Shoe fit for a "roman" foot shape

[eiton]

I originally posted this on r/malefashionadvice but really wanted some more discussion about the subject rather than it just being buried in a daily questions thread.

TLDR: Is it strange for a shoe two sizes bigger than your brannock measurement to be the "correct" fit?


For the last few years, I've been wearing various different "barefoot" shoes. I like the roomy toe box that most of them have. The feeling of having the movement in my toes, specifically my little toe, restricted drives me crazy.

I've tried on dress shoes in wide widths and they didn't seem to adequately solve the problem. My heel and mid foot would slosh around and my toes would be nearly as squished as they were before. This drove me to wearing barefoot shoes exclusively.

For most not too formal occasions, I've been getting away with wearing Vivo Ababas without looking too overly goofy. I've got an event coming up in the near future where some real dress shoes would be a good idea so I started trying to research my problem.

I learned the shape of my foot, where my toes are, is very similar to the "roman" foot shape. The taper you see on the toe box of most shoes pushes against my toes sooner than it would for most other people.

Foot shape reference Notice how the angle of the slope from big toe to little toe is much more shallow for the Roman shape.

I also learned that I should try buying shoes based on trying to have the widest part of my foot match up with the widest part of the shoe, ignoring the overall length to some degree.

I went to the shoe store today to experiment with that idea a little bit.

I measured my foot on a brannock device and found that I was an 8 with normal width.

• I tried on a pair of oxfords in 8.5. Super tight in the toes and not remotely comfortable. All other areas were more or less fine.
• I try another pair in 9. The constricted movement in my toes is still uncomfortable. I try a different brand of shoes but similar style. Same problem.
• I try a 9.5. This feels a lot better but there's still a little more squeezing of my toes than I would like. I try a different brand and get a similar result. At this point, I wanted to try a 9.5 wide but there wasn't any available.
• I try a 10. These feel good. When the shoes are tied, my heel and midfoot are relatively secure and I have just enough room to comfortably wiggle my toes a little bit. I tried a different brand of shoes and got a similar result.

The widest part of my foot appears to align pretty closely to the widest part of the shoe. There's not any weird pinching or folding of leather as I walk around.

There's a pretty significant gap between my big toe and the end of the shoe. Somewhere around 1.5 inches, maybe more.

Considering the shape of my toes and the actual feel while wearing the shoes, does this sound like a correct fit? It sounds odd to be going with something that is two sizes larger than what the (imperfect) measuring device tells me.

I also tried on different tennis shoes and casual shoes while I was there and found similar positive results with 9.5/10's. I typically wear 8.5 or 9 in most of my different wide toe box barefoot shoes.

 

[FirstFormula]

I have wide feet and similarly to you, I hate my toes being constricted. For me, it even extends to socks. I hate having socks pull at the ends of my toes. It’s difficult to explain and certainly doesn’t sound rational.

Anyhow. Fit isn’t just about one part of the shoe - it’s about all of it. If you’re sizing up the risk is the back part of the shoe is too big and slips. If you’re overcoming that and not creating strange folds In the leather that pinch, I think you’ll be fine.

I find some of the more elegant Crockett and Jones lasts achieve that for me and they have quite narrow back parts.

Anyhow, you’re not going mad.

 

[dieworkwear]

It's difficult to assess someone's shoe fit or experience online since the person's foot is encased in a non-transparent thing. If you're able to get to a good shoe store, I recommend doing that. It's much easier for a professional to assess your fit in person. Once you get an idea of how shoes should fit, you can more easily assess them on your own and order things online.

If you have truly difficult feet, you can also go bespoke.

 

[whipcord]

I have the same foot shape. My big toe, 2nd and 3rd toe are all the same length, the 4th toe slightly shorter, then the little toe a lot shorter. What I have found is the 4th toe is the biggest problem, because it rubs in a lot of the almond shaped shoes and makes them uncomfortable. Even worse if the fact that I have zero pronation, yet the shoe shapes are trying to push my big toe in.

Based upon my foot shape and my horrible experiences with shoes over the years, I thought shoemakers must be idiots until I realized how differently shaped a lot of feet are, and that mine were probably more rare than the ones which taper. Getting back to your sizing issues, the length of my left foot is probably an 11 to 11 1/2 Brannock, but my heel to ball is a 12 1/2. My toes are short for the length of my foot. So, I need to fit the arch and ball more than the length.

Most of my shoes have to have an inch extra in length in order to be comfortable in the toe box. I can't buy wide because the volume is such that I could never lace the shoe up tight enough. So, I feel your pain.

 

[eiton]

I have the same foot shape. My big toe, 2nd and 3rd toe are all the same length, the 4th toe slightly shorter, then the little toe a lot shorter. What I have found is the 4th toe is the biggest problem, because it rubs in a lot of the almond shaped shoes and makes them uncomfortable. Even worse if the fact that I have zero pronation, yet the shoe shapes are trying to push my big toe in.

Based upon my foot shape and my horrible experiences with shoes over the years, I thought shoemakers must be idiots until I realized how differently shaped a lot of feet are, and that mine were probably more rare than the ones which taper. Getting back to your sizing issues, the length of my left foot is probably an 11 to 11 1/2 Brannock, but my heel to ball is a 12 1/2. My toes are short for the length of my foot. So, I need to fit the arch and ball more than the length.

Most of my shoes have to have an inch extra in length in order to be comfortable in the toe box. I can't buy wide because the volume is such that I could never lace the shoe up tight enough. So, I feel your pain.

It sounds like you have feet pretty similar to mine. I was reading a little less than 10% of the population has a foot shaped like that.

I'm glad to see my idea of sizing up isn't so strange.

Out of curiosity, for casual shoes, have you ever tried any of the "barefoot" brands of shoes? My go to every day pair of casual shoes are Xero Prios and they have a nice and wide toe box without looking too strange like a lot of other barefoot shoes do.

 

[whipcord]

It sounds like you have feet pretty similar to mine. I was reading a little less than 10% of the population has a foot shaped like that.

I'm glad to see my idea of sizing up isn't so strange.

Out of curiosity, for casual shoes, have you ever tried any of the "barefoot" brands of shoes? My go to every day pair of casual shoes are Xero Prios and they have a nice and wide toe box without looking too strange like a lot of other barefoot shoes do.

I have never even heard of that brand. I will look into them. Here's a picture I just snapped of my foot. As you can see, it is not almond shaped like most shoes. The fact that my big toe does not move in towards the middle is an issue, too, because a lot of shoes try to force it that direction. It can hurt after a while.

 

[paxonus]

Take a look at brands that make a very round toe box such as Grant Stone or Alden.

 

[eiton]

Take a look at brands that make a very round toe box such as Grant Stone or Alden.

Thanks! I'll take a look.