Manolo, your concern, as always is endearing and the shoes as always are perfect. I’d like to also gently remind your readers to always offer a pregnant woman a seat on public transportation (and also seniors and disabled persons.)

I doubt ordering the W size is going to be of much help to a pregnant woman with swollen feet. A width step is usually no more than half an inch or so, and swollen feet can be full inches larger. By the end of my pregnancy, I could barely jam my feet into flip-flops, let alone an actual shoe with sides.

Perhaps the Manolo could recommend a super-fantastic dressy slide or mule instead.

great post, manolo. you can erase this post, if you feel it is wildly inappropriate, but when i was five months pregnant (my daughter is now four months old), i went into nine west to buy some flats for work. my shoe size grew at least a size. anyway, the clerk asked me if i needed help, and i said, “well, yes. i am five months pregnant, and work in a professional corporate environment. my feet grew a size or two, so i need some comfortable flats or low shoes to get me through the next five months.” she looked me up and down and snottily said, “we don’t have anything here for you. try easy spirit.” i admitted was dressed down, but not that down. at that point, i think i looked heavy, not exactly pregnant yet. i was willing to drop hundreds of dollars on shoes that fit. life was very uncomfortable for me. i walked out, frustrated. i wrote letters to the store manager, the head of the company…noone answered my letter. ah, well. there’s some bad publicity for you.

Such rude people should be gently chided and corrected, perhaps with the speeding Metro bus.

Classic, and so adaptable! I’m adding this one to my arsenal.

My sympathies to the swollen-footed mothers-to-be everywhere. My youngest is 6 but I well remember those days. I still sigh over the shoes I had to give up because, post-pregnancy, my feet would never fit into them, ever again. (sigh)

Flats are the way to go, though — mules became too treacherous in the later months.

My mom always had at least three pairs of what she called her “pregnancy shoes” which were the same flats in different colors. They were probably some of the more expensive pieces in her maternity wardrobe, but by investing in quality shoes, she got a more comfortable sole, was able to find them in a comfortable size (very different from her non-pregnant shoe size) and (most importantly) enjoyed the undeniable extra give that more expensive, well-made shoes in a fine soft leather can have.

Which all sort of reminds me of the pretty ballet flats recently featured on Manolo for the Big Girl.

I have those very shoes and I can vouch that they are very comfy and look wonderful on. Good call, Manolo!

Hola to the Uberangie! La BellaDonna is aghast, and full of the sympathies for your undeserved trials at the hands of the minion of the Nine of the West.

La BellaDonna is, moreover, truly puzzled at such behaviour. The Nine of the West, while it has the teetery-tottery shoes for the unbalanced youth, has many of the flats and low-heeled shoes that would be most appropriate for a woman facing the challenges of the Uberangie. Should the Uberangie find herself in a similar fix in the future, La BellaDonna would recommend the helpful folks at Aldo Shoes, or even the Aerosoles.

La BellaDonna is sorry to say that the Uberangie herself may have highlighted the reason for the unprofessional treatment meted out to her:

at that point, i think i looked heavy, not exactly pregnant yet.

La BellaDonna fears that the Uberangie was possibly being punished by the Nine West acolyte for the unforgiveable sin of “heaviness.” There are many people who have received similar treatment for that “sin,” regardless of the hundreds of the dollars in their pockets that they wished to spend.