For owners of petite feet

3:58pm Tuesday 23rd August 2005

Calling all women with small feet. Do you have trouble finding fashionable shoes that fit? Tired of falling over because your feet are just too small for your body?

We can't do much about the latter, but help is at hand for the former. A small shoe showroom is set to open which caters for women with just this problem.

Piccolo, opening in Bushey Heath in October, has shoes starting at European size 34 that's a tiddly UK size 1-1 while most shops go no smaller than 37 (UK size 3).

Co-owner Ruth Mowlem (a size 34 herself) says: "It's increasingly hard to find small sizes in this country. There is one other shop I know of in London which specialises in small women's shoes, but they're not really my style."

She and business partner Lee Hilton estimate about half the people who have registered on the database so far are from Barnet, but Ruth reckons that does not necessarily mean more women here have small feet than elsewhere in the country.

"It's just that we have a lot of contacts in north-west London," said Ruth, who lives in Mill Hill.

If, at about 11.30pm on a Saturday night, you happen to spot young ladies falling over as they tuck into takeaway kebabs, you'll know why.

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