MANY times. A dozen times? Too many to tell. I was never the one to start, always someone else. Triggered by curiosity or disbelief or being puzzled or amused or whatever. The result of being very small, thus visibly so, as if it can't be missed. And maybe also because to 9s or 10s it doesn't happen that often that they are so much bigger than someone else, so jumping to the occasion?
Feel: all variations of embarrasment. From just blushing to laughing and quickly pulling feet back, to wishing to sink through the floor 😁. All depending on the spirit in which it was done, the situation, and the size difference.
These are the stories I love. Generally it will be a shoe to shoe comparison and that tends to be more dramatic since I wear my shoes on the smaller side, but I have also done feet comparison and comparing with a size 11-12 foot or bigger no one would guess my feet are a 9 rather than a 7-7.5. My feet are so skinny that the overall dwarfing is still so huge that the exact size is not noticed. Also, I usually wear dark socks and that tends to make feet look even smaller.
I also have a pair of size 7 adidas slides that I "stretched" slightly, the end result is that my foot is shorter than the slides so if I wear them they totally look like my size and help to create the illusion of my feet being even smaller. I have compared with others with size 10-11 feet/slides and the difference just seems enormous, the illusion is totally convincing.
I also love comparing shoes with others if I am wearing shoes that tend to make my feel look extra small, like adidas sambas. I can wear sambas in a size 7-7.5 and be totally comfortable and my feet are skinny enough that I can tie them almost as tight as they can be and still have them not be that tight on me. That really creates the look of having a tiny foot.
Anyway, yup, I am always looking for opportunities to compare. Especially with strangers (my friends already know I have small feet so it is not as exciting). I have gotten weird looks/comments of disbelief at times, but it is not as often as you might expect. People may think it but not comment or really react.
The dreaded comparison! You will give me PTSD just talking about that, lol! I won't rehash the stories I posted elsewhere here but yeah I try to avoid comparisons at all cost. It never ends well. And especially foot comparisons. Sometimes sneaker comparisons are fine, as long as it doesn't result it someone feeling where my toes are and saying "aren't your shoes too big for you?" or "those are way too big for you". If I have to take me feet out all bets are off, it is probably all over and especially if it includes a comparison of my right foot which is an 8.5. And flip flops and slides I avoid...my feet just look too tiny, especially my right.
I have tried to convince myself on several occasional that "my feet are not "that small", etc". I wear slides or flips and I feel like everyone's feet are bigger...and with my short stubby toes it's just all the worse. So yeah, I avoid comparisons...at all cost.
Here's a story I haven’t told on here... I love these encounters and I would often seek them out but this one was actually by chance.
This was back when I was about 17 and a counselor for a summer youth group entering 7th grade. We went to the beach for a day and kids and counselors were all playing in the water. The kids were 11-12 year olds. A wave ended up taking one of my flip flops and sending it out to sea. One of the kids felt sorry for me and says to me "what size do you wear" and I’m like "usually an 8". He’s like “wow that’s small” and I’m like “yeah but it’s ok, it can be cool to have smaller feet ;-)”. Then he asks "why is it cool to have small feet?" and I say "because you can wear so many sizes!". Then he says “I have a pair of skate shoes in a size 9 you can wear, they are really too small for me but they might fit you”. He sits next to me and looks at my feet (he was wearing flip flops) and is like, “your feet look way smaller than mine!” (he says with some disbelief – his feet were both longer and wider than mine up close, though honestly from a distance they really looked totally normal on him and compared to a man's foot would still have seemed small) “I should be wearing like a size 11 but my mom makes me wear these old 9s when I go to camp and stuff. They were my older brother’s and now they are getting way too small for me. You can wear then if you want.” I asked him how old his brother was when he outgrew them and he’s like, ”he was 11 like me, now he’s 14 and wears a size 13. I’ll probably be a 13 too in a couple of years. The doctor says I will be over 6 ft. (the kid was probably about 5’6”) My bother is already 6’1”.” He then took them out of his backpack, they were DVS enduros. I thanked him and put them on, as the trip back on the train would not have been much fun without anything on my feet.
When I put on his shoes I couldn’t quite believe how roomy they were, they fit me with lots of space. Clearly this kid’s feet had really stretched them. I had like an inch of toe room to the end of the shoe (though I later found out that DVS enduros tend to fit big anyway). The kid saw me testing the size and is like “wow, I can’t believe those are so big on you”. I’m like “yeah, you’ve got some good sized feet there!” The other kids were gathered around too by then and noticed my small feet, some thought it was funny that I could fit the kid’s size 9’s so big. I knew there were a couple of other kids in the group who wore much bigger shoes. There was one who was a size 12 and at least a couple with size 11s. But this kid had been wearing the 9s most of the time so I assumed his feet were smaller than that. Once we get back I thanked the kid for the shoes and wanted to give them back to him and he’s like “no, you keep them, they are too small for me and it will be an excuse for my mom to buy me new ones”. I kept them cause it was a cool encounter to be so outsized but they were way too big for me. I’d say they fit more like a 10 and I would almost trip wearing them.
I actually do still have them, though unfortunately they are not that wearable anymore. The soles are separating. I wore them for a bit after I got them, though they were already pretty used when I got them. But I can probably snap a few photos to show how big they fit. They were some of the biggest fitting size 9s I have ever had.
As for the other kids having bigger feet, I'd say it was a mixed bag. I didn't compare with everyone. This was a youth group of like 30 kids and I'd say out of that probably 5-10 had obviously bigger feet, but there may have been more. The kid who give me the sneakers I would have never guessed his feet to be anywhere near as big as they were. The DVS shoes looked so ordinary. They fit big but they didn't look big at all from the outside. You might guess they were an 8.5. So there could have been other "sleepers" whose feet were actually bigger. I was only with the group for that day trip since I had volunteered to fill in for another counselor who couldn't make it, so I didn't really have time to assess everyone's feet unfortunately ;-)
Ok, I got them out of the garage and took some pics ;-) I was wrong, they are actually DVS Bexley rather than Enduro. Both styles look similar. Pics show just how huge these fit for a 9. My toes barely make it into the toe box, just to the rows of holes at the beginning of the toe box! Keep in mind that the 11 year old kid who was wearing them, his toes were literally pressing against the end. It is really incredible. His feet must have been almost a size 12!
I saw this when you originally posted, but just came across it again and I can't believe how big they look with your toes so far from the front. If those were really 9's, you look like a size 6!
That would depend if you are talking about shoes on or off. I can pass as "average-ish" wearing 10.5-11 (I prefer 11s since the look more normal, 10.5 can sometimes look small, but often 11s are just too big). If I take my shoes off it all changes. My right foot being an 8.5 I feel like I am outsized 90-95% of the time. Left at 9.5 maybe 85-90%? If I have to take my shoes off the chances are very high that my feet will look very small compared to others around me. I avoid it at all costs.
And SSrF: That sort of thing would be so demoralizing for me, though with 10.5-11 usually the other person's feet are not actually longer than my shoes, but it could happen with a size 14 foot. But the story in general still hit home, it is easy to feel outclassed like that, and totally if I take my shoes off!
For people over 12 I would say 95% or higher are bigger. You don't see many people 13 and above with a size 7-7.5, it's a kids size for sure (though technically I am more like a 9 but I won't count that, 9s are still in the minority, though not like 7s.). When it comes to 12 year olds I'd say probably 60-70% have bigger feet. With 12 year olds it is more hit or miss.
When the baby faced 13 year old kid sitting next to you on the train probably outweighs you by 30 lbs, is wearing flipflop, talking about how much he can bench, is a couple of inches shorter than you, but his feet are almost an inch longer than the size 7.5 shoes themselves you are wearing, then you know you have not just been outsized but totally outclassed! ;-)
I'll post this here since the thread it should be in is so freaking long now...
My aunt was telling me last night that one of my cousins who is 10 years old now measures a solid size 10 and his mom bought him 10.5s so he would have some room to grow. She said his mom had just bought him size 8.5s a couple of months ago and now his toes are pushing out the ends. I think a size 10 foot on a 10 year old is about the most extreme I have heard. I am not sure exactly how tall this 10 year old is but she said he plays basketball and it sounded like he is tall for his age, but I don't have an exact number. The shoe size had impressed my aunt more... So now I know a 10 year old who's feet are bigger than mine! Not a cousin I see much but that would be soooo awkward if I was at a pool party or something next to him and he was outsizing me...I am almost not sure where to begin with that one. Having 12 year olds outsize me is bad enough...10 year olds is just...
Essentially. 5th graders with feet bigger than I will ever have is hard to stomach. Or wearing the same size as me (since I often wear size 10.5). If we were both wearing a size 10.5 and I put on his shoes they are going to fit me bigger than they fit him. On him they are just about right, on me they are probably "big" especially my right foot. And if he is already a 10 at that age he's almost guaranteed to be a 13 (or likely bigger) by the time he is fully grown. His feet might even be wider than mine too to finish off the humiliation. Yeah I am not going to any pool parties with that cousin, at least until he's a teen, at that point I could stomach it better, lol!
Thanks 😁 You can imagine that I had the "shock therapy", and am no longer sensitive to it. If anything, I'd name this blog KidsSizes or WomensSizes 😁. Well, at least up to 8.
Even beyond 8...Nike says kid's sizes go up to a 9.5 and women's sizes traditionally stopped at a 10 (or 8.5 in mens) but now they are commonly going up to 11 or bigger in women's. So my feet at 8.5 and 9.5 could be considered either a kid's or women's size, especially the 8.5.
And actually, the extended GS sizes (7.5Y-9.5Y) were originally supposed to be girl's extended sizes I think, even though I think a lot of boys wear them too.
Yip. I think that's where the confidence/satisfaction of the 10+ comes from: They're fully separated from kids / womens. No. doubt whatsoever as not being a mens size.
I was once in a Nike Factory Store, at the Mens shoes. All shoes were available from size 9 to 12. There was one small corridor on the side, that said "Small mens sizes". It was a bit of a potpouri there, mainly 8s, less 7s, and like just one or two 6s, all thrown together, as in some sort of end of season. Does it need to be said that in the rest of the 9-12 store, there also were 13s everywhere?
I feel like I would prefer to have had smaller feet. I am a 9 and that's bigger than I would like. As I said, we should trade feet ;-) I would be happy having a size 6, though I would also settle for a 7-7.5. I think it would be awesome to have size 8s naturally fit huge.
I mean if my feet were a size 6 a size 9 would fit like a size 12 does now, which is like an inch and a half of toe room, just huge. And a 12 would fit like a 15 does now, which is my foot lost in the middle of the shoe nowhere even close to the toe box!
Accurate descriptions, SSRF 😁 For sure I'm lagging behind as to what is Big. Already in a 12 having your 15-wow-experience. Last year i tried 17s and 18s in a sports store. I felt like being a different species 😁. Well, that already happens in 14s.
I know my size would be considered "marginal" small but to me it feels smaller than marginal. There are far too many people wearing 11s for it to be Alpha. It feels like the new average/normal to me. If you say you are an 11 no one thinks twice, if you say you are a size 10, eh, it's a little small. In high school I generally wore 11s. Even though my 11s were too big for me I considered the kids with size 10s to have small-ish feet. Personally if I take my shoes off I feel gamma, with my shoes on and faking it I feel I can pass for normal. I wish I didn't have to fake it...
"Take on"? You mean in a fight? ;-) I suppose it would depend on your overall size/strength vs the 11's. I would not be ready to say that foot size determines all other physical and mental aspects of a person :-) Even if you can argue that it has some psychological impact over well-being, it is probably not *that* broad. I mean my foot size gets me down sometimes, but it doesn't invade all other aspects of my behavior and thinking (at least I don't think it does?)...
You could probably argue that on "average" a person with a size 6 is going to be overall smaller than a person with a size 11 but I think you have already proven to be an exception to that SmallShoeSizeGuy ;-)
Thanks JBC. I asked the question for several reasons. 1. Whatever talents I might have, leverage is not one of them. I wonder if that's foot size related. 2. I have noticed that the confidence of the other guy goes up, be it for instinctive estimation as to advantages in kicking, leverage or not. 3. Own confidence in potential when fighting is pretty low (again fs related?) and belief in self is half the fight.
I don't know? I know a guy who is jacked and about 5'10" and wears a size 8.5. His feet are even slightly smaller than my right foot. His foot size has not damaged his confidence any. He does have really wide feet, but they definately look small for his size. So certainly foot size is not everything when it comes to confidence. It seems like his foot size doesn't bother him much because I have heard him say "yeah, I have small feet" and laugh about it. He seems to readily tell people he has small feet even before it comes up, almost as if he wants to get that out of the way. His feet are wide so looking at them I would have said he was a 7.5. He tends to wear Jordans.
His feet are wide - still a strong kick, or good for general warfare? Sure, foot size is not the only factor in confidence! Maybe it's just for me because i'm still 2.5 sizes smaller and narrow, than someone you describe as small 😁
It's true, small is relative. I think of 8.5 as small, or really anything below 10...and sometimes even 10 can seem small :-/
But the connection between shoe size and "power" is definitely there. Anyone with larger feet, especially 12+ can seem dominating and powerful. Almost unconsciously, if I see someone with decent sized feet/shoes I notice it and it makes me feel like they have something I don't. And it is ever more impressive on a short person, it's almost like it makes them taller. It is something I can never have and that makes it worth even more in a sense. If I really wanted to I could probably get jacked and build muscle, but I can never make my feet into a size 12...
True, more impressive on a shorter person. I take it for the even better ratio and thus leverage. And how it's intrinsic. You can work out or save or work hard for a luxury car or promotion etc etc, but this is given, genetic. Hence both the high awareness as high frustration?
If WE say things as "10 is passable", "12 is a decent size" etc... Does this mean that we see our own sizes as "non-passable", "non-decent" etc? If so, is that our own opinion, or what we think or have learned to be a general opinion? Or of Big size guys?
Yeah, I'm certainly not happy with the size of my feet. I want them to be bigger! I always feel embarrassed to "expose" them outside of shoes. They just look small, and especially the right. The low end of passable or decent is above me. More like 10-10.5 to be passable.
That's my opinion for sure. I feel like generally others would say my feet are on the small side. I think that would be the opinion of a lot of people, even if they are not big size guys. Big size guys being 12 and almost really more 13+ to be considered "big". Size 12 is really not considered that big like it used to be, even though it is still considered a decent size. If you said you had a size 12 no one would even flinch unless you are 12 years old or under or you are only 5'4" or something...then it might be a little surprising. I think you would get more shock from someone "of decent height" saying they are a size 6-7. Though amount "professionals", eg store clerks, it would be much more acceptable for someone getting a size 14 for the clerk to say "oh you have really big feet" vs the opposite of a person getting a size 7 where it would be insulting for the clerk to say "you have really tiny feet". Same with someone tall vs short. You praise Big you try to ignore Small. So small becomes taboo, which makes it all the worse to be small - and of course teens don't have the professionalism of store clerks, so they would be happy to laugh about small. I have had laughing happen about my foot size vs Bigger (usually vs 12-13). Even my 9.5 left foot will look like a girl's foot next to a 12 or 13 wide. It can be extremely demoralizing, especially if the kid is a pre-pubescent teen who thinks they are are big and bad, who enjoys taunting/humiliate the grown man for whom they have already achieved a far more alpha status. It's the kids like that that make having smallish feet the worst, grownups are much more civilized and just mentally, rather than verbally, note their superiority...
JBC, so we all have the same experiences. I so confirm that 6 triggers much more reactions of surprise than 12 or over.
I know a 13 who had never realised that someone would see his size as big. Whereas not a single sales clerk has not let me know that i was small. I've had every raised eyebrow, confusion, smile, disbelief, laugh or joke under the sun 😁 and don't even mention when a 6 is too big.
Possibly the difference between your end of Small and mine 🙂. At 6 people just cannot not say it, or hide the surprise.
Other difference, I don't have the teens' reaction that you get. In "my league" or where i sit, the fellow-6ers can just become wide-eyed or open-mouthed, not agressive or joking.
I am surprised that you would get jokes and laughter from sales clerks about your size 6. I suppose it is hard for me to say for sure, since my feet are not that small and I tend to buy sz 10.5-11, and sales people rarely check for fit (though I have had it occasionally and it can be embarrassing - a sales guy once told me the 11s I was getting had "way too much toe room" but I just brushed it off saying I wanted space to be comfortable). I have never heard a sales clerk comment on a small size (like a 7-8), but I have heard comments when people get size 14 or more.
I guess size 6 might be beyond taunting by teens? Just too far off to even joke about? Certainly the time I tried on the size 12 adidas shoes (that fit like a 13-14) on the plane ride I wrote about a while back, I got some pretty bad taunting, but I am sure that is partly because I was wearing a size 11 and hence "claiming" to be an 11. I was caught pretending to be something I wasn't and that was probably the real cause of the joking. If I was wearing a size 9-9.5 the experience probably would have been different, expectations would have been different. Lesson learned, never accept an offer to try on someone else's shoes, you'll be sorry! But that was unusual, people rarely offer to have me try their shoes. I suppose I have to wonder if it was intentional, maybe he wanted to show how much bigger his feet were than my 11s...only to find my feet were much small than an 11 which only amplified things. Who knows?
And so we're all in different stages and situations.
7 or 8 are small, but judging reactions of sales clerks, 6 is simply unheard of, and don't start about 5. So what they might THINK about 8, me i get to HEAR, if only out of sheer surprise.
Teens - I don't know their reactions, don't sit with them, do not move in their realm, or where they sit or stand at a sneaker wall, I don't go, already for that being like a sign that those are not my sizes there. 12yo's walk me by to Mens.
Funny story: once i asked for 5s in running shoes. The young sales clerk showed the box and wanted to rush to check-out. Then noticed that the reason why i sat down was because to prepare to try them - and he almost dropped the box out of sheer surprise. "They are for YOU"? That simply hadn't crossed his mind. But that was only the start. Surely i was mistaken, i was from another country and used a different sizing system, no, i did not understand, this was a Womens model.... he was not far away from getting impatient about my unwillingness to understand that this was impossible. Then he saw my sock foot, and said: "Oh".
If i ever should have realised that i was uniquely small, it was then (and a few other moments). But you make these rationalisations. As in, that i had merely bumped into a uniquely big sales clerk, or that this sports store catered to big athletes, whatever.
Sure,this and a rare few other moments were extreme, but oh yes, that 6 is unusually small (at least for me at 5ft9), that i notice everywhere. Thanks for the sales-clerk-less store, self-catering store, and the online one! 😁
And I HAVE overheard it, one guy to another: "A 10? Are you only a 10"? Amused, almost endeared, like how cute. We're just all in different stages of the, uh, smallification 😁
As someone who frequently buys size 7-8 shoes I agree with JBCx that reactions from sales staff are pretty rare, even when the clerk has to bring the shoes out. But mostly I prefer stores that are self service where I can try different sizes to get what is perfectly small in whatever style :-) I have had instances where the checkout clerk did comment (I think I mentioned that in one of the posts), in one case he was young, maybe 6'1" and athletic build and probably wore a size 12 or 13 himself so me buying a 7.5 was total weirdness for him, like it was impossibly small and I had picked up the wrong box or something - asking if I was sure I actually tried them on and if they really fit me, etc. But I have had fun too, as I also mentioned before. Older women sales clerks can be fun because they might comment on the small size but are never cruel...often thinking I am younger than I am and telling me my feet will grow, etc. I do remember one instance where they only had 2 sizes of a shoe, a 7.5 and a 10.5 and the clerk thought for sure I had picked up the wrong box ;-) And going to thrift stores I always notice the size 7-8s tend to hang around longer and I am more likely to find cool styles I like for cheap ;-)
SmallShoeSizeGuy, 6 is small but so is 7-7.5. I feel like they are in a similar class. That's why I prefer 7.5 vs 8 too. 8 can be marginally acceptable for an adult, but a 7.5 is much less common from what I see. If someone's feet are smaller than an 8 they will usually wear an 8-9 anyway it seems (though I don't have a ton of examples). Then there are the teens who outgrow their shoes and are now a 10 but are still wearing a 7.5. In that case kids don't seem to mind, because they can tell people they are really a 10 and then it's like, ok those are just really tight.
Here is a question. How often have you had an experience where you tried on someone's shoes (either with or without them knowing), that you were not sure would fit but they ended up being big or fitting much better than expected? Or maybe they fit smaller instead? Either way, how did it make you feel? Were you glad or sorry after?
Hello there, SSrF! I often tried shoes. But i can't recall any that "i was not sure they would fit". I'm always sure they are too/way too big.
Mm, how did thst make me feel, let me think. I think thst in general i'm just impressed by the bigger guy. Being small has become a given for me, i'm immunized against embarrasment 😁
I do agree that 7.5ish is really small. I am not entirely sure why i have gotten so many reactions from sales clerks and you don't. I take it there's some frontier there, one between sometimes occuring and one never. I get genuine surprise, as well as laughs or amusement. It must be said i'm sometimes a 5, and rather narrow too. Womens, Kids, it all goes.
I'd say that most of the shoe stores I got to, including thrift stores (which I frequent a lot), there are usually women at the checkout. Women don't have the same reaction as men to small sizes I think. For women it's like "ok that guy has small feet so what", but for men it's more of a manhood thing and they are like "there is a problem with your manhood if you are that small". The only times I have ever gotten strong reactions is from male clerks, not female. Men may believe the myth that foot size is connected with the size of certain other body parts too...
I'm not sure there. It's true that Women don't seem to have a strong reaction, but you also fully drop from their list of possible partner, and that's actually a strong reaction too, only not visible.
For men I think it's unknowingly or instinctively related to all things survival potential. Standing your ground before the cave, kicking, carrying, general warfare, so if you're a danger or peer or sparring partner or competitor or useful Beta knight, that sort of things. At least me i never had any reference to that myth, but i have had the question "how do you not topple over"? 😁
Oh, and totally agree that we're in the same league. I think all 8s and less do. But we can also all be light blue, and still be of different shades 😁 or phases of becoming pastel.
JBC is, I think, of us you're the one in a very specific league. Say dark blue crocs but starting to fade. That can be a blow in itself, a phase in itself. One of getting conscious about it and bracing yourself. Little shocks, no big ones nor many, but as in an earthquake the first shocks are the most surprising, taking you off guard. (Yeah, i've been through all phases 😁)
I've asked women about it (I like talking about my feet :-) and it's a mixed bag. There are some who really care that their man have "man sized" feet and then others will say they only care if the guy's feet are smaller than theirs and still others who don't really care at all either way. I still think in general it is less of an issue for girls than guys.
Take care with the difference between what people say, and do, with what their reason says, and then how their instinct acts.
"Shoe size does not matter" says the rational moment - and then they go date the size 12 guy 😁
Well, the proof is in the pudding. The average size keeps increasing (8.5 to 9 to 10.5 in not 30 years)... and that is only possible if big reproduces more.
Ok, well, I've dated women who don't seem to care. They are more likely to find my strange shoe obsession a little weird vs my shoe size ;-) But maybe it's a way of weeding out those who are only looking skin deep? I want someone to love me for who I am not for my foot size or other purely physical features. I know that's not how much of the world works but that's where I stand.
SSrF, in what sort of aisle or department do you find your shoes? Is that still Mens? I'm asking because me I have been walked to Womens, been said to go to Kids, and so, so that might be the threshold, between no reactions or reactions?
It depends on the type of store. In a self service shoe store, where the boxes are on shelves, I usually go to mens. Men's sizes usually go down to size 7, though you will also see size 7 in kids for some shoes. It depends on the brand/model. For some 6.5 is the max for kids and for others it is 7. I have shopped in the kid's section looking for 7s. But a lot DCs, and other skate shoes, usually have 7s in Mens. I have a couple pairs of DC court graffik in size 7 that fit great :-)
Thrift stores, where I usually go to buy Jordans, because they are so expensive otherwise (and they can be pre-stretched), tend to have everything mixed in. So to check the kids sizes is just down the same rack from the men's sizes. Just last week I picked up a pair of Jordan's 5s for cheap in a size 7.5. I could tell from the footprint on the insoles and how they fit that the guy who had them before me had feet that were slight bigger than mine. That was a pretty awesome find, I didn't need to modify them at all :-)
As I said, I generally avoid stores where the shoes are just displayed on a wall where the clerk has to go in back to get the size. I like to be able to try on a bunch of shoes and styles to see what fits perfect.
SSSG, my league doesn't feel all that special :-( It just feels kind of small...though I guess I am what would be called "high end small" ...but still small. The advantage of high end small is that I can get away with pretending to be normal without looking like I am wearing clown shoes and tripping right an left. But if I take my shoes off...I am small. Although on here I guess I get to be the giant, lol!
Though SSrF, your feet are only slightly smaller than mine (actually bigger than my right foot) and you are wearing size 7-8, that sort of freaks me too, because I know I have tried 8.5s that fit just a little too well...though my left foot would probably be in pain with an 8 or below.
Guy retired at work a few months ago. He was in his 60s. He was a good guy and had an important job. The boss says to him, "you've got some big shoes to fill" and he quips back "well, they are not all that big I only wear a 9 1/2"...
JBCx: hahaha, oh I bet I could hook you up with some nicely stretched sz 7.5s that would fit you perfectly! A 7 might be a stretch since that's about the limit for me, but you are only a half size bigger than me so a 7.5 should be able to fit perfect.
How would you feel about wearing a size 7.5 that fit you perfectly? Would it be totally demoralizing? Would you be unable to face the public? What if they were the only pair of shoes you had and you had no other choice?
Maybe I will have to come and swap your shoes out in the night and see if you notice, lol. Do you prefer Jordans or Skate shoes? ;-)
You really are trying to make me freak out :-/ This reminds me of the time my friend let me try his size 7.5 skate shoes and they actually seemed to fit me. They were stretched out for sure... I'll stand by that unmodified or stretched I would have a hard time fitting an 8 or below, certainly not without pain and discomfort.
How would I feel if I had to wear 7.5s anyway? Like I would rather not meet anyone I knew... Like I would rather go barefoot maybe... I would be subconscious for sure and would probably feel like people were noticing and wondering why my feet were so tiny. And yes, I have tried on smaller sizes when people are not around to see how they fit but it's not something I would like to do in public..
I'll have to be sure to keep the door locked at night ;-) I like Jordans and skate shoes. I probably have more Jordans though. I'll take them in a 10.5 to 11 thank you ;-)
lol, SSSG. JBCx might have forgotten who he was talking to ;-)
JBCx: What I find is that most people don't pay attention to your shoes and feet as much as you might think. So I look at people's feet and shoe size and I am sure you do too, but that's because we are conscious of shoe size. I think for most people it is not a big deal, unless presented with something unusual and even then they may have to know to look for it. Even so I think many will shrug it off. Kids would be more likely to poke fun in a setting with friends, but for the most part I expect you would be surprised how little attention 7.5s would get you. Mostly it would be in your mind ;-)
Ok, Ok, I know, I am outnumbered on here ;-) SSrF: I know you have embraced small, I am just not ready to do that. Not when I have been fighting it since I was 12-13! SSSG: I know you don't have a choice really. When 7.5-8 is what 11 is for me...
Maybe there are enough abnormal things about me without needing to add small shoes/feet (well the smallish feel are sort of a given). But we all pretend to some extent. SSrF, you are playing the opposite pretend...wearing smaller than your true size (though I am sure no one would ever expect that) so maybe that is not so different from me, just opposite? Maybe everyone hides something, just different things? Maybe we are all more imperfect than we appear...all covering up our flaws...as best we can...
Ow, that shoe size complex. I get it, because personally i think that people generally DO always pick up on it. But then just as they would pick up on anything else (height, age, dress code, personality...), their instinct being wired to instantly read someones social and financial status, safety, competitiveness and more. It's not really them doing that, at least not rationally or consciously, but their instinct, or what they have learned to expect or think. In that, i think we've all picked up from reactions that "big=respectable, small=amusing". And when that happens a lot, you get conscious about it. It's a 100% certain that when you're a 100% kids size (and not in some grey area as 7 or 8) that people cross the threshold from not thinking or saying about it, to definitely always showing surprise, friendly or not doesn't matter, there's always a reaction. When at school, no month went by without one, and when still meeting sales clerks, I don't think there was a single one who did not show or told about surprise. A few times much longer than they'd have done with a surprisingly big size, which i assume is because you're not being seen as dangerous, or the feel to be backed up by general opinion, or the sudden happiness about the own 10 😁. In short, with me the dam (of not holding back) only bursts, but i'm pretty sure that before that, there are already non-shown thoughts, but maybe they're also not important, not more than "he or he is wearing a nice shirt" or "he should get a haircut".
I agree, I think people do look at feet and size people up (sorry SSrF), even if unconsciously. It automatically becomes part of the picture and shapes your view of them, even if subconsciously, it still contributes to the overall picture of the person. Small feet becomes part of your image of someone, if you perceive it. So me wearing a 10.5-11 is successful in not adding small feet to a person's view of me. Shoe size just becomes a "normal" undistinguished feature.
It's such a great summary. Since the reactions towards me, both in frequency as intensity, i'm sure that BEFORE a 6, people already THINK smth and if not, not know that they stock it up in their template of you. Me i am only over the border where you'd hold back. Be it for it being such a rare request, be it for me being so nice (ergo: harmless, no worries about being told of), and of course charming and handsome 😁😁😁.
That's ok JBCx, I am fine with people putting small feet in their image of me. People will comment on how skinny I am too ;-) So it all goes together. I may be 5'10' but I have a small frame and people are always telling me I look like I am shorter than I am...until they get up close and compare. I have had people tell me I must be 5'8"-5'9", which is funny because you would think being skinny would make me look taller but I guess my proportions are weird...
But truly, I don't get as many comments about shoes/feet as you would think. I think it is because I am skinny and my feet are skinny, so my shoes/feet just don't look so out of place. Size is always relative. Small is relative. If everything else seems smallish the feet just fit in and are not really noticed as unusual.
Years ago, when i was not wiser, i was in a sort of skateboard store, and looked, from a distance at a few sneakers under shirts. A sales clerk popped up, asking if he could help. Today i would have said no, but back then i said i just wondered if they also had those in smaller sizes. "You wanted to ask for 7 or 7.5"? he said, with a bit of an endeared smile, nothing more than that, only a hint that he thought that to be small. "Uh, more like 6 or so" I said. Man! Did that change everything! I keep saying it, somewhere between 7 and 6 (and forget 5) sits a difference, from "small happens" to "this never happens". I KNOW that in 7.5s you don't get comments or reactions. It's like normally-small. 5s or 6s, you start to jump out of the patterns that people are used to. As in a city where all buildings are 2-4 stories, there's suddenly a 1-story one. Like "huh"? 😁
It's true that 7.5 is still "men's" in just about all brands. I always considered the cutoff to between 7 and 7.5. Size 7 is where the GS range ends for Jordans (ignoring the extended GS sizes). There is a significant difference in width between a size 7 GS and a size 7.5 men's in jordans. That really makes the jump look bigger. Size 7s then really look like a kid's shoe where 7.5 looks like a small men's. Since my feet are super skinny the GS 7s work good for me and so do the extended GS for 7.5-8s. Some brands and models the change is 6.5 to 7, but either way I think it is that switch from kid's width to men's width that makes all the difference. My feet are on the small side anyway, but I really think the fact they are skinny bumps them down to kids size. Even though my feet a size 9 I think the fact that they are so skinny is why no one tells me my feet looked big for a 7-7.5.
I have size 7 Adidas slides where my foot is slightly shorter than the sides (I know how to stretch slides too ;-) ) so it helps to complete the illusion, no one has ever said "oh aren't those too small for you" or anything like that. I actually did have one guy look and say "are you like a 7 or 7.5"? So yeah, illusion complete, I don't really need my feet shrunk to be a 7, they just sort of are anyway.
I wouldn't say "never" I would just said rarely and generally not unsolicited comments. I have gotten comments with groups of friends, etc. if the subject comes up or someone likes my shoes (or slides).
Not sure I follow? How does one get conscious or aware their feet are small? Just look around and you know you are one of the smallest ;-) Or do you mean how do others get conscious so as to comment on your small size? That would depend on how much it stands out, how out of proportion it seems overall.
Ah ok. Personally I don't know if i'd gotten conscious about it, as little as about nose size or arm length - if it hadn't been for comments. But ok, who knows.
I was conscious about it from a young age. From about the age of 12-13 when feet start growing. I could tell my feet were smaller than other kids, and I did get some comments at that age and I initially wore bigger sizes due to peer pressure, but then I had the experience trying on smaller shoes cool kids had outgrown and it all changed. I knew I could never be "big" so I would embrace small. I never looked back.
It is easy to tell you are smaller than others if you just look around and I tend to also check other people's shoes and size them up. It is obvious most are bigger than me and even if they are about the same size, mine will always seem smaller because my shoes and feet are so narrow. Next to a man's width size 7.5 foot my size 9 foot is still the little kid's foot, looking small and skinny. I have really short toes too which makes my feet look smaller. Next to a size 7.5 foot with long toes, my foot actually looks smaller unless I am right next to the other foot and can compare length. So it all becomes very obvious where I stand :-)
Was helping out with a youth group visiting from out of town as part of a high school program. They were sophomores age 15 and 16. This one kid who was 15 had massive calve muscles. I mean I have seen jacked guys 250 lbs with much smaller calves. I snapped the photo below when we were sightseeing. Was trying to figure out the kid's shoe size. I had convinced myself he was a wide 9-9.5 maybe. He was also not that tall, probably about 5'7". You can't really see it there but his feet were bulging out of the shoes width wise. When we were back on the bus he was just in front of me and I heard him telling friends that his shoes were a size 12 but were getting way too tight. He was stretching his feet into the aisle to show off his shoes and calves and I could see then just how massive his shoes and feet where. From a slight distance the size of his calves and the width of this feet created the illusion that he was a much smaller size. I also heard him says he weighed 165 (almost 25 lbs heavier than me). You can't see it there but his chest was also pretty developed and muscular, though his calves were still huge in comparison! I heard him also mention that he could squat over 400 lbs. He definitely never missed leg day! So I was *way* outsized, in every way, by a 5'7" 15 year old...and he was baby faced so he could have easily passed for 13...aside from being so jacked.
I hope that's "a little" above average at least...for sure his calves are not "regular" for someone that age/size. The shoe size...a 12 wide going on a 13...I hope that is not becoming the norm for 5'7" teens... :-/ Certainly being quite as jacked was not the norm as he stood out from the others in that regard (his legs for sure). As far as shoe size. A little hard to say. His feet looked wider than most but there were some other kids whose feet were pretty long too...but he stood out...mainly the calves and the illusion it seemed to create that his feet were smaller than they actually were. Then again it was a small sample, there were only about 16 kids on the special tour and I am not around high school kids that much to really know what is "normal" these days... And it was an AP group so they were more bookish in general, so I suppose that did help that kid stand out for being more athletic. Sigh...
JBC, you make me smile 😁. Still so competitive. Me it's "game over he wins" as of merely hearing age - what, 11? You are sighing when you don't win. But i totally understand as well.
The makes me laugh too...well I mean I guess that's a give since I like wearing small shoes ;-) I gave up trying to be competitive when I was about 14. It is much easier (and more fun IMHO) to just give in and know that you are small. Faking it just leads to embarrassment. And that kind of embarrassment is worse than you would get by just having small feet and putting them out there for all to see...
And JBCx, sorry but I agree with SSSG, the pic you posted seems pretty normal to me. Size 12-13 wide on someone athletic (even if they are 5'7") is pretty common. My size 7.5 Sambas probably would have fit inside his wide size 12 samba's comfortably ;-) The world is getting pretty huge, but you can't do anything about you. You can try to fight it and be disappointed or you can embrace what you are and be happy ;-) I mean truly, have fun with it. I went from dreading comparison to enjoying it. What's fun is the look on the other person's face when they look in disbelief at how small my feet are compared to theirs. The reactions can be pretty funny. You would think it would make them feel all superior and what not but I find that if I am the one to initiate...like if I compliment their feet and comment how big they are it ends of putting them on edge instead. They can't make fun of you because you have already owned your small feet. It is kind of funny. You always win if you don't let something bother you, then others can't touch you!
SSrF, so do you have a lower limit on size? Is there a size which you would say "that's too small"? Like going to toddler size feel, lol, I would assume you wouldn't (hypothetically) want to go that small. I mean you would probably topple over. Just curious...
Also, I still think that kid with the big calves and size 12s was a little unusual. For his age he stood out for sure...maybe the calves more than the size 12s, but one drew you to the other...
SSrF, "I know girls with better feet than that"... so bigger IS better? And what size is better for girls?
Other question. I saw a few times being mentioned "toppling over". Does anyone here feel or notice to have less leverage, less "standing ground" for having small feet?
Yeah well, small but not too small I guess is how I feel. It is hard to explain but it's related to kids coming of age and size 6 was the smallest I could ever try to fit and I didn't know any boys with smaller than that, so below 6 just felt more like a girl's size. So I guess bigger is better under size 6 generally, with a few exceptions.
I don't feel like I would topple over with shoes down to size 6 but I guess I was referring more to toddler sizes mentioned above, where that could happen maybe.
Yawn, I am still recovering from the holiday, lol ;-)
Did you ask Santa for foot enhancement cream so you could become a size 10 or 11? I asked Santa for food shrink cream but it must have been expired... Anyway I went to the family reunion and my size 7s caught the attention of some of my cousins I haven't seen in a while.
There was the 14 year old who wore a size 13 but was only an inch taller than me, though he was also heavier and more muscular. He plays on his high school football team and was pretty jacked for his age. Then another cousin who was 12 already wore a 10.5, he was like 5'8". Another cousin who was 11 wore a size 7.5, but I am sure his feet will grow more because he was already 5'7"-5'8". My 7s got noticed and were noticeably smaller than the kid with the 7.5s. Between 7 and 7.5 is the transition from boy's to men's so the 7s are noticeably narrower. My small shoe size was a fascination... The 11 yo's feet actually looked bigger than mine, they were definitely wider. I didn't line them up directly but from a few feet away my feet looked smaller. He did say he was outgrowing the 7.5s and probably needed a bigger size soon (no surprise there). He let me try his 7.5s and they did feel like they had been stretched and definitely fit bigger than my 7s. He tried on my 7s and said they were too tight for him, though I think he also want to show that he couldn't fit them. He loved having bigger feet than a grown man and the other kids with bigger feet were pretty perplexed by me and my small feet ;-)
Santa didn't bring me any foot enhancement cream :-( My feet still remain on, what people on here might call, the large side of small. The large side of small remains small...
Was at a holiday party couple weeks ago and there was this girl who was 5'8", medium build (not real heavy, not real skinny) who wore a men's size 11. She was wearing Jordan 6s that were tied pretty tight so looked narrower. Overheard her telling some friends about her big feet and how they were wide too. She hated it...I would have hated it too if my feet had been next to hers :-/ I know I would have been way outsized!
Hey JBC! True! "The large side of small remains small". Some time ago i might have been a bit impressed by even narrow 10s, but that seems to be no longer the case, even to me they no longer look to be in that side of the soccer field 😁. Much more my side. I really get the feel of disappointment!
I am not sure that narrower makes a shoe look bigger or just more like a kid's (or women's) size? I suppose it depends on the size? I am thinking back to my (shoe store) experience with jordan 9.5Ys (with the teens commenting that I was a "kid's size", though I was trying them on in the kid's section, which I am sure didn't help). So narrower can also give the illusion of being a kid's size I think. Sometimes narrow looks longer but sometimes it just looks like a large kid's size...you can't win! Especially with a size like 9.5-10 or so...with a 12 or 13 people won't make the kid's/woman's size mistake.
I think narrow does make the size look smaller, especially with smaller sizes. I like the extended Jordan GS sizes because I think like an 8Y looks more like a kid's shoe than a standard mens 8. The narrower look and it is easy to mistake it for a 7 which are always narrower. And I do agree it is probably less so with big sizes...no one is going to mistake a 12 or 13 for a kids size. Though on the other hand, it is not impossible to find "kids" 11 or 12 yo with size 12 feet, lol!
MANY times. A dozen times? Too many to tell. I was never the one to start, always someone else. Triggered by curiosity or disbelief or being puzzled or amused or whatever. The result of being very small, thus visibly so, as if it can't be missed. And maybe also because to 9s or 10s it doesn't happen that often that they are so much bigger than someone else, so jumping to the occasion?
ReplyDeleteFeel: all variations of embarrasment. From just blushing to laughing and quickly pulling feet back, to wishing to sink through the floor 😁. All depending on the spirit in which it was done, the situation, and the size difference.
ReplyDeleteThese are the stories I love. Generally it will be a shoe to shoe comparison and that tends to be more dramatic since I wear my shoes on the smaller side, but I have also done feet comparison and comparing with a size 11-12 foot or bigger no one would guess my feet are a 9 rather than a 7-7.5. My feet are so skinny that the overall dwarfing is still so huge that the exact size is not noticed. Also, I usually wear dark socks and that tends to make feet look even smaller.
ReplyDeleteI also have a pair of size 7 adidas slides that I "stretched" slightly, the end result is that my foot is shorter than the slides so if I wear them they totally look like my size and help to create the illusion of my feet being even smaller. I have compared with others with size 10-11 feet/slides and the difference just seems enormous, the illusion is totally convincing.
I also love comparing shoes with others if I am wearing shoes that tend to make my feel look extra small, like adidas sambas. I can wear sambas in a size 7-7.5 and be totally comfortable and my feet are skinny enough that I can tie them almost as tight as they can be and still have them not be that tight on me. That really creates the look of having a tiny foot.
Anyway, yup, I am always looking for opportunities to compare. Especially with strangers (my friends already know I have small feet so it is not as exciting). I have gotten weird looks/comments of disbelief at times, but it is not as often as you might expect. People may think it but not comment or really react.
The dreaded comparison! You will give me PTSD just talking about that, lol! I won't rehash the stories I posted elsewhere here but yeah I try to avoid comparisons at all cost. It never ends well. And especially foot comparisons. Sometimes sneaker comparisons are fine, as long as it doesn't result it someone feeling where my toes are and saying "aren't your shoes too big for you?" or "those are way too big for you". If I have to take me feet out all bets are off, it is probably all over and especially if it includes a comparison of my right foot which is an 8.5. And flip flops and slides I avoid...my feet just look too tiny, especially my right.
ReplyDeleteI have tried to convince myself on several occasional that "my feet are not "that small", etc". I wear slides or flips and I feel like everyone's feet are bigger...and with my short stubby toes it's just all the worse. So yeah, I avoid comparisons...at all cost.
And all the worse if the person criticizing my feet is a 12 year old whose feet are already way bigger than mine...
DeleteHere's a story I haven’t told on here... I love these encounters and I would often seek them out but this one was actually by chance.
ReplyDeleteThis was back when I was about 17 and a counselor for a summer youth group entering 7th grade. We went to the beach for a day and kids and counselors were all playing in the water. The kids were 11-12 year olds. A wave ended up taking one of my flip flops and sending it out to sea. One of the kids felt sorry for me and says to me "what size do you wear" and I’m like "usually an 8". He’s like “wow that’s small” and I’m like “yeah but it’s ok, it can be cool to have smaller feet ;-)”. Then he asks "why is it cool to have small feet?" and I say "because you can wear so many sizes!". Then he says “I have a pair of skate shoes in a size 9 you can wear, they are really too small for me but they might fit you”. He sits next to me and looks at my feet (he was wearing flip flops) and is like, “your feet look way smaller than mine!” (he says with some disbelief – his feet were both longer and wider than mine up close, though honestly from a distance they really looked totally normal on him and compared to a man's foot would still have seemed small) “I should be wearing like a size 11 but my mom makes me wear these old 9s when I go to camp and stuff. They were my older brother’s and now they are getting way too small for me. You can wear then if you want.” I asked him how old his brother was when he outgrew them and he’s like, ”he was 11 like me, now he’s 14 and wears a size 13. I’ll probably be a 13 too in a couple of years. The doctor says I will be over 6 ft. (the kid was probably about 5’6”) My bother is already 6’1”.” He then took them out of his backpack, they were DVS enduros. I thanked him and put them on, as the trip back on the train would not have been much fun without anything on my feet.
When I put on his shoes I couldn’t quite believe how roomy they were, they fit me with lots of space. Clearly this kid’s feet had really stretched them. I had like an inch of toe room to the end of the shoe (though I later found out that DVS enduros tend to fit big anyway). The kid saw me testing the size and is like “wow, I can’t believe those are so big on you”. I’m like “yeah, you’ve got some good sized feet there!” The other kids were gathered around too by then and noticed my small feet, some thought it was funny that I could fit the kid’s size 9’s so big. I knew there were a couple of other kids in the group who wore much bigger shoes. There was one who was a size 12 and at least a couple with size 11s. But this kid had been wearing the 9s most of the time so I assumed his feet were smaller than that. Once we get back I thanked the kid for the shoes and wanted to give them back to him and he’s like “no, you keep them, they are too small for me and it will be an excuse for my mom to buy me new ones”. I kept them cause it was a cool encounter to be so outsized but they were way too big for me. I’d say they fit more like a 10 and I would almost trip wearing them.
That's amazing! Do you still have them? Were most of the other kids bigger than you too?
DeleteI actually do still have them, though unfortunately they are not that wearable anymore. The soles are separating. I wore them for a bit after I got them, though they were already pretty used when I got them. But I can probably snap a few photos to show how big they fit. They were some of the biggest fitting size 9s I have ever had.
DeleteAs for the other kids having bigger feet, I'd say it was a mixed bag. I didn't compare with everyone. This was a youth group of like 30 kids and I'd say out of that probably 5-10 had obviously bigger feet, but there may have been more. The kid who give me the sneakers I would have never guessed his feet to be anywhere near as big as they were. The DVS shoes looked so ordinary. They fit big but they didn't look big at all from the outside. You might guess they were an 8.5. So there could have been other "sleepers" whose feet were actually bigger. I was only with the group for that day trip since I had volunteered to fill in for another counselor who couldn't make it, so I didn't really have time to assess everyone's feet unfortunately ;-)
Ok, I got them out of the garage and took some pics ;-) I was wrong, they are actually DVS Bexley rather than Enduro. Both styles look similar. Pics show just how huge these fit for a 9. My toes barely make it into the toe box, just to the rows of holes at the beginning of the toe box! Keep in mind that the 11 year old kid who was wearing them, his toes were literally pressing against the end. It is really incredible. His feet must have been almost a size 12!
Deletehttps://imgur.com/a/W2gA2ik
I saw this when you originally posted, but just came across it again and I can't believe how big they look with your toes so far from the front. If those were really 9's, you look like a size 6!
DeleteWhat % would you all estimate, of guys smaller than you, your size, and bigger than you?
ReplyDeleteFor me it's simple, 99% are bigger, if not more, and some unknown point % my size or smaller.
That would depend if you are talking about shoes on or off. I can pass as "average-ish" wearing 10.5-11 (I prefer 11s since the look more normal, 10.5 can sometimes look small, but often 11s are just too big). If I take my shoes off it all changes. My right foot being an 8.5 I feel like I am outsized 90-95% of the time. Left at 9.5 maybe 85-90%? If I have to take my shoes off the chances are very high that my feet will look very small compared to others around me. I avoid it at all costs.
DeleteAnd SSrF: That sort of thing would be so demoralizing for me, though with 10.5-11 usually the other person's feet are not actually longer than my shoes, but it could happen with a size 14 foot. But the story in general still hit home, it is easy to feel outclassed like that, and totally if I take my shoes off!
Maybe that should have posted further down, but I am talking about above and below comments ;-)
DeleteFor people over 12 I would say 95% or higher are bigger. You don't see many people 13 and above with a size 7-7.5, it's a kids size for sure (though technically I am more like a 9 but I won't count that, 9s are still in the minority, though not like 7s.). When it comes to 12 year olds I'd say probably 60-70% have bigger feet. With 12 year olds it is more hit or miss.
ReplyDeleteWhen the baby faced 13 year old kid sitting next to you on the train probably outweighs you by 30 lbs, is wearing flipflop, talking about how much he can bench, is a couple of inches shorter than you, but his feet are almost an inch longer than the size 7.5 shoes themselves you are wearing, then you know you have not just been outsized but totally outclassed! ;-)
DeleteYip, you're a lower level in the pack or possible pack.
DeleteI'll post this here since the thread it should be in is so freaking long now...
ReplyDeleteMy aunt was telling me last night that one of my cousins who is 10 years old now measures a solid size 10 and his mom bought him 10.5s so he would have some room to grow. She said his mom had just bought him size 8.5s a couple of months ago and now his toes are pushing out the ends. I think a size 10 foot on a 10 year old is about the most extreme I have heard. I am not sure exactly how tall this 10 year old is but she said he plays basketball and it sounded like he is tall for his age, but I don't have an exact number. The shoe size had impressed my aunt more... So now I know a 10 year old who's feet are bigger than mine! Not a cousin I see much but that would be soooo awkward if I was at a pool party or something next to him and he was outsizing me...I am almost not sure where to begin with that one. Having 12 year olds outsize me is bad enough...10 year olds is just...
Is just...? 🙂
Deletelol, yeah, that was just my loss for words there...you can fill in the blank with a number of adjectives there! ;-)
Delete10 year olds wearing a size 10 and I am just at a loss for words...*headshake*
DeleteToo much, too much to cope with? Feel of defeat?
DeleteEssentially. 5th graders with feet bigger than I will ever have is hard to stomach. Or wearing the same size as me (since I often wear size 10.5). If we were both wearing a size 10.5 and I put on his shoes they are going to fit me bigger than they fit him. On him they are just about right, on me they are probably "big" especially my right foot. And if he is already a 10 at that age he's almost guaranteed to be a 13 (or likely bigger) by the time he is fully grown. His feet might even be wider than mine too to finish off the humiliation. Yeah I am not going to any pool parties with that cousin, at least until he's a teen, at that point I could stomach it better, lol!
DeleteNow imagine my feel as a 6 😁. Who has this all the time!
DeleteI feel for you man, I do!
DeleteThanks 😁 You can imagine that I had the "shock therapy", and am no longer sensitive to it. If anything, I'd name this blog KidsSizes or WomensSizes 😁. Well, at least up to 8.
DeleteEven beyond 8...Nike says kid's sizes go up to a 9.5 and women's sizes traditionally stopped at a 10 (or 8.5 in mens) but now they are commonly going up to 11 or bigger in women's. So my feet at 8.5 and 9.5 could be considered either a kid's or women's size, especially the 8.5.
DeleteAnd actually, the extended GS sizes (7.5Y-9.5Y) were originally supposed to be girl's extended sizes I think, even though I think a lot of boys wear them too.
DeleteYip.
DeleteI think that's where the confidence/satisfaction of the 10+ comes from:
They're fully separated from kids / womens. No. doubt whatsoever as not being a mens size.
I was once in a Nike Factory Store, at the Mens shoes. All shoes were available from size 9 to 12.
There was one small corridor on the side, that said "Small mens sizes". It was a bit of a potpouri there, mainly 8s, less 7s, and like just one or two 6s, all thrown together, as in some sort of end of season.
Does it need to be said that in the rest of the 9-12 store, there also were 13s everywhere?
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ReplyDeleteWhat size would you all WISH to have been?
ReplyDeleteMe, a 9. Small, but reasonably so.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I would prefer to have had smaller feet. I am a 9 and that's bigger than I would like. As I said, we should trade feet ;-) I would be happy having a size 6, though I would also settle for a 7-7.5. I think it would be awesome to have size 8s naturally fit huge.
DeleteI mean if my feet were a size 6 a size 9 would fit like a size 12 does now, which is like an inch and a half of toe room, just huge. And a 12 would fit like a 15 does now, which is my foot lost in the middle of the shoe nowhere even close to the toe box!
DeleteAccurate descriptions, SSRF 😁
DeleteFor sure I'm lagging behind as to what is Big. Already in a 12 having your 15-wow-experience.
Last year i tried 17s and 18s in a sports store. I felt like being a different species 😁. Well, that already happens in 14s.
If the culmination is the Alpha or Alpha+, what are we then? Beta? Gamma? And what is then our task in the pack?
Delete(Personally: 11 Alpha, 14 Uber Alpha)
DeleteI know my size would be considered "marginal" small but to me it feels smaller than marginal. There are far too many people wearing 11s for it to be Alpha. It feels like the new average/normal to me. If you say you are an 11 no one thinks twice, if you say you are a size 10, eh, it's a little small. In high school I generally wore 11s. Even though my 11s were too big for me I considered the kids with size 10s to have small-ish feet. Personally if I take my shoes off I feel gamma, with my shoes on and faking it I feel I can pass for normal. I wish I didn't have to fake it...
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DeleteWho here thinks that me as a 6 could take on an 11 guy, or how high/low the potential of that is, and how high/low the 11 estimates his chances?
Delete"Take on"? You mean in a fight? ;-) I suppose it would depend on your overall size/strength vs the 11's. I would not be ready to say that foot size determines all other physical and mental aspects of a person :-) Even if you can argue that it has some psychological impact over well-being, it is probably not *that* broad. I mean my foot size gets me down sometimes, but it doesn't invade all other aspects of my behavior and thinking (at least I don't think it does?)...
DeleteYou could probably argue that on "average" a person with a size 6 is going to be overall smaller than a person with a size 11 but I think you have already proven to be an exception to that SmallShoeSizeGuy ;-)
I would also say that if one of you is trained in martial arts then all bets are off ;-)
DeleteThanks JBC.
DeleteI asked the question for several reasons.
1. Whatever talents I might have, leverage is not one of them. I wonder if that's foot size related.
2. I have noticed that the confidence of the other guy goes up, be it for instinctive estimation as to advantages in kicking, leverage or not.
3. Own confidence in potential when fighting is pretty low (again fs related?) and belief in self is half the fight.
No martial arts here.
I don't know? I know a guy who is jacked and about 5'10" and wears a size 8.5. His feet are even slightly smaller than my right foot. His foot size has not damaged his confidence any. He does have really wide feet, but they definately look small for his size. So certainly foot size is not everything when it comes to confidence. It seems like his foot size doesn't bother him much because I have heard him say "yeah, I have small feet" and laugh about it. He seems to readily tell people he has small feet even before it comes up, almost as if he wants to get that out of the way. His feet are wide so looking at them I would have said he was a 7.5. He tends to wear Jordans.
DeleteHis feet are wide - still a strong kick, or good for general warfare?
DeleteSure, foot size is not the only factor in confidence! Maybe it's just for me because i'm still 2.5 sizes smaller and narrow, than someone you describe as small 😁
It's true, small is relative. I think of 8.5 as small, or really anything below 10...and sometimes even 10 can seem small :-/
DeleteBut the connection between shoe size and "power" is definitely there. Anyone with larger feet, especially 12+ can seem dominating and powerful. Almost unconsciously, if I see someone with decent sized feet/shoes I notice it and it makes me feel like they have something I don't. And it is ever more impressive on a short person, it's almost like it makes them taller. It is something I can never have and that makes it worth even more in a sense. If I really wanted to I could probably get jacked and build muscle, but I can never make my feet into a size 12...
True, more impressive on a shorter person. I take it for the even better ratio and thus leverage.
ReplyDeleteAnd how it's intrinsic. You can work out or save or work hard for a luxury car or promotion etc etc, but this is given, genetic. Hence both the high awareness as high frustration?
If WE say things as "10 is passable", "12 is a decent size" etc...
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that we see our own sizes as "non-passable", "non-decent" etc?
If so, is that our own opinion, or what we think or have learned to be a general opinion? Or of Big size guys?
Yeah, I'm certainly not happy with the size of my feet. I want them to be bigger! I always feel embarrassed to "expose" them outside of shoes. They just look small, and especially the right. The low end of passable or decent is above me. More like 10-10.5 to be passable.
ReplyDeleteThat's my opinion for sure. I feel like generally others would say my feet are on the small side. I think that would be the opinion of a lot of people, even if they are not big size guys. Big size guys being 12 and almost really more 13+ to be considered "big". Size 12 is really not considered that big like it used to be, even though it is still considered a decent size. If you said you had a size 12 no one would even flinch unless you are 12 years old or under or you are only 5'4" or something...then it might be a little surprising. I think you would get more shock from someone "of decent height" saying they are a size 6-7. Though amount "professionals", eg store clerks, it would be much more acceptable for someone getting a size 14 for the clerk to say "oh you have really big feet" vs the opposite of a person getting a size 7 where it would be insulting for the clerk to say "you have really tiny feet". Same with someone tall vs short. You praise Big you try to ignore Small. So small becomes taboo, which makes it all the worse to be small - and of course teens don't have the professionalism of store clerks, so they would be happy to laugh about small. I have had laughing happen about my foot size vs Bigger (usually vs 12-13). Even my 9.5 left foot will look like a girl's foot next to a 12 or 13 wide. It can be extremely demoralizing, especially if the kid is a pre-pubescent teen who thinks they are are big and bad, who enjoys taunting/humiliate the grown man for whom they have already achieved a far more alpha status. It's the kids like that that make having smallish feet the worst, grownups are much more civilized and just mentally, rather than verbally, note their superiority...
JBC, so we all have the same experiences. I so confirm that 6 triggers much more reactions of surprise than 12 or over.
DeleteI know a 13 who had never realised that someone would see his size as big. Whereas not a single sales clerk has not let me know that i was small. I've had every raised eyebrow, confusion, smile, disbelief, laugh or joke under the sun 😁 and don't even mention when a 6 is too big.
Possibly the difference between your end of Small and mine 🙂. At 6 people just cannot not say it, or hide the surprise.
Other difference, I don't have the teens' reaction that you get. In "my league" or where i sit, the fellow-6ers can just become wide-eyed or open-mouthed, not agressive or joking.
I am surprised that you would get jokes and laughter from sales clerks about your size 6. I suppose it is hard for me to say for sure, since my feet are not that small and I tend to buy sz 10.5-11, and sales people rarely check for fit (though I have had it occasionally and it can be embarrassing - a sales guy once told me the 11s I was getting had "way too much toe room" but I just brushed it off saying I wanted space to be comfortable). I have never heard a sales clerk comment on a small size (like a 7-8), but I have heard comments when people get size 14 or more.
DeleteI guess size 6 might be beyond taunting by teens? Just too far off to even joke about? Certainly the time I tried on the size 12 adidas shoes (that fit like a 13-14) on the plane ride I wrote about a while back, I got some pretty bad taunting, but I am sure that is partly because I was wearing a size 11 and hence "claiming" to be an 11. I was caught pretending to be something I wasn't and that was probably the real cause of the joking. If I was wearing a size 9-9.5 the experience probably would have been different, expectations would have been different. Lesson learned, never accept an offer to try on someone else's shoes, you'll be sorry! But that was unusual, people rarely offer to have me try their shoes. I suppose I have to wonder if it was intentional, maybe he wanted to show how much bigger his feet were than my 11s...only to find my feet were much small than an 11 which only amplified things. Who knows?
And so we're all in different stages and situations.
Delete7 or 8 are small, but judging reactions of sales clerks, 6 is simply unheard of, and don't start about 5. So what they might THINK about 8, me i get to HEAR, if only out of sheer surprise.
Teens - I don't know their reactions, don't sit with them, do not move in their realm, or where they sit or stand at a sneaker wall, I don't go, already for that being like a sign that those are not my sizes there. 12yo's walk me by to Mens.
Funny story: once i asked for 5s in running shoes. The young sales clerk showed the box and wanted to rush to check-out. Then noticed that the reason why i sat down was because to prepare to try them - and he almost dropped the box out of sheer surprise. "They are for YOU"? That simply hadn't crossed his mind.
DeleteBut that was only the start. Surely i was mistaken, i was from another country and used a different sizing system, no, i did not understand, this was a Womens model.... he was not far away from getting impatient about my unwillingness to understand that this was impossible. Then he saw my sock foot, and said: "Oh".
If i ever should have realised that i was uniquely small, it was then (and a few other moments).
But you make these rationalisations. As in, that i had merely bumped into a uniquely big sales clerk, or that this sports store catered to big athletes, whatever.
Sure,this and a rare few other moments were extreme, but oh yes, that 6 is unusually small (at least for me at 5ft9), that i notice everywhere. Thanks for the sales-clerk-less store, self-catering store, and the online one! 😁
And I HAVE overheard it, one guy to another: "A 10? Are you only a 10"? Amused, almost endeared, like how cute.
ReplyDeleteWe're just all in different stages of the, uh, smallification 😁
As someone who frequently buys size 7-8 shoes I agree with JBCx that reactions from sales staff are pretty rare, even when the clerk has to bring the shoes out. But mostly I prefer stores that are self service where I can try different sizes to get what is perfectly small in whatever style :-) I have had instances where the checkout clerk did comment (I think I mentioned that in one of the posts), in one case he was young, maybe 6'1" and athletic build and probably wore a size 12 or 13 himself so me buying a 7.5 was total weirdness for him, like it was impossibly small and I had picked up the wrong box or something - asking if I was sure I actually tried them on and if they really fit me, etc. But I have had fun too, as I also mentioned before. Older women sales clerks can be fun because they might comment on the small size but are never cruel...often thinking I am younger than I am and telling me my feet will grow, etc. I do remember one instance where they only had 2 sizes of a shoe, a 7.5 and a 10.5 and the clerk thought for sure I had picked up the wrong box ;-) And going to thrift stores I always notice the size 7-8s tend to hang around longer and I am more likely to find cool styles I like for cheap ;-)
ReplyDeleteSmallShoeSizeGuy, 6 is small but so is 7-7.5. I feel like they are in a similar class. That's why I prefer 7.5 vs 8 too. 8 can be marginally acceptable for an adult, but a 7.5 is much less common from what I see. If someone's feet are smaller than an 8 they will usually wear an 8-9 anyway it seems (though I don't have a ton of examples). Then there are the teens who outgrow their shoes and are now a 10 but are still wearing a 7.5. In that case kids don't seem to mind, because they can tell people they are really a 10 and then it's like, ok those are just really tight.
Here is a question. How often have you had an experience where you tried on someone's shoes (either with or without them knowing), that you were not sure would fit but they ended up being big or fitting much better than expected? Or maybe they fit smaller instead? Either way, how did it make you feel? Were you glad or sorry after?
ReplyDeleteHello there, SSrF!
DeleteI often tried shoes. But i can't recall any that "i was not sure they would fit". I'm always sure they are too/way too big.
Mm, how did thst make me feel, let me think. I think thst in general i'm just impressed by the bigger guy.
Being small has become a given for me, i'm immunized against embarrasment 😁
I do agree that 7.5ish is really small.
DeleteI am not entirely sure why i have gotten so many reactions from sales clerks and you don't. I take it there's some frontier there, one between sometimes occuring and one never. I get genuine surprise, as well as laughs or amusement.
It must be said i'm sometimes a 5, and rather narrow too. Womens, Kids, it all goes.
I'd say that most of the shoe stores I got to, including thrift stores (which I frequent a lot), there are usually women at the checkout. Women don't have the same reaction as men to small sizes I think. For women it's like "ok that guy has small feet so what", but for men it's more of a manhood thing and they are like "there is a problem with your manhood if you are that small". The only times I have ever gotten strong reactions is from male clerks, not female. Men may believe the myth that foot size is connected with the size of certain other body parts too...
DeleteI'm not sure there.
DeleteIt's true that Women don't seem to have a strong reaction, but you also fully drop from their list of possible partner, and that's actually a strong reaction too, only not visible.
For men I think it's unknowingly or instinctively related to all things survival potential. Standing your ground before the cave, kicking, carrying, general warfare, so if you're a danger or peer or sparring partner or competitor or useful Beta knight, that sort of things.
At least me i never had any reference to that myth, but i have had the question "how do you not topple over"? 😁
Oh, and totally agree that we're in the same league. I think all 8s and less do.
DeleteBut we can also all be light blue, and still be of different shades 😁 or phases of becoming pastel.
JBC is, I think, of us you're the one in a very specific league. Say dark blue crocs but starting to fade. That can be a blow in itself, a phase in itself. One of getting conscious about it and bracing yourself. Little shocks, no big ones nor many, but as in an earthquake the first shocks are the most surprising, taking you off guard.
Delete(Yeah, i've been through all phases 😁)
I've asked women about it (I like talking about my feet :-) and it's a mixed bag. There are some who really care that their man have "man sized" feet and then others will say they only care if the guy's feet are smaller than theirs and still others who don't really care at all either way. I still think in general it is less of an issue for girls than guys.
ReplyDeleteTake care with the difference between what people say, and do, with what their reason says, and then how their instinct acts.
Delete"Shoe size does not matter" says the rational moment - and then they go date the size 12 guy 😁
Well, the proof is in the pudding. The average size keeps increasing (8.5 to 9 to 10.5 in not 30 years)... and that is only possible if big reproduces more.
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DeleteOk, well, I've dated women who don't seem to care. They are more likely to find my strange shoe obsession a little weird vs my shoe size ;-) But maybe it's a way of weeding out those who are only looking skin deep? I want someone to love me for who I am not for my foot size or other purely physical features. I know that's not how much of the world works but that's where I stand.
DeleteSSrF, in what sort of aisle or department do you find your shoes? Is that still Mens?
DeleteI'm asking because me I have been walked to Womens, been said to go to Kids, and so, so that might be the threshold, between no reactions or reactions?
It depends on the type of store. In a self service shoe store, where the boxes are on shelves, I usually go to mens. Men's sizes usually go down to size 7, though you will also see size 7 in kids for some shoes. It depends on the brand/model. For some 6.5 is the max for kids and for others it is 7. I have shopped in the kid's section looking for 7s. But a lot DCs, and other skate shoes, usually have 7s in Mens. I have a couple pairs of DC court graffik in size 7 that fit great :-)
DeleteThrift stores, where I usually go to buy Jordans, because they are so expensive otherwise (and they can be pre-stretched), tend to have everything mixed in. So to check the kids sizes is just down the same rack from the men's sizes. Just last week I picked up a pair of Jordan's 5s for cheap in a size 7.5. I could tell from the footprint on the insoles and how they fit that the guy who had them before me had feet that were slight bigger than mine. That was a pretty awesome find, I didn't need to modify them at all :-)
As I said, I generally avoid stores where the shoes are just displayed on a wall where the clerk has to go in back to get the size. I like to be able to try on a bunch of shoes and styles to see what fits perfect.
SSSG, my league doesn't feel all that special :-( It just feels kind of small...though I guess I am what would be called "high end small" ...but still small. The advantage of high end small is that I can get away with pretending to be normal without looking like I am wearing clown shoes and tripping right an left.
DeleteBut if I take my shoes off...I am small. Although on here I guess I get to be the giant, lol!
Though SSrF, your feet are only slightly smaller than mine (actually bigger than my right foot) and you are wearing size 7-8, that sort of freaks me too, because I know I have tried 8.5s that fit just a little too well...though my left foot would probably be in pain with an 8 or below.
Guy retired at work a few months ago. He was in his 60s. He was a good guy and had an important job. The boss says to him, "you've got some big shoes to fill" and he quips back "well, they are not all that big I only wear a 9 1/2"...
JBCx: hahaha, oh I bet I could hook you up with some nicely stretched sz 7.5s that would fit you perfectly! A 7 might be a stretch since that's about the limit for me, but you are only a half size bigger than me so a 7.5 should be able to fit perfect.
ReplyDeleteHow would you feel about wearing a size 7.5 that fit you perfectly? Would it be totally demoralizing? Would you be unable to face the public? What if they were the only pair of shoes you had and you had no other choice?
Maybe I will have to come and swap your shoes out in the night and see if you notice, lol. Do you prefer Jordans or Skate shoes? ;-)
You really are trying to make me freak out :-/ This reminds me of the time my friend let me try his size 7.5 skate shoes and they actually seemed to fit me. They were stretched out for sure... I'll stand by that unmodified or stretched I would have a hard time fitting an 8 or below, certainly not without pain and discomfort.
DeleteHow would I feel if I had to wear 7.5s anyway? Like I would rather not meet anyone I knew... Like I would rather go barefoot maybe... I would be subconscious for sure and would probably feel like people were noticing and wondering why my feet were so tiny. And yes, I have tried on smaller sizes when people are not around to see how they fit but it's not something I would like to do in public..
I'll have to be sure to keep the door locked at night ;-)
I like Jordans and skate shoes. I probably have more Jordans though. I'll take them in a 10.5 to 11 thank you ;-)
Huh? One can get demoralised or wish not to be seen in public in 7.5s?
DeleteThat'd where me i get motivated, worriless, "now i won't get a stare or a comment"!
lol, SSSG. JBCx might have forgotten who he was talking to ;-)
DeleteJBCx: What I find is that most people don't pay attention to your shoes and feet as much as you might think. So I look at people's feet and shoe size and I am sure you do too, but that's because we are conscious of shoe size. I think for most people it is not a big deal, unless presented with something unusual and even then they may have to know to look for it. Even so I think many will shrug it off. Kids would be more likely to poke fun in a setting with friends, but for the most part I expect you would be surprised how little attention 7.5s would get you. Mostly it would be in your mind ;-)
Ok, Ok, I know, I am outnumbered on here ;-)
ReplyDeleteSSrF: I know you have embraced small, I am just not ready to do that. Not when I have been fighting it since I was 12-13!
SSSG: I know you don't have a choice really. When 7.5-8 is what 11 is for me...
Maybe there are enough abnormal things about me without needing to add small shoes/feet (well the smallish feel are sort of a given). But we all pretend to some extent. SSrF, you are playing the opposite pretend...wearing smaller than your true size (though I am sure no one would ever expect that) so maybe that is not so different from me, just opposite? Maybe everyone hides something, just different things? Maybe we are all more imperfect than we appear...all covering up our flaws...as best we can...
Ow, that shoe size complex.
DeleteI get it, because personally i think that people generally DO always pick up on it. But then just as they would pick up on anything else (height, age, dress code, personality...), their instinct being wired to instantly read someones social and financial status, safety, competitiveness and more. It's not really them doing that, at least not rationally or consciously, but their instinct, or what they have learned to expect or think.
In that, i think we've all picked up from reactions that "big=respectable, small=amusing". And when that happens a lot, you get conscious about it.
It's a 100% certain that when you're a 100% kids size (and not in some grey area as 7 or 8) that people cross the threshold from not thinking or saying about it, to definitely always showing surprise, friendly or not doesn't matter, there's always a reaction.
When at school, no month went by without one, and when still meeting sales clerks, I don't think there was a single one who did not show or told about surprise.
A few times much longer than they'd have done with a surprisingly big size, which i assume is because you're not being seen as dangerous, or the feel to be backed up by general opinion, or the sudden happiness about the own 10 😁.
In short, with me the dam (of not holding back) only bursts, but i'm pretty sure that before that, there are already non-shown thoughts, but maybe they're also not important, not more than "he or he is wearing a nice shirt" or "he should get a haircut".
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DeleteI agree, I think people do look at feet and size people up (sorry SSrF), even if unconsciously. It automatically becomes part of the picture and shapes your view of them, even if subconsciously, it still contributes to the overall picture of the person. Small feet becomes part of your image of someone, if you perceive it. So me wearing a 10.5-11 is successful in not adding small feet to a person's view of me. Shoe size just becomes a "normal" undistinguished feature.
DeleteGreat summary JBC!
DeleteIt's such a great summary.
DeleteSince the reactions towards me, both in frequency as intensity, i'm sure that BEFORE a 6, people already THINK smth and if not, not know that they stock it up in their template of you.
Me i am only over the border where you'd hold back. Be it for it being such a rare request, be it for me being so nice (ergo: harmless, no worries about being told of), and of course charming and handsome 😁😁😁.
That's ok JBCx, I am fine with people putting small feet in their image of me. People will comment on how skinny I am too ;-) So it all goes together. I may be 5'10' but I have a small frame and people are always telling me I look like I am shorter than I am...until they get up close and compare. I have had people tell me I must be 5'8"-5'9", which is funny because you would think being skinny would make me look taller but I guess my proportions are weird...
DeleteBut truly, I don't get as many comments about shoes/feet as you would think. I think it is because I am skinny and my feet are skinny, so my shoes/feet just don't look so out of place. Size is always relative. Small is relative. If everything else seems smallish the feet just fit in and are not really noticed as unusual.
Years ago, when i was not wiser, i was in a sort of skateboard store, and looked, from a distance at a few sneakers under shirts.
DeleteA sales clerk popped up, asking if he could help. Today i would have said no, but back then i said i just wondered if they also had those in smaller sizes.
"You wanted to ask for 7 or 7.5"? he said, with a bit of an endeared smile, nothing more than that, only a hint that he thought that to be small.
"Uh, more like 6 or so" I said.
Man! Did that change everything!
I keep saying it, somewhere between 7 and 6 (and forget 5) sits a difference, from "small happens" to "this never happens".
I KNOW that in 7.5s you don't get comments or reactions. It's like normally-small.
5s or 6s, you start to jump out of the patterns that people are used to.
As in a city where all buildings are 2-4 stories, there's suddenly a 1-story one. Like "huh"? 😁
It's true that 7.5 is still "men's" in just about all brands. I always considered the cutoff to between 7 and 7.5. Size 7 is where the GS range ends for Jordans (ignoring the extended GS sizes). There is a significant difference in width between a size 7 GS and a size 7.5 men's in jordans. That really makes the jump look bigger. Size 7s then really look like a kid's shoe where 7.5 looks like a small men's. Since my feet are super skinny the GS 7s work good for me and so do the extended GS for 7.5-8s. Some brands and models the change is 6.5 to 7, but either way I think it is that switch from kid's width to men's width that makes all the difference. My feet are on the small side anyway, but I really think the fact they are skinny bumps them down to kids size. Even though my feet a size 9 I think the fact that they are so skinny is why no one tells me my feet looked big for a 7-7.5.
DeleteI have size 7 Adidas slides where my foot is slightly shorter than the sides (I know how to stretch slides too ;-) ) so it helps to complete the illusion, no one has ever said "oh aren't those too small for you" or anything like that. I actually did have one guy look and say "are you like a 7 or 7.5"? So yeah, illusion complete, I don't really need my feet shrunk to be a 7, they just sort of are anyway.
My, I can't believe it, never to get comments. Well, of course I believe it, it's just SO different from my world. I'm going to wear more Mens 7+s 😁.
DeleteI wouldn't say "never" I would just said rarely and generally not unsolicited comments. I have gotten comments with groups of friends, etc. if the subject comes up or someone likes my shoes (or slides).
DeleteCool.
DeleteSo how do you/does one still get conscious/aware of it?
Not sure I follow? How does one get conscious or aware their feet are small? Just look around and you know you are one of the smallest ;-) Or do you mean how do others get conscious so as to comment on your small size? That would depend on how much it stands out, how out of proportion it seems overall.
DeleteAh ok.
DeletePersonally I don't know if i'd gotten conscious about it, as little as about nose size or arm length - if it hadn't been for comments.
But ok, who knows.
I was conscious about it from a young age. From about the age of 12-13 when feet start growing. I could tell my feet were smaller than other kids, and I did get some comments at that age and I initially wore bigger sizes due to peer pressure, but then I had the experience trying on smaller shoes cool kids had outgrown and it all changed. I knew I could never be "big" so I would embrace small. I never looked back.
DeleteIt is easy to tell you are smaller than others if you just look around and I tend to also check other people's shoes and size them up. It is obvious most are bigger than me and even if they are about the same size, mine will always seem smaller because my shoes and feet are so narrow. Next to a man's width size 7.5 foot my size 9 foot is still the little kid's foot, looking small and skinny. I have really short toes too which makes my feet look smaller. Next to a size 7.5 foot with long toes, my foot actually looks smaller unless I am right next to the other foot and can compare length. So it all becomes very obvious where I stand :-)
Was helping out with a youth group visiting from out of town as part of a high school program. They were sophomores age 15 and 16. This one kid who was 15 had massive calve muscles. I mean I have seen jacked guys 250 lbs with much smaller calves. I snapped the photo below when we were sightseeing. Was trying to figure out the kid's shoe size. I had convinced myself he was a wide 9-9.5 maybe. He was also not that tall, probably about 5'7". You can't really see it there but his feet were bulging out of the shoes width wise. When we were back on the bus he was just in front of me and I heard him telling friends that his shoes were a size 12 but were getting way too tight. He was stretching his feet into the aisle to show off his shoes and calves and I could see then just how massive his shoes and feet where. From a slight distance the size of his calves and the width of this feet created the illusion that he was a much smaller size. I also heard him says he weighed 165 (almost 25 lbs heavier than me). You can't see it there but his chest was also pretty developed and muscular, though his calves were still huge in comparison! I heard him also mention that he could squat over 400 lbs. He definitely never missed leg day! So I was *way* outsized, in every way, by a 5'7" 15 year old...and he was baby faced so he could have easily passed for 13...aside from being so jacked.
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/MQ3qKrs
Seems like a regular 5'7" to me 😁
DeleteI hope that's "a little" above average at least...for sure his calves are not "regular" for someone that age/size. The shoe size...a 12 wide going on a 13...I hope that is not becoming the norm for 5'7" teens... :-/ Certainly being quite as jacked was not the norm as he stood out from the others in that regard (his legs for sure). As far as shoe size. A little hard to say. His feet looked wider than most but there were some other kids whose feet were pretty long too...but he stood out...mainly the calves and the illusion it seemed to create that his feet were smaller than they actually were. Then again it was a small sample, there were only about 16 kids on the special tour and I am not around high school kids that much to really know what is "normal" these days... And it was an AP group so they were more bookish in general, so I suppose that did help that kid stand out for being more athletic. Sigh...
DeleteJBC, you make me smile 😁. Still so competitive. Me it's "game over he wins" as of merely hearing age - what, 11? You are sighing when you don't win.
DeleteBut i totally understand as well.
The makes me laugh too...well I mean I guess that's a give since I like wearing small shoes ;-) I gave up trying to be competitive when I was about 14. It is much easier (and more fun IMHO) to just give in and know that you are small. Faking it just leads to embarrassment. And that kind of embarrassment is worse than you would get by just having small feet and putting them out there for all to see...
DeleteAnd JBCx, sorry but I agree with SSSG, the pic you posted seems pretty normal to me. Size 12-13 wide on someone athletic (even if they are 5'7") is pretty common. My size 7.5 Sambas probably would have fit inside his wide size 12 samba's comfortably ;-) The world is getting pretty huge, but you can't do anything about you. You can try to fight it and be disappointed or you can embrace what you are and be happy ;-) I mean truly, have fun with it. I went from dreading comparison to enjoying it. What's fun is the look on the other person's face when they look in disbelief at how small my feet are compared to theirs. The reactions can be pretty funny. You would think it would make them feel all superior and what not but I find that if I am the one to initiate...like if I compliment their feet and comment how big they are it ends of putting them on edge instead. They can't make fun of you because you have already owned your small feet. It is kind of funny. You always win if you don't let something bother you, then others can't touch you!
DeleteSSrF, so do you have a lower limit on size? Is there a size which you would say "that's too small"? Like going to toddler size feel, lol, I would assume you wouldn't (hypothetically) want to go that small. I mean you would probably topple over. Just curious...
DeleteAlso, I still think that kid with the big calves and size 12s was a little unusual. For his age he stood out for sure...maybe the calves more than the size 12s, but one drew you to the other...
DeleteHey SmallSneakersRFun, you should talk to Panjumbiejohn over in "Hiding Feet" blog...you and he might be kindred spirits ;-)
ReplyDeleteHuh, I guess I haven't been keeping track of the other posts. That was a little bit ago, I wonder if size 7 guy gave up? We'll see...
DeleteYeah, he might have given up and thought we were ignoring him :-(
DeleteSSrF, "I know girls with better feet than that"... so bigger IS better? And what size is better for girls?
DeleteOther question. I saw a few times being mentioned "toppling over". Does anyone here feel or notice to have less leverage, less "standing ground" for having small feet?
Yeah well, small but not too small I guess is how I feel. It is hard to explain but it's related to kids coming of age and size 6 was the smallest I could ever try to fit and I didn't know any boys with smaller than that, so below 6 just felt more like a girl's size. So I guess bigger is better under size 6 generally, with a few exceptions.
DeleteI don't feel like I would topple over with shoes down to size 6 but I guess I was referring more to toddler sizes mentioned above, where that could happen maybe.
Happy holidays, and a size bigger everyone in 2023 😁. In my case, 4 or 5.
ReplyDeleteYawn, I am still recovering from the holiday, lol ;-)
ReplyDeleteDid you ask Santa for foot enhancement cream so you could become a size 10 or 11? I asked Santa for food shrink cream but it must have been expired... Anyway I went to the family reunion and my size 7s caught the attention of some of my cousins I haven't seen in a while.
There was the 14 year old who wore a size 13 but was only an inch taller than me, though he was also heavier and more muscular. He plays on his high school football team and was pretty jacked for his age. Then another cousin who was 12 already wore a 10.5, he was like 5'8". Another cousin who was 11 wore a size 7.5, but I am sure his feet will grow more because he was already 5'7"-5'8". My 7s got noticed and were noticeably smaller than the kid with the 7.5s. Between 7 and 7.5 is the transition from boy's to men's so the 7s are noticeably narrower. My small shoe size was a fascination... The 11 yo's feet actually looked bigger than mine, they were definitely wider. I didn't line them up directly but from a few feet away my feet looked smaller. He did say he was outgrowing the 7.5s and probably needed a bigger size soon (no surprise there). He let me try his 7.5s and they did feel like they had been stretched and definitely fit bigger than my 7s. He tried on my 7s and said they were too tight for him, though I think he also want to show that he couldn't fit them. He loved having bigger feet than a grown man and the other kids with bigger feet were pretty perplexed by me and my small feet ;-)
Santa didn't bring me any foot enhancement cream :-( My feet still remain on, what people on here might call, the large side of small. The large side of small remains small...
DeleteWas at a holiday party couple weeks ago and there was this girl who was 5'8", medium build (not real heavy, not real skinny) who wore a men's size 11. She was wearing Jordan 6s that were tied pretty tight so looked narrower. Overheard her telling some friends about her big feet and how they were wide too. She hated it...I would have hated it too if my feet had been next to hers :-/ I know I would have been way outsized!
Hey JBC! True! "The large side of small remains small".
DeleteSome time ago i might have been a bit impressed by even narrow 10s, but that seems to be no longer the case, even to me they no longer look to be in that side of the soccer field 😁. Much more my side.
I really get the feel of disappointment!
I am not sure that narrower makes a shoe look bigger or just more like a kid's (or women's) size? I suppose it depends on the size? I am thinking back to my (shoe store) experience with jordan 9.5Ys (with the teens commenting that I was a "kid's size", though I was trying them on in the kid's section, which I am sure didn't help). So narrower can also give the illusion of being a kid's size I think. Sometimes narrow looks longer but sometimes it just looks like a large kid's size...you can't win! Especially with a size like 9.5-10 or so...with a 12 or 13 people won't make the kid's/woman's size mistake.
DeleteI think narrow does make the size look smaller, especially with smaller sizes. I like the extended Jordan GS sizes because I think like an 8Y looks more like a kid's shoe than a standard mens 8. The narrower look and it is easy to mistake it for a 7 which are always narrower. And I do agree it is probably less so with big sizes...no one is going to mistake a 12 or 13 for a kids size. Though on the other hand, it is not impossible to find "kids" 11 or 12 yo with size 12 feet, lol!
DeleteA small average size family, SSrF 😁.
ReplyDelete