Posts Tagged "Shoe Fit"

Ordering shoes online does not have to mean repeated returns. Measuring against a shoe you already own, reading the fit details that matter and checking within minutes of delivery can settle the fit the first time and save the postage.

Two measurements, taken in the evening on a sheet of paper, will tell you more about what size to order than any size label. Here is the method, and the mistakes that make it wrong.

A UK 9 in one brand can be a full size different from a UK 9 in another. The reason is that size numbers describe a last, not your foot, and every brand builds its own.

An insole can change cushioning, fit and the feel of the surface underfoot, but it cannot lengthen or widen a shoe. Knowing what it does and does not change prevents a lot of pointless buying and a lot of disappointed expectations.

A well-fitting shoe is not a tight one. Three clearances matter, at the toe, the heel and the instep. Knowing which tightness disappears with wear and which never will saves a lot of returns, and a lot of uncomfortable weeks.

A size number quietly describes length and little else. Width across the ball and the volume of the whole shoe decide whether a pair pinches, and the two are not the same problem. Each has a different remedy, and going up a size solves neither.