I think retailers/designers are conspiring against me. I can no longer buy shoes at Target because their suppliers have apparently decided to rework their shoe sizes.
I think it's all a part of the psychological game retailers play with women when it comes to clothes, wherein a size 8 is really a size 10 because the number on that inseam tag makes women feel better about themselves and buy more pants. Or something.
And I think this has started to creep over to footwear, and it needs to by-God stop right now. Women of America: A size 7 shoe does not make you more attractive than a size 8!
I have freakishly small feet. I wear, or have until now been able to wear, a size 5.5. Now, some brands have always given me trouble. I've never been able to shop at Nine West because their shoes run large. A 5.5 in Nine West is a 6 everywhere else. But suddenly I can't find a 5.5 anywhere that fits me. And this poses a real problem because that's the starting point for most women's sizes. The Target shoes that have for years been a staple of my closet just fall off my feet when I try them on.
This problem is exacerbated by another new clothing issue. The pants in all my favorite stores are too frickin' long. I have pairs of Ann Taylor Loft petite jeans and pants that are the perfect length. But I started trying on pants this fall, and I pulled them up, and I was left standing on about two inches of extra material in the legs. The reason? The designers are designing the pants to be worn with really high heels. Even the jeans.
So, I need new shoes so that I don't ruin the bottoms of the new pants by walking all over them.
Target you have really let me down.