Ask any tall person what they find the most difficult thing to shop for and you’ll most definitely be told; shoes, clothing or possibly a bed. Considering you spend 99% of your time in either; a bed, clothing or shoes, it makes sense that all three of these would be at the top of shopping worries for tall people!
At Plus 2 Clothing, whilst we do stock an ever growing range of tall clothing, we unfortunately do not have you covered for plus size shoes or king size beds. So we have done a bit of research in to where you can shop or buy the best larger size shoes in Australia.
What better place to begin than to have ask a couple of people in the know? First off we had a chat to Tom Shepherd, a self-confessed sneakerhead from Melbourne. Tom is definitely a bloke in the know when it comes to size 12+ in shoes. He has been a regular contributor in both online and meet-up marketplaces for fellow sneaker enthusiasts that also have large feet.
Plus2: Firstly, possible to give us a bit of a background about yourself as a sneaker head or shoe enthusiast?
Tom: I bought my first pair of shoes with my own money around the age of 15. Had a part time job that gave me a little extra to spend outside of trying to get drunk on VB in a park on weekends, being a Northside boy the Smith St Nike outlet (R.I.P) in Collingwood was the place to snag a bargain. So much amazing stuff went through that outlet. I stopped buying anything crazy for about 5 years and took to it again seriously about 4 years ago. Game changed a lot in that time, and so did my tastes, moving on to New Balance and Asics, really chasing some amazing stuff I missed in the interim.
Plus2: Shoe size?
Tom: 12 to 13, in reality probably a 12.5 but sometimes you need to compromise as that size is rarely made.
Plus2: Favourite pair of sneakers you own?
Tom: Hands down the Solebox x New Balance 1500 ‘Mint Toothpaste’
Plus2: Pair of sneakers you’re dying to get a hold of?
Tom: Nike x Patta x Parra ‘Cherrywood’ Air Max 1
Plus2: What sneaker brands best cater for size 12+ ?
Tom: I’d say Nike does the best job of releasing all if not every pair in a 13 and above.
Plus2: What are the best brick & mortar stores that stock sneakers in size 12+ ?
Tom: In Melbourne you can’t go past Up There Store, the guys in there are doing a lot to try and make sure they’re constantly stocking the bigger sizes in all the shoes they carry and just lovely knowledgable guys running it.
Plus2: Besides physical stores what are the best ways to hunt down size 12+ sneakers in Australia?
Tom: Facebook groups is the new place for sure, eBay still has gems sometimes and google.. as silly as it sounds, if you google a style code or shoe name there is plenty of international sites that seem to sell out the biggest sizes last, never know what you’ll find.
Plus2: Any other tips for guys looking to buy larger size sneakers?
Tom: eBay alerts – setting up and alert like “Nike Air Max size 13” will really help you seeing it first.
But what about for those of us that might not necessarily be looking for casual shoes or sneakers, but rather business shoes or working boots? These can be just as much, if not more of a struggle as finding casual or basketball shoes. We thought what better person to ask than Australia’s official tallest man; Kewal Shiels. Kewal(223cm) has a 17US size foot and as you’d expect has had his fair share of difficulties shopping for shoes. Along with being a part-time basketballer, Kewal is also a businessman by day so definitely has all bases covered when it comes to shopping for people with big feet.
Plus2: What are the favourite pair of shoes you own?
Kewal: Probably my pair of Air Force 1’s in all white, they also add an extra half inch in height which is helpful.
Plus2: Pair of shoes you’re dying to get a hold of?
Kewal: I’d love to find a good pair of moccasins, definitely the hardest type of shoe to find in my size. Also looking to purchase a pair of chunky beige Timberlands soon.
Plus2: What shoe brands best cater for size 12+ ?
Kewal: Nike as you’d expect being as they stock so many basketball shoes, but also Converse and Adidas are good.
Plus2: What are the best brick & mortar stores that stock shoes in size 12+ ?
Kewal: Definitely factory outlets, I’ve found heaps of great shoes in my size at pretty good prices. I recently picked up a pair of RM Williams for work from their factory outlet which normally retail for $475 for $275. They look good with a suit or a pair of jeans, versatile and functional.
Plus2: Besides physical stores what are the best ways to hunt down size 12+ shoes in Australia?
Kewal: Just do some research, online is obviously a good place to start, I find shoes I never knew were available in my shoes just by filtering for my size on sites like ebay. Ring around the different factory outlets and see what they’ve got in stock as well.
Plus2: Any other tips for guys looking to buy larger size shoes?
Kewal: Try on different sizes. Some brands run larger or smaller than others, Asics I can comfortably fit in a size 16US, others need to be an 18. With the RM’s 15UK fitted perfectly, but I almost didn’t visit the store after being told they didn’t have 17s.
Hopefully this article has been useful to anyone with big feet that struggles to find shoes in their size in Australia. If you have any other tips you think we should include would love to hear from you, please drop us a line on our contact us page.
Know of any shops that specialise in bigger size shoes within Australia that we should know about? Please feel free to add them to the comments section below.
