Hi everyone. It’s Justine. Some weeks ago, I did a video to help you
find out your foot shape. The next logical question is: how to find
shoes that will fit you? Not all shoes fit everyone: e.g. if you have
a square foot, you'll notice that when you wear sandals, your little toe is outside of
the shoe? When you’re shopping for shoes, 4 things
matter: the size, the toe shape, the width & the arch.
Let’s start with the size. If I am a shoe size 39 in Europe and my foot
is 25cm long, then I am a size 5 ½ or 6 in the UK, I am a size 7 ½ or 8 in the US for
regular shoes, but for athletic shoes I am a size 8. Because American sneakers don’t
use the same gap between 2 sizes than regular American shoes. No idea how they ended up
in this situation. If you buy sneakers from a European brand,
you will need the same size for the sneakers as you do for your regular shoes. It makes a bit more sense from a consumer's perspective.
And then in Japan, I would be a size 25. Completely different scale. It is completely confusing, but you can screenshot
that chart for when you shop for shoes online & you’ll have a better idea of which size
you need, depending on which brand you're ordering from. Now… That’s the official range, usually
used for mass production, by brands that sell internationally.
But sometimes, you’ll go to a shop and try on a smaller brand, in your usual size, and you’ll find out that
you suddenly need to go 2 sizes down… because that brand calculated its sizes “creatively”.
So the only rule here is to try on, standing and walking, not just seated.
And make sure to try on both feet, because everyone of us has one foot bigger and wider
than the other one.
Then let’s talk about the shape around the toes.
We have 5 main foot shapes: Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Square and Germanic.
If you don’t know which foot shape you have, watch my previous video right there, I linked
it for you, and then come back here. Each type of shoe is designed for a specific
foot shape.
Sandals so shoes with open toes. Sandals are great for: Greek feet. If you
look at a sandal from above, the longest point of the sole is not where the big toe is, it
is where the second toe is. On a Greek foot, that’s the longest toe.
A Roman foot will be happy in sandals, as well.
If you have an Egyptian foot, you will have a lot of empty space, but it doesn’t hurt.
Square & Germanic feet won’t feel comfortable. In your case, consider looking for wider sandals,
to have enough space for your foot width.
Sneakers, for athletic purposes or for leisure. Sneakers are usually designed for square feet,
because they are the widest shape. Since they are closed shoes, they need to fit virtually
“everyone”. So they are also good for Germanic feet, which
are similar. Egyptian, Greek and Roman feet will feel like
the shoes are too big. I have Greek feet myself and when I try on sneakers,
I always wonder if I shouldn’t go one size down, because my toes are swimming…
However, many sneaker brands are bringing back retro designs, from past decades: these
are a lot narrower – so if you have the same issue as I do, look into retro sneakers.
Pointy shoes, with or without heels. Pointy shoes are made for Greek feet… and
only really fit Greek feet. Roman feet will be so-so comfortable. Same
for Egyptian feet. Square feet and Germanic feet will suffer,
big time. Let's say that's your shoe, that's the end of the toes. If you add heels, it creates extra pressure,
pushing your foot forward like this, where your foot is the widest, so your big toe is gonna be pushed towards the others. And over time, that results in what you know as a bunion,
which is a deformation of your big toe (leaning towards the others) and it can get very painful
as you get older. Pointy shoes are pretty BUT please don’t
spend hours in high pointy heels. Instead, consider shoes with a square toe or a rounded
toe area, like ballerinas, Mary-Jane’s, Chelsea boots... There are more.
Talking about boots. Boots are a bit like sneakers, they are meant
for “everyone”. Great for square & Germanic feet.
OK as well for Egyptian, Greek and Roman feet. How comes boots work for "everyone"? They are usually very round at
the front, and extremely wide.
On top of the shape, you need to look at the width of a shoe.
In general, you have 3 widths: Narrow, Medium and Wide.
It is measured at your foot’s widest point, on this horizontal line. But mass-produced
shoes are made with a medium width, and that’s it.
So if your foot is narrower or wider than the average, look into higher quality show-making brands
like Clarks, for instance. They let you choose the size and the width. But that means a lot
of inventory for the company. And then there is a new kind of online shop,
like Shoes of Prey, it's one that I discovered through YouTube because the founder has a YouTube channel, where you design your shoe, you choose the heel height, the toe
shape, the color, the width, etc. and they produce exactly that for you. I love the idea,
it gives you more options as a customer.
And then we have the arch inside the shoe. The arch of your foot is very personal, everyone’s
is different. In the past, shoes were designed with a cushion
under the heel and a built-in arch. Now to simplify, the inside sole is usually
flat. Which is not comfortable, especially in the case of ballerinas that are so flat.
So the best option is to add your own insole. One that fits your arch, supports the foot
and protects the heel. These are mine. They are made for my foot
and I wear them especially in flat shoes, including in my sports shoes when I work out,
to make sure my feet stand steady and my ankles straight.
It’s really worth the investment.
I have 2 further videos about shoes: one where I explain all the different types
of shoes, and one where I show you how to judge whether
shoes are of good quality or not. I will link those here in the corner, and
in the description below, if you are interested. Thumbs up if you enjoyed this video and if
you like shoes as much as I do! Thanks a lot! I will see you in the next video: don’t
forget to subscribe to my channel. Bye!