Pet Peeve Alert!!!

I absolutely cannot stand when a shoe company, or any company for that matter, cannot seem to standardize their sizing across their own brand. Even two shoes with the same name may fit completely differently.

Case in point: A couple of weeks ago, I ordered the mint Lyra's from ShoeDazzle. I have the original black ones and they're among my favorites. They're well made, have the gorgeous pink 'Signature Sole', just enough detailing with the faux croc patent, and while they don't fit perfectly, after several wears, they've broken in to my feet and are pretty comfortable. So, I was thrilled to see the new color options in them - Mint, Salmon, and Yellow. The site recommendations said that they run 1/2 size small, which is in line with the originals, and I've always regretted not getting 1/2 size up in the black, so that's how I ordered them. That was a bloody mistake. The damn things were so huge that I couldn't even bunch my toes up to keep them on long enough to walk to the mirror to take a pic. I love the color though and wasn't ready to give up on them. I thought maybe, just maybe, 1/2 size up was simply too big and the true size would fit like the black.

Wrong. The size 7's came in and while they fit in the length, they're still way too wide. I had to throw a ball of foot insert in and cut down a back-of-heel to put on the underside of the vamp. I'm just so exasperated at this point that I'll MAKE them work. They're gorgeous, I'll say that. And they don't make my toes go numb, like the black, so that's a plus. But honestly? If you're narrow or have long toes, don't bother. Unless you want to throw about $10 worth of inserts in them to make them fit.

I get that companies use different manufacturers at the same time, but there's this neat little process known as "Quality Control" - you verify that the shoe is sized correctly, in accordance with your other shoes or you reject it from the manufacturer. It's not just the clubs, either, that have this problem. Betsey Johnson Ditas/Ditans fit completely differently across the colors. I've got three pairs of Jessica Simpson Oscars - one 6.5 that fits perfectly, one 7 that fits perfectly and one 7 that's almost too tight. It's flipping maddening. It's getting to the point that me, the queen of online shopping, is getting weary of buying shoes online. Even when I try stuff in store now, I worry that if I buy them online to get a better deal that the exact same shoe won't fit.

Okay, I just needed to get that off of my chest. I feel better now.

-A