How can I find good shoes here!?!?!?!

I always found that following EU sizes led for a better fit than the US/UK conversion.

Me, too. I think the sizes are more subtly graduated. I am a US 10, but found Eu42 to work best. 41 and UK8 do NOT fit (I suspect they are actually size 9.5) I think UK8.5 would probably be the right size for me. But that doesn't exist (as far as I found this summer with concerted searching!)

On top of things, I have flat feet, so really I need to try shoes on in person. Online shoe shopping is not an option (esp since I won't pay shipping just to try on shoes.) I plan on getting some shoes here before I move, but ugh. Such an annoyance really. :/

Isn't that funny because I also wore a 9 in the US, but generally find 7 to be too big.  I'm a 6.5 and also often struggle to find half sizes.  I look for sales at some of the nicer shops, but I've struggled with shoes here and find them to be much more hit and miss than they were back home.

I went with 6.5 size shoes (Clarks) here for awhile because initially I thought the 7s felt too big as well, but what I found was that, for me, a 6.5 is okay early on in the day...but by the end of the day when I've walked around as much as I walk here (much more so than I ever did in the US) - the 6.5 feels tight then!  Now I buy 7s pretty consistently, so I don't know - maybe my feet have spread out or grown bigger by virtue of all that walking?

I have also found some variations in shoe brands - Skechers here for instance, I might buy smaller than 7.

Also, with the wider fitting sizes...sometimes with a wide fit shoe I can wear a smaller size, but if it's not a wider fitting shoe, then it'll have to be size 7.  Don't ask me why!

And the last time I bought shoes in the US - size 9, wide...well they aren't any more comfortable & have rubbed my feet and given me blisters.  So that wasn't an answer either.  I don't think they would have done in the US, because I didn't walk much of anywhere there. 

I'm also going to jump in there and say Clarks, for sure!  I normally buy cheap Primark/New Look shoes(wide width is usually most comfortable for my disfigured dancer feet).  Maybe it's worth trying on some wide-width shoes in a size smaller to see if they might fit you more like a half size would?

I'm usually broke, so have to go for the cheap options, but last year I happened to pop into a Clarks sale and got an AMAZING pair of low, stacked-heel ankle boots.  These shoes never left my feet all winter, and still look great for the amount of wear they got.  I probably could not have afforded them for full price, but if you can find a bargain there, the quality is great and the padded insoles make for great walking/work shoes.

try this place.........vivaladiva.co.uk..........all types of goodies on there

I have also found some variations in shoe brands - Skechers here for instance, I might buy smaller than 7.

Also, with the wider fitting sizes...sometimes with a wide fit shoe I can wear a smaller size, but if it's not a wider fitting shoe, then it'll have to be size 7.  Don't ask me why!

Mrs. R- It sounds like you and I have the same feet!  Like I said earlier, I'm usually a 7, but my shoes at Clarks are a 6.5/wide...And today, I just bought some sketchers--in a smaller size than usual- a UK 6.   I might have to check in with you first before I go shoe shopping again, to save myself a bit of trouble!

It seems that women's running shoes are impossible to find at a reasonable price here--any tips on that?!  I did just buy some sketchers, but I'm not sure how long they'll last..

Uggh.  I HATE shoe shopping in general.     I am ,get this, a 9.5 here, but my feet are not too wide,which is all they seem to make for long sizes.  (I struggle in the US as well)

I always seemingly have to buy men's trainers and walking boots. Yay.   They don't come in nice girly colours 

It is nae on impossible to find anything as woman's shoe here for work, dressing up, etc.  (Luckily I work in manufacturing and have to wear safety boots most of the time, which most people would hate but I love, as you can easily get these in men's sizes!!!)

When I find a pair of shoes that fit me, I wear them until they're literally falling off my feet.

I just don't get why there is this weird sizing discrepancy. I always sort of wondered, in those frustrated moments at the shop 'Are British men's feet just totally different from American women's feet?! How can that be possible?! This doesn't make any sense!'   

I was wondering this too...as Americans, having this "half size" problem is new to us, but what about people who have lived here their whole lives, there has to be British people with this same problem. I mean, over years and years has no shoe retailer ever though to create half sizes?

It seems that women's running shoes are impossible to find at a reasonable price here--any tips on that?!  I did just buy some sketchers, but I'm not sure how long they'll last..

Sports direct has a good, very cheap selection of branded running shoes, I normally get my New Balances or Addidas shoes there. A pair of NB's is like £20 rather than £75
http://www.sportsdirect.com/ladies/ladies-running-shoes

I was wondering this too...as Americans, having this "half size" problem is new to us, but what about people who have lived here their whole lives, there has to be British people with this same problem. I mean, over years and years has no shoe retailer ever though to create half sizes?

Some retailers do have half-sizes (Clarks is the main one). Plus, shoes are made in half-sizes for kids (up to about size 2 or so).

However, as soon as you get into adult sizes, most stores only stock the full-sizes. If you look up shoe sizes on Wiki, there are half-sizes listed for both children and adult shoes, so it's probably a case of companies just not bothering to sell shoes in half-sizes, rather than them not having been created at all.

So, you just have to shop around and try different sizes until you find shoes that fit (and if they're too big, you can always use insoles) - different stores/brands will be slightly different sizes. For example, in some shops I'm a size 5 and in others I'm a size 4 (and in Clarks, I'm either a 4 or a 4.5) - it often depends on the style of shoe as well as to what size I am (heels, slip-ons, sandals, boots, trainers etc.)

I always seemingly have to buy men's trainers and walking boots. Yay.   They don't come in nice girly colours 

My mate Josh is in the opposite situation finding mens shoes in a size 6 that look manly. I know for a fact he has 2 pairs of trainers/casual shoes that are actually for women....

I thought we had decided this was true in a similar thread a few years back? It certainly makes sense. The UK has, until recent decades, a more "pure" genetic pool, whilst the US is genetically quite diverse. It makes sense that we have different foot shapes.

For the scientists: [url]http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/8112275/reload=0;jsessionid=cKraz5F5IGWcmhpfqjHm.12]http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/8112275/reload=0;jsessionid=cKraz5F5IGWcmhpfqjHm.12] [url]http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/8112275/reload=0;jsessionid=cKraz5F5IGWcmhpfqjHm.12[/url]

This is me exactly! My solution has been to buy shoes in the US when I go home. It feels very decadent buying multiple pairs and it feels expensive at the time, but it saves me buying shoes here only to find they don't really fit after the first wearing and having to chuck them. 

The link didn't work.

My mate Josh is in the opposite situation finding mens shoes in a size 6 that look manly. I know for a fact he has 2 pairs of trainers/casual shoes that are actually for women....

He has my sympathies in finding shoes - tough on either end of the spectrum!!

The link didn't work.

Try this

(Same link as Courtney's, but with just 1 version of the link, rather than having it repeated 3x.)

Mrs. R- It sounds like you and I have the same feet!  Like I said earlier, I'm usually a 7, but my shoes at Clarks are a 6.5/wide...And today, I just bought some sketchers--in a smaller size than usual- a UK 6.   I might have to check in with you first before I go shoe shopping again, to save myself a bit of trouble!

It seems that women's running shoes are impossible to find at a reasonable price here--any tips on that?!  I did just buy some sketchers, but I'm not sure how long they'll last..

Ha ha...well I admit that trainers are something I do buy in the US when I go back & I've even bought two pairs at once there before!  So much cheaper.

I was quite fond of Asics for a long while, but I wore so many successive pairs quickly out by my little toe rubbing/wearing a hole right at the side of the shoe - wtf is that all about?!  So I went off Asics.  My everyday trainers now I bought in the US - different brand.

When I wanted a new pair for the gym - and I only use them for the gym, I went high end though.  I not infrequently have trouble with blisters & whatnot so trying the shoes on is a must, and I'm definitely not a fan of mail order for shoes.  Since I want to make the gym as pleasant of an experience as I can (considering it's real work for me & building the habit has been a big challenge) - I went to a specialist running shop here, where they did full service - measuring my shoe size, discussing widths, & they even filmed me on the treadmill for gait analysis.  Also I never knew this before, but for exercise like running etc, you want to size up slightly in trainers - much like you do with walking boots - which they told me there.  So yep, I paid premium price but I've never been happier with a pair of trainers before, and hopefully since they are only used at the gym - they will last me a good long while.  Fingers crossed.

Mrs R- if you are still having trouble with blisters, Body Glide (don't worry, it's not rude! ) is great! I used to get them on the bottom of my arch, but not anymore. It goes on like solid deodorant (similar consistency). You can get it at running shops.