I need women's 8.5(wide preferably). Budget is quite tight right now. I assume there has to be some sort of person to person site where musicians sells these sort of things. Any links?
I don't play the organ so I don't know how pliable the soles need to be, but you might find that shoes called "ballet flats" would do for your purpose. They usually have a very thin vinyl sole and they are usually less than $10 for a pair and widely available in stores like Target and Walmart. They have very little upper so maybe they are not at all what you are looking for. Please forgive me if I am way off base.
You could also try a man's shoe (tap shoe might work). They seem to have heels better suited to playing and they are wider than a woman's shoe. Size down by two, so you would be a 6 1/2.
There is another brand of organ shoes, TicTacToes, and a friend has a pair. They seem to be made well and she has had them for years. I haven't tried that brand yet.
The last OrganMasters I bought were a unisex oxford because the company had discontinued separate oxfords for men and women. The strings were long enough for two pairs of shoes and I didn't/don't understand why they are so long. The unis have a more rounded toe than my old men's oxford. I didn't like them as well, but they work. The shoes are now made overseas and I would have to say the quality is not what it once was - that seems true of many products. YMMV.
The thing with organ shoes is that when you get used to them, it is a bit hard to do without them ever again.
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