How to measure feet for wide fitting shoes

Finding a pair of shoes that are the perfect fit is a challenging process, especially if you have wide feet. Although plenty of brands sell specially designed wide fit footwear intended to keep those with broader feet comfortable, understanding how the sizing system works and the best methods of measuring your feet to ensure you purchase the right pair can be confusing. 

To help you find the ideal pair of shoes, boots, trainers or slippers, we have put together this handy guide that tells you everything you need to know about wide fit footwear. From advice on the best way to measure your own feet to guidance on understanding UK wide fit sizing, keep reading as we take a deep dive into this specialist form of footwear. 

How to measure your feet 

How to measure foot length

Once you are ready, follow the steps below to calculate your foot length. 

1)    Sit on a chair and place one foot on the piece of paper   

 2)    Ensuring you are holding the pencil vertically, trace around the outside of your foot, staying as close as possible to your skin without angling the point of the pencil inwards. There is no need to draw around each toe, as long as you mark around the outside of your longest toe. If you believe one foot is a different size to the other, repeat this process for both feet. 

 3)    Using your tape or ruler, measure the distance on the paper from the top of your longest toe to the bottom of your heel outline. Once this is done, note down the figure and subtract 0.2 inches (0.5cm) to account for the diameter of your pencil outline. The measurement you are left with is the length of your foot. 

Once you have your length measurement, you can then determine what standard UK shoe size may fit you best. To do this, simply take your measurements and see which UK shoe size they correspond to using our size guides below. 

How to measure foot width

If you have struggled to fit into standard shoe sizes in the past due to the width of your feet, it could be that you require a wide fit design. To measure the width of your foot, and to help determine if you require wide fit shoes, follow the simple steps below:

1)    Sit on a chair and wrap a flexible tape measure around the widest part of your foot. This is usually at the base of your toes.   

 2)    Without pulling the tape too tight, note down where one end of the tape measure meets the other. It’s a good idea to note down measurements in both centimetres and inches.   

 3)    Repeat this process on your other foot. If there is a difference in width between feet, we would advise taking the largest measurement as your foot width. 

What is a wide shoe size? 

What are the sizes for wide fitting shoes?