Where to Buy Big Shoes in Taipei – Sizes 11 to 12

For people who wear shoe sizes US12 (EUR 46) you may have noticed it is damn hard to find a place that sells these in Taipei. Even shoe sizes 11.5-inch are hard to find and it seems like most places only sell shoes up to 10.5 or 11 inches. We understand that the vast majority of Taiwanese men wear smaller shoe sizes but there is also a demand for locals who wear larger sizes. Luckily, there is one store that we can recommend that seems to have the size in stock – Merrell.

This store has multiple locations across Taipei and offers shoe types ranging from dress, running, sport and casual. Merrell is based in the US and opened up branches back in Taiwan in the mid 2000s. Since then it has been one of the leading providers in hiking shoes and consequently big-feet shoes since the company also believes many of its users like more room in their shoes. Who would have thought this would translate into selections for people such as foreigners in Taiwan?

Do not be disheartened if you find that a certain branch does not have the shoe you like in stick at that location. You can ask the personnel to ship it to that location you are visiting or can have it shipped directly from another branch to your house if you pay upfront.

We have walked through and asked many of the stores in Taipei 101 and Shinkong whether they carry larger shoe sizes. Despite being many international brands to our surprise it was just as difficult to find as asking a local vendor or trying to search online. Therefore, we do not recommend a higher-end store in Taipei and even stores such as Zara do not carry sizes larger than 10.5 inches.

If you are looking for something more formal you may want to consider a shoe company such as CYC Handmade Shoes or a company that does customized shoe fitting （訂製鞋子）in Taipei. Customized shoes are in fact the way to go and are about the same price as you would be for any sort of dress or casual shoe in Taipei as most of the foreign brands are subject to heavy import taxes. We typically get NT$3,000-4,000 shoes that are of high quality and fit our feet perfectly so we feel there isn’t much to complain about.

We suggest if not Merrell then customized shoes, or as a last resort you will have to stock up on shoes when you make the trip back home. Otherwise, sending them via mail is expensive due to the weight and there are even import taxes added that you have to pay upon arrival so the total costs make it excessive. Unfortunately there aren’t many options in Taiwan but you are not totally out of luck.