Did your feet grow larger ?
My guess is that they experienced something like this and needed larger sized normal shoes to accommodate the more natural foot shape.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BarefootRunning/comments/1ec5i5n/di...
Exactly what I figured, wider, not longer. Some shoes (usually higher-end ones) have a width measurement (in letters) as well as a length (the usual number measurement) for this reason—you shouldn't need a longer shoe (larger number size) unless buying shoes that don't offer a variety of widths. In fact, getting a longer shoe for the extra width will result in a poor overall fit.
It's kinda like how some nicer brands offer a variety of size modifiers in addition to "small, medium, large" on their ready-to-wear shirts, like "slim", or Brooks Brothers' named fit-variants ("Regent", "Madison", et c)
Is having a wider foot a good thing for certain sports? It seems like it might be more natural and advantageous but I don’t know if I like the idea of having to buy wider shoes for regular purposes.
I have naturally wide feet, and it's no advantage for any sport requiring footwear. Soccer shoes, climbing shoes, ice skates, snowboard boots, the list goes on, mostly manufactured for average to skinny sized feet.
I see. The main reason I was wondering about this is that occasionally there’s people online who recommend going barefoot or using a special shoe for doing weightlifting. Maybe strengthening the foot arch is the point behind this trend rather than width.
Ice skates in particular are sold in different widths. But yes it’s the norm that the “regular” or narrow fit is the default.
Who makes wide skates? I have a wide foot and have yet to find a hard body skate that is wide enough. I always end up having to sit laps out at the track every 15-20 minutes at the track because my feet get so squeezed into my skates and after a while the pain is no good. And skates that are wide enough are sized up and just feel like boats on my feet or they don’t have low ankles so you don’t really get to lean forward as much as you like to overstep. Anyways I love skating so much I just wish i could find a skate that fits before next season as I want to skate the Elfstedentocht. Well at least the alternative.