Comments of Experts Gleaned on How to Shop for Footwear

How to Buy Great Shoes That Fit by Scott Norman (Crown/Prince Paperbacks: $5.95).

Here is a slim, 83-page volume chock full of practical, often-overlooked advice on how to shop for shoes, how to take care of them and what to do when you’ve failed at all of the above.

The author, a former shoe salesman for Bullock’s and Nordstrom who now sells shoes at Salvatore Ferragamo in New York City, has interviewed dozens of experts ranging from podiatrists to repair-shop pros to shoe manufacturers to orthopedic surgeons. He’s sifted through their recommendations and come up with a thoughtful, easy-to-read guide covering everything from the best time of day to shop for shoes (mid-afternoon because feet tend to swell throughout the day) to reasons why a customer may be entitled to return a worn pair of shoes (broken heels, for instance, warrant a return because “a heel should last the life of a shoe unless unusually stressed or abused”).

Norman claims to have waited on tens of thousands of women and sold more than $4,000,000 worth of shoes. The authority and concern that comes through his writing suggests his advice may be worth at least that much to those whose tired, aching feet are caused in part by ill-fitting shoes.