Tis a subject of which I have touched on in the past, the fact that our feet tend to enlarge as we age. For most of my adult life I wore a size 10 or 10 1/2 shoe. I am not remembering exactly when, but at some point that changed to 10 1/2 or 11 size shoes, with the occasional cowboy boot checking in at 11 1/2.
One would think that the same style within a brand would have a consistent size over time. I started wearing New Balance’s 990s running shoes a while back because they are mostly “Made in America”. I have several pairs, that are different colors, that are dedicated to different uses. I have one pair that I wear only in the gym, another pair that are my daily walkers, and so forth. New Balance updates these shoes from time to time, so I have some V4s and the last pair I bought was V5. The V4 are size 11 and fit perfectly. The V5s are also size 11, but I worry that if I were to walk long distance in them I might end up with hammer toe. If you have ever experienced this, you want to avoid it. I had a case once from a new pair of hiking boots that proved not for me after one backpacking trip. I discovered a long time ago that if my feet ain’t happy, I ain’t happy.
We are about to go on a trip that will involve a lot of walking so I went to the New Balance store to find a pair that did not look as used as my V4s but fit me better than my V5s. The new version is out, the V6.
I explained my issue to the salesman, telling him I wanted to try the V6 in an 11 and in an 11/12. Turns out the 11 was short and tight, but the 11 1/2 fit nicely.
Looking at the salesman, I said, “These 11 1/2 fit nicely, but they are a bit of false advertising.”
After receiving a blank look from him I explained, “There is an old Jeff Foxworthy joke about a fellow with big feet, big hands, big ears and a big nose.”
I went on, “He better be packing as he sure is ugly.”
At this point the salesman brightly said with arched eyebrows, “I wear a size 12!”
I am not sure if we bonded or he was coming on to me, but it seemed like a good time to pay for my purchase.
The new shoes are in my closet waiting to be worn a few times before our trip.
And so it goes.
hahaha
I actually went from an adult-long 7.5 to an 8 a couple of years ago.