If the shoe fits ....

I have small feet. Lengthways, that is. Unfortunately, I also have big feet widthways, which makes buying shoes quite a problem.

I can still recall, about 30 years ago, going into a shoe shop in the London Wall area, and having a very confident young salesman approach me.

"I'm looking for a court shoe".
A sweep of the arms "We have plenty madam".

"About a two and a half to three inch heel".
A wider sweep "Of course madam".

"In black".

A move to the stand on the left "Yes madam".

"In leather".

A raised eyebrow - but still that confident smile "I think we can find that for you madam".

"In size 3".

Silence. A look of panic removed the smile. "Ah. I'm sorry madam, I don't think we can help you".

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Since then, as I've got older, my feet have grown slightly. In both directions, unfortunately.

I have a bit of a struggle finding anything that fits, and is also comfortable to wear for a significant period (e.g. 07:00 - 18:00, my regular travel-work-travel time). And if you rule out anything with either Barbie or My Little Pony on it, that narrows the field further.

And I do rule out Barbie and My Little Pony.

Among my favourites at the moment is a pair of canvas Converse-type shoes in black with white trim. These actually fit! I can also wear them all day, even if that means running for the bus or standing on the train.

As I said, I can wear them all day. But I am not allowed to.

My office has a dress code, which includes "No trainers". Now, these shoes aren't trainers; they have none of the cushioning or support that a half-decent trainer needs. But the small print of the dress code includes the words "no sporty footwear", and someone more senior to me has determined that my favourite shoes of the moment are "sporty".

The funny thing is that, the day I was given a "polite reminder" of the dress code, I noticed that at least two of the other women in my room had worn heels to work but were now barefoot. But I guess barefoot isn't sporty (unless you include Zola Budd in the argument) so that's ok.

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This morning, I decided I was actually going to have my feet professionally measured.

I can proudly announce that I'm now a size 3.5. Officially, adults start at size 4.

I'm also a G to H fitting. A normal width would be a C.

The shop didn't have much in that size. And by the time you ruled out the pink stuff, they had less. And this was a Clark's shop, so I had been quite hopeful.

I mentioned to the lady who did the measuring that my office have ruled against my footwear of choice. Her response was "And did they make any suggestion where you could get suitable shoes in your size?"