer every size and shape that the manufacturer has to offer. The drawback is that there is no way for the store to keep track of inventory so backordered shoes are more common. If you do have large or small feet, that it is no reflection on you as a person. It is easy to complain about your shoe size or to be embarrassed about having to buy larger shoes, but there is nothing you can do to change your feet. Instead, concentrate on getting yourself shoes that fit properly. Not only will you be able to walk in comfort, but if you are self conscious about how your shoes look, the best way to make them look "normal" is to wear the best fitting size possible.

Historically, to have wide feet often meant special orders, which also meant paying more. However, in the modern age that is not the case. While most local retail stores still don't stock wide shoes, most will special order for free, and if they don't every wide shoe imaginable is available for purchase online. Now find the shoe that fits you the best and get on with your life.