Best Fastening Types For Wide Feet

If you have “normal” feet and no health issues then you might find that any fastening type is fine but, if you have swollen feet, feet that swell or other health conditions, then fastening type can become very important indeed.

And your health issues need not even be foot health issues. For instance, arthritis in your hands or ability to bend down to put your shoes will impact on the most suitable fastening for your feet.

To understand this fully we’ll need to know what the different fastening types are and how each one is better or worse for your feet, depending on your situation.

Why not check out our video on Different Fastenings for Wider Fit Shoes.

We’ll also look at the difference between Oxford and Gibson shoe cuts and how that can impact your footwear choice.

- Security means simply how secure is the fit to your foot. Is it likely to slip off or rub against your feet
- Adjustability means the ability to adjust the fitting to loosen or tighten the shoe
- Ease of access simply means how easy is it to get your foot into the shoe.

Laces are also highly adjustable. You can set the laces loosely or more tightly and adjust them throughout the day as your feet swell, if necessary.

Ideally an active shoe such as a trainer or walking shoe will have laces to avoid the foot moving around within the shoe, causing possible injury or the shoe flying off at an inopportune moment!

You’ll find laces on most of our trainers, such as Suede Scaup, Stretch Panel Trainer Whitworth or Stretch Panel Barrow.

However, laces aren’t suitable for people with limited hand motility, such as people with arthritic hands and fingers, as these people will require something more easily fastened and adjusted, and that’s why we also offer trainer styles with strap fastenings, such as Stretch Panel Pheasant, Double Strap Fox or Classic Style Trainer Riley.

Slip-on shoes offer little security of fit and no adjustability but ease of access and are a fashion favourite.

Lastly, slip-on styles offer the least amount of security of fit as they are simply held on to your foot by the shape of your foot!

They offer great style, like our stunning wide-fitting loafers Diana or smart flats Mandarin, but a less secure fit and no adjustability.

You’ll find this style in loafers, pumps and slippers generally and not in more active styles like trainers or walking shoes. Features like elastic gussets as shown on men’s style house shoe Cairo below, inserts or elasticated top-lines - like those on styles such as ballet flat Tetbury or dress shoe Asia - can improve this security of fit by allowing the shoe to hug your feet a little.

Conversely, if you have diabetes, it is important that your shoes don’t slip or rub, causing blisters or cuts on your feet as you may not feel these and they may not heal easily, which could cause serious infections and other complications, so a secure fit such as that from a lace-up or pull-back strap is important.

As we’ve seen, slip-on shoes offer no adjustability or opening up, so we’ll focus here on Oxford and Gibson cuts.

For most people the cut is merely a matter of aesthetic preference but, if you have wide, deep or problem feet, it can be very important.

What are Oxford shoes?

With Oxford shoes the side panels of the shoe (the quarters) are stitched underneath the “vamp” – the bit that contains the laces.

What are Gibson shoes?

Gibson shoes have quarters that are stitched over the vamp, which opens up the laces more and allows the shoe to be opened up wider for easy access.

This tends to make them more suitable for people with swollen feet as an Oxford cut can make it difficult to get the foot into the shoe.

With a Gibson cut, the point where the quarter is stitched to the upper can also be moved further up or down the shoe to offer different levels of opening up.

It’s not only lace-up styles that offer this variety in stitch point though. Strap fastening shoes can also be built on a Gibson style, and they can also open up really wide. Styles like pump Rosalind, trainer Riley or men’s leisure shoe Devon are strap fastening styles that open up really wide whilst lace-up style Lexi, strap fastening Pheasant or men’s casual shoe Donald are Gibson style shoes that have the stitching point higher up, so don’t open quite as wide.

These styles are still fab for feet that swell through the day as they can be adjusted easily, but may not be suitable for very swollen feet.

For bunions you should be careful as the stitch point may be in the area of your bunion and could cause rubbing (you would be better off with a higher stitch point and a stretch fabric. Find out more about the best shoes and bunions and hammer toes).

For people with diabetes it is important that rubbing is minimised as much as possible and therefore seam-free toe boxes are really a must, alongside a secure lace-up fastening. (Find out more about the best shoes for diabetes.)

You’ll find trainers with laces or straps, canvas pumps in lace-up or slip-on styles, everyday shoes, sandals and boots with all three options - laces, straps or slip-on styles!

You’ll also find that we combine the shoe cut and fastening type in different ways with other features, such as seam-free toe boxes, stretch panels, different toe shapes and a choice of soles to create a suite of footwear that offers something for almost any foot.
Indeed, our range offers the flexibility of a bespoke shoe manufacturer with fashion you’d expect from the high street at competitive prices.

- Browse all wide and deep fitting shoes for women
- Browse all wwide and deep fitting shoes for men

This means that you could essentially benefit from a discount of 20%. And what's more, our promotional discount codes still apply, meaning you can gain further savings.

We make it easy to claim your VAT relief by clearly listing the VAT exempt price against qualifying products and provide a very short form to fill out as part of the checkout process when ordering your 6E, 8E or 6V fitting shoes.

Qualifying conditions for VAT free purchases include physical or mental impairment that affects your ability to carry out everyday activities, for example, blindness; conditions treated as chronic sickness, such as diabetes, arthritis or lymphedema; and long-term illnesses.

Look out for the link underneath our available fittings on each product page to claim your VAT exemption.

Yes I agree these are great I have Morton’s neuroma and a bunion and these are fantastic. The best shoes I've ever bought. Now I've tried them I will be buying more for other occasions as the first pair were for work.
Paula

I have lymphedema and so have great difficulty finding shoes to fit me, so it was a relief to find this company. I have brought several pairs of shoes and they are so comfortable. I would highly recommend them.
Pam

We know that it's really difficult to order footwear online and find the perfect fit, but we want to make it as easy, risk-free and stress-free as possible. That's why we offer free returns and exchanges on all UK orders so that, if you're in the UK and have ordered from us and the shoes aren't right for whatever reason, you can give us a call to discuss the problem and return them to us, unworn except for trying on to exchange for a different size, style or fitting without paying a penny more in postage.

Once you've found your perfect fit, you'll never look back!

We hope that you agree that our wide-fitting shoes and boots are the best shoes for arthritic feet!

Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature and should not be taken as a diagnosis. All questions and concerns should be directed to your Doctor, Podiatrist or other health advisor.

Why not check out some of our other blog posts to help you with you find your perfect shoe.
What's so good about removable insoles »
How to buy wide fit shoes online »
Shoes for being on your feet all day »