Best Wide Dress Shoes For Men: Top-rated Formal Footwear For Wider Feet

Wide Feet & Tight Shoes

At Bespoke Unit, we’re firm advocates for a proper fit before anything else. For us, this is absolutely essential not only for looking your best but for also ensuring optimal comfort.

Whilst we often put an accent on the way a suit should fit, this logic also applies to footwear. In fact, it’s probably doubly important because ill-fitting shoes have the potential of being a health hazard too!

We’re often tempted to go for a stylish shoe and persevere in wearing it despite it not fitting properly. Whether it’s because returning it would be too complicated or it was the only size left, we’ve all done in at least once in our lives.

However, there are some people that are obliged to endure discomfort due to having wider than average feet. Many people don’t feet the sizing norms and couldn’t afford custom shoes. Therefore, we have to make do with what we can find on our budget.

Health Hazards Of Wearing Narrow Shoes

Whilst it might seem harmless at first, wearing narrow shoes that pinch can cause severe discomfort in the long run. Furthermore, they may provoke disorders and irreversible damage to your feet!

Blisters

Probably the least menacing consequences of wearing tight shoes, blisters are a frustration at best and agony at the worst. Often caused by friction in the shoe, it becomes more prevalent if they’re too tight as you don’t have any wiggle room.

To make matters worse, blisters will have difficulty in healing if they have no space to breathe and the rubbing persists. This can render the experience particularly painful.

Corns

Although their cause is not too dissimilar to blisters, the result is very different. Corns are calluses that tend to develop between the toes or on the sides of your feet due to persistant pressure against the skin.

Sometimes a callus can even lead to foot pain but they’re typically quite numb. Nevertheless, they can affect your walking gait or stride. Essentially thickened skin, they can be treated with salicylic acid-based products.

Bunions

Probably one of the more severe complications from wearing tight shoes, bunions or “hallux valgus” can be particularly painful. These usually appear as a bony growth or enlargement on the inside part of the joint at the base of the big toe.

Whilst sometimes a genetic disorder, bunions are infamously caused by tight and uncomfortable shoes. Furthermore, the big toe’s joint may further become misaligned following the onset of the condition.

it’s important to cater to a bunion sooner rather than later as surgical intervention can be a distressing experience. You can learn more about them with our dedicated bunions shoe guide.

Hammer Toes

Narrow or short toe boxes can put constant pressure on the toes. This can then provoke hammer toes, which is when they curl up instead of staying flat. As the toe muscles weaken, the only way to correct this disorder is through surgical treatment.

The onset of a hammer toe can often be anticipated by corns developing on the toe of the toe joint. The constant friction of the toe of the toes against the shoe can be rather painful.

Ingrown Toenails

Although usually caused by trimming your them too short, ingrown toe nails are an extremely painful condition caused by abnormal toe growth. The edge if the nail digs into the skin to the point that it can break it and even cause infections.

Tight shoes can either act as a catalyst or even aggravate this condition due to the constant pressure applied to the nail. The result is a very painful cocktail of factors that may result in distressing surgery.

Crossover Toes

A more extreme disorder, crossover toes are exactly what they sound like. Caused by toe boxes that are far too tight, the toes are pushed together to such an extent that one crosses over another.

Usually, this tends to correct itself when wearing the properly-fitting shoes. However, if the case is severe, surgery may be necessary to repair the damage.

Diabetic Feet

Although not a disorder caused by wearing tight shoes, people who suffer from diabetes will often experience further discomfort from them. High blood sugar can cause nerve damage in the extremities, which makes the hands and feet go numb.

As such, you may not notice any discomfort until it’s too late as you may develop blisters and sores that become infected. If you suffer from diabetes, consider reading out detailed shoe guide for the condition.

Finding The Shoes That Fit Wide Feet

To get started, you can refer to our full guide on how shoes should fit. However, let’s talk about a few specifics for wide feet.

Firstly, consider that it may not just be a question of foot width but foot shape. Not everyone’s feet are the same shape despite uniform sizes and a relatively standardised system.

For instance, not all wide shoe options will fit you as they’re made using different “lasts”, which is the mould used to shape a shoe. Some will have narrower toe boxes or metatarsal shapes that just don’t fit you.

However, remember that toe boxes aren’t two-dimensional so look for both depth and width for the best comfort.

Therefore, it’s important to also find a last that suits you best. Each brand uses different lasts for their ranges so take note of when you find one that works for you.

Similarly, take a note of your foot arches. Some people have foot arches that are lower or higher than average, which can change the way a shoe fits. Whatever the height of their arches, they’ll need the necessary support otherwise, their shoes won’t be comfortable and they may experience discomofrt.

What Next?

Now that you have read about the best men’s dress shoes for wide feet, read some of our related guides to learn more:

• Best Men’s Shoes For Bunions
• Most Comfortable Dress Shoes For Men
• Best Men’s Dress Shoes For Flat Feet
• Bespoke Unit Shoe Homepage