Would my toes be perfectly straight if I didn’t were shoes ever in my life?
wear not were
Do shoes change the shape the average American’s toes?
What about all of those “Euro-toes”? Are you trying to say we Americans have wimpy toes?
Actually it is the “average American” toes that change shape with shoes. My “above average” toes are doing just fine.
Do shoes change the shape the average American’s toes?
What about all of those “Euro-toes”? Are you trying to say we Americans have wimpy toes?
Actually it is the “average American” toes that change shape with shoes. My “above average” toes are doing just fine.
I was just using average American because we wear shoes. I didn’t want someone to bring up some tribe that doesn’t ever wear shoes.
A mildly related tidbit. I date a girl who was a ballet dancer and her poor feet were pointed almost exactly like the ballet slippers. I asked her if they had always been like that (since youth) or did they get that way because of so much time doing ballet. She pretty much agreed that it was because of the ballet slippers. Let me tell you folks those were some wierd feet…
Yes, shoes deform your feet.
There’s a nice simple illustration on this page.
Note that this illustration is supplied by a chiropodist, and therefore only applies to the feet of those in the United Kingdom.
You’ll have to ask a podiatrist about the effects of shoes on North American feet. 
Can I get my feet back to their natural shape?
If they don’t hurt, why bother?
If they do, consult a podiatrist.
I’m one of those people who have gone barefoot or in sandals all my life, except when I HAD to wear shoes. I have noticed that now my feet have spread out a lot and shoes are harder and harder for me to stand. Even if my feet do look like a natives, I’d do it again. 
Shoes do change the shape of you’re feet. Most department store shoes: 1) have no arch supports. 2) Have a cheap cushioning that breaks down unevenly, which causes more pressure that is natural to be applied to one area of the foot or another. 3) are not sized properly. I, for instance, always wore a size 13 boot. Bought them for $20 or less. I went to a comfort shoe store, and found out that my actual size is an 11 double-wide. The size change made a world of difference.
How do I know?
I now work in a store that sells orthopedic shoes.
<quote>If they don’t hurt, why bother?
If they do, consult a podiatrist.</quote>
We don’t sell shoes to many young kids with foot problems. We sell shoes to old people who have been wearing uncomfortable shoes all their lives, and are now permanently disfigured because of it. To get your feet back to their natural shape, you could have a doctor make an orthotic for you, or get a shoe with a hard insole shaped like you’re foot should be (actual shape, arch supports, correct sizing). My personal recommendation? Find a Birkenstock dealer near you, and have your feet professionally measured and try on a pair of shoes. If you guesstimate your size and buy the cheapest pair you can find, you’re feet will be warped, and you’ll pay for it in 20 years or so.