We all know that bunions, calluses, and corns can all be caused by wearing ill-fitting shoes. There are also lesser known conditions, such as Morton’s neuroma that can lead to sharp or burning pain, swelling, lack of feeling, tingling or cramping in areas of the feet and toes.
Yet, nearly one-third of women find that standard size shoes are not wide enough for their feet, a new survey* reveals.
The poll, carried out on behalf of the UK’s leading designer of fashionable footwear for women with wider feet and calves Emotion, reported that of the women asked 31 per cent said that when buying shoes they found them too narrow. Similarly, of those women who buy high-leg boots, 23 per cent said that the calves were too narrow.
One of the reasons behind these results, claims Emotion, is that the general fitting of shoes and boots for adults has not changed at all over the past five decades.
“Most footwear is still made on a C fitting last,” explains the company’s national sales manager Neil Bennett. “Emotion is one of the few companies in the footwear industry that has kept up with the changing body shape of women, who are significantly taller and heavier today than their 1950s’ counterparts.”
Importantly, unlike some other companies, Emotion does not just take fashion footwear and make it wider. It actually designs and makes fashionable shoes and boots specifically for the wider foot and calf. This means that in some instances Emotion shoes provide a total girth circumference of up to 30mm larger than a standard shoe.
Mr Bennett adds: “It may seem an obvious thing to say, but wearing the correct width footwear is essential. Trying to squeeze into a tight shoe or boot for the sake of fashion is insane and, with Emotion’s designs, unnecessary. The width of a shoe or boot should correspond with the widest part of the foot while standing. This will also ensure that the width/size ratio is correct. Many people are wearing the wrong size to accommodate extra width, and find that with the wider fit they can take a smaller size.”
The full range of Emotion’s footwear can be found on the company’s website www.emotionshoes.co.uk, where you will also find a sizing chart to help you get the right fit. There are more than 300 stockists of Emotion footwear nationwide, and a list may be found on the website.
*Survey carried out by BRMB Omnibus among 1077 women aged between 15 and 65+
Soc Chiropodists & Podiatrists 23-Apr-2007
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