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Hmm, I thought Mary Janes had a strap across the instep. At least the pair of shoes I have that are called Mary Janes do. Anyway, not a bad looking pair of shoes and they come in lengths and widths outside the usual department store selection. Just curious, do you wear these all the time? They're obviously not traditional men's shoes; but don't draw a lot of attention to themselves so I could see how they could be worn routinely. And they are expensive enough that I would want to be able to.

It looks like these are (US) women's shoe sizes. IIRC, to get the equivalent men's size, you have to subtract 2 or 3. I've not actually bought a pair of "women's" shoes for myself, so I can't say for certain.

The size range doesn't look that unusual. Most of the places I have looked at on-line went up to (women's) size 11 or 12, so this is not that unusual. However, I would guess I would need more like a [women's] 14 or 15, and nobody sells those. Too bad, I've wanted to try wearing so-called "ballet flats," or at least some style of shoe that is less clunky than you can get in "men's" styles.

AMM wrote:It looks like these are (US) women's shoe sizes. IIRC, to get the equivalent men's size, you have to subtract 2 or 3. I've not actually bought a pair of "women's" shoes for myself, so I can't say for certain.

Here's a shoe size conversion chart which seems to indicate that one takes a men's size and adds 1 1/2 to get the equivalent women's size; hence my size 12s would be a women's 13 1/2.

Both the pictured shoes are low heeled pumps and NOT "Mary Jane" shoes, in my opinion.
Yes, the Mary Janes I think of have that strap across the vamp that makes them distinctly a Mary Jane shoe, which I always think of as being worn by girls while they are growing up.
Back in the day, once a girl became a teen she usually wore flat heeled pumps, like the ones pictured, until she moved up to high heels.
Of course, this is onlyy memories of the way things were!
DALederle

Two photos of my Mary Jane Shoes. About 5 or 6 years ago started to wear nothing but women's shoes. various experiments from ultra feminine to discrete, but as now I settle with a low heel and usual a Mary Jane or slip on style, all very comfortable the two Mary Jane's are by Footprint and I have them in various colours.

skirted_in_SF wrote:Hmm, I thought Mary Janes had a strap across the instep. At least the pair of shoes I have that are called Mary Janes do. Anyway, not a bad looking pair of shoes and they come in lengths and widths outside the usual department store selection. Just curious, do you wear these all the time? They're obviously not traditional men's shoes; but don't draw a lot of attention to themselves so I could see how they could be worn routinely. And they are expensive enough that I would want to be able to.

Urp. O.K., they're not Mary Janes. (Maybe I should have remained silent? Apologies if this was inappropriate.)

Yes, I wear them all the time. Dunno what you consider expensive, but $60 (first link) seems pretty reasonable to me. They've certainly proved durable.

stuart

$60 isn't expensive at all for a pair of quality shoes that you can wear all the time. That would actually be inexpensive for me for a pair of shoes I can wear everywhere. I am cursed with finicky feet and most women's shoes don't have enough arch for my spoiled soles.

As long as we are stretching the definiton of "Mary Janes" to inc lude loafers, these are very comfortable and are affordable <$35 US

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023N ... ss_product

The Patent ones look more girly but the plain leather are butch enought to look like guy shoes.

When I'm in the mood for something more fashionable I preferthese:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BE ... ss_product

Dawn

Longer and narrower than I can use I think. Is a woman's B narrower than a man's?
I wear a medium in men's Rockport style shoes or a D in quality dress shoes.

That's about the sames mens width I wear.

Dawn

At last a truly freestyle oriented discussion has formed.Nice examples of shoes.Congrats on the red dress ones,also.That is what gender equality must be - even self-expression of the sexes - not just the one of them.

Skirted_in_SF

When shopping for shoes ask or look for the Bannock fitting device to determine your size.
There are -3- of these - Mens; Womens & Children.

These devices will provide a wealth of information about your individual shoe sizing.

Then use this Payless Shoes fitting LINK for conversion:

http://www.payless.com/store/home/produ ... #FitFinder

In a rough way the sizing difference between mens sizes and womens is about 1.5 sizes
i.e. a mens 9.5 = womens 11.
Now as for the width that is also different a mens "C" (if you can find it) is almost the same as a womens "B" or "M-medium".
That is why you should use the Bannock device to see the difference.

And shoes like clothing "Your actual size may vary" from one shoe maker to another!
Check & double check to insure the correct & comfortable size of your footwear.

rm

Thanks r.m.
I assume the Bannock device is the metal thing with the length and width slides. I haven't had my foot in one of those in years since I started only buying shoes from two manufacturers. The clerk asks what size and I ask them to bring out two pair a half size apart and try both to allow for variances in lasts.
At least that works for men's shoes. Now for women's . . . .

I have found the add a size and a half to your men's size works pretty well for me. Of course you can get away with a bit more my wearing open toe shoes.

The mary jane shoes are quite simple but elegant. I've seen it on their website and the design are really great for a casual and formal outfit.