Wearing my new(to me) size Y13 Ugg Bailey Button Boots
I've been wearing the size Y2 Uggs fairly often this winter. Although my toes are doubled up, they aren't particularly uncomfortable. I've worn them all day regularly, and taken some fairly long walks in them.
So I wanted to go one step smaller and had been looking on-line for an inexpensive pair in size Y1. But one day I see this very inexpensive nicely broken in size Y13 pair. I feared I'd never be able to get them on. The only pair of Y13 shoes I'd been able to wear were the cheap Walmart sneakers that burst at the seams.
But I decided to give the Y13 Uggs a try. They arrived, and, kind of as I expected, my high instep kept me from even getting them part way on. Tug, pull, push, no way.
So it was time for some modifications. I pulled out the thick fleece covered insoles and the cardboard part of the midsole underneath. Now I could get my foot in further, but the thick heel counter and layer of fleece covered sheepskin kept me from getting them fully on. So I removed both. Now, with a lot of somewhat painful tugging and pulling, my heels popped in and I had them on.
I was somewhat afraid they would be very difficult to get off, the way my heel popped into the space where the counter had been. But without not too much effort I was able to get them off and back on.
But they were very painful, my doubled up big toes were jammed between the front and the top of the toebox, and my high instep was jammed into the seam between the toebox and the shaft. So my next step was to wear them under the bathtub faucet. Now, if you've ever worn traditional Uggs, you know they are not waterproof, the sheepskin soaks up water like a chamois. So I wore them off and on soaking wet until they dried out, which took a full day.
They did stretch some, so they were somewhat less painful, I could wear them for an hour or so if I wasn't walking around much. And over the next few days they stretched a little more.
I realized that the natural wool lining on the sheepskin was very thick, and matted in some places. so I decided to shear off as much of the wool in the toebox and lower heel as I could get off.
This actually made them more wearable, I can wear them for several hours at a time, I can actually get them on without the shoehorn now (much less painful) and I think they continue to slowly stretch.
This afternoon, I took a walk around the neighborhood, a good portion of a mile wearing them, no problem. I wore them to the Chinese take-out again afterwards, no problem. I did take them off for a while while walking barefoot around the house.
So I tried one last step, I tried to get them on while wearing a fairly thick pair of socks. I did have to resort to the shoe horn but I got them on. I could only bear to wear them for about an hour with the socks, but I'm going to keep trying, as it should stretch them a little more.
I've been hoping for someone to comment on how small my feet are when I'm wearing them, after all size Y (or C) 13 is about the size a normal 6 year old would wear. But so far, no comments. Of course, with COVID, I'm not around nearly as many people.
One thing to keep in mind, Uggs are very generously sized, they want them to be loose on your feet. Compare the size Y13 Ugg (EU 30 from the tag) to the orange Chinese beach shoe, size 36/37 molded into the rubber sole. Almost the same size. Now the beach shoe would be very tight except the upper stretches easily around your foot, so it can be small and snug but not very tight. But it is obvious that the manufacturers have a lot of leeway when it comes to marking the size on the shoes.
Wearing my new(to me) size Y13 Ugg Bailey Button Boots
I've been wearing the size Y2 Uggs fairly often this winter. Although my toes are doubled up, they aren't particularly uncomfortable. I've worn them all day regularly, and taken some fairly long walks in them.
So I wanted to go one step smaller and had been looking on-line for an inexpensive pair in size Y1. But one day I see this very inexpensive nicely broken in size Y13 pair. I feared I'd never be able to get them on. The only pair of Y13 shoes I'd been able to wear were the cheap Walmart sneakers that burst at the seams.
But I decided to give the Y13 Uggs a try. They arrived, and, kind of as I expected, my high instep kept me from even getting them part way on. Tug, pull, push, no way.
So it was time for some modifications. I pulled out the thick fleece covered insoles and the cardboard part of the midsole underneath. Now I could get my foot in further, but the thick heel counter and layer of fleece covered sheepskin kept me from getting them fully on. So I removed both. Now, with a lot of somewhat painful tugging and pulling, my heels popped in and I had them on.
I was somewhat afraid they would be very difficult to get off, the way my heel popped into the space where the counter had been. But without not too much effort I was able to get them off and back on.
But they were very painful, my doubled up big toes were jammed between the front and the top of the toebox, and my high instep was jammed into the seam between the toebox and the shaft. So my next step was to wear them under the bathtub faucet. Now, if you've ever worn traditional Uggs, you know they are not waterproof, the sheepskin soaks up water like a chamois. So I wore them off and on soaking wet until they dried out, which took a full day.
They did stretch some, so they were somewhat less painful, I could wear them for an hour or so if I wasn't walking around much. And over the next few days they stretched a little more.
I realized that the natural wool lining on the sheepskin was very thick, and matted in some places. so I decided to shear off as much of the wool in the toebox and lower heel as I could get off.
This actually made them more wearable, I can wear them for several hours at a time, I can actually get them on without the shoehorn now (much less painful) and I think they continue to slowly stretch.
This afternoon, I took a walk around the neighborhood, a good portion of a mile wearing them, no problem. I wore them to the Chinese take-out again afterwards, no problem. I did take them off for a while while walking barefoot around the house.
So I tried one last step, I tried to get them on while wearing a fairly thick pair of socks. I did have to resort to the shoe horn but I got them on. I could only bear to wear them for about an hour with the socks, but I'm going to keep trying, as it should stretch them a little more.
I've been hoping for someone to comment on how small my feet are when I'm wearing them, after all size Y (or C) 13 is about the size a normal 6 year old would wear. But so far, no comments. Of course, with COVID, I'm not around nearly as many people.
One thing to keep in mind, Uggs are very generously sized, they want them to be loose on your feet. Compare the size Y13 Ugg (EU 30 from the tag) to the orange Chinese beach shoe, size 36/37 molded into the rubber sole. Almost the same size. Now the beach shoe would be very tight except the upper stretches easily around your foot, so it can be small and snug but not very tight. But it is obvious that the manufacturers have a lot of leeway when it comes to marking the size on the shoes.