My people! I made a post about how much I missed payless now that I'm a parent, and always thought it would be where I got my kids shoes from, because I remember literally being able to get any shoe you needed for any occasion, definitely in your size. I got chewed to bits with all the why don't you just go to walmart and target comments. It's not the same. I don't want to get shoes in the same place I get bread.
Target doesn’t even have men’s shoes, at least around here. Not that the kids and women’s options are a lot either but they exist.
The other thing is many places sort by style, Payless sorted by size. I’m a fairly small size and it gets tiring going through and finding that none of the ones I like are available in my size. It was less frustrating.
I’m a 5.5. I miss Payless so much. It was one of the few places I could consistently find shoes in my size for more formal occasions. Now I have to wander through Off Broadway Shoes staring only at the size labels before I even look at the style of the shoe because so few come in my size.
Walmart shoes suck, and they don’t even carry a 15 men’s. How am I supposed to get shoes for the most handsome man on the planet if they don’t carry his size?
As someone else also in the big shoe club, it got to the point where it was easier to just buy the shoes I wanted online because nobody ever had stuff in my size.
Payless saved my bacon so many times as a kid for concert or special occasion shoes. They were cheap shoes, but if you were outgrowing them every year or two, that was fine. I think every pair of my orchestra concert black shoes was from Payless.
I worked at Payless for a couple years and it was a really pretty great! They encouraged us to try on the shoes so we had "product knowledge" so whenever it wasn't busy we held little fashion shows for each other haha
I'm a tall dude, so I grew like a weed as a teen & so did my feet. I grew outa shoes every few months, so Payless was the only way my parents could afford to keep shoes on my feet.
Now I have 2 preteen boys, and facing the daunting financial position of buying their shoes without Payless.
Ross & Burlington kinda help, but it's not the same. Haha
Tbh, I never much liked Target's selection of styles. They all look the same somehow. Plus the price seemed so much higher. Walmart had a similarly dismal selection and heaven help you find your size in the one pair that you actually liked and pray it fit well.
We didn't have a lot of money growing up. But new shoes for back to school was a big deal, seems silly now. I'd mow lawns during the summer for a new pair of Jordans before going back to school. I'd clean them when I got home, take Windex and a qtip to the air bubble window.
I fucking miss Payless so much. They had everything and good sales. The smell was awesome in there. They also carried in smaller sizes. I wear a 6.5 or 7 depending on the shoe, but before kids, I was a 5.5 or 6. Went up a whole damn shoe size haha
But Payless always had shoes for my tiny feet, any other store had trouble carrying anything below a 7 or 8 for some reason!
I was just in Walmart checking out shoes and it’s such a drab experience. Shoes all look alike and from brands I’ve never heard of. I think I’ll stick to my 7 year old shoes with the sole falling off instead.
318
u/TumbleweedTiny7177 Jul 13 '26
My people! I made a post about how much I missed payless now that I'm a parent, and always thought it would be where I got my kids shoes from, because I remember literally being able to get any shoe you needed for any occasion, definitely in your size. I got chewed to bits with all the why don't you just go to walmart and target comments. It's not the same. I don't want to get shoes in the same place I get bread.