If your feet seem bigger these days, that is because they are.

[greatauntoftriplets]

Big-shoe shoppers in a bind
Something is afoot with American feet: They average a full size larger than they did 15 years ago. Retailers who have kept pace with that trend have stepped into a profitable niche.

By Rachel Osterman
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 12, 2003

On Michigan Avenue Friday, Bonita Patrick plucked a pair of black sandals from a Parade of Shoes shelf. "Ooh, that's nice," she cooed. But when she checked if they had a size 10, she was out of luck.

Teenager Amanda Brogan, meanwhile, sometimes spends entire Saturdays cruising footwear outlets near her suburban Boston home. Her goal is to finish the day with a pair of trendy shoes--in a size 12.

"There's never anything that actually fits that doesn't make my feet look like golf shoes," the 14-year-old complained.

Across the country, Americans are fighting the battle of the bulging foot. Put simply, the country's feet appear to be getting bigger. Some surveys calculate that feet have grown an average of a full size larger within just 15 years. And unlike in the apparel industry, where stores have sprung up everywhere to dress the nation's expanding waistline, shoe retailers and manufacturers have been slow to respond.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0307120120jul12,1,7991452.story

greataunt's comment: I can attest to the fact that the shoe I like is never available in a size 10.

[peacefreak]

1. This must also be a problem

for people who end up with their foot in their mouth.

[Maine Mary]

2. I used to make shoes

from 1987-1998 and noticed it seemed that we were making less smaller sizes in the final years of my 'career'. But then again I started at Dexter Shoe and ended up at New Balance. Dress shoes tend to be smaller then athletic I think. Especially when you factor in Basketball players vs. Paper pushers. :shrug: But maybe there was more to it then that. I've even worked on size 20, EEE before! :crazy:

[Skittles]

3. Is it just feet?

when I'm at the multiplex theater I notice tons of teenage girls who just dwarf me. I'm not super timy - just average (5-4 and a half) but it seems like teenage girls are taller these days.

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. I have felt that way all my life, Skittles.

54 next month and 5' 10". One of my grandmothers (born in 1873) was 5' 8".

[supernova]

5. I have rather small feet, 6 1/2 mediums

Not every store carries medium with shoes, even if they are small.

But I sympathize with the larger feet folks. My mother had size 10.5 - 11. And hardly ever found shoes in shoe stores.

She eventually turned to catalog shopping, like Massey. There's another one but I forget the name of it. They have a great range of sizes, and they all don't look like orthopedic shoes either!

[Le Taz Hot]

6. Shoe stores seem to be limiting their

stock to size 6-1/2 to size 9 or 10. My best friend, who wears a 10, tells me its almost impossible to find shoes anymore. I'm on the opposite end of the scale but with the same problem. I wear a size 5. Thank GOD for Nordstrom's Rack -- otherwise I'm stuck with Payless (good for price but the styles in size 5 are limited to black, white & brown) or Macy's (I cannot possibly justify paying $125.00 for basic pumps).