Why Your Shoes Don't Fit (and how to fix it)

Our feet are incredibly complex, and yet we learn so little about them. Instead, we suffer through so many uncomfortable shoes thinking they'll just "break in" eventually (or out feet will just toughen up). But, often things don't get better. The nuances of our feet and how they are proportioned, how they move and change, even the shape of our toes, makes some shoes incredibly incompatible. To say nothing about how modern shoes put aesthetics ahead of comfort!

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00:00 Bones & Boots
05:46 Variables
08:01 Proportions & Width
11:16 Toe Shapes
14:07 Arch
17:17 Heel Space
19:47 Pressure Points
22:48 Materials & Choices

[mads.arnautov]

I love how Nicole doesn't say 'you shouldn't wear these types of shoes', she says 'these types of shoes might hurt you in these ways, do with that information what you will' which is a nice reframing compared to many other shoe guides

[ashassassin]

I want cute shoes with a large toe box! My toes need to spread out not be pushed together like sardines in a can.

[lillianivester]

I find many of these points super fascinating. I used to do ballet, and noticed that the canvas uppers and leather soles were so much more comfortable than my regular shoes. They were soft (in terms of structure) and moulded to my feet in a way that modern shoes simply don't. I would love to see a video comparing how dance shoes and modern shoes are constructed, and how they differ from more historical shoes

[enterideahere]

my mom is an archeological shoe expert and so i grew up with exceptionally healthy (and usually ugly) shoes, as an adult ive had the opportunity to experiment with cute but painful shoes, this video is incredibly helpful to avoid a lot of expensive trial and error.
Ultimately i still go for comfort over style but sometimes i just want to look cute too

[susansmart]

The first department store I worked in had a leased space shoe department with sales help who actually knew how to measure and fit. The best advice I got was to go shoe shopping at the END of my work day. Shoes that fit then would stand me in good stead. Eventually got well fitting basic pumps that fit well and could be re-heeled and half-soled. Not the cutest choice, but much much more practical.

[RevolutionaryLiger]

Something that might be helpful for people, you can look up lacing patterns for shoes to make the toebox looser or more compressed or offer more slack in the arch! Obviously this is more useful for runners or boots, not the shoes in the video, but it can help!

[jrnaturefreak]

Wish I could go and show this video to shoe salespeople. I've got short and wide feet, with a high bridge. And the amount of times I've been told to "just get a size up" is astounding. Sure, maybe (almost never) the width is better, but now I have the extra length for my foot to slide about in....

[pippaseaspirit]

I have “difficult” feet - narrow heels, wide square toes, and Ehlers-Danlos skin (the layers of which can shear away from each other causing huge blisters at the slightest provocation). My childhood was a nightmare every time I needed new shoes. I’ve been a barefooter now for over 20 years and (apart from poor circulation) have healthy, strong and very flexible feet! I only wear footwear when absolutely physically necessary, and I’ve come to the conclusion that if I ever need historically accurate shoes I am likely to need to make them myself!

[kirstenpaff]

And this is why I hate shoe shopping. Half the shoes don't fit at all and the other half would possibly fit after significant modification (something you can't really do or judge without buying them). Even if the shoes seem okay in the store, they probably will end up killing my feet if I wear them for a few hours. Every once in a while I give in to temptation and get a pair of shoes, because they look nice (and are still reasonably practical), but I always end up wearing the same two pairs of shoes, because I know they fit.

[grimnirnacht]

Theres always the Cinderella stepsister method if your shoe doesn't fit ;)


All jokes aside, this video makes me think we should bring back custom shoe making as a regular thing. I know theres specialty cobblers out there but theyre not always accessible. Id rather have one or two pairs of really good shoes than a closet of pain

[borkbork]

I am new, so lmk if there is a video on this: I am a ballroom dancer, and it is difficult to tell people that we dance in heels, and that they are comfortable and made to move in. Because the sole is flexible, some take them to a cobbler and replace the suede sole and add something to wear out and about due to concerns addressed in this video. I would love to see a video on ballroom dance shoes, where they came from/what older styles or techniques they borrow from and your opimion of cobblers turning them into everyday wearable shoes.

[beejls]

This is something everyone needs to understand: ready to wear doesn't mean ready to wear, for most people, without some adjustment. You need to learn what brands, whether it be shoes, bras, pants, etc., what brands suit you.

I learned at a young age that my feet were special. I love my feet: love them, but they're shaped like an oblong box, with extremely high arches, short toes, and narrow heels.

It's not a joy finding shoes, but at least I know what to look for.

[NatsumeJessi]

My feet is extremely wide, with really short toes and really high arched, and let me tell yall, finding shoes that fit is a nightmare

[Avellania]

This explains my problem with shoes that seem to be too big and too small at the same time. I slide forward in shoes. When I was a teen my mother and a sales assistant argued whether the heels I was trying on were too small or to big. My toes were hanging over the front of the shoe, but I had plenty of space in the back. I can't wear ballerina flats or pumps that don't have straps and slingbacks don't work at all. I'll take two steps and then I'm barefoot. They just don't stay on my feet. My mother always suggested sizing down (then the shoes are too short) or putting half an insole at the front of the shoes (the part that actually fit), because that works for _her_ feet.😑

[northwoodfalls]

Seeing how flexible the historical shoes are in comparison to what we have on offer now is so illuminating. That bit about how they add padding to make it “feel better” to disguise that the shoe is actually working against you kinda blew my mind. I finally figured out a few years back that I have very long toes and narrow heels but a wide midfoot and that this causes issues with where the arch of my foot lands in the shoe and I gotta say, all that “support” they put in shoes is my nemesis. Foot aches, smashed toes, and heel blisters abound. I know that “better quality” lasts longer and is made with better materials, but I think you just explained to me why that rarely works out for me. The “better quality” shoes usually have quite stiff soles to them unless you go into the stratosphere bracket that I cannot afford. So, in the end, I actually find a lot of my most comfortable shoes at a really cheap fast fashion outlet because the shoes have super flexible soles and the material they are made of is usually so thin it allows my feet to do whatever the heck it is they need to do to work properly. I’m practically barefoot in them as they also, often, have no added support moulding in the footbeds. I also started buying lambs wool with soft leather sole inserts that I wear all year round. The wool keeps my feet (perhaps counterintuitively) cool in the summer (it wicks away moisture wonderfully) and warm in the winter but it also adds some springiness to my shoes so I get the twofold bonus of super flexible, thin, non irritating shoes with the kind of shock absorption you get walking on naturally more pliable surfaces. I hate the gel and memory foam inserts. The wool is much more responsive to my actual foot mechanics. Also, I am an aggressive heel smasher on my shoes lol. They put such stiff material even in lace up ankle boots and I smash that material to bits to get it to give enough that it doesn’t tear my heels to shreds. I keep the medical tape industry in business just with the amount of it I use just to keep blisters at bay 😂 But now I have even more information about my particular shoe requirements. This is so awesome. I can’t thank you enough for this lol ❤❤❤. It’s kinda reassuring to read all the comments and realize that it’s not just me that struggles so mightily with shoes. You’re so right — by manufacturers picking some mythical “median” in terms of foot sizes and shapes they’ve managed to produce shoes that are nearly universally inadequate. It seems profoundly ridiculous that we’re basically forced to become Sherlock Holmes, winkling out the best option that will still require some degree of modification for them to be not horrible. Considering how much money we end up spending on “affordable” inadequate options, we really would, in the long term, save ourselves a bundle to have our shoes made specifically for us. If we can manage the up front cost and have access to a shoe maker.

[juliatarrel]

My friend needed orthotics some time ago, and thus found out that there are shoe stores that specialise in shoes that need orthotics: the particular one she brought me to can also modify shoes (such as building up a sole for someone whose legs are different lengths), and can make shoes.
I am sure that other cities have such stores.
So I now have two pairs of shoes for 'everyday', which I actually alternate through so that the shoes can rest and dry out properly - and so that my feet aren't in one pair of shoes all the time.
I also have a pretty pair of 'mary-janes' that I can wear when I need to be elegant. They don't support my foot as well as the fully enclosed, ankle supporting everyday shoes do (oh do pretend to look surprised, Nicole), but I can rest my feet when I'm in them.

[deirenne]

that explains my lifelong mystery of why my sneakers always end up with uppers pulled out of the shoe due to hiw tight I have to lace them in the middle. Turns out its not that I dont know how to lace or tie shoes properly, I just have very high arch [which I knew about] with very low instep [which I had no clue of], so I end up with a very small circumference in that area and I have to compensate by lacing so tight, that a victorian fashionista would be impressed.

[dagnolia]

my usual joy in watching the BEAUTIFUL and historically informative Nicole vids was AMPLIFIED by the modern useful information. i was reminded that people that are the same measurements can "lace down" to different sizes because some are more "squishy" than others. my "DUH" moment in this vid was Nicole telling us that some FEET are more "squishy" than others!

[enenenergp]

Lol I’ve always viewed ”breaking in shoes” as just building thicker skin/calluses on the parts that get blisters instead of trying to mold the shoe somehow 😂

[DavidCruickshank]

I'm so glad that there is an increasing movement towards healthier shoes.