"I am so excited to be able to finally talk to someone with not only the same issue as me but the exact same issue as me, like the size 7 and the size 9, and like maybe we can do some online shopping together soon," said Gray.Both women have always had to buy 2 pairs of the same shoe every time they bought shoes. The women found each other through the internet. (Here's the Facebook group: flip flopped feet.) But why doesn't the internet give us a shoe store that lets you buy shoes mixing the sizes? Why can't Zappos mix sizes?
In fact, why isn't custom-sized clothing much more of a thing on the internet? Sizing is extremely important with shoes, which are not stretchy like so many clothes and which can't be taken to a tailor for altering, but I've been wondering why the opportunity isn't seized to make perfectly fitting clothing. How many women buy poorly sized pants because their waist/hip ratio is different from what's in the conventional sizing?
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My Granddaughter has this problem, but so far, it's only one size delta
Having 13 8E feet is hard to find also. They closed the last Alley Oop shoe store at the end of the Eemian
Here’s a guess as to why no industry has built up around this. For those with a small size difference between the feet finding a par that is “good enough” for both feet is an option. For a slightly larger difference perhaps a thicker sock on the smaller foot will suffice. For large differences like these two women, it may be that the condition is too rare to support a business.
BTW, there custom shoe makers that will make shoes to fit each foot separately. Unlike mass produced consumer shoes, they ain’t cheap.
Howard,
14 petite is hard to find also.
"Having 13 8E feet is hard to find also."
Until he overshared on the internet, no one knew Howard was a tredec-pede.
Yes, I'm guessing that the service of mixing pairs (say, at Zappos) would be so expensive that the option of buying 2 pairs of shoes is actually the most efficient thing.
And you're right that for most people with different sized feet, it's not such a big difference, like we're seeing with Jess and Genene.
It makes standing in Tree Pose easy.
There's no such problem with condoms.
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any shoes?
Yes, sir, yes, sir,
Three bags full
Know that feel, sis. For ordinary purposes one size will do, but for shoes that *must* fit well - boots for long-distance hikes - I get two pairs. I'm told that Vasque used to be willing to sell you boots of different sizes. Don't know if they still do, and Vasque boots don't suit me, anyway.
I'm always telling myself that one of these days, if I'm feeling prosperous, I'm going to splurge on custom leather hiking boots, the kind that can be worn and repaired forever. I'll have myself buried in them.
Lands End has long sold affordable dress shirts fitted to neck, sleeve length and body shape. I needed the trim fit with extra long sleeves, most dress shirts look like tents on me.
I think it is mainly an expense thing. I doubt you could stay in business. But! If you know a tailor and a cobbler, I say we give it a whirl next to the Amazon link.
I've been wondering why the opportunity isn't seized to make perfectly fitting clothing. How many women buy poorly sized pants because their waist/hip ratio is different from what's in the conventional sizing?
There are online custom tailoring sites. You send them your measurements, they send you the jacket or skirt or whatever. Haven't tried 'em, so don't know how satisfactory a non-hands-on fit can be.
A few years ago, shopping for clothes, I came upon a clothing manufacturer's blog and got sucked in. Very illuminating discussions about why globalisation of manufacturing and long supply chains have led to much less choice and much lower quality in clothing. (And that bloody spandex in every bloody thing.)
So take heed, take heed of the western wind
Take heed of the storm arises
And yes, there’s something you can send back to me
Various boots of various sizes
Blogger rhhardin said...
There's no such problem with condoms.
I have a 38-yo son that proves you wrong.
If only Howard could buy his condoms by the baker's dozen.
"(And that bloody spandex in every bloody thing.)"
Yeah, doesn't Sleepy Joe Biden know it!
My great aunt needed one shoe to have a heel more than an inch taller. She died in 1972, and we found a big box of worn pre-war shoes that she couldn't throw out. She had a related? problem that made her knees go akimbo as she aged.
I haven't seen a men's narrow in over 30 years.
Tank: Lands End has long sold affordable dress shirts fitted to neck, sleeve length and body shape. I needed the trim fit with extra long sleeves, most dress shirts look like tents on me.
Are they still keeping up the quality in their men's clothes? It's my impression that, for a lot of sellers, the quality of the men's lines has been maintained better than that for the women's, which have completely gone to hell. (Land's End is a big offender here. For years I bought their long sleeve ribbed tees for winter - high quality durable cotton, excellent fit. Now complete crap.)
Maybe men won't buy crap, but women will, so it's just good business sense to sell them Walmart-quality clothes at non-Walmart prices.
To make shoes of odd sizes and widths is expensive and the market is limited. That's why there are relatively few styles in the odd sizes and widths and those are usually styles that can be sold for a number seasons to recover the extra production costs. As for differential sizes, no producer in his or hers right mind will bother with that. It's the equivalent of disposing of one pair of shoes. In other words, the supplier would have to charge the retailer twice as much and the retailer would have to charge twice as much so the consumer would pay twice as much so there is no gain to the consumer.
3-D printing will soon solve this "problem"
You can buy completely visually customized Vans for about 2x the shoe cost.
If you take a look at this video of their production process you can see why it’s more expensive.
https://youtu.be/_R-BD2DY46I
-XC
My son has ranted for years that bricks and mortar clothing retailers must be successfully maintaining an inefficient system. Any given store can only have limited stock. If you are lucky, they will call another store in the chain; less lucky, wait for what you want to come in; unlucky, start again with another store. Today's technology should make it possible to take a number of useful measurements of your body. Once those are stored, you should be able to click shirt--me, or pants--me, or yes, shoes--me.
Is it more a female thing than a male thing to want to try everything on? Is this because of hard experience with things not really fitting?
Maybe men won't buy crap, but women will, so it's just good business sense to sell them Walmart-quality clothes at non-Walmart prices.
The L L Bean flannel shirt my brother gave me for Christmas is nowhere near as good as the ones he gave in the 90's. Those still look new.
A guy walks into a bar wearing one shoe and the bartender asks him, "Hey, did you lose a shoe?" and the guy says "No, I found one."
People with a peg leg would have a similar problem. Maybe she could team up with them.
For many years, I have carped about women's sizes. Depending on the designer or manufacturer, I can wear an 8, 10, 12 or 14. It is impossible to buy clothes on line because you have to guess if they run small, run large, run long, or run short. I'm lucky that I work from home and live in shorts, jeans, and t shirts mostly.
And can women please get pockets? Real pockets, not sewn over seams or pockets that only fit your fingertips!
Lands End has long sold affordable dress shirts fitted to neck, sleeve length and body shape. I needed the trim fit with extra long sleeves, most dress shirts look like tents on me.
Yes! My waist size suggests a 6 foot tall beanpole, but I’m a 5’7” runt. Lands End shortens the trousers. Wonderful.
Tank: Lands End has long sold affordable dress shirts fitted to neck, sleeve length and body shape. I needed the trim fit with extra long sleeves, most dress shirts look like tents on me.
I've lost about 45 pounds over the past year and have replaced most of my clothes. I've been getting all my new slacks and jeans from Land's End because they sell lengths in 1/4 inch increments. This has been great, it means I can order them at the perfect length instead of having to order long and then take them to my tailor to get the proper fit. Been very pleased with the quality, too.
Angle-Dyne, Samurai Buzzard said... Are they still keeping up the quality in their men's clothes? It's my impression that, for a lot of sellers, the quality of the men's lines has been maintained better than that for the women's, which have completely gone to hell.
I think my wife would agree with this completely as she orders a lot from Land's End as well but is not as satisfied as she used to be. She thinks the slacks and jeans I get are better than what she is finding in the women's lines.
I also buy a lot of shirts and sweaters from L. L. Bean also but I don't think the quality now is as good as what I got 20 years ago.
There oughtta be a law!!!!
Shoes? Women's shoes? Screw shoes, where are the laser shaped (interior) motorcycle helmets? There is only ONE model from ONE brand that fits my particular noggin. And it retails for over $750.
Shoes, feh.
Now in real life I know my problem is my head shape is off the bell curve (think Alien). But it's MY problem. If there were more like me the market would act. Suck it up buttercups.
I have this problem. My feet are one size apart and my body can't tolerate having one arch support in the wrong position; I have a trick back that can't take being slightly twisted with every second step. A young man at a shoe store that specialized in shoes for runners figured out the problem and sold me a mismatched pair which eliminated most of my back pain, otherwise I'm not sure I'd still be mobile. Since then I buy two pairs. So far my solution is to buy cheap shoes for walking or gardening and buy them twice a year to keep the inside soles from losing resilience (which causes just as many problems); and different, nicer matched pairs for church or any occasion where I won't be standing or walking much. I put the second mismatched pair in Goodwill with a note. But maybe the internet could solve this problem, or 3D printing - two things I never thought of. Heavy socks don't do it.
There is about a size and a half difference between my two feet. My feet ultimately became the limiting factor in my mobility, which says a lot since I'm overweight and lost an ACL to a basketball injury. When I went to a podiatrist for another issue, I found out that they had arrangements with a company that made shoes that had the different sizes inside the shoe but were the same size outside (well, looking at them closely enough, I think you can tell that one is a bit bigger, but it's not noticeable). Costs maybe two or three times the retail of similar shoes, but I'm a guy who doesn't need many shoes and I pick ones that are OK enough for a lot of different roles. Made a huge difference in my life and mobility.(Now the bottelenecks for mobility are cardio factors for long or uphill and ACL ones for steep downhill or uneven terrain.)
You almost never see narrow width or combination last shoes anymore, either. The average is moving to a wider foot, so the brands that still make them tend to be what I call senior citizen brands.
my head shape is off the bell curve (think Alien)
I've got that too. Bangs into the more-forward head restraints required on newer cars.
"I've been wondering why the opportunity isn't seized to make perfectly fitting clothing."
The solution to this has existed for a long time and doesn't require the internet -- Buy clothes that fit the largest dimension and take them to an alterations tailor to be adjusted. A good dry cleaners usually has someone who can do this.
Procrustes will solve their problem.
A little searching will get you to a site, abilityhacker.com, with a list of options for people with different size feet. I suspect this is mainly applicable to men's shoes. As long as women are happy buying shoes for a single season's use, they are going to get plastic-soled glued-together disposables. These come by the TEU container from who knows where and at their selling price, who could afford custom service?
My favorite brand is Allen Edmonds (a Wisconsin company making their higher end shoes in-state). I suspect for a premium you could et one of their retailers (like Nordstroms) to order split sizes. But at their volume, you'd need to be patient.
My late father had a pair of blucher gunboats that he had, and had repaired, for as long as I remember. The local cobbler lamented the flood of cheap stuff - made with what he called 3T leather - tits, tail and tummy.
The National Odd Shoe Exchange was founded in 1943. I think it's now closed, but there are other organizations out there. I'd be surprised if there wasn't one in the UK.
“There oughtta be a law!!!!”
If she was willing to play a little hardball, throw out words like “discrimination” and “disability” she could probably get the average retailer to sell mismatched pairs. Shit, the local JC Penny had a six-foot dude-to-chick tranny on the shoe department register. I doubt they’d put up much of a struggle. Of course, the lady might have too much dignity and class to go through that every time she buys shoes but, really, it just a form of haggling.
But maybe the internet could solve this problem, or 3D printing - two things I never thought of. Heavy socks don't do it.
9/15/19, 9:18 AM
No offense, but have you considered a podiatrist, because custom-made Orthotics might go a long way to remedy in your difficulty, plus they might have answers on the shoe mismatch thing.
Reminds me of the true story Joe Galloway tells in "We were soldiers"
There are a couple of places that do men's clothes in custom sizes based on measurements doen by an app. Dress shirts start at $69, jeans at $99.
Nordstrom, it seems, permits you to buy a pair of shoes with mismatched sizes without extra charges - but Nordstrom prices will give you a nosebleed.
There's an online shoe store, atom.com, that gives you a range of sizes (in quarter size increments at that!) and you return all but the two that fit each foot.
I was very thankful to find "mid-rise" jeans that fall below the natural waist. Because I don't have a waist anymore. I have always had pretty thin legs and butt but the older I get the bigger my belly is in proportion to the rest of me (sad reality of post-menopausal life if you are not dedicated to physical fitness & diet). With the "mid-rise" pants I can buy a size that fits my lower body and just wear a longer and looser top and still look decent. Although I have to put on a belt to go out in public so my pants don't fall down LOL.
Lloyd - it probably is more of a female thing, I think women have more varied body shapes than men. "Pear" "Apple" "Stick" etc. Men are usually more straight through the hips. Probably women are fussier about fit as well. I don't want to buy pants that look baggy on my legs and rear just to fit my non-existent waist. I would never buy pants without trying them on unless I had previously bought the exact same size & style before.
I think custom sized less expensive clothing is coming soon, take a video of yourself in your underwear & someone will make flattering clothes that will fit. There is definitely a market.
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