What is the ideal shoe fitting?

[pcstyle]

Does anyone agree that the ideal shoe fitting as intended by the shoe maker is to match the balls of the feet to the maximum width of the shoes? If the shoe makers could tell people this measurement then we wouldn't have so much sizing problems.

 

[rohde88]

Yes that measurement is important, but people's toes are different lengths as well. Its also very difficult to measure the inside of a shoe width.

I may know my foot width, but not my preferred shoe width.

 

[recondite]

Based on personal experience with rented ski boots for last minute trip, a tight instep fit can created more discomfort and become even more painful than a tight fit across the ball of one's foot. YMMV

What is intriguing, is how an off the rack 12D can fit so differently across not only the ball and instep, but in length and heel fit. The size that fits well if not perfect with most J&M and Alden lasts at the ball of the foot is tight with AE despite the AE instep and heel cup being otherwise right on and positively ill fitting in every conceivable way with old well constructed Cole Hahn shoes built on any of their factory lasts.

Don't even get me started on the fits of European marques which are all over the map, enough to say one must be carefully fitted in the store before buying and even then, a marque may not offer any shoe that offers a satisfactory fit, as one experienced with Cole Hahn shoes from better than 25 years ago. With some makers, a bespoke shoe might be ones only option, it one insists on wearing the marque.

The lasts differ enough between shoe makers that two relative measurements really don't begin to describe the fit that one will experience with all other things being equal.

It almost makes one long for the days when a shoe store would offer a complimentary xray of one's feet to achieve a "proper" fit.

Does anyone agree that the ideal shoe fitting as intended by the shoe maker is to match the balls of the feet to the maximum width of the shoes? If the shoe makers could tell people this measurement then we wouldn't have so much sizing problems.

 

[pcstyle]

I was reading about the Brannock shoe measuring device and yes they do factor your toe length in determining the shoe size. I am so fustrated that the sizes for a maker can be different by 2 sizes or more as if there model feet is measure differently. I agree it is difficult to measure the location of the widest point to the inside for us, but the maker should be able to get that information easily. The length of the toe is important of course, but the shape of most today shoes should supports short, normal to long toes.

You look at a long toe shoe and you wonder if it fits you. Well it will fit if where the shoe is suppose to bend (widest point) aligns with the balls of your feet. Now it only becomes your decision to want this long toe shoes.