Your feet will carry you to thousands of miles in your lifetime so it is very critical that you should take care of them. You can inherit problems with your feet from your Aunt Sue but more often trouble with feet are caused by wear and tear or neglect. The shoes you wear make a big difference in the health of your feet. Wearing the wrong size of shoes can cause neuromas, corns, calluses, blisters, hammertoes, back and leg pain, bleeding or numbness.That is why we, at Kenneth Cole shoes endeavor to bring assist people who are handicapped and are looking for affordable mismatched shoes.

If you have two feet that are the same size then it is easy to find a pair with a good fit and style. Nevertheless, there are millions of people around the globe that needed a pair of shoes in different sizes and there are also many diabled and injured people who need just one shoe. In the United States alone almost 10% of the population wears – or should wear – a different sized shoe on each foot.

Who are these people who need two different sized shoes to make a pair or who only need one shoe? People with feet that are two different sizes, those with clubfeet, polio survivors, the handicapped or injured, amputees, lymphedema sufferers, and diabetics.

So what is a person who has two different sized feet or who only has one foot do when it comes to buying shoes?

The old solution to this problem was expensive and inconvenient. Most often people with feet of different sizes purchase one pair each of the same shoe in two differing sizes leaving a closet full of unused and mismatched shoe pair. Individuals who needs to wear one shoe because of a foot injury or loss pays two shoes or a pair when in fact they only needed one. Some people spend hours visiting thrift and second hand stores looking for two identical shoes in two different sizes.

There are two non-profit movements, the National Odd Shoe Exchange and the One Shoe Crew, they provide shoes for disabled members and even amputees who have mismatched feet. These organizations can only help so many people because it is impossible for those organizations to find a matching pair of shoes in each of an individual’s shoe sizes given the many brands, styles, and colors of shoes available.

The Internet has opened up a whole new world for people who have mismatched feet or who only need one shoe. General auction sites like ebay allow users to list one shoe out of a pair but given the lack of knowledge about finding odd shoe sizes or single shoes means that many of these auctions end without buyers. One website, Mixmatch footwear.com, offers various pairs of shoes in differing sizes but the selection of shoes are very much limited.

The newest solution for people with mismatched feet are websites that allow users to sell single shoes or mismatched pairs of shoes and to search for other single shoes or mismatched pairs of shoes for sale in their sizes. Instead of buying two pairs of shoes, a user can buy a single shoe or a pair of mismatched shoes from another user of the site, and a pair of the same brand, style, and color in the size of the buyer’s opposite foot from a retailer. After the shoes arrive from the retailer, the buyer can post the shoe(s) not in their size(s) for sale on the site. This type of website gives sellers and buyers a chance to find the perfect pair of shoes or one shoe in a style and size that fits their feet.

As more people discover and begin to use these sites, there should be pairs of shoes available to accommodate virtually all combinations of mismatched feet so that users will not have to resort to buying a pair of matching shoes from a retailer. Several users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay shipping dues. A good number of users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay the charges for shipping them. A good number of users with unused mismatched and single shoes ask only that those who can wear the shoes in fact pay the charges for shipping them.

Auction, commercial and non-profit sites are adding inventory all the time to make it easier to help the handicapped and people with mismatched feet to purchase stylish, comfortable shoes. Thanks to the Internet, now buyin gone shoe or two different sized shoes in a pair will become a more pleasant experience. You can read information on Kenneth Cole and other designers at his blog: Kenneth Cole Shoes dot org.

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