Are you sure you're buying the right size, including the correct width? Our feet sometimes require a larger size over the years. Another thing to think about is the height of the toe box. You should able to find reasonably fashionable shoes that don't hurt your feet.

I HATE shopping for shoes! The only thing I hate more is shopping for purses.

I abused my feet horribly when I was young - I walked a couple of miles round trip (to and from work) every day for several years and I refused to wear tennis shoes with a dress, so I did it in heels. I know I could have changed after I got to work, but I couldn't be seen in public that way, LOL. And my entire shoe wardrobe was beautiful, but utterly impractical.

Now I am paying the price. I have found though, that as a rule, you get what you pay for. I did find some very comfy SAS loafers. I paid $110 for them about 10 years ago. I nearly had a heart attack at paying that much for a pair of shoes, but they were the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned. But beautiful? Cute? Not!

Donna, I tried on some of those ugly SAS shoes and they hurt my feet in the store, just walking a couple of yards.

Alisande, yes, I used to wear a 6 1/2 for years until I gained a bunch of weight. Now I wear between a 7 1/2 and 8 1/2 in some shoes, even after losing a bunch of weight. It depends on the Brand. The Keds are a 7 1/2 and the Mootsie Tootsies are 8s. I tried on 7 1/2s to 8 1/2s to find the ones that fit right.

The problem is that you wear tennis shoes all the time. Start wearing regular shoes a half hour a day and gradually increase the time you wear them.

I think part of the problem with shoes is where they are made. One's made in China are more narrow, because the Chinese people usually have smaller feet. I have to be careful, because my big toes are longer that the other toes and so many of the flats I like have rounded toes. That is why I can wear sandals. No crunchy toes. I get my shoes on line, because I have narrow feet. You may other problems that only a foot Dr. can help you with. I try to buy shoes, even sandals, with some sort of support in the bottom. I also try to stick with flats especially since I fell last winter. Maybe if you can get to a ""real"" shoe store and have your feet measured by one of those 4way things that would help. I wish you the best.
Marie

I only wear comfortable shoes at this point in my life and my feet are very hard to fit, they are flatter than flat so anything looks terrible on me because of how my feet are.
but a few brands that I can wear are Merrell, I have 2 pair of them that I wear as my dressier every day shoes. Dr.Comfort shoes, Keen I have my Keen sandals that I live in during the summer they are not girlie shoes but are wonderful. And Born shoes are great and so are Clarks.

This is very similar to my fave Merrells but mine are a bit dressier but do have the zip, and are leather.
Lorelei Zip

You should see a podiatrist and have them do a professional fitting on you, so many people think they are in the right size but actually they aren't and wearing shoes that fit badly can really cause serious toe and foot problems.
My mother is a perfect example of that, she wore shoes that were too tight and too pointed for most of her life and now at 89 her feet are so crippled up she can barely wear shoes at all. Her toes are all on top of each other from being squished into those pointed shoes, reminiscent of the bound feet of Oriental women.

Well, I am going to wear the canvas shoes to the movies in a little bit so we'll see if they hurt my feet. But, they are basically a tennis shoe, just not an athletic looking one.

Kathy, I only buy Clark's or Naturalizers now. I hardly ever have to buy new shoes because in the summer I wear mostly sandals and in the winter I wear my Lands End shoes that I have had for several years. I need to go to a "real" shoe store here that my podiatrist suggested and get fitted for lace up walking shoes.

Crocs changed my life. I always had discomfort and foot pain and couldn't ever find a shoe that was comfortable. Now I can walk all around New York City and be happy. The link below shows my "dress Crocs" (LOL). I only ever wear pants and these work very nicely for me in black. In the summer, I wear Croc sandals and around the house and out and about I wear the big clunky Crocs and I've never been happier. Some people say how ugly they are but I say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder!

Here is a link that might be useful: Crocs

Kathleen, wear your new shoes IN THE HOUSE for at least an hour before wearing the out. If you do that, you can return them if they hurt your feet. We have a local shoe store here, Januzi's, that fit your feet and shoes. I have not been able to find a pair of boots to fit in years. I was in and out of that store in 20 minutes, including waiting my turn. Expensive? You bet! But I followed thier return policy, wore the boots in the house for a couple of hours and they feel great. I've worn them for two days strait! I'll do the same for sneakers or what ever for summer soon. DH did the same thing. He refuses to get good shoes. He keeps complaining of his feet hurting. I finally conviced him to go there and get really good shoes. It about killed him to pay the price, but his feet don't hurt any more! Come on up and try them!

Tami