Where to Buy Small Men’s Shoes
My feet are amazingly small, male size 6. At several parties in an apartment where only socks are, the owner wondered where the children’s shoes came from. While I have actually avoided buying items in the boys’ section, this is one of several suitable options for men with small feet, including trans men, and for women who dress in an androgynous or traditionally “masculine” look.
For casual shoes – unisex
Small sneakers and sandals are easy to find in most unisex casual shoe stores, as several brands sell the same shoes in “mens” and “womens” sizes:
- Sneakers: Vans, Converse, New Balance
- Boots: Dr. Martens, Palladium
- Sandals: Birkenstocks, Crocs, Oofos
One big disadvantage of unisex brands: most ( except New Balance ) are only medium width. If you have wide, short feet, like mine, that stretch the sides of a pair of Converse but not your toes, you may need to adjust the laces to make room . Luckily, canvas sneakers are pretty flexible too.
Most brick-and-mortar stores do not offer men-only shoes below size 7 or 8. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist – they’re just online. Sites like Zappos and Shoes.com allow you to sort products by size across a wide range of brands. But dig in on brand sites as well. Nike, for example, sells a variety of options from men’s 4 to 6.5 .
For classic shoes, go online
Small men’s shoes are hardly sold in regular stores. Try regular shoe sites like Zappos and Shoes.com . The FTM Resource Guide, a practical advice site for transgender people, also recommends Boot Bay , Onlineshoes.com , Payless.com , 6PM.com, and Hitchcock’s dedicated wide shoe site. Also try the small size collection instores Nordstrom andStravers .
Also check brand websites. Floorsheim , Rockport , Sperry and SAS sell small shoes for under $ 100. Each has a few models altogether, although some models only appear on the brand’s site, while others only appear on shared sites like Zappos.
Buying shoes online is a pain in the ass. Even if you measured your foot correctly, the fit of the shoe varies greatly, so you will inevitably have to send in multiple pairs before you find the right one. Try buying multiple styles in multiple sizes at once so you can just send one big package instead of five trips to UPS. Most shoe sites agree with this, but before you go crazy, check out the site’s policies.
Check out the boys section
If you really want to find shoes in person, consider swapping your man for a boy. Boys’ shoes are cheaper, but also narrow. Choose high-end brands to keep your shoes looking childish. Sneaker brands like Converse will look the same in all sizes, but for these brands, you can also opt for sizes for adult women.
Custom shoes will cost you a lot
While several luxury brands offer bespoke shoes, they are orders of magnitude more expensive than regular shoes. Shoemaker Andrew MacDonald charges $ 2,200 and up . Scottish brand Buchanan Bespoke costs £ 695 ($ 923); Crockett & Jones starts at € 3300 ($ 3875).
If you’re already shopping in this general price range, it might be worth the investment to accommodate the unusual leg. But the same manufacturers offer “ready-made” shoes much cheaper; Custom shoemaker John Lobb sells size 6 finished products for about $ 670–1900.
Paying a little more for repaired shoes will pay off not only in money, but also in the time you would otherwise spend finding a new pair if your old favorite shoes are discontinued. If you go cheap, just stock up to postpone the buying process for another year or two.