Shoe sizing is not standardised across the industry, which is why measuring beats guessing — and why the number you wore ten years ago may no longer be the number you need.
Feet change. They lengthen and widen through adulthood, they spread under load, and they swell over the course of a day. A pair fitted at nine in the morning can feel tight by six in the evening. All of that is normal, and all of it is easy to design around once you know your actual measurement in centimetres.
How to measure, in four minutes
- Measure in the evening, after you have been on your feet. This is when your foot is at its largest, and it is the size you want the shoe to accommodate.
- Wear the socks you would wear with the shoe. A thick wool sock and a bare foot are close to half a size apart.
- Stand on a sheet of paper against a wall, heel touching it, with your weight on the foot. Sitting down gives a shorter, useless reading.
- Mark the longest toe — not always the big toe — and measure from the wall to the mark in centimetres. Do both feet and use the larger number.
That centimetre figure is your foot length, and it is the only measurement that transfers reliably between brands. Our size guide converts it directly to a US size, with UK and EU equivalents alongside.
A note on width
Length gets all the attention, but most complaints about a shoe being "too small" are actually about width. If the shoe is the right length and still feels tight across the ball of the foot, going up a full size rarely fixes it — you end up with a shoe that slips at the heel and still presses at the sides.
Instead, look at the shape. Round and almond toes give more room across the forefoot than pointed ones. Unlined leather stretches to your foot over a few wears; a lined and stiffened shoe will not. Buckle and lace closures let you adjust; a slip-on has to be right from the start.
Fit notes by style
- Loafers and moccasins should feel snug across the vamp on day one, to the point of feeling slightly firm. Leather relaxes roughly half a size with wear, and a loafer that is comfortable in the shop will slip at the heel within a month.
- Boots want a little more room at the toe so the foot can move as the ankle flexes, and enough space for a thicker sock. If you wear them over denim, check the shaft circumference as well as the size.
- Sandals should leave two to three millimetres of footbed clear at both heel and toe. Any overhang and you have sized down too far — it looks wrong and it wears the strap edges out quickly.
- Heels are the one category where going up half a size is often right. As the pitch increases, the foot slides forward and needs the extra length; a strap or an ankle fastening will hold it back.
- Sneakers fit best with a thumb-width of space in front of the longest toe when you are standing.
- Mules and slides should hold at the widest part of the foot, not at the toes. If you are gripping to keep them on, they are too big.
Between two sizes?
Size up for boots, sneakers and anything you will wear with thick socks. Size down for unlined slip-ons, which will give. For everything else, take the larger size — a shoe that is marginally long can be improved with an insole, and one that is marginally short cannot be improved at all.
Breaking a pair in
Wear new leather shoes indoors for an hour or two at a time for the first few days. This lets the leather take the shape of your foot without the pressure of a full day of walking, and it means that if the size is genuinely wrong, the pair is still in returnable condition.
If a pair does not work, exchanges are free within 30 days — including for a different size.
Full conversion tables, foot-length measurements in centimetres and a printable measuring template are on our size guide.