Shoe Size

My shoe size is .... well ... large. I wear a size 11 (gasps). I'm tall so it's okay. I figure if I had smaller feet I might fall over. Now, I've come to terms with my shoe size over the years and the obstacles it presents. For one, I can't just stroll into DSW or any department store for that matter, find a cute shoe, and automatically know they have it in my size. Because, more likely than not, they won't. Instead when I go into a shoe store, I approach a sales person, and quickly ask "Do you carry any 11's", if they so "No" then I know to turn around and not waste my time. Secondly, size 11's go quickly because generally stores will only have 1 or 2 in an 11. Suck.

Now, all that in mind, yesterday I went to Luke's Locker to find my first pair of nice running shoes. I'm sort of getting into this running thing, and so I decided I needed a good pair of shoes and to have someone check out how my foot looks when I run (and not to mention the current shoes are giving me some massive shin splints). I get my foot measured and he watches me walk. Now comes the awkward moment (more for him, than me) but he (he being the sales guy) leans in and whispers in my ear "I think you need a size 12"...then looks around in case anyone overheard him tell me that I need that big of a size. I calmly smile at him and nonchalantly state "It's okay, I know I have big feet, I've come to terms with it" to which he graciously and awkwardly smiles back and says "ok, I'll go see if we have any size twelves". He brought out...drum roll please....4 boxes of shoes (the entire collection of size 12 woman running shoes in their inventory). He apologized for this fact and I told him it was okay, atleast he had 4. Luckily a pair of asics fit perfectly and helped my bad arches. Anyways, the point of the story is - I'm okay with my shoe size, but I am not okay that stores/designers refuse to carry size 11s.