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Knowing how to measure both feet properly is one of the ‘real biggies’ of good shoe fit. It’s also seems to be more art than science sometimes!

You may have read about variations on drawing an outline of your foot on a piece of paper and measuring the dimensions of the drawing. This is one way to measure your foot in a pinch and can get you close. It does have limitations though.

A Better Way

In a nutshell, find a knowledgeable sales person in a reputable shoe store to measure your foot. She should be properly trained in the use of something called the Brannock Device. (Yup. That funny looking silver and black thing).

This device was invented by Charles Brannock in Syracuse, NY over 80 years ago. He was passionate about finding the best way to measure your foot. It’s still being manufactured and used around the world today. Needless to say, it’s the de facto standard way to measure your foot because it works very well.

You need to be standing with your weight equally on both feet and with your feet side by side – not one in front of the other. You want to make sure that your foot has elongated and spread as far as it does when you walk. Yup, they do change shape – and size – between when you’re not standing on them and standing on them!

Wear the socks you plan on wearing with the shoe you’re purchasing (or no socks if you plan to wear the shoes that way). Make sure your sock fits properly with no toe or heel slack. You’re measuring your foot here, not extra sock material!

When you measure your foot, you will need three separate measurements…

Heel To Toe Length

Place your heel snugly in the correct cup of the device. There’s a different one for each foot. Note the size marking closest to the longest toe. Don’t add another half or full size to this number. Toe room allowance is already built into the shoe itself – usually 3/8″-1/2″ more.

Heel To Ball (Arch) Length

This is the most important shoe fit criteria. It matches shoe flex with foot flex. It also fits the widest part of the foot with the widest part of the shoe.

With your heel snugly in the cup, position the concave slider on the inside of your foot so that the ball joint (bump behind your big toe) fits snugly into it. Note the size on that scale. This shoe size may or may not be the same as the shoe size indicated by your heel to toe length. Confused? Read on!

Differences in your heel-to-toe length and heel-to-arch length size are basically an indicator of whether you have longer or shorter toes than the average. If there is less than a 1/2 size difference between the two measures, then you should try the heel-to-ball shoe size on first.

In cases where there is more than one size difference between these two measures, then split the difference. Start with that shoe size. We are trying also here to match the widest part of your foot with the widest part of the shoe which just happens to be where the shoe flexes! So let’s finish with…

Foot Width

…the final measurement! So with the heel snug in the cup and the ball snug in the concave slider we move the width slider against the outside of the foot. Here you have to find the shoe size from the previous step on the scale to find the correct width.

In cases where there is a big difference between your heel-to-toe and heel-to-arch measurement, you should compromise between the two measurements and see if a shoe with a longer vamp (ball to toe) length is available.

There you have it. These important tips will help you pick your shoe size for the best comfortable and supporting fit. Make sure to measure your feet often as they do tend to change their shape and size.

I hope you found this helpful.