Chelsea boot fit

[joe_bloggs]

Better late than never (am now late 30s) I've just started my fashion journey and upgrading my look to a more smart/mature look. Out with the t-shirts and hoodies (apart from in the house) and swapped them for casual shirts and polos. As i'm a complete newb to this please forgive my below question if I'm being a bit naive.

My first purchase has been a pair of dark brown chelsea boots, normally I just wear canvas trainers so thought this would be a instant and easy upgrade to my style to wear with dark jeans. Believe it or not these are my first pair of boots I've ever owned apart from walking boots and am unsure of the fit. I'm a size 11 shoe and ordered a 10.5 to be on the safe side, however I can't help get over the fact they still feel a bit loose. Wearing thin socks I can just about wiggle my toes in them, there's about an inch from my big toe to the end of the boot. The biggest thing is if I lift my feet off the ground my heel lifts up from the sole of the boot. Is this normal for this type of boot without laces? Do you need to wear thicker socks with Chelsea's? Or do I need to go down half a size again to a size 10?

Hopefully I don't have to return them for a smaller size, they've since doubled in price from amazon and I don't think you can do straight swaps with them?

 

[breakaway01]

It is more difficult to get a great fit in a shoe/boot without laces (e.g. loafer or chelsea).

It's fine that there is space between your toes and the end of the boot. Think of shoes or boots with a more pointed toe -- of course you would expect there to be room between your toes and the front of the shoe.

A little heel lift (let's say a cm or less) isn't necessary bad on a new pair of shoes/boots, and often gets better with break in as the sole becomes more flexible. It really depends on how much heel lift we're talking about, and whether you get the sense that there is too much volume elsewhere in the boot (not in the front, but along the sides and over the top of your feet). It's hard to be more specific than that over the internet.

If the boot feels too large all around, I'd return or exchange them for a smaller size. If we're just talking about a little bit of volume to take up, you could try thicker socks and/or a thin insole. Sometimes the last (the model of the foot around which the shoe/boot is constructed) is just not a good match for your foot, and you'll never get a good fit in that particular shoe/boot no matter what size you try.

 

[joe_bloggs]

Thanks for taking the time to reply @breakaway01

I think the space at the end of the boot is about right, my big toe just touches the roof of the boot. Width wise I'd say they are also just right and also on top of my feet. I guess it's more around the heel and ankle area. The top of the boot around the ankle is quite loose this allows for my heel to lift about 1 inch I believe. Are chelsea boots always loose around the ankle/elasticated section or should they be tight fitting or maybe I've just got very thin ankles? I've got some insoles somewhere so I'll try them with some thicker socks see if that improves things thanks.

 

[breakaway01]

They shouldn’t be tight around the lower leg— in my experience the elastic is not doing all that much to hold the foot in the boot, rather it is the fit of the lower boot around the foot and heel.

 

[joe_bloggs]

They shouldn’t be tight around the lower leg— in my experience the elastic is not doing all that much to hold the foot in the boot, rather it is the fit of the lower boot around the foot and heel.

Brilliant thank you that's exactly what I needed to know. I tried a thicker pair of socks as well and they were much better, no heel rise at all. Will also give the insoles a go when I hunt them down. Looks like I'll be keeping them then. Honestly without your help I would have sent them back and given up on chelsea boots as I was assuming they should be a tight fit around the elasticated ankle part and that my ankles were just too thin for this type of boot.

 

[Salanizi]

Congrats on your purchase. I love chelsea boots and always have the same issue, i am wider in the ball of the foot, with thin heels - easiest fix was thicker socks, or since i hate insoles I had a cobbler stick a leather shim (very thin) on the upper side in the forefront of the boot - perfect fix

 

[joe_bloggs]

Congrats on your purchase. I love chelsea boots and always have the same issue, i am wider in the ball of the foot, with thin heels - easiest fix was thicker socks, or since i hate insoles I had a cobbler stick a leather shim (very thin) on the upper side in the forefront of the boot - perfect fix

Thanks for the advice. I have the same foot shape, much wider ball of the fit and much thinner heels. I'll look into having a cobbler add a shim if the thicker sock solution fails cheers.

 

[superlativecritic]

I want to ressurrect this thread rather than create a new one. I have exactly this problem: nice fitting around the toes, but loose around the ankles. There is a "heel slip" cushion that can be purchased that sticks to the counter and can make the fitting around the ankle more snug (effectively decreasing the size by 1/2 to 1). The trick is to place the cushion at the right height - it's supposed to sit just above the rounded part of the back of the heel.

I've just received my Grant Stone chelseas and was so disappointed to realize it was so loose around the ankles. I ordered these heel cushions that I think will work and should arrive today for me to try out.

 

[breakaway01]

I want to ressurrect this thread rather than create a new one. I have exactly this problem: nice fitting around the toes, but loose around the ankles. There is a "heel slip" cushion that can be purchased that sticks to the counter and can make the fitting around the ankle more snug (effectively decreasing the size by 1/2 to 1). The trick is to place the cushion at the right height - it's supposed to sit just above the rounded part of the back of the heel.

I've just received my Grant Stone chelseas and was so disappointed to realize it was so loose around the ankles. I ordered these heel cushions that I think will work and should arrive today for me to try out.

If the problem is that the heel cup is loose for your foot, I have not found this solution to be very helpful but YMMV of course. In my experience the cushion was not thick enough to take up enough room to prevent my heel from rising. What did work much better was a pad under the tongue to push the foot backward into the heel cup; I think same as what Salanizi described above.

 

[superlativecritic]

If the problem is that the heel cup is loose for your foot, I have not found this solution to be very helpful but YMMV of course. In my experience the cushion was not thick enough to take up enough room to prevent my heel from rising. What did work much better was a pad under the tongue to push the foot backward into the heel cup; I think same as what Salanizi described above.

wow. Thanks so much for this advice!! Thanks!

(I didn't understand his description, it sounded like something was added in the toe area which didn't make sense to me).