How to measure your feet at home

What you need

A sheet of paper larger than your foot, a pen or pencil, a ruler or tape measure, and the socks you plan to wear with the shoes.

Measure length

Measure late in the day, when feet are at their largest. Place the paper flat against a wall on a hard floor.

Stand on the paper with your heel touching the wall and your weight evenly spread. Have someone mark the tip of your longest toe, or lean forward carefully and mark it yourself.

Measure from the wall edge of the paper to the mark in centimeters. Repeat for the other foot and use the longer measurement.

Measure width

While standing on the paper, mark both sides of your foot at the widest point, usually across the ball of the foot. Measure the distance between the marks.

If your width measurement is noticeably wider than average for your length, or standard shoes press on the sides of your forefoot, look for styles offered in Wide (2E).

Turn the measurement into a size

Compare your foot length with the centimeter column in our size chart and choose the size whose length is equal to or just above your measurement.

For running shoes, many people prefer about a thumb’s width of space in front of the longest toe to allow for foot swell on longer runs.

• Between sizes in running shoes: consider the larger size.
• Between sizes in leather styles: the smaller size is often better, as leather softens.