DD first shoes were 5W's. My mom bought her Stride Rites, they come in W and WW (double wide). The first pair were $40 but I have since bought her new Stride Rite's at the outlet mall near us for $20. She is now a 6W.
I had a really hard time finding 6.5W for my foster son. I ended up spending $40 on Stride Rite. I just couldn't find 1/2 size and W anywhere. Now that he's in a 7W, I found some cute shoes at Payless and they were on sale for $16. These are the only places I've seen that carry them. I heard BRU has them too, but I don't know the cost.
DS wears a 6.5W. He has 1 pair of shoes from Stride Rite that he wears every day. I figured spending $30 on a good pair of shoes is worth it if its his only pair.
Re: shoe size