Banana boats. Clodhoppers. Big dogs.
Women with large feet have heard all the jokes. But for those whose shoe size exceeds a 10 --- which is the largest many stores carry for women --- the digs are no laughing matter.
"When you ask for an 11 you're a little hesitant because people look at you like you're the jolly green giant," says Joy Boyde. "It's so frustrating."
The 6-foot-tall, 33-year-old Atlanta woman used to jam her feet into shoes that were too small, just so she could wear something fashionable. But the pain eventually outweighed her vanity. Nowadays, the only thing she pushes is her budget whenever she sees a jazzy pair of 11s that fit.
"If it's cute, I'm going to pick it up. I'm not going to say maybe I'll buy it later because I can't take that chance," says Boyde.
Shoe retailers, like their counterparts in the clothing industry, are gradually beginning to cater to the plus-size market and giving women who wear shoe sizes 11 to 14 more options.
"We didn't have any idea that the market would grow in the manner in which it has," says Keanne Ambush, the ladies' shoe buyer for Friedman's Shoes in downtown Atlanta. Friedman's is known for its wide range of sizes for big and tall men, but it hasn't always offered the same selection for women.
"In the mid '80s, I would buy a few 11s and they would sell out," recalls Ambush. "Now I get requests for size 15. The demand is phenomenal. Youth have propelled our large size business even further. Children come in here at 9 or 10 and need size 13s."
Friedman's carries sizes 4 through 14 for women. Nordstrom at Perimeter Mall stocks sizes 3 through 14, though the selection over size 12 is limited. Nordstrom sales associates will order larger sizes at no extra charge to the customer, if the vendor has it available.
Women with plus-size feet can also find fashionable footwear at Marmi in Lenox Square. The store carries up to a size 13. Shoemaker's Warehouse, a discount store in Midtown has a variety of 11s for women, and some 12s and 13s.
There are also online retailers who specialize in the over 10 market.
For example, Barbara Thornton of Boston started designershoes.com in 1997 and offers sizes 9 through 14 in narrow and wide. She has more than 2,000 styles to choose from with designer labels such as Via Spiga, Donald Pliner and BCBG.
"We practically have a religious commitment," says Thornton, who wears an 11 1/2. "We will not take a shoe unless it goes up to at least a size 12. But it's like going out into the forest to bag the game. It's hard to find the shoes."
ON THE WEB: Sole searching: www.nordstromshoes.com; www.zappos.com; www.largefeet.com; www.designershoes.com; www.shoemakerswarehouse.com;
www.marmishoes.com.
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