The shoes are almost beside the point.
Going shoe shopping with your friends on a Saturday is about the afternoon. The browsing together. The opinions. The trying things on. The sweet treats, matcha latte or the bubble tea somewhere in the middle. The conversation that happens between shops and has nothing to do with shoes at all.
If you are a UK 9 or above, you already know before you leave the house that your options are limited. You are not going to find much. Maybe something in Birkenstocks. Maybe UGG. Maybe trainers, and even then you are checking the size chart first. The occasional brand will surprise you. Most will not.
You go anyway. Because the afternoon is not really about the shoes.
This guide is about making the most of both, the afternoon with your friends, and the actual finding of something you love, even if it does not happen on the high street on a Saturday.
Know your number before you go in
Your centimetre measurement is the most useful thing you can have when you are shopping in a size 9 or above. UK 9 is EU 43, which is 276.5mm or 27.7cm. UK 10 is EU 44, which is 283mm or 28.3cm. Having this number means you can check a few brands size guide online before you leave the house, conversions are not always consistent between brands, and knowing your measurement rather than just your UK size gives you something concrete to work from.
For the full measurement guide, see our post on how to measure your shoe size at home. It takes five minutes and can make many shopping trips easier.
The brands worth trying first
Before you go in-store, it is worth checking online whether a brand carries your size at all. If they stop at UK 8, you know before you walk in. That saves time and saves the quiet frustration of finding something you love and then checking the sizes.
The most reliable options in-store are Doc Martens, Birkenstocks, UGG and trainers. Nike, Adidas and New Balance tend to stock into the larger sizes. For anything smarter, a flat, a loafer, a ballet shoe, the shop floor is rarely where you will find it in a UK 9 or above. That search happens online, and it takes longer, but it is where the options are.
When searching online, using your EU size rather than your UK size can surface brands that do not appear in a standard UK search. Though it is worth being realistic; EU 43 and above is not widely stocked anywhere. What you are looking for is the brand that has made it a deliberate decision to go there, not the one that happens to have your size in one style.
The styles that reliably work across the full size range
Some silhouettes hold their proportions better across larger sizes than others. The soft Oxford or lace-up flat is the most consistent option right now, it looks as intentional at a size 9 as it does at a size 5, because the design does not depend on scale. Black patent and white leather are the strongest options.
Ballet flats in statement materials, satin, snake print, an unexpected colour, also carry well because the visual interest comes from the material rather than from any proportion that changes with size. A chunky loafer works for the same reason. Avoid heavily embellished or very pointed-toe styles where the design clearly shifts at larger sizes.
What to do in the shop when the range ends before your size
If you spot something you like, take a photo and check online before you give up on it, occasionally a brand has your size there even when the shop floor does not. More often it is not there either. But it takes thirty seconds to find out, and if it is, save it. If it is not, you know, and you can move on without spending twenty minutes wondering.
Use the time in-store for what in-store is actually good for: seeing what the silhouettes look like in real life, taking note of the styles your friends are trying on, getting a genuine sense of what is current. None of that requires finding your size on the shelf. It is useful information regardless.
The afternoon is still the afternoon
Shopping with your friends is not only about the bag at the end. It is about the afternoon. The opinions. The trying things on. The conversation that happens between shops. The girl who has learned to navigate her size with confidence is usually the one whose opinion everyone trusts most, because she has spent more time developing a genuine point of view about what she likes, independently of what was easiest to buy.
That resourcefulness should not have been necessary. But it has produced something real. And the brands that were built for her, not accidentally available in her size, but actually designed for her, are starting to exist. Maévie is one of them. EU 39 to EU 47, made in Portugal, designed so that the next friend group shoe shop ends with everyone leaving with something.
For the full size guide, see the Maévie size guide.
FAQ
Q How do I find shoes in my size when shopping with friends?
Know your centimetre measurement before you go and use it to check brand size guides online before you leave the house. In-store, use the time to see what silhouettes look like in real life even when you cannot try them in your size. If something catches your eye, check online before giving up on it. And look for brands that have deliberately built to your size, not ones where it is a happy accident.
Q Which shoe styles work best in size 9 and above for teenage girls?
The soft Oxford or lace-up flat holds its proportions best across the full size range. Ballet flats in statement materials work well, as does a chunky loafer. Avoid styles where the design clearly shifts at larger sizes, such as heavily embellished or very pointed-toe options.
Q Why do most shops not stock shoes in size 9 or above for teenage girls?
It is a commercial stocking decision rather than a manufacturing limit. Most brands stop at UK 7 or 8 because that is where the highest volume of sales is located and it also cost money to develop a last and tools. Above that, what exists was usually designed for adult women rather than for teenage girls or young women. That gap is exactly what Maévie was built to close.
Q What is Maévie, and why is it different from other shoe brands?
Maévie is a footwear brand built specifically for teenage girls and young women whose size is not stocked in most brands. Footwear designed for their life, with the silhouettes, colourways, and details that reflect what they are actually wearing. EU 39 to EU 47, made in Portugal. The brand starts where the options stop.