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This is early, but I've got a somewhat special feet so it sometimes can take months for me to find shoes that are supposed to fit specifications.

Basically, I've got small (size 5 to 6), flat, and wide (usually wide, or double wide, theoretically triple wide if they made that size) feet. Most brands that make wide shoes won't make sizes that run so small, and vice versa.

For anything other than sneakers, I have to buy all my shoes (including normal open-toed heels) from a specialty store for people with wide feet, otherwise my feet just don't fit. Other than sneakers, I've only ever found open-toed shoes to fit on my feet. This includes most flats. Everything else either just doesn't fit at the store or causes my feet or toes to bleed & breaks quickly. However, this means in years of shopping, I haven't been able to find closed-toe pumps that fit--even the ones at the specialty store don't work. I wore peep-toe once, but it was still causing my toes to bleed after a while, so I gave up.

My job last summer required closed-toe shoes, so I bought and wore Mary Jane type shoes similar to these, even though they were unfortunate looking, because I literally couldn't find a pair of shoes in all the stores I looked through that both fit and were closed-toe:
--LinkRemoved--


So, some questions:
1) I get the feeling that shoes like those might not cut it for interviews/firm internships. Is that right?
2) And if so, any ideas of what I should be doing?



This is Anon just because it gives physical descriptors that I don't really want attached to my username, particularly since people do notice and comment on my feet IRL.

um... no, those probably won't work. can you get away with a kitten heel at all? or maybe a very short heel?

if not, i would go with nice flats or loafers and pants. try to maybe find leather shoes with a lot of give.

Try Zappos -- they have a couple of pumps for small sizes with wide widths.

azntwice wrote:um... no, those probably won't work. can you get away with a kitten heel at all? or maybe a very short heel?

if not, i would go with nice flats or loafers and pants. try michael kors.

Yeah I was pretty sure they wouldn't work. My job over the summer was lax about it, but I'm not sure what to do now.

Re: Kitten heels/short heels. Only if open-toed. If not, no, not at all.

Michael Kors runs too narrow. I thought women were supposed to wear skirts for interviews?

Thanks for trying to help.

TooOld4This wrote:Try Zappos -- they have a couple of pumps for small sizes with wide widths.

Woah, this looks promising. Thank you!

Would something like this from Zappos work? (Not pretty, but it is a pump...and would fit...)

You cant find ballet flats that work without the strap? Also who cares if they cause you to bleed after extended wear, interviews aren't that long and are mostly seated. Screeners are only 30 minutes and callbacks are generally a half day. Put a pair of shoes you can wear in your purse and tough it out for interviews in "normal" shoes.

Anonymous User wrote:

TooOld4This wrote:Try Zappos -- they have a couple of pumps for small sizes with wide widths.

Woah, this looks promising. Thank you!

Would something like this from Zappos work? (Not pretty, but it is a pump...and would fit...)

You are welcome. You can also try 6pm.com and DSW.

IAFG wrote:You cant find ballet flats that work without the strap? Also who cares if they cause you to bleed after extended wear, interviews aren't that long and are mostly seated. Screeners are only 30 minutes and callbacks are generally a half day. Put a pair of shoes you can wear in your purse and tough it out for interviews in "normal" shoes.

Part of my question is how strict is normal. Other than (possibly) the ones I'm finding on the Zappos site, I can't get pumps on my feet period. I'm not exaggerating--I've had many the shoe salesman bring out the entire dept. store and give up. Bleeding comes from flats and peep-toe. Are ballet flats suitable for interviews? I'll tough those out if they are acceptable.

What about at work?

Hmm, this is difficult. I know Clarks and Hush Puppies do some realllly comfy shoes. Quick search shows that Clarks does alot of wide/comfy shoes too.

Theres a couple there that look good, stay dark tho. Hope that helps a bit, best I got.

Have you considered getting shoes tailored*? I know its expensive, but for one nice pair of shoes for interviews (and perhaps one more for weddings/formal events), I think its worth it. I have a similar foot situation, and that is what I did.

*Is that the right word for shoes? Is it cobbled?

lulzalicious wrote:Hmm, this is difficult. I know Clarks and Hush Puppies do some realllly comfy shoes. Quick search shows that Clarks does alot of wide/comfy shoes too.

Theres a couple there that look good, stay dark tho. Hope that helps a bit, best I got.

Thanks.

80eight wrote:Have you considered getting shoes tailored*? I know its expensive, but for one nice pair of shoes for interviews (and perhaps one more for weddings/formal events), I think its worth it. I have a similar foot situation, and that is what I did.

*Is that the right word for shoes? Is it cobbled?

I...had no idea that was even still an option in the modern day. Any people/companies you recommend for it? Thanks!

Anonymous User wrote:
I...had no idea that was even still an option in the modern day. Any people/companies you recommend for it? Thanks!

I can't really help with specific companies, I'm sorry-- I've only had shoes tailored in Asia. Perhaps a Yelp of "custom shoes" or "custom made shoes" in your area would work? Otherwise, Google seems to have a few website hits, though I am personally wary of ordering shoes online because of my oddly shaped feet.

you can definitely wear pants - i wore pants all throughout EIP and saw plenty of other women who did. it's not a problem unless you are interviewing with very conservative firms, e.g. those in the deep south.

azntwice wrote:you can definitely wear pants - i wore pants all throughout EIP and saw plenty of other women who did. it's not a problem unless you are interviewing with very conservative firms, e.g. those in the deep south.

No woman at my OCI wore pantsuits that I saw, and I am not surprised that is the case at a school where everyone has WE. While I don't think it's going to sink someone with good credentials otherwise, skirt suits are definitely what's expected in an interview setting.

IAFG wrote:

azntwice wrote:you can definitely wear pants - i wore pants all throughout EIP and saw plenty of other women who did. it's not a problem unless you are interviewing with very conservative firms, e.g. those in the deep south.

No woman at my OCI wore pantsuits that I saw, and I am not surprised that is the case at a school where everyone has WE. While I don't think it's going to sink someone with good credentials otherwise, skirt suits are definitely what's expected in an interview setting.

Yeah but if I had to choose between a pant suit (not ideal) and weird looking shoes, I'd take pant suit.

I never wear skirt suits because they don't look good on me; pant suits only. I don't think that has ever been a problem, and I work at a pretty conservative firm. (Not as conservative as they can allegedly get in the South, though.) Now that I work here, I have also seen plenty of other female interviewees come in wearing pant suits. No one cares either way.

Anyway, coming back to the question: heels are not a requirement. If you find closed-toe shoes that fit and look OK but are flat, that's fine. The kind of shoes you posted above from Zappos would be fine, for example.