I’m having serious issues getting shoes that fit. I’ve always had problem feet–you can ask my mom, who bought parenting books just to deal with taking me shoe shopping-- and I’ve come to rely heavily on memory-foam insoles to make shoes padded enough to be comfortable. But putting in insoles exacerbates my other foot issue: narrow heels.
The fronts of my feet are normal width, but my heels are narrow, which means that if a shoe fits the front of my foot, it’s too big in the back. If the shoe is big enough to accommodate both the front of my foot AND an insole, it’s way too big in the back. I’ve used normal heel grips like these, but I often layer two of them in the back of my shoes and it’s still loose around the sides of the heels. The shoes pop off unless they’re boots or have ankle straps, and I find myself walking with my feel scrunched up painfully to keep them from falling off.
Does anyone else have this problem? What products do you use, or is there a brand of shoes that you particularly like?
My heels are narrow, but not as narrow as you describe. I’ve had good luck with Asics shoes - the style for “severe overpronators”. (I can never remember the name, but that style is the one that fits me.)
Would these be better than the heel grips you use?
I have narrow heels, also, and this works for me, at least with running shoes and similar type shoes. (I also wear orthotics when I run, which helps also, since they build up the heel.)
Something like these might be worth a try, because they go all the way around the heel instead of only covering the back of the shoe-- I haven’t seen them in drugstores, but I’ll definitely try ordering them.
Hi, Gila! Yes, my problem really is more with formal shoes-- lace-up shoes aren’t bad, because, as SlowMindThinking points out, you can lace them in such a way that they don’t come off. Shoes with straps are similarly secure. The issue is mostly with dress or day shoes, which tend to have open tops. Shoes like this or this, for instance, would never stay on my feet.