Small Mens Shoe Sizes

On the other end of the spectrum from big kid sizes, what's the smallest "men's" size?

Different brands and stores have widely varying views on this.

When I was growing up in the 90s, it felt like there was a very distinct line of up to 6 is boys, 7 and up is men's, with 6.5 impossible to find.

Then, in some stores I started to see men's sizes only go down to 8. Now, a few don't carry anything smaller than 9 for men's. There are still stores that carry and stock the traditional breakdown of size.

Of course, now we have online stores and manufacturers.

Some still list the traditional breakdown. Others go with the higher values seen in some stores. Still others list smaller men's size than I've ever seen in person. What is your experience? 

Big Kids Shoes - 2023

So, when I started this blog, I was amazed to see a size 7Y, because this has always been a men's size when I was growing up.

How have things changed!

There is almost universal agreement that 7 is clearly a boys size.

But there are now even larger youth sizes

There are 8Y

9.5Y

And even 10.5Y!

Clearly, even double digits aren't safe from being considered boys size.

Having to admit your size

How do you feel when you're put in situations where you have to announce your shoe size?

For example, asking the shoe store attendant for your size, getting bowling shoes, getting measured for a tuxedo rental?

I'm sure there are other instances. What is your experience?

Comparing with others

Have you ever had an experience with direct comparison? Foot next to foot, or shoe to shoe?

How did that come about? How did you feel?

Tell your story in the comments!

Socks

Finding socks that fit can be really difficult for small footed guys.

Packaged "men's" sizes say shoe size 6-12, which is a huge range if you think about it. And it turns out, the socks are really sized for someone wearing 12s, and guys with smaller feet just have to get used to having the toe bunch up an/or the "heel" resting on your ankle, which just serves to show you're not really big enough for men's sizes.

Of course, the alternative is to buy boys socks... Yep, BOYS size socks. Boys large has an equally absurd range of size 3-9, meaning elementary school kids might be wearing the same size socks as you. And it would be one thing to buy boys socks and then not admit it publicly, but the major brands all have unique colors or features which make it obvious which boy's size you have (to help with laundry sorting). This has the side effect of publicly announcing your small sock size to anyone in the know.

Other small footed guys, what do you do for socks? Are you content with wearing ill-fitting adult socks? Are you ok with the embarrassment of wearing boy's socks?

Hiding Feet

 As a small-footed guy, we sometimes find ourselves in situations where others might notice our small feet. What do you do to hide, to avoid comments about your size?

Wearing Bigger Sizes

If you're a guy with small feet, you are keenly aware of how small your feet look to others.  Growing up, I always had the smallest feet of any guys in my class. At some point, I started wearing shoes that were just a little too big so I wouldn't seems so small. (Plus there's room for you to grow, right?)

Now as an adult, I wear size 9s in most shoes, but in reality a size 8 would be a more proper fit. I've explored even smaller sizes and know that I could fit into a size 7 boys shoe without too much trouble, especially if it's a wide size.

I had a roommate that wore size 11s. I always hated that his feet were so much bigger than mine, despite the fact that he was 5'6 while I'm 5'8. Fast forward to later in life, I see him with size 9.5 shoes that fit him just fine. Not too snug. I'm guessing he realized his feet didn't really fit into his big shoes.

I wonder how many guys are wearing bigger sizes because they just got used to it, or are up sizing because of what shoe size supposedly means in other areas.

Do you size up?

How big is big?

Popular consensus is that size 8 and maybe size 9 are small for guys. But what about what's considered big?

For me, "big" is size 12 or bigger. Others may say size 14 is the threshold. What do you think?

Big Kid Shoes

20+ years ago, 6 was a boy's shoe size, and 7 was a men's shoe size.  There was no debate, that's how all shoes were set up.  I clearly remember this when I was in the 6.5 transition sizing, but there were literally no shoes in that size for boys/men.

About 10 years ago, I was in a department store and noticed their kids shoe on display looked huge, much more like a men's size than for a kid.  Upon further investigation, I saw that it was a size 7 and was very confused.  Why was a 7 in the kid's section?  My mind was blown, but I just figured it was put in the wrong spot and it's one of those shoes where they just manufacture a continuum of sizes.
That was all good and well until I went into the men's shoes and found that 8's were the smallest anywhere for all their men's shoes.  I later checked online and most places still had 7's as a men's size.  I was sure that this 1 store had just messed up.

Little did I know that it was at the forefront of re-classifying sizing.  Nowadays, it's common, not the exception, to see 7s listed as a boys size.  Places like Walmart still have boys sizes only up to 6, but 7s are curiously absent from most of the men's sizes.

I had a crisis of identity.  I had always thought "well, at least I'm not the smallest men's size"  And now I am.  I fear that in another 10-15 years, I will be a boys size 8.  Already, many adults just accept 8 as a boys size, not a men's size.  ebay auctions of pre-owned shoes show that parents just classify their growing boys' size 8s and sometimes 9s as "boys size"

We live in an ever-increasing foot size world, and us small-footed men are being left behind with every generation.

Outsized by younger kids

If you're a small footed guy, you've probably been in a situation when you were confronted with a kid who was bigger than you. These encounters are awkward at best and usually very embarrassing and potentially humiliating.

Tell us your story, whether you were the smaller adult or the bigger kid!