Since I was in Debenhams I had a quick look around  the shoe department. Didn't find anything in my size. I am a size 9. I think most stores these days expect you to ask a sales person for the size you need.

My next stop was Next. This shop seem to have a small shoe department. All the shoes had plastic sizing tabs on them.  At least that made it easy to tell what size the shoe was with out the need to pick them and look at the soles. 

Both B.H.S and D.P. had all shoes in size order.  I seem to remember D.P going up to a size 9 but had none on show.

New Look.. Last time I went here the shoes were  on the left hand side of the store. All sizes being mixed up.  I did buy a pair  last time, thanks to a helpful sales woman. This time at the back of the store in the right sizes. Size 8 and 9 being group together. No size 9 again. I think people buy size 9 on sale and resale on Ebay. I did try a couple of size 8 on but didn't fit but, under £10 for each pair seem worth trying on .I sometimes see a size 9uk marked up as a 42euro as well These size 8 were marked  up as a 42 euro as well.

Didn't have much more to left to do any more looking around so went home.

These:

The pair I'd found were at Brent Cross, and reduced to £30 in their sale. The pair I saw were an EU40/UK7.  During the same visit I bought some flat calf length boots that looked they might be useful in the impending wet/snowy weather we are promised during the next 4 weeks. The boots were reduced to £20 (from probably £30). Both styles were from their TRF range. (TRF = cheaper/budget.)

The flat boots fitted okay, but the stretch shafts were loose - as usual, although they looked like they might be slim enough. I had decided to visit a couple more Zara stores, before giving up on the wedge boots, as the boots looked really attractive.

A local store (Home Counties) was tried last Wednesday, with no luck. They had the wedges, but only in a UK5 and UK6. 

On Friday I went to Westfield London (aka White City), to look, and to return the £20 boots. No luck with the wedges, only one pair UK7 found. Close, but no prize! While there, I decided to return the £20 boots. There was a queue for returns, but at the time I didn't want to carry the boots with me to Primarni as it's quite a trek from Zara. Well, it took 30 minutes to get my money back. The 'shower of shyte' that passes for a returns system, has the counter staff checking and re-hanging every returned item, before a refund was made. It took very nearly 25 minutes to get to the front of a 10 person queue.  One person (we'll call her 'princess') has two full bags of returns. Even with the discounts from the sale items she had bought, the two receipts that were refunded ran to £175 and £60. How could someone make that many mistakes when selecting clothing? Two FULL bags of returns. Incredible. Another one of the 10, one full bag. Not that this would be a problem at Marks or J.L. but Zara staff have to re-hang and tag where necessary every single item...... So nearly 25 minutes to get to the front of the queue .... 

And then, and then ..... The assistant had to call the floor manager to authorise the £20 cash refund.  If that didn't add to the delay enough, their internal communication system wasn't working. The assistant called for a manager several times, without getting a reply, which should have told the assistant the manager wasn't receiving the call and she should have tried the store public announcement system - the manager told her in front of us. It took over 5 minutes for someone to appear, which of course blocked the assistant from doing any more returns.    

You would be forgiven for thinking Zara would now be at the top of my 'avoid at all costs' list? Having made the time to go to the West End proper, I decided to go to the Marble Arch (end) branch of Zara in Oxford Street, not least because I planned to go to Primarni which is quite close to it. 

Nothing on the ground floor, but UNBELIEVABLY,  I found an EU41/UK8 (fits like a UK7.5 but fits me) on the first floor, which I then took to the ground floor to buy. Some 8 minutes into queuing,  I put the boots on a low counter, and walked out - leaving the boots behind. I wasn't prepared to spend a further 10 minutes queuing to get to the front of another queue to buy something, having already spent 30+ minutes getting my £20 back earlier in the evening. Okay, so they will sell, so no loss to Zara, but at my  time of life, I have more import things to do than waste time queuing to buy shoes (of questionable quality).

It's not like I'm going to lose much putting Zara on my banned list, and neither is Zara. But I was one of many people who had a bad time in two of their stores, and it won't only be me who decides they are not worth visiting again. Other stores I have complained about in the past, have gone bust (House of Fraser, and New Look being two notable ones). While Zara is (I believe) a privately owned company with a (now) mega-rich owner, a bad shopping experience can lead to a bad shopping business. 2019 is going to be another tough year for high street retailers, and given my recent shopping experience, I won't be surprised if Zara begins to close stores.

My first ever experience of ALDO and trying on shoes in their stores was at Lakeside, when I tried on some very girlie 4 3/4" black patent stillies. Seen on the right >> here << which I didn't buy at the time, much to the [obvious] frustration/disappointment of the sales staff. [They fitted, I could walk in them, and I obviously liked them, so why not buy?]

At the time, £50 shoes I might seldom wear, was on balance, pointless. When they went on sale for £25 .... I bought them.

Anyway, the Sales staff were super helpful.

Some weeks later, I got totally ignored at Bluewater, which almost completely changed my mind about them. With hindsight, I think the staff at that store -at that time- were maybe not as well trained/well motivated as I might prefer. "In store" service otherwise, has always been good moving toward a little pushy. Although a Canadian outfit, maybe the training staff are using US Manuals?

Was at the Liquidation store in Wood Green today.

The background to Wood Green, is that it's quite an 'ethnic' town and the bulk of the folk there appear to be Afro-Caribbean. Neither them, nor the African and Muslim community there, are known for their tolerance of gender crossover be that sexual or dress code..... So I'm not wholly comfortable trying on womens shoes there, and I doubt I've ever worn them in the street there either. Not had any bad experiences, but then I haven't put myself in line for one either.

In store, I knew what I wanted, though I did [discreetly while standing] try on the Chupka in a EU42 with a sock still on my foot for all of about 2 seconds. [it fitted, but EU42 at ALDO is a size 9! ] Walking around with the 42 Chupka in one hand, and a 41 Levere I picked up in the other, I eventually got approached so asked for '41' versions of both shoes. It took an age [4 minutes] to get the 41 Levere out for me, but there wasn't a 41 Chupka in store.

Without batting an eyelid, the floor manager [Polish woman] hands the 42 Levere back to me, and says "We only have the 42, why don't you try them?" I declined [which plainly didn't impressed her one bit. 'Pushy' see. :-( ] But even in the most unlikely of places, [and I mean Wood Green by that remark], ALDO staff were not phased by a man looking to buy for himself, womans shoes.

On balance, ALDO comes Highly Recommended in supporting men shopping for womens shoes.

....

I had finished doing my shopping here and a bite to eat.  Still waiting for Fred to turn up.  I made to move to go into Camden Town. There is an Aldo clearance shop there. It gets very busy here and I found some knee high and thigh high boots I liked just not in my size.

In hindsight I should of gone to Oxford street and do a little shopping there while waiting for Fred.

  Fred did turn up around 5pm. We had a quick cup of tea and went back shoe shopping.  I found a nice pair of heels and that fitted but I must really like them for me to buy heels now. I had to leave Fred and his friend around 8pm yet I wanted to visit more shoe shops.

In Amsterdam we have a couple of shops that will sell big ladies shoes.

The http://www.vanharen.nl/NL/nl/shop/welcome.html ( a http://www.deichmann.com/DE/de/shop/welcome.html shop ) sells some , but the quality is not so good.

This is a "regular" shoe store with about 500 models for regular sizes and about 50 models for size 43/44

There is also http://www.stravers-shoes.com/, but again I dislike the quality.

This is a speciality shop for small to large sizes.

I noticed that also a lot of travesites visit this shop.

All my shoes I buy at https://www.bigshoes24.com/.

This is a shop for regular to large sizes (ladies sizes upto 46, I have UK10/EU44).

My latest buys are the following:

https://www.bigshoes24.com/webshop/womens-shoes/knee-boot/product:5240_lilian_lange-laars-blauw.htm

https://www.bigshoes24.com/webshop/womens-shoes/pump/product:5605_calandschoe_pump-blauw-zwart.htm

This pump I already have for some time and call them my comfort pumps:

https://www.bigshoes24.com/webshop/womens-shoes/pump/product:2674_gabor_pump-zwart.htm

Bertus

Yesterday I was looking at dvd's and went to leave and saw a pair of shoes. I already had a pair but my sister had seen my pair and wanted a pair the same. I brought them for her. The assistant asked me if they needed trying on. I declined the offer and said they were for my sister. Afterwards I wished I had said yes (my sister and me are the same size).

I tried on a pair of black boot shoes http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/boots/lace-up-bootie_212625101 along with some ankle boots http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/boots/suedette-button-boot_209575941 (Though in Black not blue) and http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/boots/suedette-button-boot_209575941 and a pair that i am wearing in the attached pic but is not shown online.

There were not too many people in the shoe section and nobody paid any attention whatsoever to me trying on heels, the only problem was that my camera did not focus properly when I tried to get some snaps in their mirror (It was a bit grimy) as they are moving the shoe department around, making way for the summer stock.

I then had a wander down to Brantanos and tried on several pair, (Pictures are in my gallery), whilst I had the black peep toe courts on the manager came up to see if I needed any assistance and shock/horror she used to run a bar that I drank in before she took over at Brantanos as manager. We had a quick catch up chat (Whilst i was wearing the heels) and I managed to palm her off with the old "Its for a fancy dress costume" excuse. She was most helpful and said that if I needed any help getting trying on or getting some delivered then she would definitely help me out. (I felt a bit bad telling her a white lie but I really don't want someone I know and might bump into to know what I am up to with my heeling!).

I tried on one more pair of heels and decided to head home for the day.... my next trying on expedition will probably be somewhere other than my home town

The women’s boots (on left) have a heel that is very slightly thinner and higher and the shaft appears a little taller too.   When he went to try and buy at the YSL shop, he was shown the boots for both sexes without any suggestion that they were sex-specific.   As he wears a UK8, he was able to buy the women’s model in a python leather, which he preferred, and which was a little cheaper than the men’s equivalent – if one can use the word ‘cheap’ in relation to something costing £760!

I am told that the heel on these in UK8 is actually 95mm (3.75”).   I have seen a pic of him wearing them (fully exposed below normal length narrow trousers) and they look great, and totally acceptable for a man to wear in public.

It is interesting that YSL should introduce these unisex styles and I wonder how popular they will be, regardless of the high price?   But it seems that several sizes are already sold out, which suggests there is some demand.   Could we hope for some affordable high street copies?   (Of course, one could get Miguel Jones to make a made-to-measure boot of very similar style for something in the region of £120.)

Here is a better pic link to the women’s boots: http://www.mytheresa.com/en-gb/embossed-leather-ankle-boots-458700.html   The other men’s/women’s styles can also be found online, e.g. http://www.farfetch.com/uk/shopping/men/saint-laurent-french-85-boots-item-11101784.aspx

And here is a YSL pic of a male wearer:  http://mesuive.tumblr.com/post/115224070462/saint-laurent-85-french-zipped-boot-in-black

For some reason I had remembered (incorrectly) anything under the value of £34/£35 didn't attract any form of duty. It doesn't if the item is sent as a gift, but retail purchases aren't gifts, and laws in the US have stiffened to be be quite punitive if retailers lie. (Which used to be quite common - I understand).

When Apparelsave offered an ankle boot with a minor blemish at £21 plus £5 delivery, and since I'd almost made a purchase of the same style when it was at the discounted price of £50/£60, I bought the boots.

While I wasn't overly happy at being (rightly) charged £5 VAT on the imported goods, I was completely frustrated at the £8-97 charge for 'processing' (paying) the £5 VAT charge. Highway robbery? Oh yeeees.

The boots were advertised as a UK8 and US9½ which I know Nine West can be. They are not however, they are at best a UK7½ and I think closer to a 7. They have a 5 inch heel, which is why I liked them, and how far would I usually walk in a 5 inch heel? I'm hoping that damp-ish feet, might help change the shape enough to allow my right foot to become comfortable in them. My left foot, which is slightly smaller, sits in the left boot quite happily. The right boot needs a little more effort. I've had this several times before, and I put it down to a toe that curves under another on my right foot. A bit extreme, but if I had a choice, I'd only have 4 toes on that foot. Honestly, I don't need 5 and that toe is going to cause me problems when I get older. (Get older?  )  

I think I might be keeping them, rather than selling them on an auction site.

I would recommend Apparelsave.

Comms were not fast, as a query I had on another style took 3 days to get a reply, but I did get a reply.

The dispatch of my boots was fairly prompt, if the courier was not quick. At £5 for carriage, I'm happy with the delivery timescale. I'm not happy with the 'processing' charge though, as I can't see being more than the actual VAT being justifiable. That 'processing' fee might seem more acceptable if the purchase value was £100+ I suppose.  

There are some interesting styles there, and quite a lot of larger sizes up to Eu46!   The buy-it-now prices are moderate too.   I know nothing of this seller or its products ('Giaro'?), so caveat emptor (as we say in deepest Kent).   Any feedback would of course be helpful.

I would love to be able to wear these (but, although they are my size, I won't!), or see them being worn by a suitably presentable woman:  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIARO-SHOES-SILVER-UK11-11-5-EU46-EXTREME-HIGH-HEELS-SEXY-FETISH-STRAPPY-CD-TV-/161582527244?pt=UK_Women_s_Shoes&hash=item259f11b30c

I wonder whether anyone has bought from this China-made range or has specific knowledge of the product quality, fit and service?   There are some rather stylish shoes there (although little of interest to me) and prices (typically £35 - 50 plus £8.99 shipping) are reasonable, whilst the few reviews are generally favourable.   Fit does not seem to be a problem, despite the Chinese source, and one cannot totally ignore any such shoes that go up to what seems to be a true UK13 (Eu46-47)!   I note too that each item is allegedly made to order and can be customised - interesting but rather vague and possibly an area for misunderstanding.

I note that returns can be sent to either US or Germany, neither at exactly trivial cost.   Members shouild be aware that (as I have indicated elsewhere on this board), under the Distance Selling Regulations (which apply in all EU states), a full refund (including all outward and return shipping) MUST be given for anything wrongly supplied or defective.   (Strictly, there should be an address in the purchaser's country for such returns.)   That would include a situation where the sizing is clearly inaccurate, but not where the seller merely disliked the item, although the product price is still refundable in such cases if return is made promptly.   From experience, Amazon is not brilliant initially at helping in a disputed situation of this kind involving its Marketplace sellers (e.g. if return shipping refund refused) but will respond to a firm demand, citing the law.

I've seen a couple of styles at KG I quite liked. Their prices are usually 'off budget', so if I'm ever going to buy, it has to be during a sale. Prices are typically £120 to £160, with some even higher (£400). They are often styles I and Mrs Freddy find attractive, so always get a visit if a shop is close.

The two styles I've seen over a bit of time are these:

Jessica: £160.

The sole, heel, and toe shape were first seen in some knee high boots. Loved them, but way way way over my budget. At the time, I thought how nice would this style be, if they were available in my favoured ankle boots style? And these arrived.

At the KG store, they were marked at full price, so outside my interest there. Sadly. I had thought they'd already gone on sale, and checking at home, found they are now available for as little as £40/£50 at some on-line stores.

The second style .....

Sindy: £195.

A pair of these were actually there in the sale, at £49. They are wedges, which I like as they're stable and usually quiet. I hadn't planned to try them as I don't expect to spend £50 on shoes I don't need (as nice as they looked)......

But also spotted these, my size, also in the sale area:

Coco: £120.

Reduced to £59, and I have a 'thing' for a high patent stiletto!

So I spotted these two pairs, checked the prices, had a look at them. Two fellas serving in the shop, and the shop is just about empty. I did another circuit, and decided that despite there being two 20 something year old men in the store, I couldn't not try them.

Grabbed the two pairs, and sat down. Tried on the shoe, stood up, and walked a couple of paces. I noticed one of the servers must have moved out the back, and the second was slowly moving around the front of the shop. The shoe was a bit tight, but that might be due to the gel toe protector helping to fill up the toe box.

Then I tried on the Sindy boot, which I'd found out minutes before was a slip on style, with an ankle belt only for appearance. Inside the toe box was heavily padded, and I could (maybe) see why the boot was so expensive. These would be worn by most for hours without too much discomfort. While trying this one on, I noticed the other server had returned.

Neither one approached me, though both were close enough for me to gather some attention if I spoke. Neither gave me 'dirty' looks nor spoke to each other while staring at me. Also, it would have been obvious what I was doing, not least because the server moving around the front of the store would have seen the shoes I was trying, and the heeled boots I'd arrived in. No problem.

I left without buying, thinking I might return later if I had talked myself into a purchase. As the evening wore on, lack of time prevented me returning for the purchase, pep-talk.

All three style are attractive. The wedges are higher than the KG site claim. The Jessica is over 5" high, though it has a small platform. The patent stiletto's ..... what's not to like?

Perfect shopping experience. Left alone, no attention paid to me at all.

...........

I decided to return some shoes I'd bought from Schuh. They were sold as a UK8, but me and at least one other reviewer, believed them to come up a size small. eg. their EU41 was a UK7.

No problem, as Schuh offer a 365 day return policy. Today I visited Bluewater, with Mrs Freddy. Not wanting to carry the shoes around, Schuh was the first shop at the mall we went to.

The girl on the till, asked if she could help, and I said I wanted to return some shoes. She checked the shoes, then rang (a bell) for a supervisor to authorise the refund. He showed up, looked at the shoes too (then the receipt), and asked if there was anything wrong with them. I said no, they came up a bit on the small size. I am standing on the other side of the counter to him, wearing heels under jeans, that he can't see and hadn't noticed when I walked into the shop.

So when I say the shoes come up a bit small, his reply is; "They weren't for you were they, something-for-the-weekend?" My immediate response is; 'mind your own', but I don't feel the need to embarrass someone who is plainly an idiot. I remain silent, wondering if I should blab the truth. Eventually he moves on and says it's okay to refund.  

The till girl actions the refund, and asks me to put the card in I paid with. I tell her it was a cash sale ..... and remind her the penny on the counter was to round up the refund to make it a paper money refund only. "Oh yes" she says. Then calls another supervisor to authorise the refund? And she tells the girl (like we are not there) "Ask them for a penny" etc etc. 

We get the refund, and leave.

I may well be adding Schuh to the small number of "do not visit" shops to my list. Barratts, and Faith were also on that list. How well are they doing these days?

(For our international friends, Barratts has I think gone bust twice in the last 5 years, or is it 3 times? A tiny fraction of their shops remain. Faith went bust 3 or 4 years ago. The brand name lives on, but it isn't Faith as we knew it. It's now a name on a range of not-very-attractive shoes found in some Debenhams stores.) 

......

Not too long ago, after going to the garage for my car, and learning that it would cost me 1,300$ I decided I needed a little pick me up and stopped at a shoe store. It was early in the morning and the mall was quiet, the shoe store was empty.

I looked briefly at the shoes and headed for the boots section. There was only one salesgirl and of course offered her assistance. I asked to try the 2 following models.

The taller ones are about mid thigh, so quite high. The girl only mentionned that I might not be able to pull them up all the way because of my jeans. But no issues there. They were nice and with a very high heel. I tried the other ones, a bit above the knee with a shorter heel. These were like slippers, very comfortable. The girl commented that these were very nice. Of course, I did not buy them... But it cheered me up, until I thought again about the car expensive bill.

They both have new styles in and there are now afew pairs I really like.

In hindsight it may have been a mistake to have gone in just to look.

Then I noticed two pairs of springolators. As a child, my mom found several pairs of springolaltors when cleaning closets. Very much the same as mule, they had not back or sling strap, and had an elastic web covering the insloe streching fromjust behind the toes to about haflway up the arch.

They were size 9 and I take an 8, but my curious nature took over and i dropped a left shoe on the floor and slid into it. I knew that I could handle the shoe in that I often wear a stiletto mule, but the size difference was a concern, although it was hardly noticeable. A couple of short steps, then I resumed my normal stride, and did a couple of laps around the store. There were about a dozen shoppers in the store and all paused their hunt for bargains to watch the silly lady with one leg on her crutches and in one high heel - and a dangerous one at that because she probably would walk out of it. As I passed, most of the women wore a scowl on her face while her spouse wore a supressed smile. One man, in his fifties, actually followed me to the display and picked up the shoe from the floor to the display rack - and blushed when I gave him a wink and a smile.

The following day, I got the idea to purchase them but someone had beat me to it. The store manager remembered me - who could forget the silly lady wearing such a dangerous shoe while on crutches. She took my phone number and promised that if any springolators came in, she would set them aside and notify me.

E

Special mention must go to the manager of the Arndale Barratts for her help and comments....... you know who you are and your help was invaluable. (Quote.. we are here to sell shoes.. not judge people... now is there anyting else I can show you)

Anyone else had good experiences?

Here a link to the same boots: http://www.styleceo.com/sam-edelman-womens-sable-boots-black-leather-6099490/p/6099490/

Plain block heel mid calf boot. The deal breaker, was the carriage to the UK for a few cents under $43. It put the invoice over $100, and with local UK taxes of at least 20% to add to the invoice price, it made the shoes a little too much of an indulgence given they are plastic.

A little searching around, found me the same boot for a bit less at Endless. Not only do they do carriage at a more reasonable $10, but use a tax deposit so I should have no further taxes to pay on receipt. The total invoice came in at under $60 which is less than £40 delivered tax paid. About half what it would cost from Heels.com?

I'm not being critical of Heels.com especially since they carry a vast range of shoe and boot styles. I am touting the services of Endless though, as they seem to provide a 'delivered service' price that makes a purchasing decision much less of a minefield. My order is due middle of next week, and I hope this is the first of many orders using this process.

....

....

In the next alley were the boots. A nice over the knee suede like black boot with about a 3 inch heel. Also found a size 10 (and an 11). I was able to get the left foot on but for some reason the right foot was too tight. Should've tried the 11 after all. As I removed the boots, I saw another model of black, about 4 and a half inches sandals. As I put them on, a young mother and her daughter came in my alley. I was nervous but continued to put the sandals and took a few steps. These were not that comfortable. The mom gave a few discreet glimpses as she passed by me but no idea about the girl as she was behind me when I walked in the shoes.

Finally, I tried another model, no pics though, that was really pleasing to my eyes. an open toe with kind of a strappy-mesh like pattern. These were very nice and comfortable. Just as I removed them a group of 3 teenage girls came in my alley. They didn't see. Not sure of teenage girls reaction plus they all had their cell phone. I wouldn't want pictures of me in heels on the web, at least ones where I can be recognized.

I didn't buy anything but the price would have been right. 25$ for the last pair. Maybe someday...