Fit is critical with these shoes. If this is your first pair of Birks and you aren't absolutely sure what size to wear (and you aren't if it's your first pair), please spring for the $90 and get fitted properly first in a Birkenstock store. You might save $10 or $15 mail ordering them, but if you don't get the right fit -- you can hurt your feet worse than they already hurt. You might want to read back through the board during January; there's a LOT of posting on Birkenstock fit. A lot of people who steadily wear Birks will support this position.
I've written this about 5 times already, but.... in a normal woman's shoe, I wear a 9 or 9.5. That would be the equivalent of a Birkenstock size 40 and I would have bought a size 40 if left to my own devices. I tried the 40 and the 39, both were too long (I didn't know it, but the saleslady did). I ended up with the 38 (which would be 7.5 or 8 in a normal women's shoe) which is just right. Since then, I have mail ordered other Birks in a 38.
I figure it this way; for an extra $10 or $15 I want a good fit (and also a friend in my local Birkenstock store if possible). Actually, I'm going back to the store to buy more. The price differentials aren't that great, and I'd rather give it to local people I know.
spider-wa041.proxy.aol.com 12:24:38