At work I distinguish between two types of wide feet: feet that are
wide because of genetics and
feet that are wide because of bunions. Since socks are where I start with everyone I'll mention them here: if
your foot is wide a thin sock will take up less room inside of a shoe.
Generally I tell people that shoes should be good and comfortable right
away however there are special cases where stretching a shoe is
appropropriate. A good shoe store will stretch shoes for free. They'll
mark the areas that need attention and unless the bunion area needs to
be stretched you should get your stretched shoes back looking as they
did when you dropped them off.
People with wide feet rarely buy shoes that are too short for them.
They may go to the other extreme and buy shoes that are too long so they
can get the width their feet need. Soft leathers and fabrics are great
choices for people with wide feet. If a shoe does need to stretch softer
leather will have more give making that stretch less painful for the
wearer. An easy way to tell whether or not a shoe fits is to apply
gentle thumb pressure across the top of the shoe. If you can pinch the
material the shoe is too wide, if the leather rolls but you can't pinch
it the shoe fits and if you can't get the top of the shoe to move at all
the shoe is not wide enough.
At the risk of sounding preachy I am going to beg you to consider how
much room your foot has inside of a shoe. Wearing shoes that fit
properly make your wide feet less obtrusive than shoes that are too
narrow. Anyone who has a wide foot has my understanding and support. My
foot is wide so I know what it's like to want a cute pair of shoes when all the options out there seem to be
manufactured for women whose feet are much narrower than mine. Wearing
shoes that do not fit is one of the worst things you can do for your
feet. The wrong shoes can absolutely damage your feet so please leave
your vanity at home when you go shopping. There are shoes for every type
of foot out there. All you have to do is find them.