Wide-fit shoes offer an approximate 1/8-inch wider fit than standard-width shoes, enabling a more spacious toe box and a more significant base for increased stability and a more supple upper. Wide fit shoes are designed specifically for women's feet to help prevent common foot-related issues such as blisters and bunions, and relieve the pressure that can occur from tight standard styles. Selecting the correct width provides your foot with a more natural position, better support, and increased comfort while you wear your wide fit shoes all day long.
Introduction:
Finding shoes that fit comfortably can be difficult, particularly if you are wearing traditional sizes that do not provide the level of fit you are after. Many will just jump straight to a larger-sized shoe in the hope that a greater shoe size will solve the discomfort people feel while wearing shoes, but most of the time, that discomfort will originate from having poor width. This means it is essential to understand the differences between wide fit and regular fit shoes in order to prevent any ongoing long-term foot pain caused by wearing the incorrectly sized shoe.
What Are Wide Fit and Regular Shoes?
When shopping for suitable shoes, it is crucial to know what each width category means and where they fit within those categories. Women’s wide fit shoes are not just larger versions of a normal shoe, but rather have been intentionally designed and constructed with structural alterations to suit the natural shape and width of a woman’s foot.
With wide fit shoes, the forefoot and toe box will have more space than on standard width shoes; therefore, they would be a great option for women with naturally wide feet or those who suffer from mild swelling of their feet as the day goes by.
When compared to regular-width and wide-width shoes, extra-wide fit shoes provide a lot of room for people who have very wide feet, have severe foot swelling, or have specific medical problems that need extra space in the shoe.
Key Differences in Design and Fit:
Women’s wide fit shoes differ from traditional shoes in their construction and measurements, rather than just how loose they feel; wide fit shoes have a shape that has been modified in order to fit a larger foot size.
Wide fit shoes generally have a more flexible and/or stretchy upper part than traditional shoes, which typically have more rigid materials to help maintain that shoe's narrower shape. The midsole of many wide-fit shoes tends to be wider and/or more rigid than traditional-width versions due to the need for additional width in the upper of that shoe. Many wide-fit shoe styles have elastic panels or adjustable straps incorporated into the design to allow room for variations in the shape of the foot throughout the day.
Toe Box and Forefoot Width:
The major difference in toe box size found in both wide and regular shoe types is typically the most visible difference. A regular shoe has a substantially tapering toe box toward the front of the shoe, causing the toes to be compressed. This can result in the toes being forced into positions that are very unnatural to them. Crowding of your toes will lead to increased friction-based and bunion-based issues.
Shoes that offer proper width will properly allow the toes to spread out naturally due to the fact that they have a wider area in the toe box than a regular shoe. As noted by the Vionic Shoes Blog, “Wider shoes offer more room in their toe boxes, allowing for greater comfort than a regular shoe does because of the amount of room in their toe box to offer support." The wider toe box offered by shoes that provide proper width is critical to the comfort level of shoes for a woman with bunions, hammer toes or sensitive joints.
Sole Design and Stability:
Sole design in conjunction with the width of the sole plays an equally critical role in the overall comfort and balance. If your wide foot is resting on a narrow sole of the shoe, your foot will overhang the edges of the sole, causing you to be unstable and resulting in an uneven distribution of your weight on your foot.
Shoes that provide for proper width will provide for the sole of the shoe to be a little bit wider on the outsole than the sole of the shoe's upper. The Kizik Blog stated that, “Wide shoes also have a slightly wider outsole than their upper due to the increased width of the upper, which will maintain the grip and stability of your foot." The wider shape of shoes that provide for proper width assists with improving overall balance, reducing the amount of strain placed on the joints and increasing your confidence while walking.
Arch Support and Instep Fit:
Your overall fit is influenced not just by foot width, but also by factors such as Instep height and the shape of your arch. Regular shaping of shoes has a fixed ratio of size between length, arch height and width; this style doesn't work for everyone.
Wide fit shoes fit more loosely in the centre of the shoe, which relieves foot pressure and helps with circulation. Because wide fit shoes generally have less aggressive arch shaping, they will accommodate flatter, shallower-feet the same as narrow, tall-feet using traditional styles. On the other hand, regular-shape (narrow) shoes will be fitted tighter to the instep area (top of the foot), creating a tighter fit for a wider and/or taller volume foot.
Benefits of Wide Fit Shoes for Women:
Transitioning from regular women's shoes to wide fit women's shoes greatly improves daily comfort and long-term health of the foot. The primary benefit is allowing the natural position of your foot to be respected, without being compressed or forced into an alignment.
Wearing wide-fit shoes will help to relieve pressure on the bunion/hammertoe area and prevent too much pressure on the toes. This is especially true in warm weather, as the feet swell; and for those who have mild/oedema, with swollen feet. For those who walk on a daily basis – the additional shoe space creates less friction on the foot; thus, helps to reduce blisters/pressure points typically found with tighter fitting footwear.
Conclusion:
Like the right length of your shoes, the shoe’s width is just as important. If you have uncomfortable shoes, pressure spots, or blisters keep coming back, it is likely due to the width of the shoe (not the length) being wrong for you.
