How to Choose the Right Shoe Size When Buying Online

Measure your foot length and width at home, compare it against the brand's specific size chart rather than assuming your usual size, and size up slightly if you're between two sizes — get those three things right and buying shoes online becomes genuinely reliable instead of a guessing game. Here's exactly how to do it, especially important when ordering handmade or made-to-order leather shoes.

Why Shoe Sizing Isn't Actually Standardized

This is the root of most online sizing frustration: a "size 10" from one brand can be genuinely different from a "size 10" from another. Every shoemaker builds shoes around a last — the physical mold the shoe is shaped over — and lasts vary in length, width, toe shape, and instep height from maker to maker. Your usual size in one brand is a reasonable starting guess for another, but it's not a guarantee, especially with handmade or smaller-batch footwear where lasts differ more than they do across mass-market brands.

How to Measure Your Foot Properly

What you'll need: a sheet of paper, a pencil, a ruler or measuring tape, and a flat, hard surface.

1. Trace your foot. Place the paper on the floor against a wall. Stand on it with your full weight, keeping the pencil upright and close to your skin as you trace the outline.
2. Measure the length. Measure from the tip of your longest toe to the back of your heel.
3. Measure the width. Mark the widest points across the ball of your foot, then measure the distance between those two points.
4. Measure both feet. It's genuinely normal for one foot to be slightly larger — always order based on your larger foot's measurements.
5. Measure standing, not sitting. Your foot spreads slightly under your full body weight, so measuring while standing gives a more accurate real-world size than measuring while seated.

Comparing Your Measurement to a Size Chart

Once you have your measurement in centimeters or inches, compare it against the specific brand's size chart — not a generic universal chart, since sizing genuinely varies between makers. If your measurement falls between two sizes on the chart, sizing up is generally the safer choice for leather shoes specifically, since leather softens and gives slightly with wear, while a too-small shoe rarely becomes comfortable no matter how long you wear it.

Special Considerations for Handmade and Made-to-Order Shoes

Handmade shoes, including ours, are often built to a Standard Universal Width rather than offering multiple width options the way some mass-market brands do. This matters for a few reasons:

• If you have notably wide or narrow feet, standard width sizing may not account for that automatically
• Contacting the maker directly with your exact measurements before ordering is genuinely worth doing if you're at all unsure, especially for a made-to-order pair that can't simply be swapped after significant wear
• Bespoke or custom-fit options, where available, can solve sizing concerns that a standard chart can't fully address

Common Sizing Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming your size is universal across brands. The single biggest cause of online sizing disappointment — always check the specific chart rather than relying on memory of a different brand's size.

Measuring while seated. This can understate your true foot length by a meaningful margin, since your foot doesn't spread the same way it does under full standing weight.

Ignoring width entirely. Length is only half the picture — a shoe that's the right length but too narrow or too wide will still feel wrong, regardless of what the size label says.

Assuming break-in will fix a genuinely wrong size. Some initial stiffness in new leather is normal and resolves with wear. A shoe that's actually the wrong size doesn't become comfortable no matter how long you wear it — that's a fit problem, not a break-in problem.

What to Do If You're Still Unsure

Reach out to the seller directly with your exact measurements before ordering, particularly for made-to-order leather shoes where returns and exchanges take real time. A quick message before you buy is almost always faster and less frustrating than dealing with a poor fit after the fact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I size up or down if I'm between two sizes? Generally size up for leather shoes, since leather softens slightly with wear, while an undersized shoe rarely becomes comfortable regardless of break-in time.

Why do my measurements not match my usual shoe size? Sizing varies between brands because of differences in the last (the mold each shoe is built around) — your usual size is a helpful starting reference, not a guarantee across every brand.

Does shoe width matter as much as length? Yes — a shoe that's the correct length but wrong width will still feel uncomfortable, so measure and check both before ordering.

What should I do if I have unusually wide or narrow feet? Contact the seller directly with your exact measurements before ordering, especially for handmade or made-to-order shoes built to a standard width rather than multiple width options.

Before you order, check our full size guide and chart, or reach out through our contact page if you're unsure — we're genuinely happy to help you get the right fit.