* international * 
written by Zach Biegun              on 19.01. at 05:31:09 - as answer to: men's pointe shoes by tcs atI'm a man who dances en pointe. I wear a size 12 street shoe, and I find that most pointe shoe companies largest shoes are just a tad-bit too small for me. In Bloch I wear a 9, although I can get away with an 8. Some Bloch shoes come in a 9 (specifically their shoes geared more towards beginners, so they will be stiffer shoes). Gamba, and Gaynor Minden, and Freed, and Grishko, and Capezio all make shoes that are just a tad bit too small for me, so if you've got size 11.5 or smaller feet, you should be fine. However, Sansha has by far the biggest selection of large size shoes. I believe they have about four different models that come up to a Sansha size 14 (my size) and they have one or two models that come up to about a Sansha size 20. Try to get your feet professionally fitted, but if you're like me this isnt possible (no stores near me carry large sizes, you have to order them). If you can't have your feet fitted, make sure to get a slightly larger size if you're going to wear thick toe pads. As far as width's go, since youre a man youll probably want the widest or second widest width possible. I reccomend ordering several pairs of the same model of shoes (but in different size and width combinations) and returning the ones that dont fit right. I have never seen an online store that will not accept returns of unworn, unsewn, clean shoes. The cheapest place to buy Sanshas that I have found is www.nydancestore.com. If you want another brand of shoes (nydancestore has them, but you can find them cheaper elsewhere), I suggest googling the name of the maker, you can usually find about 50 pages that sell the shoes (the only trouble is finding one that sells them large enough). Just because they make shoes in big sizes, doesn't mean the stores (even online stores) will have them, so search around and dont give up. If you want to figure out what shoes might be best for your feet (really research this, its worth the effort) I suggest either www.discountdance.com or www.backbaydancewear.com, they have the best selection and descriptions of shoes I think. Also www.dancer.com (Gaynor Minden's site) can be really helpful learning about pointe, proper fitting, sewing methods, etc. Just look around the site for a while, its interesting and worth the effort. I would also like to put in a plug for lots of guys who want to dance pointe to try and order Gaynor Minden's. I tried but they returned my money with a letter explaining they dont make shoes in my size, but if lots of people start trying to order them, they will start to make larger shoes. If you dont know about Gaynor Minden,s they are new scientifically designed pointe shoes that arent made out of the traditional newspaper and glue. They are supposed to help you have proper alignment, last for a long time, and you can customize any part of your shoe with what seems like about 50 options. I hope this long ramble was helpful. Answers to this message:
|
