The shoe fit checker

Part 1: paper and pencil

Trace and measure

You need paper, tape, a pen and a ruler or tape measure. Print this page and the steps come with you.

1. 01. Set up in the evening

   Feet swell through the day, so trace after a normal day on them. Tape a sheet of paper to a hard floor so it cannot slide; add a second sheet lengthways if your foot is longer than the page.

2. 02. Stand, do not sit

   Stand on the paper with your full weight on that foot, knee slightly bent, wearing the socks you would wear in the shoes. Weight-bearing feet are longer and wider than lifted ones.

3. 03. Trace with the pen vertical

   Hold a pen or pencil straight up and down, not angled under the foot, and trace all the way around. An angled pen shaves millimetres off every edge.

4. 04. Measure length

   Draw a straight line from the back of the heel outline to the tip of the longest toe outline; that is your foot length in millimetres. The longest toe is not always the big toe.

5. 05. Measure width

   Measure straight across the widest part of the outline, usually across the ball of the foot.

6. 06. Repeat on the other foot

   Nearly everyone has one longer foot. Trace both, and shop for the larger one; the smaller foot can be snugged with lacing, the larger one cannot grow room.