8 years ago, I posted about my experience from college about a 7th grader who outsized me in the shoe department. That post has over 200 comments.
Today I'm writing about a recent experience where I personally know a 5th grader who is wearing size 9 shoes compared to my size 8. And they're getting tight on him... He hasn't realized he's bigger than me yet, but it's only a matter of time.
What encounters with big kids have you had recently?
Well crap, update: the kid is now wearing size 10 shoes. No hope now.
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot about this site! It's been a while!
ReplyDeleteSo I have a cousin who is 11 and in the 6th grade. When I saw him last month he was wearing a size 10.5 and they were starting to get snug on him. He was complaining to his mom that she needed to get him new shoes, and she was complaining that she had just bought those a couple months ago! They were jordan 1 dunks. Having heard this exchange I had to know how they fit. He had taken them off when he went upstairs from the basement and I had an opportunity to try them on. They fit really big - more like an 11 than a 10.5 so clearly he had already stretched them some. I am sure he will end up being really tall, though at the moment he is 5'8" and so a couple inches shorter than me (still pretty tall for 11). What also surprised me was how wide his feet were. He was skinny but his feet were quite wide, much wider than mine. He also noticed that my feet were a lot smaller than his and seemed really gleeful about his feet being bigger than a grown man's and of course broadcast that to the household!
Hurray, some life here! I thought nobody wanted to talk shoe sizes any longer.
ReplyDeleteAbove: me being only a 5 or 6, that obviously happens regularly.
When such guys as above are a bigger size than you, do you also have this sense of loss of masculinity? Or of them being superior?
For sure there is something of a sense of some loss of masculinity and them being superior but it doesn't bother me nearly the way it did when I was young and "coming of age". When you are a teen it is a huge deal and other kids are always picking out stuff like that which is different (or less manly, etc) to poke fun at. When you get to be an adult people are much less likely to comment (well at least other adults are less likely, teens and kids are still likely to comment). When I was a young teen I felt the pressure I started wearing larger sizes for a short while (10-11) but when other kids noticed how big my feet were I ended the charade. My feet are around a size 9, but I actually started to wear smaller than that. I found that wearing a 9 got lots of "you have small feet attention" and I tried going down to size 7.5-8. This still gets small size attention, but in a different way. When you are 7.5-8 it changes the dynamic. Your feet are not just a little small, they are really small, and kids with larger sizes (10-12) actually stopped picking on me as much. I was now totally out of their league - where it felt like size 9 was still marginally in the competition, but just small. So I still wear shoes in the 7.5-8.5 range today and sometimes I can swing 7s too. I have learned to enjoy having small feet and embrace it! :-)
ReplyDeletecorrection: how big my feet were -> how big my shoes were
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI will add that I love seeing teens and adults who have small feet/shoes. I always notice and feel a connection with them. If I see a teen who is tall (6 feet or more) and he looks like he is wearing a size 8 I will often try to chat with them about their shoe size. I have been interested in how they feel about it and they often think it is cool that an adult also has small feet. Feedback has been mixed. I have gotten teens who will tell me "it really sucks, I wish I was a size 10 or 12" to others who totally shrug it off and say "it's just my size" and are cool with it. I have even had some tell me they "like" having small feet because it is easier to find shoes. I do find that with smaller feet they are usually pretty wide (to make up for the length perhaps). I guess I am a little unusual in that my feet are both small and skinny...which definitely makes them look smaller. In slides or flip flops my feet really look like a kid's feet.
ReplyDeleteAgain some life indeed 😊.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are unusual. So far i haven't met a single small footer who tried to be even smaller.
Yup, I'm weird, what can you do? :-)
ReplyDeleteBut really I think the fact that my feet are skinny and "look" really small (I have short toes too) which almost make going smaller more natural and more "normal" for me.
It was also that when I was 13-14 I had a friend in summer camp who wore a size 7.5 and outgrew them. His feet had stretched them enough that they now fit me perfectly and he gave them to me. They just became my size and I didn't want to go back. I wore those for most of the 8th grade year in middle school and that was now my size!
ReplyDeleteWe're probably all different. Me i have been sent to Womens, several times, to Kids, been compared to girl friends... so if anyone hides his size as far as possible... 😁
ReplyDeleteLucas, are you the guy with size 6 who used to post on here (whose posts all seem to be gone...) or are you someone new?
ReplyDeleteOops, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself 😁. Yes, that's me.
DeleteI did not take into account that when deleting my blogspot blog/account, also my comments here would disappear. I'm sorry!
Ah ok, so we have been around this rodeo before and you already know my story :-)
ReplyDeleteYip 😊. And sorry again.
DeleteAs to the topic "outsized by younger kids"... for me that's not a special moment, but a common one.
Only when being a size 10 or more i feel knocked out, but size 7, 8, 9... nothing otherwordly.
So I was in a book store the other day, sitting reading when 2 people came by. I was looking down and just saw feet go by. I thought it was a dad and his young kid. I saw the kid's feet go by and they looked small and somewhat wide and I was expecting to see a kid maybe 12 or 13 who was maybe 5'4" and maybe a little heavy. Instead I looked up and saw a guy who looked early 20s, over 6 feet tall and lean and muscular. He was wearing adidas sambas and to me they looked like a wide size 7. I got a chance to ask him about his size (said I was doing a survey for a social psychology class). He told me his shoes were a size 8.5 and that his feet were really wide. He told me it didn't bother him too much to have small feet but that he would definitely prefer if they were bigger. But he seemed very accepting that he was what he was and said he didn't try to buy bigger shoes to make his feet look bigger. Said he preferred shoes that were comfortable and fit him even if they look small. He also said he was only 17 and not early 20s like I thought.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note I will says that I think a good number of people with small feet try to hide it by buying shoes that are too big, but even more so with teens. I thought it was cool that this kid was embracing his size and not trying to hide it.
But where do you find all these 8s? 😁. I literally know none, except online.
ReplyDeleteI see people occasionally in public with small feet. Not that common but not totally rare either, though definitely stands out when it happens. I am always fascinated when I see it and feel like I have found a kindred spirit, lol ;-)
ReplyDeleteAh ok, you have a radar for small 🙂.
ReplyDeleteThough i don't know any 8 myself, i think to have understood that some 5% of guys are still that size. Maybe i don't know any, for them hiding it or not mentioning it?
Yeah, I do have a radar for small, lol. I do think a lot of people hid it by buying shoes that are too big. That's pretty common I think.
DeleteA Holy Communion dinner. The 2 boys the dinner was for, were talking and were both a size 8. That's about the only time I heard anyone that size.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, I HAVE met a sales clerk who was a 6.5. But he was like 5'4" and really skinny and boyish. But thats about it.
Holy Communion? How old were these boys? I thought people did Holy Communion when they were like 7 or 8?
DeleteOh, the other communion then, at age 11.
DeleteI thought that was the Holy one.
Ah, it is the Holy Communion. You mean the 1st Communion.
DeleteI thought Holy Communion and 1st Communion were the same thing? I was raised Catholic (I am not religious any more) and I think I had 1st communion when I was 7-8 and confirmation when I was like 15-16. I don't remember anything special when I was 11...
DeleteAnyway, size 8 seems pretty good size for an 11 year old (I mean I know there are some bigger, like my cousin). When I was 11 I think I was like a 6-6.5 maybe? I know there was a kid in my class who wore size 9.5 and they were huge! He was not at all the tallest in the class but I think he had the biggest feet. All the kids were amazed and wanted to try on his shoes (he had some cool Jordans as I recall). I remember trying then and they were unbelievably huge for me!
Funny, me i completely associate that size with that age.
DeleteA friend of mine of 5'7" is a 9, and though that doesn't seem like much, he completely blows me out of the water. 9s are rarely ever impressive, but he is, so for sure things as width or solidity make a huge difference. I'd even say that he's more impressive than two 13s i know.
Well, Jordan GS range normally goes to 7Y (though now they have the extended GS range to a 9.5Y in some styles), but GS is for Grade School, which is through 5th grade, so I guess I would think of a 5th grader as not normally being more than a 7. I would have said a sz 8 is more common by age 12, though feet have gotten bigger, so maybe age 11 is creeping up too.
DeleteI think width and toe length make a huge difference. I agree that some 9s can look impressive if they are wide and the person has long toes. It can create the illusion of the foot being larger and more substantial than it is. My feet are skinny and I have short toes and even though my feet are really more like a 8.5-9 I have been told I look like I have sz 7 feet (or kids feet). There was a time that I was wearing slides and went into a bathroom stall. My friend came in and used the stall next to me. When I came out of the stall he was washing his hands and seemed surprised when I came out of the stall. I got him to admit that he thought there was a young kid next to him due to my feet looking so small. He told me he imagined it was probably a kid 10 or 11 given the feet. So yeah, that demonstrates your point of how width or solidity make a huge difference! It also makes wearing a sz 7-8 more natural for me. I have known other people with size 9 feet like me and none of them have feet that "look" as kid like as mine. I know as a teen this was another factor in me wearing smaller sizes. Now at least if I wear slides or flip flops my feet don't look smaller than people would expect given my shoe size.
Gosh, I keep finding US sizing complicated. That division into mens, womens, youth...
ReplyDeleteIn Europe we don't have that, you're one number and that's it. OK, it can still be a bit different depending on the brand.
I would think the transition still exists even if the numbering stays the same? Usually going from youth to men's sizing the width changes from B to D.
DeleteYip.
DeleteGenerally the shoe sizes go from 37 to 46, with 37-41 in the Womens section and 41-46 in the Mens section.
So you don't specify 'mens' or 'womens' or 'youth', the number already says it.
But that's generally, roughly, traditionally, for now there's also 47 (13US), 48, etc.
Are these pics any better? 👇
DeleteDo they LOOK small?
Just in the general world, or pics, where there are no reference points either.
If so, too small, or better-hide-small, or just normal, or or...
A bit difficult to take pics in a way that others would see your shoes 😁. The tiles are normal 12 inch ones.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/GRZtM21
What sizes are those shoes in the pictures? They look on the small side, but probably not as small as a sz 6. In those pictures I would guess 8-9, but pictures can be deceptive. Also, how tall are you? Since that makes a difference too as to how small feet look.
DeleteThe shoes you posted don't look as small as some I wear. What size would you guess these are?
Deletehttps://imgur.com/a/VMJALLg
Here is also another black pair for contrast. What size do they look like?
Deletehttps://imgur.com/a/2dMAJev
I'm 5'9" and a bit.
DeleteYour shoes do look small, but it's funny, now me I'd estimate them to still be a 9 or 9.5.
And the black shoes 8.5 or 9.
DeleteOk, so that is not too short. I am 5'10".
DeleteThose white, grey, red shoes are a size 6Y. It is rare for me to be able to wear a 6 but for whatever reason they fit so I got them. They were from a thrift store so I am sure the previous owner had outgrown them. They are a little more snug than some of my others but surprisingly comfortable really. Do the black ones I posted look about the same size or bigger or smaller?
So the black ones are a 7Y and feel a lot more roomy than the 6Ys. They probably fit more like an 8. They are quite roomy and comfortable and the narrower width prevents my foot from constantly sliding around like in men's sizes.
DeleteThe black ones look smaller.
ReplyDeleteBut funny how everything still looks 8.5, 9...
For sure because of them being pics.
Yeah, contrast always helps. Here are the 6Ys compared to a sz 8 and then the 7Y compared to the 6Ys.
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/aOOQQ5g
Gosh, impossible to tell anything.
ReplyDeleteSomehow i can tell that they're not big, but whether that means 8 or 9, one has no idea.
Which is a relief 😁.
I think sometimes narrower gives the illusion of longer, so that could be a factor too. A super wide sz 7 or 8 will look much smaller than a skinny one (to me). On the other hand, I know someone who wears a size 8.5 and has wide feet and he says people think he wears a 10. I think the style matters too. He likes to wear running shows that have a lot of extra shoe that goes beyond the length of the foot. That also creates the illusion of "bigger".
ReplyDeleteWe're masters in how to look bigger 😁 or at least non-noticeable small.
ReplyDeleteContinuation: or only so to the Small? I can't help but think that the big size guys DO see it. For them being used to other proportions.
ReplyDeleteA test:
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to guess the size of these sneakers?
Try, and only then go to the 2nd picture.
Just to see how good or not we are in estimating a size, in pics.
https://postimg.cc/gallery/VmFksB9
They look big, but I would not have guessed the size. I might have guessed sz 13 or better... It is hard without anything to compare them with.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of the Melville quote:
"...for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself."
Thx. That's still remarkable, that without any reference point whatsoever, just purely the sneaker... you still know they're big and even 13...
ReplyDeleteHow do we do that?
I think the proportions start to change on larger sizes, which can also be a give away.
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteA sales clerk once explained to me that Mens were wider than Womens.
Something that, by the way, he explained by means of his sneaker, and which felt rather shocking that he felt the need to explain that to me, as in "of course you don't know anything about that" 😱😁
I think I told this story before, but I remember having a sales person one time who was probably a teen 17-18, and he was probably 6'2" and quite strong and athletic looking. He looked like he wore a sz 12-13. I asked for Adidas sambas in a sz 7.5-8 and he says to me "are you sure that's the right size for you?" I assured him it was. He comes out with an 8 saying they didn't have a 7.5. He still seemed very skeptical and insists on helping me to try them on. If I don't put all my weight on my foot a size 8 can almost seem too big. He felt my toes in them and just had a look of shock on his face. He also check the width and declares "lots of room", while fidgeting nervously as if his own masculinity was now in question. Even after all that he still asks me if I am sure they are ok, as if somehow this will change reality. I told him I could probably do a 7.5 but that the 8s would be ok (that was not what he wanted to hear). At checkout he started using more of a condescending tone, clearly asserting his manly superiority. It was clear he had never met a grown man who wore shoes that small. I know it is not uncommon for tall people to have other tall friends (and more so if he was on a sports team in high school, etc.) so probably everyone he knew was over 6 feet tall and probably wore a sz 12 or better.
DeleteOooh i know these experiences SO well!
ReplyDeleteDisbelief, thinking that surely i come from a country with a different size system, or all of a sudden calling me "boy", clearly trying to suppress a laugh, or visibly finding it charming, anything under the sun. Only once a contemptuous "your smaller than my girl friend". Most often though very positive, but also in a way that surely i must find it as amusing as they do, and surely would be interested in their size or to know that they now stock 13s.
A sort of repwtitive training that small is cute, elegant, classy, amusing... but also undangerous, unpressive, and theirs is much better.
Yeah, especially younger sales guys who are still teens. They seem to find it harder to contain themselves. The older sales people are usually more professional and tend not to comment at all...so as not to insult, etc. Though they will often still behaving differently to "small" without realizing what they are doing.
DeleteYip! Yip! Yip!
DeleteSales Clerks, understandably, are more upbeat, try to come up with positives, are more into creating a bond etc. So all in all that's OK. The rest of the world is less worried about the reaction thougj!
ReplyDeleteThat kid of i can't even estimate what age - 9? 10? 11? - that looked at me with really big eyes, when on some crossroads of aisles and sections he saw i was trying smth at the rack 6. He saw that, looked up at me (and that was way up) silence/big eyes, then looked down, as though he had never seen such a thing. Then walked on into the Mens aisle.
ReplyDeleteThe closest to that I had was when I was at a party for one of my cousins who had just turned 12. His parents wanted everyone to take their shoes off at the door. I took mine off and noticed that there was another similar pair of Jordan 5s already there. Because of this, I put mine at the other end of the pile and tried to hide them slightly, hoping there wouldn't be confusion. I couldn't help but look and see that the other similar shoes were a size 9.5Y (mine were an 8Y). Towards the end of the party I hear a kid yelling "someone messed with my shoes!". The parents go out to the hall to see what was going on. I went and looked and the kid (who I found out was still 11) was trying to put my shoes on and they were way too small for him. Turns out someone had moved the shoes around (maybe to organize them) and my shoes were out in the open and his had become slightly hidden. The kid finally decided they couldn't be his shoes and one of the other parents realizes there is another pair like them. She then asks who these belong to. I admitted they were mine and the look on the kid's face was utter disbelief. He then wanted to compare his feet with mine and they were still a good bit longer even though I am really a 9 (his 9.5s were getting tight on him). I am not usually embarrassed about my shoe size but that was really awkward...
DeleteHere is a picture of the shoes I was wearing:
https://imgur.com/a/qLDL7j4
Could it be that elegance is your THING?
DeleteMaybe for your tall/slender proportion, making that stylish/elegance is what you've been complimented about, or what is your most suitable style?
And then even smaller shoes, enhance that?
I can't say I think much about elegance, per se, but I do think being skinny, with a relatively small frame, that a sz 7-8 matches my proportions well. I rarely get comments about my feet being small. And them being narrow matches with me being skinny.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteHere for example is a picture of my foot next to my size 6Ys (and my foot is forward slightly so doesn't quite match up with the backs of the shoes). Does it look unnatural for them to be my size? Certainly widthwise?
Deletehttps://imgur.com/a/80DfWsu
Mm, yes, it looks as though they should be too small for you.
DeleteAdmittedly those are a little snug for me. Here are some 7Ys which I think look more of a natural fit?
Deletehttps://imgur.com/a/AF7q7fI
At the same time i do like those red/white ones, while they also look Kids 🤔. Not sure if i would dare to wear them.
DeleteI like the red/white ones. They definitely look like a "kids" style for sure though. They are surprisingly comfortable and I have worn them a fair bit. I think they probably get more looks than the black ones due to the color. The black ones probably go unnoticed most of the time.
DeleteYip, really likeable.
DeleteThere you go, you "Look maxxed". Proportions/style all uniform.
ReplyDeleteFor myself i don't like "elegance" at all. There was this sales clerk who i suppose was looking for positive words, and pointed me to "the elegant sizes" and "this one is very elegant", which i didn't find positive at ALL 😱😁, almost worse than a girl once saying "how cute" 😱😁
ReplyDeleteYeah, elegance sounds very feminine. The closest to that was in high school when one of the kids call me chiquito (which mean 'little one' or 'petite' in English) as a joke... This wasn't because I was short but because I was skinny and had small hands/feet. I was upset and disagreed, but the Spanish teacher agreed I was "chiquito", sigh.
DeleteYip. Why would you think that "elegance" would work? As though he couldn't come up with anything else 😁.
DeleteBut a guy nearby can get an appreciative nod, then explained to me as a 13, which is, according to the hand sign language really strong, according to the tone awesome, etc.
Maybe i have to say that for some 10 purchases i always went to the same store nearby, with the same sales clerk, so he became chatty, probably permitted himself more towards me, as half-a-friend.
Oh, I have been in shoe stores when a guy asks for a sz 13 and the clerk responded with "a 13? Awesome, let me go get that!". Awesome would never be used for a size 8 or 9. Probably not even for a size 10 or 11. 12, maybe, 13 "awesome"...
DeleteOh yes, 13 is seen as great, awesome etc, very much so. I find that too.
DeleteIs hiding/avoiding the small size so 2nd nature, that this is a reason for few visitors? 😁
ReplyDeleteOr, for that other reason, that like me, I don't have so much to say about small, that things dry up more quickly?
I know that me Im much more interested in Big, especially in these unstable times.
Or we don't actually share THAT much?
Whatever it is, or can be detected that it is, greets!
Tale telling that hiding small was MY most favorite 😁.
Oh hey, it's been a while, just happened to check today...
DeleteYeah, I don't know, I would have expected a little more chatter on this topic. It has mainly been us and mainly 1 or 2 other guys, but not much else lately.
Does anyone know what were the topics that most small footers agreed on, or showed that we actually shared a common trait?
ReplyDeleteTo be outsized by those that should not outsize us, seems to have been the most sensitive button, right?
Was there any other clear or common thing?
Yeah, I would think being outsized by someone smaller or younger would be consider the most demoralizing by many small footers and therefore the topic of most interest.
ReplyDelete(also I added comments under "What's Considered Small")
Yeah, that is one of the most sinking feelings I know!
DeleteA 12 at 5'5"... do I need to say that he was in the category of "younger kid"?
ReplyDeleteI did not so much feel to be outsized, as well as to be washed away.
Does someone else have that experience?
I keep forgetting to check back here. I do have a story from about a month ago... I was standing in line to order food when a group of young teen guys (they were in middle school, so some might have even been pre-teen, but hard to tell) were standing behind me. Two were taller than me and the others around my height. A couple were quite strong and muscular looking and all looked athletic. I gathered they played sports. They were discussing their shoe sizes and I heard one say he was a sz 13 and 2 others were a sz 12 and a 3rd had a sz 11.5. Then the kid with sz 13s made a joke about the 4th guy having small feet...he was a 9.5. The kid with 13s compared his shoes with the 9.5 and it really did make the 9.5s look small! You could also tell that all the kid's fee were pretty wide based on how the shoes fit them - which they appeared to fill quite well. I didn't see any signs that they were wearing shoes that were "too big" for them. I was wearing adidas sz 8s, which actually fit me quite roomy... They didn't notice my feet, but I couldn't help but note the contrast! I feel like kids feet are definitely getting bigger...or maybe situations like that just remind me more. It also seems like athletic kids have larger feet...
DeleteOh yeah, with that age group i don't even mention my size nor compare or nothing, for it's simply a given i'd lag behind, if not puzzlement or disbelief from their side.
DeleteThough i don't remember where that was, I once said "5" to a sales clerk, and he said "...15"?
As though it was more logic to not have heard the 1 or to start from 10 than to be a size 5.
To think that once I found 10 to be so big 😀. Now in my head it's like it's just the first Mens.
ReplyDeleteIf you were to stock the outfits of some football teams of forever other youngsters, which sizes would you stock most to least?
ReplyDeleteI see "average" height teens maybe 13-14 wearing sz 12-13 as a common thing and filling the shoe too!
ReplyDeleteI was on the train recently and sat next to a teen who was 13 and wearing some Nike AF1 high tops. He was a little under 6 feet tall I would say. I was wearing reebok twilight zone pumps, which caught his eye. He told me they were cool and wanted to know where I got them. Then he asks what size they are. I told him they were sz 8 and he is like "wow your feet are small!". At the same time he moves his feet next to mine to compare. My shoes really looked tiny next to his! I asked him what size he wore and he say "sz 12" and has a little grin. Then he says "or were those the only size they had?" (suggesting maybe I was stuffed in them). I said no, that they fit quite well and that I just had small-ish feel. I show him I had about a thumbs worth of toe room and he is like "shit those are too big for you bro". I told him this was my normal space for comfort. He is like "bro those are too big". He then shows me how much room he had in his AF1s and it is just the tiniest bit. I told him his feet really filled his AF1 and he shrugged and said yeah I guess, suggesting this was normal. I asked him if his friends worse their shoes with only a tiny big of room like he had and he is like "yeah, this is normal, otherwise they will crease like crazy!". I then said "so you think my size is small, just curious, what sizes do your friends wear? Do you know anyone who wears an 8?" He says "no, even the shortest guy I know wears a 9 and he is like 5'4". Most of my friends are sz 11-13".
I enjoyed the discussion with the kid and it confirmed 2 things I suspected. 1) That kids feet now are normally at least a sz 11 and 2) that a lot of kids are doing "exact fit" (which I would argue is actually wearing them a little small) on their sneakers (especially Nike, etc, wearing creasing is an issue).
I forgot to mention that he said he was also a 13 in some shoes, but that usually he tried to fit into 12s because there were not 12.5s in most shoes (and I know AF1 fit on the bit side!). He clearly liked a snug fit "to prevent creasing" and suggested all his friends did the same. His attitude was definitely like "Doh, everyone wears shoes like this". So kids feet are getting bigger AND they are wearing their shoes tighter...and still the shoes are massive (well, at least compared to me...).
DeleteYes! Me too i find 9 at 5'4" quite normal, proportionate.
DeleteWhat a kid!! The one in your story!
DeleteYeah, he was a cool kid and seemed happy to chat. He told me he was 13 and in 8th grade, but he could have passed for 15 or 16. He seemed older and more confident than your average 13yo. Also he was not skinny, looked athletic and like he worked out. I am guessing he probably played sports, but I didn't get to asking him about that.
DeleteBig is always happy to chat, and more confident :)
DeleteAnd in GENERAL, that's the opposite of us. You're the only Small I know who is confident, I think most of us would take care not to end up in a chat 😀
DeleteBut is it any different from a short guy who is confident? There are guys 5'2" say who try to keep a low profile and blend into the background and there are others who put themselves out there and want the world to know they are just as good. I see it the same with shoe size. Small shoe guy can hide and perpetuate the idea of small being timid and inferior or it can put itself out there and show that having small feet does need to perpetuate any stereotypes.
DeleteSomehow i find that short guys are a LOT more confident than small shoe size guys. Definitely short/big shoe size guys. As though shoe size says more than height.
ReplyDeleteIt depends. I have known some small footed guys who are confident, but sometimes as I have said previously, it is because they have other attributes to make up for it (bulging muscles, etc). My cousin has a friend who is sort of an "ordinary" looking guy but he has really small feet. He is a sz 6.5, noticeably small feet (they really look tiny proportionally). He is probably 5'9". But supremely confident and chatty, so you never know...
DeleteI will add that my cousin's friend said that the vans he was wearing were a sz 6.5 but I sort of wonder if that's really his size, because his toes have worn marks at the end of the shoes which makes it clear that his feet are all the way to the end of the shoes. They actually look small for him. My cousin and his friend are both 18 and just out of high school and I wonder if maybe he had them for several years and has now outgrown them but they still fit. It would make sense as I don't know anyone else that height with feet that small.
DeleteSo me at 5'9"5 with only a 5.5 or 6.
DeleteIf you as small guy can find that tiny or disproportionally small, can you imagine in the eyes of Big? Or just how many times i had reactions? 😀
Well, yeah, in the eyes of "big" you and I are the same size! In the eyes of small, there is small and there is tiny! I know where small begins and ends (for the most part). Small is sz 7-9.5 (with 7-7.5 being less common). Below 7 is rare and if someone is a 5 or 6 it wouldn't surprise me if they were wearing 8s to seem "normal small" (though I know you don't tend to do that). In high school there were kids wearing small shoes in the 7-8 range (sometimes even 6.5) but it was almost always a case of them still wearing the same shoes from when they were younger - their feet grew and the shoes stretched but they were still wearing them. That would seem the likely case with my cousin's friend. I did actually know one guy in high school, who was skinny and about 5'10" who's feet were apparently actually a size 6.5 (he got new shoes and they were still small), but I have not known any others personally.
DeleteAgreed. 7-9.5 is small.
DeleteIn which 7-7.5 is the rarer bit.
And 7.5 is the most rare, which I think I have mentioned before. Something about it being a "transition" size. People are either 7 (kids size) or 8 (men's size), they don't want to be in between!
DeleteAren't all sizes 7-9 the transition sizes?
DeleteAt least me i see 9 as doubtful. "Kinda Mens but not really".
DeleteWell, if you look on ebay, sz 7.5 has noticeably fewer shoes available in that size. Size 7 to 7.5 has been the "traditional" change from kids to men's sizes. The normal Jordan GS range ends with 7Y. Once you go to 7.5 it is considered "men's" and they jump from a B width to a D.
DeleteAs a side note to that, I will mention that I don't know any grown man who have feet that are both small and skinny, like me. I can fit the B width of a GS shoe perfectly. All small footed guys I have known (and I am talking sz 8-9) have extra wide feet, where their feet look like they are bulging out of the shoe width wise. I think wide does make small seem a little more manly. And more so when barefoot. A wide size 8-8.5 can look like a "man's" foot, where a skinny foot like mine looks far more like a kid's foot.
As for "kinda mens", I think the cut off is the 9.5, which is the end of the Jordan GS extended line. The GS sizes are supposed to be for kids up to age 12. So by being able to buy up to a Jordan GS 9.5Y (youth) I think that clearly defines that "men's" does start until size 10. Which means 10 is really the absolute minimum for a true men's size.
Totally agree. Only as of 10 it's not doubtful.
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