dress shoes make my feet look big

[one_fifty_six]

i'll be turning 31 this may. and its funny how you get older and things change. i work at an office job. i sit at a computer all day answering phones and typing emails. not everyone is allowed to indulge in this fashion.

ill get to the point - recently i have been wanting to get into more dress shoes. i picked up a pair of brown derby's at old navy around Christmas. i thought what the hell they are $30. iv'e learned in the last week or two that they are a size too big. since then i have picked up a pair of madden derby's (two tone brown and grey) and just recently a pair of apt 9 derby's from Kohls. black.

now this is quite the change from my normal converse or vans setup. and they fit different. instead of a 9 or 10 iv'e noticed i'm looking at 8 or 7.5 shoe size. and iv'e noticed the reason why i don't wear dress shoes is because they make my feet look big. maybe i'm self conscious. maybe for the first time i am buying a 8 that actually fits instead of a 10 or 9 like i thought i was supposed to have.

does anyone have any suggestions on this? any guys in that size that have the same problem? i consider myself a thin man. 6'1, 150 lb. iv'e gained a few pounds in the last year (living in the south!) but i'm relatively tall and thin. i wear fitted H&M shirts and slim cut pants. so when i walk around with dress shoes it seems like i'm missing something. i think its the toe area that's particularly bulbous. any input would be appreciated.

 

[Doc4]

You are wearing a new style of shoe, and you are not accustomed to seeing them on your feet yet. So, the differences become glaring to you and stick out. There is also a chance that you have bought shoes that have large "toe boxes" making them seem more bulbous. You can look for more slender styles.

 

[davent]

To my eye the slender tapered toe is always going to make the foot look longer/bigger then need be so i'd be looking for something with a blunter toe as Doc4 illustrated with the last check mark. Take heed, from someone who lives in basketball and skateboard style shoes but i do have one pair dress shoes and they're similarly styled to the last example.
dave

 

[one_fifty_six]

Apt. 9® Brendan Men's Oxford Shoes
Hart Schaffner Marx - Garland Cap Toe Derby
Old Navy Faux-Leather Oxford Shoes for Men

here are the shoes mentioned earlier.

 

[Little Joe from Mexico]

I've never heard of a guy complain about his feet looking too big. I always thought these 'new, trendy' shoe types were designed exactly for the purpose of making guys' feet look bigger than they are. Not for me. They just look funny. Stick with the classics, I always say. The most important thing is that they fit you right and you are comfortable in them. If you still think your feet look big - well, just remember what they say: Big fit = big you know what. Comfort is King.

 

[Doc4]

I've never heard of a guy complain about his feet looking too big.

"You know what they say about guys with big feet. And let me tell you, I have the biggest feet. They're yuge."

 

[StillShaving]

The cut of your pants may also be highlighting the shoe, making them appear more prominent than they actually are. Wearing a straight cut will hide more of the shoe tops than a slim/skinny cut.

 

[Proinsias]

I keep two pairs of dress shoes in my locker at work so I only have to wear them when I am being paid to do so.

The current two pairs are marked with an X by Doc4, I think I will go back to the approved models next time I am shoe shopping.

 

[one_fifty_six]

I think Doc is right about it just looking weird . Learning how your shoes should fit and having a sense of style and knowing which shoes look slim.

Does anyone have a preference of Oxford vs derby vs chukkas vs anything else? Anyone have a brand they care for? I have noticed on the short time I've been on this forum that Allen Edmund is a favorite among the old timers.

 

[Try em all]

"You know what they say about guys with big feet. And let me tell you, I have the biggest feet. They're yuge."

That is boasting not complaining!

 

[Doc4]

Does anyone have a preference of Oxford vs derby vs chukkas vs anything else? Anyone have a brand they care for? I have noticed on the short time I've been on this forum that Allen Edmund is a favorite among the old timers.

Generally, an Oxford (aka Balmoral) shoe is going to be more formal/dressy than a Derby (aka Blucher). If you are going into highly formal suit-wearing situations, get Balmorals; if you are dockers-n-polos, get Derbys. If you are somewhere in between ... whichever you like the look of best.

Usually, "Blucher" and "Derby" are seen as synonymous. EG:

However, this seems to suggest that there are (subtle?) differences:

Tomayto, tomahto as far as I'm concerned, though.

As for brands ... Allen Edmonds is good, and Alden is better. Alden is on par with the lower end of the "good" English brands like Alfred Sargent. Crockett & Jones is a step up from there. Above that, you get into the really good stuff ... and pricey.

If you have access to a Brooks Bros., check out their Peal & Co. shoes (made for them by Alfred Sargent and Crockett & Jones). Great stuff, especially if you can get them on sale or in an outlet store. (But you have to try on each pair, as the sizing is all over the map due to two different manufacturers each using various lasts ... so you can't just always order the same size online.)

 

[one_fifty_six]

Funny I've already read what you just posted the other day! Ha Gentlemen's Gazette I think. I'm finding out that lower end stores youd find at the mall will call them oxfords .It's whatever .I dig the look . I'll keep an eye out for those brands. I really just wanted to know some brands so if I'm out and about I know a good shoe when I see them.

 

[jkingrph]

Get yourself a good pair of oxfords, bluchers or wingtips, and wear them. Wear them all the time at work and elsewhere for a few weeks and they will become second nature. I did that with hats, at first I was uncomfortable wearing one all the time and now I never step outside without one. It's mostly mental.

I wear a size 12 a shoe and never worry about how big my feet look. I have a cousin that wears a 14 and he is the same way. Go with one of the classic cap toes or wingtips and you will never be wrong.

 

[Syskel]

My friend semi-recently got new shoes and had the same problem. He thought they made his feet look too big but they looked great to me. All he had to do was wear them for a little while to get used to them. I don't think he has any problem with them now.

 

[RayClem]

Count your blessings. When I got married at the age of 21, I weighed 135# and wore 9 1/2 D shoes. Forty five years later, I weigh 235# and even 12 EEE shoes are uncomfortably tight.

 

[StillShaving]

Count your blessings. When I got married at the age of 21, I weighed 135# and wore 9 1/2 D shoes. Forty five years later, I weigh 235# and even 12 EEE shoes are uncomfortably tight.

Yeah, whomever said a boy is all grown by 21 was wrong.

 

[jkingrph]

Count your blessings. When I got married at the age of 21, I weighed 135# and wore 9 1/2 D shoes. Forty five years later, I weigh 235# and even 12 EEE shoes are uncomfortably tight.

Not quite that much weight gain myself, I probably started at about 160 at that age, but was wearing a 12 A shoe then. I weigh 235 now at age 72 and still wear a 12 A.

 

[BigJ]

You are wearing a new style of shoe, and you are not accustomed to seeing them on your feet yet. So, the differences become glaring to you and stick out. There is also a chance that you have bought shoes that have large "toe boxes" making them seem more bulbous. You can look for more slender styles.

+1! Good visual IMHO!

(Take this with at least a grain of salt from an old Fogie who has been in the workforce for a long time!)

 

[emwolf]

fascinating thread. as an american size 15, my feet have always looked big with or without shoes on (my kids would wear my old dress shoes for clown shoes). But when I saw the Blucher style, I could only think of this

 

[Doc4]

But when I saw the Blucher style, I could only think of this

I'm going to invent a new style of shoe and call them "Knockers"

Spoiler