How to Buy Shoes for Narrow Feet

Most people take for granted the luxury of walking into a shoe store, buying whatever brand or style you want and taking them home. For people who need narrow shoes, specialty shops, catalogs and the Internet are their only resort. Fortunately there is a big selection of narrow shoes--if you know where to look.

Instructions

1. Begin shoe-shopping as soon as you know you need new shoes. Unless you live very close to a specialty shop that carries narrow shoe sizes, you probably can't get your shoes the same day you order them. You'll need plenty of time for your order to be processed and your shoes to be mailed--and back-orders are a drawback of catalog and Internet orders.

2. Get an idea of what kind of shoes you want by checking out stores in the mall and department store. They might not carry narrow sizes but you can still inspect them to see if they are well-made, comfortable and stylish. Nordstrom and Marmi are two stores that carry brands with narrow sizes. You can choose the style in the store and ask the manager to order the shoe in your size for later pick up.

3. Look online for narrow shoes. MarylandSquare.com has a tremendous array of shoes in narrow sizes. You can also check online shoe superstores like ShoeBuy.com, Shoes.com and Zappos.

4. Get custom-made shoes rather than searching high and low for your correct size. While custom-made shoes can be expensive, they will fit you perfectly and are usually much better crafted than mass-produced shoes. Make an appointment with a shoemaker to get shoes made to your specifications.