Don't Like - Shoe Sizes

Guest Post by Grace Newlin

Either my feet shrunk, or the people who come up with shoe sizes banded together to change the measurements. I swear my shoe size used to be a 9 or 9½ , but now I find myself wearing 8s… even 7½’s (gasp). It’s the time of the year where I swap out my hefty pair of boots for sneakers. At the end of last summer, I retired my beloved pair of Converse. I put more miles on those shoes then on my car¹ between sticky frat basements and European hostels. I could have repurchased a pair of Converse, but I needed to retire the college version of myself… at least for the time being. I wanted something sporty, a little retro, something that screamed my parents walked to school uphill both ways in these or maybe even my Portland boyfriend’s indoor soccer shoes. Naturally, this led me to European sneakers. Now, I’m no stranger to European jean sizes… but shoes? That’s a different story. I checked the conversion chart on the website and even had the energy to measure my feet. I tracked the package like a hawk, giddy at every update of the shoes arriving at my stoop. When they did, I laced them up so quick—uh oh, I thought—there was too much room. Surely I can fix that issue with thicker socks, right? Wrong. I returned the pair and ordered another. Rinse and repeat. Too big once again! Hopefully, the third time is the charm but I won’t know for a few months because the next size down is on back-order. Frightened by the thought of returning yet another package, I decided to try running shoes on in person (scary). The employee measured my feet, concluding that my left foot is (apparently) ½ a size bigger than my right (and to say (think?) I blamed my constant tripping on clumsiness)! The running shoes I purchased don’t match the sizes of my Dr. Martens or my Birkenstock that I currently own. If Fahrenheit can convert to Celsius, I don’t see what the issue with shoes is. This is all to say, maybe we should change the idiom “if the shoe fits” because I’ve learned that a shoe fitting is rarely ever true.

1. Speaking of, I sold mine recently, so that's even more reason to buy a new pair of shoes– it’s my mode of transportation!