Payless's Wide Shoe Selection Isnt Very Wide

Are you kidding? My 13 son is very atletic, 5 foot, 6 inches and
weighs a whopping 110 pounds, soaking wet!!! Unfortunetly, due to his
GENE POOL he was born with wide feet, requiring EE hockey skates, and
lacrosse cleats. He hates that he can't even find a Nike shoe to fit
his feet. You sound very ignorant! Why not educate yourself before
you spew your venomous opinions.

It really must be hard for you with such tiny tiny feet, no wonder
your so MAD!!!! lol

I agree with your letter 100%. I don't have wide feet but I do have
larg feet (size 11) I can never find anything at Payless and even in
other places it's a pain in the you know where to find dress shoes in
my size. I usualy end up buying shoes that fit my older sister (who
has a smaller foot) and getting blisters for the one time I wear them
and then giveing them to her because they are to small. I think 90% of
her shoe collection is things that I had to buy and wore once maybe
twice before giveing to her. Luckly she understands and pays me back
and allways grabs anything remotly cute in my size when she is
shopping whether I need it or not.

Payless carries no shoes in narrow or slender at all. They are a cheap
shoe store and are only concerned with mainstream sizes.

I don't think that Payless is the best contact for this; I would
suggest the shoe designers. I think that this is a great letter,
however, and I like that it's concise.
If your daughter's pediatrician would be willing to write
prescriptions for her shoes, your insurance probably wouldn't cover
them BUT they'd be a medical tax writeoff at the end of the year.
Sounds like your kid's got a mommy who cares. Awesome.

Payless can't satisfy every customer. After all, it is Payless!

Silly question, but---have you tried KMart or Target? Whenever I
browse their shoe aisles, seems all I see are dozens and dozens of
shoes in wide sizes. I take a 4 or 4-1/2. Try getting that size shoe
for business dress!

Good luck!

I have calf-length braces on both feet. I've never had an issue at
Payless. Half the time, what I buy is on sale around 50% off. If you
really don't like the selection, see your orthopedist and ask where
else you can purchase affordable shoes that might fit your daughter's
feet. This will get easier as she gets older, as I doubt nobody in
high school would wear Dora the Explorer shoes! Until then, seek an
alternative, or special order at your local stores.

Maybe when your daughter gets a little bigger and her feet stop
growing so fast, you might try Doc Martens. They are relatively
pricey, but they wear like iron. I have had the same pair since high
school and they are still going strong. (Class of '97 if you're
wondering) Also, they are honest to goodness orthopedic shoes, and
have nice comfy wide soles. I have found them as low as $50-75 on
sale, and they will last *well* over six months!

When I was a kid, my parents ALWAYS had a hard time finding shoes for
me because I had a wide width foot too. I feel your frustration for
your daughter. I never got the cute or cool or stylish shoes, I had
to get whatever fit my foot. They were always expensive and they were
ALWAYS ugly! I hated it! Sadly, I will never know the joy of wearing
Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos and my big old feet! ; )

I would also contact Stride Rite and ask why they never carry any
licensed character shoes and do they have any programs for special
needs children to get special sized shoes for less money? I remember
even back in the day they were very expensive. You shouldn't have to
mortgage your house for something that is a necessity.

Just wondering too, are Buster Brown or Kinney Shoes still around? I
remember sometimes getting shoes there too. Maybe if they are still
around, they have something that could help you out.

Good luck - I hope you find what you need.

You've written a great letter.

I hope Payless listens to you.

It never hurts to ask about these things and I hope they at least give
you a response.

I think the reason that discount shoe stores have such a narrow size
selection is that is costs more money to manufacture a wider size
selection and the prices would have to go up to reflect that.

For whatever reason, Payless has chosen to stick with low price/low
size selection thing and Stride-Rite has chosen to do the higher
price/better size selection thing.

I also have a child with a disability and find it frustrating to pay
more for clothing which will fit him. I speak up and make suggestions
to businesses, but understand that not all of them will be possible
for the business to implement.

I hope they listen to you too, and not just in the children's section!
I wear a five-and-a-half wide, on the rare ocassions when I can find
them, otherwise I have to slide around and get blisters in sixes or
six-and-a-half's. My fiancee wears a nine EE, which is super wide,
and the only shoes he can find are Red Wing boots, which are ugly and
expensive. I can only imagine what will happen when we have kids,
talk about "Flinstone Feet!"lol. It would be really nice if stores
carried sizes that fit all types of people, not just "average" people.
I've never met an "average" person, but I know they would have no
trouble shopping if one existed! Good luck!

Yikes! Sorry to hear that. I hope they listen to you :)

It sounds like it's in their best interest to comply with your
suggestion. If they don't respond to e-mail (it sounds like a lot of
companies don't), you should definitely phone or even make a petition
or something.

My now 4-year-old had what I called "Fred Flintstone feet" when he was
a toddler and learning to walk. I had to buy him wide shoes, and
unfortunately, the only place that had ones that fit were Stride Rite.


Stride Rite has an outlet in my area, you may want to check that out
in the mean time.

I really hope Payless listens to your suggestion.

I totally agree with you! My daughter had to wear braces on her feet
when she was younger, and it was HELL trying to find shoes wide enough
to accomodate them without paying a fortune. I hope that Payless
listens to your suggestion!

Both of my children have wide feet and the only store I can find any
selection at is Stride Rite. Do you hve an outlet near you? CHeck out
stores like Marshall's and TJ Maxx also, I have had good luck there
finding Stride Rite shoes.

"and the others were sandals, which are adjustable, so why are they in
a wide?" The straps on sandals are adjustable, but the sole isn't.
That is why they are made in a wide. The bottom part of the foot is
wide, it would be pretty uncomfortable to have you foot hanging over
the edge.