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Question:

I have a very wide (D, maybe E) instep, and a very narrow heel.

I have very long, narrow feet both in the heel and toes 8.5AA. Asics running shoes fit very nicely.  But I’m 5′5". If I was built like my feet, I’d be tall and thin….sigh… Martha

Response:

I wear D’s as well.  Try Maryland Square.  I’ve been buying from them for years, they have tons of styles of boots, shoes, sandals, and exercise shoes and they ship reliably.  I find the trick with exercise shoes is run the laces through ALL the holes to snug the heel up properly.  NO I don’t work for Maryland Square. http://www.marylandsquare.com/

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -I have a very wide (D, maybe E) instep, and a very narrow heel. I have to seek very flexible shoes, or else my heel constantly slides in and out of the shoe while walking.  The around-the-heel inserts they used to put in my shoes when I was a child never seemed to work in adulthood, they just caused even more rubbing as my heel slid in and out. For 20 some-odd years, I wore old-fashioned canvas Keds as a casual shoe, white ones at home, and the all-black including black rubber and grommets at work — until a few years ago, when they altered the "last" (form) when they added the terrycloth lining and called it "classic".  Suddenly their WW was only as wide as the W used to be and half a size longer, and they didn’t fit right any more. With much searching in several shoes stores, trying to find a sneaker that was both wide enough and flexible enough,  I finally found one, a leather Easy Spirit model, that fit the bill.  They didn’t have as much arch support as the Keds had had, so I added a Dr Scholl’s arch support insert (men’s, women’s is too narrow for a wide shoe) for my flat duck-feet, and wore them very comfortably for the past 2 1/2 years, and they are pretty worn out. I’ve had difficulty finding this model again, as neither the model number nor name was on the tag in the tongue of the shoe, and this particular model was not shown on the Easy Spirit Website.  I wasn’t able to find anything else in 3 or 4 shoe stores that was both wide enough and flexible enough for my foot to stay in it. Somebody suggested the Famous Footwear chain for wide shoes, and I went there last week.  Much to my surprise, they had the exact model Easy Spirit that I was looking to replace  – it’s the Strand. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until I got home that the ones I was wearing were 2W width, and the two pair I brought home were just W. When I brought them back to the store for an exchange, they didn’t stock the 2W in the store, *but* they offered to send the two pair of 2W Strand from the warehouse to my home for no charge.  I’m very happy, and now I know the model name in case I want to stock up on more pairs, just in case this one is discontinued. (The store said I’d be able to order them online in the future, but unfortunately, Easy Spirit brand doesn’t seem to be listed on the Famous Footwear website.  But google turns up plenty of online shoe stores selling the Easy Spirit Strand model in the 2W width.) —  "There’s a seeker born every minute."

Response:

I have a very wide (D, maybe E) instep, and a very narrow heel. I have to seek very flexible shoes, or else my heel constantly slides in and out of the shoe while walking.  The around-the-heel inserts they used to put in my shoes when I was a child never seemed to work in adulthood, they just caused even more rubbing as my heel slid in and out. For 20 some-odd years, I wore old-fashioned canvas Keds as a casual shoe, white ones at home, and the all-black including black rubber and grommets at work — until a few years ago, when they altered the "last" (form) when they added the terrycloth lining and called it "classic".  Suddenly their WW was only as wide as the W used to be and half a size longer, and they didn’t fit right any more. With much searching in several shoes stores, trying to find a sneaker that was both wide enough and flexible enough,  I finally found one, a leather Easy Spirit model, that fit the bill.  They didn’t have as much arch support as the Keds had had, so I added a Dr Scholl’s arch support insert (men’s, women’s is too narrow for a wide shoe) for my flat duck-feet, and wore them very comfortably for the past 2 1/2 years, and they are pretty worn out. I’ve had difficulty finding this model again, as neither the model number nor name was on the tag in the tongue of the shoe, and this particular model was not shown on the Easy Spirit Website.  I wasn’t able to find anything else in 3 or 4 shoe stores that was both wide enough and flexible enough for my foot to stay in it. Somebody suggested the Famous Footwear chain for wide shoes, and I went there last week.  Much to my surprise, they had the exact model Easy Spirit that I was looking to replace  – it’s the Strand. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize until I got home that the ones I was wearing were 2W width, and the two pair I brought home were just W. When I brought them back to the store for an exchange, they didn’t stock the 2W in the store, *but* they offered to send the two pair of 2W Strand from the warehouse to my home for no charge.  I’m very happy, and now I know the model name in case I want to stock up on more pairs, just in case this one is discontinued. (The store said I’d be able to order them online in the future, but unfortunately, Easy Spirit brand doesn’t seem to be listed on the Famous Footwear website.  But google turns up plenty of online shoe stores selling the Easy Spirit Strand model in the 2W width.) —                 "There’s a seeker born every minute."

Response: