Hi Ladies (and Gents),
I wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I’m working out what happened with the width of the Georgies. Most of you have noticed the Georgianas to be quite wide, almost a C width. While my sample pair was small, about a 1/2 size smaller than my own usual size (I used myself as a gauge, with very average size 7.5 feet), the production run came in just ridonculously huge.
Apparently “Americans have huge feet.” I’m not kidding, this was my response from my manufacturing agent oversees, and width was added to the lasts without my knowledge. I’ve told the manufacturer to remove any additional width that was added, and only use standard US sized lasts from now on. … oh… and to never ever ever make changes to the lasts without telling me.
As you can imagine, what a huge mess this has made, but not to worry. The goal here is to get everyone their shoes, and if you need to return or exchange your Georgies for a smaller size, just send them on back with a note in the box for which size you need.
Meanwhile, I carefully measured the insoles of every size, and here’s a revised sizing chart that reflects the actual, physical shoes in my shop:
| US Size | UK Size | Euro Size | Inches | CM |
| 6 | 4 | 36-37 | 9” | 22.9 |
| 6.5 | 4.5 | 37 | 9.25” | 23.5 |
| 7 | 5 | 37-38 | 9.5” | 24.1 |
| 7.5 | 5.5 | 38 | 9.75” | 24.8 |
| 8 | 6 | 38-39 | 9.875” | 25.1 |
| 8.5 | 6.5 | 39 | 10” | 25.4 |
| 9 | 7 | 39-40 | 10.25” | 26 |
| 9.5 | 7.5 | 40 | 10.5” | 26.7 |
| 10 | 8 | 40-41 | 10.75” | 27.3 |
| 10.5 | 8.5 | 41 | 10.875” | 27.6 |
| 11 | 9 | 41-42 | 10.9” | 27.7 |
| 11.5 | 9.5 | 42 | 11” | 27.9 |
| 12 | 10 | 42-43 | 11.5” | 29.2 |
Some of you may need a half size smaller, and some maybe a whole size smaller.
Now to answer the main question: what does this mean for the fit of the Devonshires and future runs of Georgianas?
The sizes will run true-to-size, the length being the same, but the width will be back to normal. As is the nature of buying footwear online, if you still need to exchange future orders for smaller or larger sizes, it’s easy as pie, just send them back to the return address on the box they came in, and you’re good to go.
I do have some bad news, though. Because of the massive, crazy confusion with the factory, about the widths, I will not be able to run wide widths for future styles. However, if you have wide feet and did not order Georgianas this time because you thought they’d be too narrow, now’s the time to order, before I run out of stock of this first run (e-mail me – [email protected] – if your size is out of stock because it’s very likely a pair will be coming back soon, for an exchange, and you can nab it!)
As always, thank you so much for understanding and supporting this whole idea. Without you wonderful ladies and gentlemen, none of this could have happened, and I greatly appreciate your patience while I work out the kinks!
Sincerely,
Lauren R
16 Comments
unicornemporium
July 18, 2011 at 3:10 AMI was actually happy with the extra width. I have a "bunion" developing on my left foot, and my feet have always run a bit on the wide side, so it worked out for me! These are actually wicked comfortable for me, LOL!
Katy Rose
July 18, 2011 at 3:28 AMI'm nervous now….I have long skinny feet….*fingers crossed
Maggie
July 18, 2011 at 3:53 AMI've got fingers crossed. I have wide (but not super wide) feet, so we'll see! I'll feel really bad having to return them, especially since I asked to get them dyed. I'm hoping they'll be ok.
I can't believe they added width to the lasts without telling you!
Hastings Sanderson
July 18, 2011 at 4:42 AMOh my goodness! My giant feet who I was sure would never get pretty shoes are doing a tappity dance. I'm so sorry this didn't go as planned, but I'm thrilled that it looks like I can buy a pair now and they would possibly fit. Just have to count the days to payday.
Sarah
July 18, 2011 at 5:08 AMWhy does it never go smooth?
Sandra Brake
July 18, 2011 at 5:20 AMTeething problems my dear! I have wide feet so I'll see what they are like when they get here. We'll sort it out. I'll just be thankful to get a pair, ANY pair that will fit me, that I can walk about in without a big old scowl on my face and look suitably 18th century. I wonder what the ratio is of wide feet to normal and narrow in the population. Ah well I just have a better grip on planet Earth!
Mikey
July 18, 2011 at 10:57 AMHi Lauren,
Will I be able to order the devonshires in a wide size, and do you have any idea how much the wide size will be in inches of cms?
Also we were wondering, are you sure about the cms in your chart? I got a european size 39, and my foot length in cms is 24,8 but my other US size shoes are more an 8,5 (this also matches 39 EU size). but the cms indicate I should buy a 7,5… The same goes for my friend her feet are also 24,7 cms and she usually has an 8.
Sorry for questioning you, especially as this is isn't running smoothly for you, but we really like those shoes and want to buy them!
Lauren R
July 18, 2011 at 6:28 PMWell I'm very happy that those with wide feet are finding them comfortable and fitting well!
Maggie – if they don't fit, we'll do an exchange, nevermind the custom dye. I can still hopefully sell the dyed ones as one-offs.
Mikey – I will not be ordering wide sizes in the Devonshires because I need to minimize the risk of crazy things like this happening again, right now. When I discussed wide widths with my manufacturer before they seemed to have no idea what I was talking about, and I suspect that conversation might have led to the added width on the lasts for this run of Georgianas.
The size chart is accurate for the actual shoes in my possession. They really are very large for their sizing. I usually wear a 7.5 US and I took a 7 in these. Many of the exchanges are asking for a whole size smaller. The CM measurements were converted from the inch measures.
Anonymous
July 18, 2011 at 9:50 PMOh no! I have really narrow feet… I will keep my fingers crossed that they will fit. 🙂
It's such a shame that they changed the sizes without letting you know about it. I work with a companu importing form China myself, and this has happened a number of times to us too. Maybe it's some sort of curtural misunderstanding? Sure is annoying anyway. I feel so sorry for you having to exchange all these shoes.
Mikey
July 18, 2011 at 10:27 PMThanks for the explanation Lauren,
Can you tell me how wide (front of the foot) the current 8,5 sizes are (or should be)?
Do you have any ideas yet in which colours we can order the Devies?
Sorry for being impatient…
Mikey
July 18, 2011 at 10:34 PMokay, now I'm starting to doubt myself, I have 2 pairs of dancing shoes, that were manufactured in China, and the US size is 7,5… so maybe I should just order a size 8?
*confused*
Lauren R
July 19, 2011 at 7:33 PMMikey – the 8.5 is about 3 inches across the widest part of the ball of your foot.
Devonshire colors will be posted soon. There are quite a few to choose from. As with the Georgies, the Devonshires all come in white, but you can dye them or paint them a variety of colors. It's more limited than the silk colors, but just as gorgeous and customizable.
Anna
July 20, 2011 at 12:24 AMI have narrow feet with high arches and just walking around the house in them + stockings for a little while, I found the Georgies perfectly comfy so far. So hopefully the width turns out to be a non-issue for all parties. Waiting eagerly for the Devvies!
Anonymous
July 23, 2011 at 2:41 PMI hope it's appropriate to ask this here: I need to exchange my Georgies. I traced my foot, and it measures 9.5". Should I get the 7.5 or 8?
Lauren R
July 23, 2011 at 6:55 PMMadame Kat –
It looks like you'll want a 7.5, unless you like your shoes quite snug, then you could even wear a 7. The bad news is that today I don't have any of either in stock *BUT* we do have exchanges coming in just about every day, and it's very likely a 7 or 7.5 will come back. I can notify you when it does, or offer you several other options to get this sorted out – could you e-mail me? [email protected]
Thanks!
Gwenyver
July 6, 2012 at 5:53 PMI realise this was posted about a year ago, but I've been reading through your archive and just got to it and it made me smile and sigh. My day job is in the fashion and textile industry and I deal with suppliers overseas all the time. They do the same sort of tricks to us: change the weight of the agreed fabric a little, change the fit because they think they should (when we are the ones sending them patterns with specific instructions), the works. In conclusion, you are not alone in this situation, it is a part of the "joy" of dealing with suppliers. I do hope things got better over the last year for you though.