Wearing the wrong shoe size might seem like the most insignificant thing in your life, but they can make life-altering changes to your body and health. Loose-fitting shoes not only look comical, but they also change the way you walk, create a lot of friction with the skin, and may develop foot ulcers.
Extra tight shoes can bend the posture of your leg bones, give you blisters and cause cornrows that last a lifetime. Not to forget about calluses, bunions, hammertoes, and a hundred other types of ailments that you will end up suffering because of one insignificant action.
Bad posture can also lead to issues in mobility, leading up to weight gain. So how do you know the right size of shoe for you? What is the right way to measure your shoe size, and how can you make sure that you are buying shoes at the right time of the day?
PRO TIP: Buy shoes around the afternoon. Our feet stretch after use and are at their average size in the afternoon. But avoid buying shoes at night because feet tend to swell too much.
How To Measure Your Foot For Shoe Size
Most shops, both online and offline, have a shoe width chart that can effectively measure your feet. If you want to make sure you have the right size or do a lot of shoe shopping online, it’s a great idea to do a size check on your own at home.
It’s easy, convenient, and saves you a lot of health issues later on. However, you can also determine shoe size with a ruler, but it could go wrong at times.
Here are all the factors that you need to consider:
- If you wear socks for a prolonged time, make sure that you wear them before trying a new pair of shoes as well. This will ensure that you have the right fit.
- If you are buying in a shop, ask the salesperson to measure both your feet. Also, try to get measured every time you go shopping. Shoe size changes with time, and can go larger or wider depending on how active you are at the time. If one of your feet is bigger than the other one, buy the bigger size to avoid getting uncomfortable.
- Walk around. Try the shoes and stand up. When you touch the tip of the pair, there should be at least half an inch of space at the end of the longest toe and the shoe. When you walk, your foot presses forward. If you don’t have any space between the toes and the shoe, your toes will be constantly pressured and will form blisters quickly. Try to freely wiggle your toes to ensure you have enough space inside.
- Sizes can change from one manufacturer to the other. For comfort and fit, it’s best to try on the shoes before buying. Or buy from a manufacturer you know is the right fit for you.
- If you don’t know your standard shoe size, place your foot down on a piece of white paper, and use a pen to trace the outline. Then measure from the bottom of the heel to the top of the longest toe with a scale.
Different Types of Shoe Sizing
Shoe sizes are available in two variants: European and American. It’s best to know your size in either of these two measures to ensure you always get the right one. You can also ask for the EU or US size if you know any of them. Or, you can convert European women’s shoe sizes to US.
Online shops come with a standardized size chart conversion, where you can check your EU or US size before placing an order.
EU Size to US
The Paris point or European size is considered the standard shoe size all across Europe. It is measured in centimeters. Many shoe companies also have half sizes of shoes to ensure you can get the closest fit. If your foot is 24.3 centimeters long, you can go for 24.5 or 25, whichever fits comfortably.
Shoe width size chart Canada generally follows the imperial system, in inches instead of centimeters. But the starting size also differs from the EU measure.
The scale for the US starts at 3 11/12 inches, whereas in the EU it starts at 4 inches. So, the US size 10 can be UK size 8. This is why it is important to know your shoe size in either of the scales.
