The Best Wide Width Shoes for Spring & Summer (a Style + Comfort Guide)
Finding stylish wide width shoes that are truly comfortable and flattering can feel like a struggle, especially if you’ve tried tons of pairs only to have them pinch, rub, or widen with wear. I know, I have personally dealt with wide feet all my life, and I won't sacrifice my personal style with ugly shoes. For women over 40, comfort doesn’t have to mean sacrificing elegant style; it means choosing shoes that fit your life and your wardrobe with equal ease.
My guide walks you through the best brands for wide width shoes and how to wear them for spring and summer, without focusing on fleeting trends or specific styles that age out. Instead, you’ll learn where to look for quality wide width shoes that feel great, last, and look beautiful year after year.
Why Choosing the Right Wide Width Shoes Matters (Especially After 40)
As we age, our feet can naturally widen and flatten, and we may experience sensitivity in the ball of the foot or toes. Even if you always had average-width feet, you may be finding in midlife that your shoes are uncomfortable. Wearing shoes that are too narrow can lead to blisters, bunions, and even posture or knee issues. Luckily, wide width shoes have come a long way and there are some incredibly stylish, high quality, and comfortable options out there for us!
How to Know If You Need Wide Width Shoes
Before we get into shoes, let's make sure you know your size. Here’s how to tell if your shoes are too tight:
- Your pinky toe is squished or overlaps your next toe.
- The ball of your foot feels pressure or pain.
- Your feet feel swollen or sensitive by afternoon.
- You see tingling, redness, or calluses after walking.
How to Measure Your Feet at Home
Measure both feet at the end of the day because your feet expand and will be their largest. Always choose your shoe size based on your largest and/or fullest foot (we all have one foot slightly larger than the other). How to measure your feet at home:
- Tape a piece of paper to the floor so it won't slide around. Depending on your feet, you may need more than one sheet. Avoid carpet and choose a hard smooth surface.
- Wear the hosiery you intend to wear with your new shoes. Stand with your foot firmly on the paper and trace your foot. Keep the pencil or marker at a 90-degree angle so you don't go too wide or under your foot.
- Use a ruler or measuring tape to measure the longest point from the back of the heel to the tip of your longest toe
- Measure the widest point, which is typically across the ball of the foot. A general guide for women's feet is if a size 9 foot iswider than 3.9″ inches, it is considered wide.
- If the numbers are in inches, use an online tool to convert to centimeters. This is your UK shoe size. Then use a UK to US shoe size conversion chart to find your size.
- There are also online tools and apps like this one from Aetrex that will find your shoe size with a picture on your phone.
The Brands To Count On for Quality Wide Width Shoes
I want to keep this resource helpful, so instead of offering specific styles of wide-width shoes that may sell out by time you read this, I will focus on the brands I personally shop time and time again. These retailers know wide width shoes, offer great style, quality, and comfort.
Aerosoles
Aerosoles is one of my favorite places for summer sandals. Offering style, comfort, and width, I can always trust Aerosoles to translate the current footwear trends in a way that will work with my wide feet.
Clarks
Clarks is the brand if you're looking for classic style that transcends trends. You will find quality, wide widths, and traditional looks that fit well with Americana Chic and other classic personal style aesthetics at Clarks.
Dolce Vita
Dolce Vita is the place to shop for the latest footwear trends in wide widths. Cool sandals, sneakers, flats, heels, and more as well as a great selection of wide calf boots come fall!
Franco Sarto
Franco Sarto is sold at many major department stores like Nordstrom and is one of the few popular footwear brands that offers many styles in wide widths. I have everything from ankle boots to summer sandals from Franco Sarto and find them well made and roomy.
LifeStride
LifeStride is a bit hit or miss when it comes to comfort, but when it's a hit, it's a good one. For spring and summer, I look to LifeStride for wide-width espadrilles and wedge sandals.
Margaux
Margaux continues to be one of my favorite places for well-made and elegant wide width shoes. I find Margaux's dress sandals to not only be roomy for my wide feet, but also comfortable enough to dance in all night long.
Naturalizer
Naturalizer is the G.O.A.T. for stylish wide width shoes, and I think this shoe brand excels when it comes to sandals and other spring and summer styles.
OluKai
OluKai is one of the few brands that carries wide width flip flops, and these are high quality styles with support that will give you years of comfortable and stylish wear.
Rockport
Rockport provides surprisingly stylish and comfortable sandals. If you find Rockport's style too severe for fall and winter, check the spring and summer selection. You may be pleasantly surprised, and find wide widths that are well made.
Ros Hommerson
Ros Hommerson carries not just wide but extra wide shoes, and always has a few styles of simple dress sandals that fit the current trends while also being perennially classic.
Sam Edelman
Sam Edelman makes incredibly stylish shoes, and most of them come in wider widths… but know that Sam Edelman's wide may not be as wide as other retailers. This brand is best for those with slightly wide feet or styles made from suede and stretchier fabrics.
Sargasso & Grey
Sargasso & Grey specializes in wide shoes in elegant and classic styles, and offers a great selection for spring and summer.
Taos
Taos is the place for great sandals that can keep up with an active lifestyle. Great for travel, everyday, but looking nice enough for dinner at a restaurant, Taos offers high quality with unrivaled comfort.
Vaneli
Vaneli offers really comfortable and really well made shoes, and I find Marmi Shoes and Vaneli really do best with sandals and shoes for the warmer months.
Vionic
Vionic prides itself on offering stylish shoes with arch support, but the footwear brand also has a selection of wide width shoes. I have found many loafers, lightweight sneakers, and sandals over the years at Vionic that I found stylish, comfortable, and plenty roomy.
Seasonal Foot Care Tips
To keep your feet feeling good all spring and summer long:
- Rotate shoes — don’t wear the same pair every day. Give them a day to breathe, cool down, dry out, and reform.
- Choose moisture-wicking socks or no-show liners in warm weather. IMO, Ondo makes some of the best no-show socks.
- I also recommend my no-show sock hack.
- Use insoles if you need extra support. I personally am a big fan of Walk Hero insoles, which are reasonably priced and thin enough to fit in most of my closed-toed shoes.
Final Thoughts: Comfort & Style Should Coexist
Wide feet don’t limit your style, they just mean choosing better-designed shoes. The brands above offer lasting quality, comfortable construction, and elegant silhouettes that work for women over 40 and beyond.
Focus on fit first, then style and you’ll find your spring and summer wardrobe feels lighter, more confident, and more you!
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I HAVE A,NEW PAIR OF ROCKPORT WEDGE HEELS THAT FIT SO PERFECT …THEY ARE SUEDE FABRIC …BEST FIT EVER.WANT MORE OF THIS FIT N MORE COLORS .THEYRE A 6W
Great post! Thank you! But nothing from Torrid? The quality is usually comparable to ASOS and they always have a good selection of non-fugly, actually wide shoes. The drawbacks are that returns are not free and many styles run a full size long.
I hate comfort shoes! And yet that is the only option when you have truly wide feet. My feet are healthy only very, very wide.
So I have learned to compromise. I go up in size to get enough width as in this case. Like you I have fallen in love with those space age platforms – and I have found a pair! As they are by the British brand JD Williams sold via https://www.simplybe.com/en-us/
They are made of leather, with an adjustable strap on the heal for those of us who need that. They are incredibly comfortable and look fabulous. I look forward to summer 2019 as this is my first pair of flat sandals in three years! Yes, it was impossible to find flat sandals that did not make me look like a nursery home candidate.
Mine are a UK size 6 EEE (US size 8?) which accommodates a 9,75 inches in circumference on the widest part of the foot. They come in a less wide option too. And the design will certainly keep your pinky toe in place! Here is the link:
https://www.simplybe.com/en-us/products/heavenly-soles-leather-sandals/p/BL303?ref=plp
Hope this is helpful – otherwise good luck with your continued hunt!
Thank you so much for this!
This post is very helpful! It’s really hard to find fashionable shoes in a wide width. I will be looking into your suggestions. You put a lot of hard work into this post. It is appreciated.
I’m glad you found it useful!
I’m about to start shopping for sandals for this year. Thanks for this *excellent* resource. My feet became a hot mess a couple of years ago when I dropped a 25lbs weight on one and damaged a nerve. This list might actually get me to order some options instead of just wearing tennis shoes all summer and being mad about it.
Oh gosh that’s awful, I’m sorry for your foot! I hope this post proves helpful!
I think that those of you with problem feet, like me, will be better served by going to a specialty store for comfort shoes. with experienced staff. I have flat feet and resulting bone spurs on the top of my feet, and which can be quite painful. Brands that have worked for me in recent times are Wolky, Finn Comfort, and Alegria.
Great suggestion. I find the specialty stores near me focus on comfort everyday looks, not fashion or dressy styles which is why I did this research. I hope to do one for everyday shoes in the future!
I have a similar problem with my little toes. They are curly, very short and don’t touch the ground. I think I have inherited them from my father but hard to tell as I never saw his – his parents weren’t punctilious about shoes and as a result his became so deformed they were amputated in his early teens. I would never dream of buying any shoes with narrow straps across the toes – they never work for me. Also, unlike you I really can’t do heels. I buy normal width shoes which are just about OK, but usually too loose at the back. So, I don’t have your problem with ankle straps, although I have never made a slingback stay on. I have in the past gone into shoe shops, looked at the entire display and thought ‘nothing here’. So I feel your pain. Sometimes too literally.
Shoes are so hard! I don’t think most people have it easy, they just wear ill-fitting or uncomfortable pairs.
Thanks so much for this post!
For another flatform sandal option I’d recommend the Alegria brand. I developed plantar fascitis last year and was able to comfortably wear the sandals without my orthotics. It was the Verona style in black suede.
Ryka is another brand to consider for casual shoes with removable insoles. Their fabrics are soft and can stretch to accomodate orthotics.
Thanks for these suggestions!
Thanks for this post… at least I know that I’m not alone in hating shoe shopping. Most of my shoes are sensible, ie teacher shoes. I envy cute shoes, but there are bigger issues in life. In the winter I love my Sorel wedges, but dress shoes are tough. I end up spending my time in wide width Chacos with my athleisure.
Shoe companies and entrepreneurs take notice!
Amen!
Alison, thank you so much for your hard work in putting this post together! I’ve had wide feet all my life, and it’s become even more of a challenge since I developed arthritis in one of my big toe joints due to an injury (I can’t walk in anything that puts pressure on that joint). I do better in Spring and Summer because of sandals, but in the last few years my selection of closed shoes had dwindled. Last year I spent a lot of time trying and returning, and want to share three pairs of boots/booties that fit great and look good, some might be going on sale with Spring almost here! They are Rockport Cobb Hill Brunswick Lace boot, Born Trinculo (doesn’t come in wide widths, yet fits my Flintstone foot and is the bootie of my dreams – when this one fit I cried with happiness) and Soft Walk Bellville (actually found this one a few years ago and bought a second pair last year). These are on the higher end of price, but will last and look good for years.
I’m so glad you found some winners, and thank you for sharing them with us!
Hi Allie –
I don’t have wide feet, but Coldwater Creek has a selection from the company “Walk with Me”. They might be worth a try. Here is a link:http://www.coldwatercreek.com/shoes/wide-widths
P.S. I have nothing to do with the company.
Thank you for this resource!
I wish the photos were by each shoe description – I often couldn’t match them up. I appreciate the level of detail you give to these reviews! I have wider feet across the ball of my foot but narrower heels (and a short pinkie toe too!) so shoe fit is often tricky for me too.
10-4 This point!
Forcing a click-thru is off putting at best.
I get it, and I wanted to but this post already took me 15 hours just for the content you see. The photos were not loading correctly and were messing up all the formatting already in the post. I’ll try to add photos again, but after two hours of cursing at the screen I gave up and made the collages.
I want to apologize for my unprofessionalism with the last comment. You and Yasmara’s feedback was helpful and thumbnails should have been included before I published. I have updated the post thanks to your feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and share your thoughts, it only makes this a better resource for all.
And I wish to apologize for my curt response! Didn’t mean to be so darn rude by calling it off-putting without also thanking you for the ginormous amount of obvious effort and energy expended. Sometimes this internet is the land of muddy messages due to reading on devices that don’t encourage full, clear communications! Again, thank you. (On a laptop today so typing is do-able 🙂
Thank you Yasmara for your feedback, I have updated the post with thumbnails next to each review so it will be easier to read! From what I’ve read, most people with “wide feet” are usually wide at the ball but more narrow at the heel. Not sure why brands haven’t caught up with that!
That’s some lineup!
LOL just a couple shoes…
Wait… which pair did you keep? Was it the Naturalizer flatforms with the blue and white and black and coral
It was the Naturalizer ‘Klein.’ It was hard to tell, I updated the post with more detail about that as well as thumbnails of the shoes!
Thank you so much for this post! I did not realize that were so many available sandal sizes in wide.
I’m glad you liked it!
I appreciate you listing wide width shoes because as you said, they are often difficult to find in stylish looks. Added to my misery of needing wide width is finding those that also have removable insoles to insert orthotics. Munro sometimes offers this option but not always. I have horrible feet so need good arch support, wide width and removable insoles. Any suggestions besides Munro, Dansko and Vionic (not enough support) ..?? Thank you in advance.
One other thing I wanted to add is that it seems in shoes under for ex. $125.00 the cushioned sole and arch support even with my orthotic is just not there…so yes I know about Naturalizer and Rockport and David Tate but the soles tend to be so flimsy that I just cannot walk in them…do not want to sound negative but its just what my experience has been and its very frustrating.
You’re right in regard to lower price usually means lower quality with cushioning and support. As for insoles I don’t know offhand but I hope to do another post and will research that to go with it. And I hope some other readers will chime in with their recommendations!
Thank you. I found a pair of wonderful boots for winter (brand is Blonde) with a wide enough toe box I can insert my orthotics but now that warmer weather is coming…I wish I could find something that would 1. have toe coverage and 2. accommodate my wide width orthotics. Its hard for me to believe there are not quite a few women in their 50s and 60s who don’t also need strong arch support and use orthotics. So why don’t more shoe manufacturers meet this need???
I really do appreciate all the hard work you do on your blog and enjoy every post.
Thank you Nancy!
Nordstrom has a searchable filter for removable insoles, just for this purpose. That’s just one vendor, of course, but at least it’s one.
Yes I have used that and when I put in wide width and removable insoles the pickings are very slim and 99% of the time they are not in the store…I am very tired of ordering/returning/ordering/returning. Thank you for suggesting it, just wish I had better options.
As someone with incredibly “fussy feet,” I have found https://www.barkingdogshoes.com/ to be a great resource. They are continuously finding and reviewing shoes for specific foot problems. If you’re not finding something that’s right for you from their current reviews/suggestions, they are also responsive to requests!