Our girls' Dr. said that height and feet usually stop growing within 2-2.5 yrs of the onset of menstruation. FWIW

My DD1 sometimes takes and 11 and DD is a 10. I was a 9 at their age.

Hmm. Currently contemplating new ski boots as she is complaining about her size 10 boots. And surely size 12 will be a nightmare to find? Or is it becoming common now?

My 12 year old is in a 10-11 and I'm already finding it hard to find shoes for her. I was a 7 at her age. What the heck is going on? Not sure about ski boots, but we are already buying boys sneakers for her as the woman's are hard to find in those sizes.

I stopped growing at about 11.5, I had my period by 10 though. So I do think it has a lot to due with menstruation. If it is any consolation I as a 5'7" woman have a size 6 ft and I find it harder to find small woman shoes than larger....

My daughter was a size 10 by High School. She has a hard time finding shoes too.

It totally depends on the child. My son wore men's size 11 shoes in 6th grade - 12 to 12 1/2 by 7th and that was it. OTOH, my grandson (DD's son) is 16 and still growing. Depends on when puberty begins and ends and that is a HUGE range.

I stopped growing at 12 1/2 and have a 6.5 shoe size but was a whole size larger when younger (vanity sizing?)

My son is 11, is already taller than me at 5'3" and wears a men's 7

For the ski boots, if she does make it to size 12, there is a good chance you can find an equivalent size in men's but hopefully she will top out at 11. She has my deepest sympathies as I also wear a size 11. Shoe shopping can be quite an ordeal, especially as most of what I find is online and of course, it all comes down to the way the shoe feels. One hint is to look at European brands as they often have a larger size. I also find that the search for nice socks that fit a big foot well is daunting.

I am 5'9" and size 10 shoe. I have been both since grade 6(age 12). My most recent ski boots were actually men's. I like the calf support better in the men's boot. (I am thinking you meant downhill not nordic and this is what I am referring to. I have regular woman's Nordic boots).

I think my DD's feet grew a bit more after she stopped growing in height -- like maybe 1/2 a size.

Localeater I'm 5'9" and size 10 feet too. Yes I was talking about downhill. If I buy her boots she may outgrow them too. Good chance I guess, maybe rent for another year. We bought her size 10 boots two years ago knowing she could pass them down to me, but she's past me now.

tishtosh, thanks for the advice. DD is already a little disheartened at the selection in size 11. We looked at men's running shoes in the summer, they did not cut it for her, not nearly pretty enough. I imagine the selection is even worse in size 12. My aunt who would be about 85 now had size 11. It was almost impossible back in the 1940s and 50s for her to find shoes!

roarah, she just got her period three months ago, a couple of months after her 12th birthday, so i expect she will slow down. I think it is so variable there is no real way to predict. And nothing I can do about it! We'll deal with size 12 if we have too.

I asked DH how tall our 11 year old granddaughter. He responded 5'8 but that is today. She is on a growing spurt. She wears a size 9 shoe.

I wore a size 6 when I graduated high school, a 6.5 after having a baby at 22 and I now wear a 7.5. My feet still haven't stopped growing and I'm 51.

Size 6 to 7.5, holy cow! That's significant! I had to go for a bone density scan last year (at 46) as follow to my celiac disease diagnosis. I learned then that I'm a half inch taller than I thought I was. So maybe I'm still growing too! My feet are still size 10 though.

I still have my high school best friend. We both wore a size 6. Every time we get together, I have to prove to her again that my feet are now 7.5!

I was a size 7 in HS, but today I wear an 11! I honestly think shoes are smaller than before, because my DH says I have tiny feet, and they really don't look really long...but I can't fit into a size 9 to save my life.

Funny story, but I remember DD's size (7) on her 12th birthday in 1991. We had a friend in the state legislature at the time (later a U.S. Senator) who offered to let her be a page when she turned 12 (the minimum age). She paged on her 12th birthday and afterwards met with the Govenor (later President). They ended up talking about shoe sizes and his daughter, Chelsea, who is about 8 months younger, wore the same size. DD is now a 7 1/2 or 8 at 37.

Great story mojomom! So another 1/2 to 1 size after 12 in this case! I'm bracing for 11 1/2 or 12 for DD ;)

Sochi, I have read that the average shoe size for woman is increasing. As it does the selection available at the bigger sizes improves so it won't be as bad for your daughter as it was for prior generations. Shoe purchases will probably never be a whim purchase for her as she will purchase on line or develop relationships with stores to support her needs. This is a good thing she won't have the stereo typed woman's shoe hoard in her closet.

They are going to have to start making larger shoes and get with the TIMES! So many women nowadays have larger than size 10 feet! I remember wearing a size 8 1/2 when I was probably around 12 and now I wear a 10 mostly. Some of that is due to the fact that shoes are running smaller these days. I still have some old shoes that are 9 1/2 that still fit me but in new shoes I have to buy at least a 10 and sometimes even 11 like in some ASICS shoes. My first ASICS were 9 1/2 just a few years ago then recently went to buy new shoes and fit in an 11! What is up with that? Funny my old 9 1/2 shoes still fit me although they are worn out now and need to be replaced.

I have extra wide feet and had to leave pretty shoes behind pretty much since I was 19. So I feel sympathy for your daughter, although I believe there will still be pretty shoes available in larger sizes, but it sucks not being able to just pull them off the shelf.

I have a few stores that I know stock wide shoes and it does make shopping easy, I can go in and just ask for whatever they have in an E or EE, try on the two or three pairs and walk out with the one I like the best. Online shopping is definitely another way to go, a little worse for us in Canada of course. My sister is a size 11 and she always had good luck at Long Tall Sally, there are stores in Ottawa and Toronto.

Is each generation growing progressively taller and larger? It seems that way, most likely due to what? I'm 5'6 1/2"tall and wear a size 6.5 -7 shoe. Shoes have never been difficult to find in length for me, although I do have wide feet which does make it more difficult. What has always been hard, though, is that socks are too generalized and I can end up with the heel area half way up my ankles if I'm not careful! DD @ 22 y/o is 5'7" and wears a size 8-8.5.

Thanks everyone. I've heard of long tall Sally Robo, we will definitely check it out. I have a friend who is 6'1" with size 12 feet, that is her go to store. Online is definitely the best option I think. DD is only 5'7" now, so I doubt she will be especially tall, it's just the feet! ;)

I'm 5'10" and wear a size 9 - 9.5 shoe, and have been the same since I turned 12 (unless you count pregnancy swelling/flattening/whatever that was). I'm not so sure if puberty has much to do with it, because I didn't menstruate until just before my 18th birthday. My guess is that she is done :)

I think there has definitely been vanity sizing because I remember being a 7 1/2 in high school and now I am a 6 1/2. Sometimes even a 6 if the shoe is flat. And this is after having a child and I'm in my 40's.

My foot kept growing a bit thru high school. I hate a late onset of menstruation (early 9th grade) and was wearing a size 8N then. By graduation I was an 8.5N. Later in life I went to a 9 and am now up to a 9.5, sometimes a 10. Shoes seem so variable in size these days. I had a high arch which has dropped and my foot had become wider too but not my heel. Weird foot.

Errant beat me to it!! Your feet stop growing after your last child is born!

As a size 12, I'll let you in on a few secrets assuming none of you live around me. :-) I am lucky enough to live in a town that has a great shoe store that carries tiny shoes up to size 12 or maybe bigger. These are not cheap shoes but some of the brands are ones that teens would wear. Birkies, UGGs, Sperrys, Clarks, Naots, Dansko, etc. I try to buy from brick and mortar as much as I can. A few other places that routinely stock up to a 13 are : Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, Payless Shoe Source. Famous Footwear and DSW are hit and miss but offer to 12's online. Zappos car ries
up to 12's. Shoe carnival carries up to 12's in tennis shoes in the stores but not very many other shoes, they to have online presence. We have great luck at Nike Outlets finding 11's and 12's at great prices. I think most department stores carry some 12's online and ones around us have a few 12's in the stores. We find some good larger shoes at TJ Maxx also.

Because of having big feet, I will say that my daughters and I have a large shoe collection. If you find a great pair of shoes, you better buy them then. When you want them they won't be around.

I wore a size 6 in hs and still do at age 64. It has never changed. I can order shoes online without trying them on and they always fit perfectly. Clothes are another matter entirely-almost always too big or too small. Sigh.

Another size 12 foot here, though I was an 11N in hign school and went to an 11-1/2N. And that was the toughest to find. Most shoes stopped at an 11 and I can't tell you the last time I saw an 11-1/2. I wound up buying 12 N and sometimes 11s if they ran longer.

After my sons were born, I was still wearing the same shoes, but I stopped working after a while and started wearing sandals, tennis shoes, etc. We also moved and I lost Nordstrom -- started having to buy what I could find, often 11M sandals (warm climate helps). After years of that, I now wear a pretty consistent 12M. That beats looking for a size 13 -- I am so glad my foot didn't get longer!

I wear a lot of flats since DH is shorter then I am -- and they are more comfortable. I used to find an occasional size 12 in stores, but now they don't seem to show up - or they are grabbed faster than I can spot them. I know that online, the size 12 is often the first to sell out, espcially if the shoe is at all cute, fin or at all different from the basics -- even in Tieks and their special editions. The Arabian Nights, at $345, sold out in the 12s and the 5s before any others. If that keeps happening, perhaps the shoe makers will discover that the market is growing and 12s will become a normal shoe size before allI need is slippers. LOL But it is far form a death sentence. You just become a different kind of shoe hound.

I stopped growing tall about 16, 17. Unfortunately, I don't think my feet ever really stopped growing. Size 10.5, US. Men's. Apparently that would be a woman's 12.5. I now just wear men's hiking shoes and running shoes (and bedroom slippers). I also have a bad big toe which precludes any narrow-toed shoe.

(Someone recently suggested that if I ever want dress shoes, I should find a web site that sells to trannies and cross-dressers. Unfortunately my feet are shaped such that I actually have to try the shoes on in person. I guess I could order and mail back the ones that don't work.)

Anyhow, I have no latent Imelda Marcos gene, but it would be nice to have one dressy pair.

I asked my sister and she said Ecco goes up to 11 and sometimes she has good luck at winners (it's sorted by size there so quick to go through). Her go to is LTSally.

Great lead, thanks Robo!

Artemis, if you ssee this, look up Tieks. They are a soft leather that shapes to your foot and they come to a 13. Not cheap, but not as expensive as many shoes and certainly worth a splsurge if you rely on tennies. The trans and cross dresssing population apparently goes for some mega heels and wild shoes -- not the kind of thing I wear, but you see them in 12-13.

Also check out places you may have given up on before -- things change. Nordstrom has a number in 12.5 and 13. Even Macy's has a few in 13 online. You can return in the stores with them, but Zappos and some others offer free returns. Macy's and Nordstrom might, but I return to the store since I'd have to drive tto the post office and the stores aren't much furtheer.

Lascatx, thanks. I can't wear heels, and don't really want to. I'll check them out. Don't think we have a Zappos since I've never heard of them, but Macy's is close enough.

Oh, artemis, you DO have a Zappos and it's the best store ever!! It's only online, practically every brand and style of shoe you could imagine. Free shipping to your door. Free returns; box up the ones you don't want and just take them to UPS and back they go. No muss, no fuss! I LOVE zappos. I've order more than several pairs at once trying to find the exact right shoe and size for an event. They arrive in one or two days. You have a year to return them, no questions asked.

Olychick, thanks. I tried to reply earlier to sayy the same thing but was on a different ccomputer and couldn't get signed in! Macy's (at least here) only carries to a 10 in the stores, but they have a lot of 11s, some 12s and even a few 13s online. I prefer buying shoes in a store, but went years only being able to buy sandals and the occasional Keds or such and finally caved to ordering. The occasional finds at some stores have become virtually non-existant (maybe there are too many of us long toed gals snapping them up) and the choices online, as well as service and return policies, have gotten better.

I had size 5(35 European-very convenient-they always went on sale..)) but my size grew to be 6 after having babies. I don't know how these things are connected but they obviously were.

I don't think they ever stop, but there were 15ish years when I wore a 7, then another 15ish years when I wore 7.5, then 5ish years at an 8. now, I am at 8.5...be willing to go up in sizes, it beats corns, bunions, etc.

My feet have remained a frustrating size 5.5 even after having 5 children.

My oldest daughter, almost 15, wears between a size 4-4.5. AND she has wide feet. Shoes are a nightmare to buy normally, even online, but we went to "Last Call" which is a Nordstrom's store (final sale) and she actually had a selection, for the first time!