Finally found shoes that fit after 32 years
I was close to giving up on ever finding a pair of shoes that fit, when I finally discovered Realfoot. With the clear size description on their website, it was easy to measure my feet at home to find the right size. I ordered the Trekker Low Vegan Black. I was on the verge of tears when I slipped my foot in and, for the first time in my 32 years of life, tried on a shoe that actually fit me.
By tying a knot at the top of the laces, the shoe can be tied loosely over my high instep so my toes don't go numb. But thanks to the two hooks at the ankle, the shoe can be laced tightly at the top so it doesn't slip. The wide toe box allows me, for the first time in my life, to actively splay and move my toes as I walk. Because I am wider across the toes than the ball of my foot, my toes have always been squished – or, in a best-case scenario, just barely had enough room to lie inactively straight ahead in other "wide" or barefoot shoes. Realfoot is the first shoe I have ever worn that didn't feel like a straitjacket around my toes.
I am diagnosed with flexible flatfoot and was told I would have to wear corrective insoles for the rest of my life. After only a few months with Realfoot – while simultaneously working on spreading my toes when walking (now that it’s actually possible) combined with 5 minutes of daily exercises – I am starting to see my arch slowly lifting again. I don't know how far this journey will take me with my new, wide Realfoot shoes, but one thing is certain: I am deeply grateful that Realfoot produces shoes for those of us who fall outside the foot shape that the shoe industry has apparently decided everyone should fit into. So thank you for that!
