The Shadows on My Wall Don't Sleep

Thanks to this post by CraftyHippie on Craftster I now have a source for $5 casual summer shoes.

Most people have no occasion to be aware that those cheap White Stag shoes at WalMart often run up to size 12. I generally just check the bins of the Keds knock offs (with little luck) but the ones with the elastic gores frequently have at least a few pairs of 12s. Until I read the above linked post I never paid much attention to that since the elastic gore made them impossible to wear with my very high instep.

She's right, the gore comes right out clean with just a seam ripper.

Pity they never seem to have 12W shoes in those bins, but so far these seem comfortable enough with thin socks. :) And if they only last a summer, well they were only $5.

*contemplates the things she can do with a supply of cheap black, white, and sometimes navy, kakhi, or red, canvas shoes*

I bought shoes at Payless!

*sees all the blank stares*

Ah, allow me to rephrase, I bought women's shoes at Payless today.

Shockingly, I can wear some size 12 women's shoes (much like I can wear some size 10 men's shoes).

I discovered this last week when I tried on a pair of fake patent leather peep toe wedges. The foot goes in, and if the vamp were a bit lower, or a bit stretchier, they'd even be comfy.

Today I went in to see if they had anything new (they didn't) but the wedges were still there and I was wearing nylons today, so I tried them again. Both feet, even walked around a bit. Still a bit too tight so I put them back and tried on some other stuff I hadn't last week. I found some really nice "ballet slipper" style shoes with ribbons that tie around the ankles but again, vamp needed to be a bit lower or stretchier so I reluctantly put them back.

The saleswoman stopped by when I was trying out some really cute sneaker/sandal things and pondering buying them. And we chatted and I mentioned that I was surprised that I was fitting into 12s and that the peep toes were really cute and just so close to fitting....

"Those come in wide, do you want me to see if I can find a pair?"

OMG. "Yes, please!"

And they found a pair in the store in Roscommon and they will come on the next truck up sometime next week.

I bought a pair of shoes I don't need because I could, from a store, in my town, for $10.

[insert insane internal happy dances here]

So while she was hunting shoes for me I pondered the sneaker/sandal things. They were actually rather comfy. And cute. But white and baby blue? I put them aside while I looked to see what else I might try and, hey, there are the cute sneaker things in black! And they fit like the white ones!

I bought them (photo taken with my foot braced on the edge of my bed, pretty much shooting down my shin, so some distortions should be expected):


And, if the white ones are still there when I pick up the peep toes I might be tempted to get them too... but $25 is a lot easier to resist than $10.

This is mostly aimed at RedcatsUSA, owners of several plus size women's clothing companies (Lane Bryant catalog, Roaman's, Jessica London, Chadwicks, and Woman Within to name a few) but it applies to other companies as well.

So you are carrying clothing in sizes 14w to 34w or in one notable case, 44w. Awesome. However, I have a few questions for you.

Why do your tall sizes top out at 26w? Is there some unwritten law that says tall women can't be fat?

I, personally, straddle the line between "average" and "tall" so I thank you for increasing the inseam on "average" paints from 28 to 30 inches. Now I can find pants in my size that are just long enough (my inseam is 30.5") since apparently I'm too fat to be tall.

So you carry at least to size 34w... why are all your necklaces only 18" long then? I can't speak for all size 30w ladies but I need a necklace at least 22" to sit at "the hollow of my throat" (which is not at all hollow of course). The fit of a 22" necklace on me is about comparable to a 15" on "regular" sized woman. That 18" necklace should be more like 25" to sit properly on me.

Also, why are your bracelets just 7 to 7.5" and why do your rings stop at size 10? My bracelets are 8" for a snug fit and I have been known to get a "standard" anklet of 9" to wear as a bracelet. Oh, and my rings? The three I wear are size 10 (pinkie finger), 12 (ring finger), and 13 (thumb) on my left hand. Increase those sizes by 1 for my right hand. I'd love a ring for my index finger but the last I checked I needed a 15 for that.

I need a 9 for a toe ring.

Speaking of feet, why do most of your shoes stop at size 11 and why is the widest width you stock is a D/E? Here's another set of scary numbers for you, my shoe size? It's between a US13 and 14 in womens' shoes. I have never seen the width I need, but it's EEE/EEEE. I live in dread of needing to wear dress shoes. The last pair I bought cost me $70 and are reasonably comfortable but they had better last me a while since I haven't seen a pair in 13 "extra wide" that "cheap" since I bought them.¹

And your "plus calf" boots? I haven't seen any with a calf larger than 20.5" at size 12, which didn't even come in "wide width". This one will terrify you, my calf? Is 23 inches when measured nude. If you know any woman that takes a Misses size 6, her waist and my calf are the same size.

My point is that it isn't just the bust, waist, and hip that get larger with larger sizes. Not all "plus size" women would be dainty little things if "they just lost some weight". I could lose 100 pounds and I would still be a large woman that would be frustrated by small bracelets and narrow shoes.

And I bet my shirts would still have sleeves that are too short.

[Edit to add: Why is this woman, and others like her, modeling clothes in your catalog? She doesn't look to be a size 14 to me. Give the woman a sandwich, she has no meat on her.]

1. And when did a 2" heel get downgraded to a "low heel"? It seems like 3" has become "standard" and 4 and 5" heels are scarily common. Are the women that wear these things fucking nuts? I'm sort of used to them in the shops that cater to transvestites but I'm seeing them at a lot at Shoewawa.

Finally, someone starts to get it.

Now if they would work on making them a bit bigger and much wider. If I still took a size 12 I'd probably be happy with the current selection in catalogs, unfortunately I take a 14. Very wide (EEEE, with an EE heel but there's no one making shoes on combination lasts these days).

My current favorite pair of shoes are actually a pair of black work boots, mens 13 extra wide. Good thing I like stompy boots. They're comfy, even with warm socks. :) Unfortunately they got cut (though thankfully not all the way through the material, they're still wearable) so I'll have to try to find replacements. :(

Unfortunately I will likely never own a pair of fashionable "off the shelf" womens boots that extend more than an inch or two above the ankle. "Plus calf" boots only fit a 20" calf at size 12, I don't think a size 14 (if it existed) would be anywhere close to the 24" calf I need (to wear over nylons/bare skin).

I really should get back into my home shoe making experiments once I get some extra cash.

It's an Asian Elizabethan Cyber Goth!

I was aiming for Industrial Asian-Victorian Cyber Goth but I missed. I probably should have gone for big boots rather than thigh high tabi, and opted for a Victorian era corset rather than an Elizabethan of course. Oh well, still kind of cool looking, though there's no way she could sit in any position remotely resembling "lady like" in that corset.

Pencils that I manipulated the heck out of in PSP with a half-arsed color job.

I'm liked the pencils so much I actually colored from the scanned pencils rather than inking. And it's all because of that skirt. I wanted to see how the pattern fill I had in mind would look, and then I just had to do the belt and boots, and then other leather, and before I knew it I had everything but the fur done.

I'm so impressed with myself. After a couple years of basically nothing my muse is back, and she's packing a bunch of new tricks. :)

Well, one rat anyway. I started drawing from the boots so the pose is very artificial and highly unlikely (the far leg should angle more into the page and the knee should be dropped so the center of mass is supported) but dang it, it's all about the boots anyway. :)

This was in my 'junk' sketchbook, which happens to be one of those 11 by 14 monstrosities, so there's another sketch on the same page. Just a random Hogwarts student in a movie style uniform, though she feels that slacks are far more practical than skirts for the modern witch.

It really sucks to be a woman with large feet.  Particularly if you have a thing for boots. 

You see, those sexy high heeled shoes they sell in sizes larger than 12 usually aren't made for women.  And it follows that the really sexy thigh high boots in sizes larger than 12 (heck, probably most of the 11s and 12s) are likewise not made for women.  Now for the shoes that's not much of a problem, though sometimes the ankle straps are a bit short (men tend to have more delicate ankles than women do for some bizarre reason), but with boots that go more than a couple inches up the leg it's a different story. Guys have stick legs, at least compared to the gals, particularly to gals that need shoes in sizes over 12 (I'd be inclined to say over 9 in reality).

Needless to say a site like this is a bit like finding water in the middle of a desert.... it just happens to be 100 feet below the ground.

[As an aside, it's funny as hell to go shopping in a store that specializes in high heels in large sizes. I'm often the only woman there.]