If you’re on your feet a lot, you probably know just how important finding the right size and shape of a pair of shoes is. However, finding shoes that fit you perfectly can be a challenge, and often involves trying on multiple pairs of shoes and deciding based on trial and error. To find shoes that fit your feet well, have your feet measured before you try on any shoes, walk in the shoes before you buy them, and buy based on how your shoes fit, not what size they are.
Measuring Your Shoe Size
1. Place your bare foot on a blank sheet of paper. Set a standard-sized sheet of paper down onto a hardwood or concrete floor. Take off your shoes and socks and put your bare foot in the middle of the sheet of paper. Make sure your foot is flat
2. Have a friend trace around your foot with a marker. It's easiest to have someone else do this for you so you can stand how you normally would with your weight spread throughout both feet. Ask a friend or a family member to trace your foot with a dark marker. Make sure they keep the tracing lines as close to your foot as possible. Ask the person tracing to trace each detail of your foot, including in between your toes.
3. Measure the tracing from toe to heel. Set a ruler on your tracing and note the distance between your longest toe and the back of your heel. Write down the number in inches on a piece of paper to bring with you to the shoe store
4. Use a ruler to measure the widest part of your foot. Place your ruler widthwise on the widest part of the tracing. Most often, this is the area just underneath of the toes by the ball of your foot. Note the measurement in inches to look for shoes that are wide enough to fit your feet.
Tip: Children should have their feet measured every time they buy new shoes since their feet are constantly growing.
Buying Shoes that Fit
Wear socks that you will wear with your shoes to try them on. Some socks are thicker than others, and they can make your shoes feel bigger or smaller if they aren’t the type of socks you’ll be wearing with your shoes after you buy them. If you are trying on running shoes, wear a pair of athletic socks to the shoe store. If you are buying dress shoes, put on some dress socks before you go. If you are trying on heels or flats that you wouldn’t wear socks with, try them on with the thin socks provided at the shoe store to mimic your bare foot.
Check the fit at the back of shoes using your index finger. Put on the shoes and lace them up fully. Place your index finger at the back of the shoe. If you can fit your index finger in the back of your shoe comfortably, it is a good fit. If there is not enough room, your shoe is probably too small.
- Small shoes can cramp your feet and cause problems over time.
- Shoes may stretch slightly widthwise, but they won’t stretch lengthwise.
Fit your shoes to your larger foot if they aren’t the same size. Your feet may be slightly different sizes. One foot might be ½ of a size larger or even 1 full size larger than the other. If you have feet that are uneven sizes, buy shoes that fit your larger foot. It is better to wear 1 shoe that is slightly too big than 1 shoe that is too small.
- If your feet are more than 1 size apart, consider asking if a shoe store will sell you a mixed-size pair of shoes.
Walk in the shoes before you buy them. The best way to test out a pair of shoes is to take a lap around the store in them. Try to walk at least 50 paces in the shoes before you purchase them. Look out for friction or pinching in your toes or slipping in the heel
Buy based on fit, not size. If you know you are a size 9 but find shoes that are a size 11 and fit perfectly, don’t size down. Purchase shoes that fit you well and don’t worry about what size they say they are. Different manufacturers have different measurements, so each brand of shoe is slightly different in size