I have had a pair of VFF for the last six months. The only time I wear any other form of footwear is on my motorcycle or when I am welding/fabricating in a heavy equipment shop. I have to say, they are the best investment I have ever made! I cannot say that my toes were incredibly curly to begin with, but they were somewhat cast together and the smaller ones would lay right next to and almost under the next bigger ones in a progressive pattern, as one would expect from years of wearing shoes that promote this unnatural configuration. I finally got tired of this, and wearing shoes period, about three years ago when I went bowhunting and tired hunting barefoot because it is quieter. I instantly fell in love with barefootism, but initially I only wore handmade moccasins I stitched (when I absolutely needed shoes like in restaurants and at work) because I did not know VFF existed until a friend told me about seeing some. Since wearing VFF exclusively, I have notices my toes straightening out and spreading slightly, as well as increased dexterity and ground feedback when walking. Its hard to say for sure about your wife's condition without pictures or any basis of why her toes do this, but VFF definitely could not hurt! I will say that if she has incredibly curly toes, it will be hard to get them on for the first little while, but do not let her get annoyed, once they are on they are amazing!! and they get easier to get on every time! My only thought is that if she goes barefoot a lot to begin with, VFF are supposed to mimic that, I am not sure they will help her any more than being barefoot will, except the fact that she will never have to wear any type of "normal" shoes again...

I have been barefoot, worn Vibrams, or really thin sandals for about two years now. I didn't have the exact problem that your wife has, but my two littlest toes did seem to curl a bit. They were also crunched together with my other toes, inward.

Now my toes are a little bit more splayed, and my shoe size has actually gone down 0.5 to 1 full size. I was flat footed at the onset, but have a very high arch now. I do all my sprinting, weight training, etc in VFF's or barefoot so that probably built the muscles up in my arches. If I wear regular shoes now I get a tonne of rubbing on my little toe, so my toes are definitely more splayed than they used to be.

If her experience is like mine I would say: Give it time and she'll see somewhat of an improvement, but her feet will never look like someone who grew up without wearing shoes. She might also have a hard time putting on Vibrams at first.