For those of us with tiny feet, try the girls/teens department. I find a lot of my size 5's there...with how fast kids are growing up today, the shoe styles aren't juvenile. Lots of flats and low heels available. Would love a pair of Dansko clogs, but they are too large and wide for me. Used to love the Swedish clogs (forget the brand, but they had leather upper and wooden sole), but can't find them anymore. It seems there is no consistency between brands anymore. One manufacturer's 6 is another's 7. Wide widths...forget about it. My DD wears a size 11 extra wide. Most often, she defaults to mens shoes as she has trouble finding womens shoes that are wide enough. (She does love her Dansko clogs, though! Also her Doc Martins.)
Don't like to go barefoot - it just feels strange to me. Husband and DD love to go barefoot.
Try to buy shoes late in the afternoon as this is when feet are the largest (swelling - even if you can't see it, they swell a bit from you being upright). Do not buy shoes that you "have to break in". If they are not comfortable when you first try them on, they never will be comfortable. Try to buy shoes made of leather - they breathe and will conform to your feet. If you can, rotate your shoes - try not to wear the same pair every day. Buy the best you can afford - one or two very good pairs are more economical then 5 or 6 cheap pairs. Good quality shoes can be resoled and reheeled, while the cheaper shoes usually cannot.
Good luck to all of us with our myriad of foot problems! I have dancer's feet - all my toes are the same length (from many, many years of ballet) and my feet are small. No bunions or corns, but do get ingrown toenails. Some arthritis in my ankles (mostly where I broke my ankle in a snowmobile accident), but knock wood...so far, so good.
I am not a shoe/foot expert, but my DH calls me "Imelda". I need almost as much room for my shoes as I do for my fabric!!!
