How To Measure Your Foot Size & Width : what’s my shoe size?

This post was last updated on February 7th, 2023 at 07:57 am

You can easily measure your foot size (length) with paper, a pen, and a ruler. To know your Foot length, stand flat-footed with your heel against a wall. Use a ruler or tape measure on the floor from the back of your heel to the tip of your longest toe. To know your Foot width, measure the flat width across the widest point of your foot (the ball of your foot) by stepping on the ruler or tape measure. In both cases, you must draw a complete outline around your foot.

Pro-tip: You can wear the socks you intend to wear with the shoes you want to buy, but not the shoes themselves.

It is possible to measure your feet in your home without a Brannock Device, an all-in-one tool to measure your foot size & width.
If you have access to a professional shoe fitter in a shoe store nearby, having your feet professionally measured will give you the most accurate result.
Unfortunately for the brick-and-mortar stores, most people buy shoes online and do not have access to professional equipment…

Measuring your foot size and width table of content

• Items needed to measure your foot size and width
• How to measure your foot size (or your kid’s feet)
• Measure your feet step by step

What You Will Need to measure your shoe size & foot width at home with the best possible accuracy:

1. Two pieces of paper, letter or A4 size will do
2. A pen or a pencil
3. A ruler
4. Measuring tape or a string
5. A friend (recommended, but not essential)

How to measure your foot size, or from your kids feet

Measuring your feet step by step

1. The perfect time to measure your foot size & width

Measure your feet in the afternoon. By the end of the day our feet develop some swelling.
If you wait until later in the day to get those feet on paper, you will reduce the risk of receiving shoes that are too tight.

2. Stand when measuring

Be sure to stand up straight when measuring your feet. Your feet will carry your full weight and spread out more when standing. Ask a friend or a relative to measure your foot size & width because you need to stand tall and look straight ahead with your weight centered over your foot.
Remember: How you stand can affect the size and shape of your feet.

3. Wear a sock

Obtain the most accurate result by measuring your feet wearing the type of socks or stockings you will wear in the shoe you plan to purchase. Thus, no socks are needed to measure your feet if you’re buying sandals or shoes you plan to wear barefoot.

4. Be precise

The difference in shoe sizes is about 1/8 of an inch, so your foot measurements will need to be precise and. In a conversion chart like on the shoes page, you find many sizes. Rounding up or down will decrease the accuracy of the measurement and might convert in a different size.

5. Measure the size & width of both feet

Measure both feet. Most people’s feet are slightly asymmetrical. When using the conversion size chart or buying shoes it’s best to use the measurements from the larger foot.

6. Stand on your piece of paper

Put the piece of paper on the floor and step on it. Consider choosing to fix the paper with some tape.
However, avoid putting paper on the carpet or any other surface that will be difficult to write on.
After that step down place your foot firmly on a piece of paper and trace the outline of your foot.
Certainly, remember to stand up straight with your foot on the paper.

7. Start drawing

Particularly if you have trouble touching your toes, it will be easier if you have a friend present to trace your foot for you.
Outline your foot all the way around. Holding the pencil perfectly vertically and perpendicular to the paper, trace the foot’s perimeter as closely as possible without angling the pencil in or out. 
As noted above, it’s okay to wear socks, but don’t wear shoes. In a similar way you make a drawing of your other foot.

8. Measure the length of your feet

Use the ruler or measuring tape to measure the outline from the back/central part of the heel to the end of the longest toe. (usually the big toe, but depends on the foot)
You can trace your foot a few times for more accurate results.
Accordingly, write down the measurement.

9. Find your width fitting by drawing

Using a soft tape measure or string, measure the circumference (in mm) around your foot at the widest point, usually where your toe joints meet your foot (see diagram right >). Refer to the tables below to find the correct width fitting for your shoe size.

10. Find your width fitting with measuring tape

Measure the length of the foot across the widest part of the foot (usually across the ball of the foot), with your foot flat on the floor. Write down the measurement. The importance of a correct width for your shoes? Read it here.

11. Determine your size in the conversion charts

Compare your foot measurements to the measurements on our shoe length chart for men , shoe length chart for women to find the number that corresponds to your shoe length.
Compare your foot measurements to our shoe width chart for Men and shoe width chart for women to find the letter(s) corresponding to your foot width.

How to use a Brannock device explained

Measure your feet size, length and with is easy to with a Brannock Device

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