I am so pleased to know I am not the only one facing this 'problem'.
I checked out all of the suggestions and as I am only after a pair of basic brown sandals, I ended up ordering from www.landsend.de They deliver to Ch, and the shipping charge was reasonable.
I also liked LLBean.com, and have ordered from there in the past, but I need the shoes fast, and don't think they wold arrive from the US on time.
I guess ultimately I wondered if there was somewhere more local I could shop without paying huge premiums, but it looks like that is not the case. So for now I will stick to the stuff I know from the Uk and US I guess....
But I do feel better knowing I am not the only one out there
I'm really glad to learn that I can actually get Zappos to ship here. I was considering getting shoes from them shipped to my sister-in-law in the US who is coming to visit soon, so she could bring them for me to try.
I also wear between a 41 (some sandals) and 43, and even in the states it was often a pain to find good shoes (e.g. not ugly, comfortable) at that size.
I got a great pair of boots last winter at BigShoes, but they were on sale for CHF 150...the others they had at the time were in the CHF 700 range! Given how often I need to rotate the shoes I wear, the expensive ones just were not worth it.
The ultimate solution, of course, is to have an Italian shoe maker fall in love with you and just want to create lovely things for your feet. Completely unlikely solution, of course...
Or better yet, we find a few places in Milan that have larger shoes (if they exist, fingers crossed), and do a "big shoes" tour down there some weekend!
Not really having much experience in this, I've noticed from my time in Germany that there seem to be some fairly tall women with feet much larger than the normal Swiss sizes (one of my friends is 6'2" with feet bigger than my size 42's).
It might be well worth popping up north to Munich or Stuttgart for a look.....
Hello - I just saw this. My girlfriend (Zurich) has had the same trouble and really began to give up on finding anything even slightly sassy to wear (she has size 10 UK feet). In the end, she ordered from the UK from http://www.mybigshoes.co.uk and paid for international delivery. They DO have a huge range of big shoes from size 9-13 only and they'e a youngish market. If all else fails, try there!
Ughhh! Totally know what you're talking about! I have big, wide feet with a high instep and find shoe shopping a painful experience.
It was mentioned before, but http://www.duoboots.com/ really is awesome. They have a limited range of tasteful shoes that are not the latest fashion fad, but good quality shoes that are stylish, and they do them in a range of sizes (and widths!!) I got a pair of boots from there a few years ago that I live in every winter and they still look very good. Prices are reasonable to boot!
I have US size 11 feet (a little wide too), and I have been able to find several stores tht carry 42s here, in fact, I just bought a great pair of boots for 30francs in a 42. If youre bigger though, I guess shopping online is the only option, but I much prefer to go without than be forced to buy online, shoes need to be tried on, who knows how they feel, look on YOUR feet and their quality unless you can physically put it on!
In Munich, Kauffmann has a decent selection. Their shop looks a bit messy, but at least you can see everything that's available without having to ask whether they have it in a different size/colour etc..
Horsch can be found in both Munich an Stuttgart, but they are on a different price level...
Hi, FiFi Belle www.fifibelle.com is an on-line shoe store that specializes in large size ladies shoes from sizes 39 - 44. They are based in Ireland & ship worldwide.
There is a good range of shoes and heel height & hopefully you'll see something you like.
I lived here 20 years before I found the easiest way is to visit a large branch of Vogeli shoes.
Obviously on every pair is the label with the size and the price, and at the top of the label are 2 numbers say 35-44 and this means they are available in sizes 35 to 44 but need to be ordered from the Vogeli warehouse.
I take the shoes to the sales desk and ask them to order sizes 43 and 44. They take your phone number and about 2 working days later you hear your shoes are in stock. Go down, try them on and buy the pair that fit you best.
No extra charges, no risk of buying the wrong size.
Your feet are probably in proportion to your height, your foot should be the same length as the distance between the inside of your elbow to the tip of your wrist.
My daughter, who is 22, wears a 43 or 44 (US size 12) and has never been able to find stylish shoes anywhere, no matter what continent.
Until I met Rachel Graham at a trunk show in London. Her website is www.large-size-designer-shoes.com Her shoes are 38-44 and they are fabulous and stylish. The customer service is impeccable.
For example, I bought my daughter 2 pairs of shoes 3 months ago. I finally gave them to her last week in the US and one pair was too big. We emailed Rachel and she issued a credit to my daughter immediately to pick out another pair of shoes, even though we explained that I would not be returning the shoes until I got back to Switzerland.
I can't say enough good things about her and her company!
Found a shop in Bern called Schneider. It's in Schwanengasse (not far from the station). They have one shop which goes up to 42.5 and another just across the road which has a whole room full of shoes which are 43 - 46. Proper, pretty ladies' shoes! I've never seen so many large size shoes...