How to Measure Shoe Size – Shoe Size Guide

According to a recent study, 80% of men are wearing the wrong size shoes in the UK – are you one of them?

Choosing the wrong shoe size can cause serious foot problems like calluses, corns, bunions, and blisters. The good news is that it’s easily avoidable.

Yet despite this factor, millions of men around the UK still aren’t 100% sure what their actual shoe size is.

To help keep your feet happy and stop you from tiptoeing around the situation, we’ve put together a simple shoe size guide on how to easily determine your proper shoe size.

How to measure shoe size:

1. Get a piece of paper and put it on the floor.

2. Sit down and place your foot on the paper. It’s worth keeping a pair of your regular socks on to get the best idea of how big you need your shoes to be.

3. Get a pen or pencil and trace around your foot.

4. Using a ruler, draw a straight line on the edges of your foot, including the toes, the side, and your heel.

5. Next, measure the length and width of your foot. Use the ruler to calculate the inches between the two parallel lines on the adjacent lines on either side of your foot – both top to bottom and side to side.

6. To accommodate a bit of natural space between your foot and the straight lines, subtract 3/16ths of an inch from each number. (Use a calculator if working this out gives you a headache!)

7. Once you have the figure, use the figures below to see what your actual shoe size is.

• Size 6: 9" or 22.5 cm

• Size 6.5: 9 3/16" or 23 cm

• Size 7: 9 5/16" or 23.5 cm

• Size 7.5: 9 1/2" or 23.8 cm

• Size 8: 9 11/16" or 24.1 cm

• Size 8.5: 9 13/16" or 24.6 cm

• Size 9: 10" or 25.1 cm

• Size 9.5: 10 3/16" or 25.4 cm

• Size 10: 10 5/16" or 25.9 cm

• Size 10.5: 10 1/2" or 26.2 cm

• Size 11: 10 11/16" or 26.7 cm

• Size 11.5: 10 13/16" or 27.1 cm

• Size 12: 11" or 27.6 cm

Tying things up

When it comes to establishing your right shoe size, the important thing to remember is that every brand is different. And if you’re ever torn between two sizes, always go for the larger option for comfort. If you are purchasing from a notable brand or retailer, they should be able to provide a shoe size chart or shoe size guide for the particular shape of footwear you are interested in.

Each last is different (for more information on what a last is, find out more here.) and therefore each size is different. Find out from the brand which last they have used for their product and seek a shoe size guide to determine your best fitting.

Now you know your shoe size, you might be interested in seeing our new range of men’s Oxford shoes here. As recommended by the designer of Percy Stride footwear Danielle when shopping for our Oxford shoes it is always recommended to opt for the size below (especially if you are a half size!) The oxfords tend to come up a little larger than the conventional. However, if opting for our Monk shoes, please opt for a size larger.

This is our shoe size guide for Percy Stride Oxfords for your reference.

(Above: Percy Stride Size Guide for Oxford range last 107F)

(Above: Percy Stride Size Guide for Chukka range)

If you suffer from a foot condition that affects your shoe size needs please see our FREE foot care guides available here. We have looked at conditions such as Wide/Narrow feet as well as diabetes, arthritis, and plantar fasciitis.