# Shoe sizes -- men's vs. women's **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 7, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445 "2019-10-07T19:56:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/1 "2019-10-07T19:56:09Z")
I’d like to buy some new slippers. I have wide feet, though, which makes it hard to find ones that fit. Slippers don’t seem to come very often in wide widths. Since I’m way pickier on the functionality of the slippers than how they look, and since I’d just as soon mail-order them, I’m thinking about ordering a pair of men’s slippers. 1. I’m assuming that men’s footwear are wider than women’s, so that ordering a pair of men’s slippers would be similar to ordering a pair of wide-width women’s slippers. Am I right? 2. What men’s footwear size is comparable to a women’s 8 1/2 to 9? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/2 "2019-10-07T20:03:41Z")
American men’s sizes run about 2.5 numbers lower than the female equivalent. I wear a women’s 10 so a men’s 7.5 would be closest to my size–I order 8s though because half sizes are harder to find and I too like the extra width. So you’d order a 6 or 6.5. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/3 "2019-10-07T20:09:20Z")
I am male and wide feet too and have found Crocs slippers to be very comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/4 "2019-10-07T20:35:21Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > American men’s sizes run about 2.5 numbers lower than the female equivalent. I wear a women’s 10 so a men’s 7.5 would be closest to my size–I order 8s though because half sizes are harder to find and I too like the extra width. So you’d order a 6 or 6.5. I’d always heard that a woman’s shoe is roughly equivalent in size to a men’s shoe that’s two numbers “smaller” (i.e., a women’s 8 is a men’s 6). But, various sources I see online suggest that the difference [is typically 1.5 for athletic shoes](https://www.roadrunnersports.com/blog/women-to-men-shoe-size/), and [2 for other shoes](https://www.liveabout.com/how-to-convert-mens-and-womens-shoe-sizes-2988942). So, maybe, for slippers, try a men’s pair that’s 2 sizes “smaller” than your women’s size, and you might need to return them for a different pair if that fit’s not quite right for you. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/5 "2019-10-07T21:36:01Z")
It will vary by manufacturer too–I can get Tevas in either 7.5 or 8 and they’ll fit just fine but Skechers 7.5 will not fit at all and an 8 is required. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/6 "2019-10-07T22:20:54Z")
I wear a size 9.5EEE in women’s and 8.5 in men’s. However, be aware that women’s feet are shaped differently than men’s. Women tend to have a wider ball, higher instep, and narrower heal, so while men’s shoes fit better in some ways, they tend to be loose in the heal. This probably won’t matter in slippers, but it’s something I noticed while wearing shoes made for male feet. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/7 "2019-10-07T22:24:53Z")
Yeah, get crocs. Mens crocs are wider than womens, get 2 sizes smaller. . I have new tie-dye ones. I got them primarily to gross out the lil’wrekker. Yes, I spend money for laughs. I’ll wear the shoes too. Win-Win. But it seems crocs are back in style in the so-ugly-it’s-cool fashion sense. Dang it! ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shoe-sizes-mens-vs-womens/841445/8 "2019-10-08T22:08:09Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > 1. What men’s footwear size is comparable to a women’s 8 1/2 to 9? Here let me google that for you: [LMGTFY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)