Right now, I travel from Lansing, MI to Bismarck, ND twice a month for business. The last time I was in Bismarck earlier in April, the sole of my business shoes split. Can't have that in April in North Dakota! Shoe shopping has never been my favorite activity. I have oddly shaped feet; wide in front, narrow at the heel. I also have foot problems. This means that my shoes must be flat. In addition, my right foot was crushed when I was young and the top of that foot is still sensitive to pressure. All those things together mean that I'm really limited in what I can wear.

The business shoes I used to wear were a cheap brand ($30 a pair, less on sale) that I've been wearing for at least 4 years. They wear out pretty fast but at least they fit (or so I thought) and provided some support for my feet. However, when the last pair split in the sole, I went to a Naturalizer store in Bismarck. One of the sales ladies took one look at the shoes I was wearing and said, "We need to measure your feet." Measure my feet? I've been wearing the same size shoe since I was 16. She asked me point blank, "Have you lost weight?" I said, "Yes, quite a bit." She said, "We need to measure your feet."

I let her measure my feet.

I've lost half a shoe size.

Oh and I've rediscovered something that I'd been ignoring despite my husband nattering at me about it. Don't skimp on shoes. At this store, I had abundant choices in shoes. For the first time in my entire life, I bought three pair of shoes. My new shoes provide a lot more support for my feet and ankles. They weren't cheap either. But holy cow, are they making a difference for my poor feet! And, they fit properly!

Half a shoe size. Who knew?

Maybe the brands of shoes you have been wearing have just been off. I am a 9 in noncheap shoes (Like at the mall or online) and a 9 1/2 to 10 in cheap shoes. I am definitely a 9.

When you lose weight you lose weight all over including your feet. My shoe size has changed 1/2 to 1 complete size.

I went from a 9.5-10 at the beginning a year ago and I'm now 9-9.5 ... I'll wear my 10s sometimes if I'm feeling stubborn and I really want to wear those shoes, but yay for shrinking feet!

Really? Interesting. I never knew that. Well that's neat! Probably won't happen to me though. My shoe size has been the same since 6th grade. xD

Awesome, Garnet!! Enjoy your new shoes!! All my 9s that I bought after I gained weight don't fit anymore. Back to all my 8 1/2s that I grew out of! It's bittersweet as some of my 9s I love but not enough to break my neck in!!

Good for you!

I hope my feet shrink a bit, I wear huge shoes! Lol

I also lost about 1/2 shoe size. I realized I would lose all over, but the biggest surprise for me was my earlobes! Some earings I could barely get the back on and have it stay comfortably. Not an issue any more LOL

I used to wear 9-9.5, now 7-8! Only downside is I had thrown out all my old size 7s and 8s after my 1st pregnancy thinking my feet were forever changed.

I lost a full size after 80 pounds. None of my shoes fit!

If you like Naturalizer try Born and Clark's too! Love those brands!

I wear SAS shoes which are pretty pricey in the store. I watch for them on ebay and get them for a third or less of the department store price. I have gotten kind of "stung" a couple of times by dishonest sellers, but really I have still saved a ton of $$. You have to know what size you wear in your brand. I have had just about zero luck buying shoes in unfamiliar brands. They never seem to fit. Also, I think they may be selling last years style, but that doesn't matter to me.

Thanks, all! I'm going to look at the other brands mentioned. I can't adequately describe how good it is to have shoes that fit and properly support my damaged feet.

I have the same issue as the OP with oddly shaped feet. My feet are also wide in the front and narrow in the heel. I've also lost a half size in the last year. I have found a few brands of dress shoes that are fairly comfortable. Trying looking for Naturalizers, Earth Shoe and Clarks.

I own these ones and they might be perfect for you.

Funny this topic came up. I recently just tried on all of my sandals, heels and flip flops from previous years and now they are all too big. I went from an 11W to a regular 9 (sometimes 10 in boots and sneakers). I am so thankful to be in a smaller size and have more options. I agree with checking out Naturalizer.

I definitely noticed that my feet got bigger as I gained weight but I also suffer from lymphedema that causes quite a bit of swelling in my feet so it's hard to say if my shoe size is getting smaller because my condition worsened after I gained the weight.