Have I been wearing my shoes at the wrong size?
I went to Allen Edmond over the weekend and he measured me at an 11.5 E
I usually wear shoes at 13, though that is often to account for width, I'm sure I could wear a 12 wide. I tried on the 11.5 D, and they were incredibly tight, then the 11.5 E and it was better in ball of my foot, but still constricting, then when I asked about a 12 wide, he said I measured your foot, it says your an 11.5. Am I wrong? Was he wrong? Do Allen Edmonds measure shoes differently? For context, the 13's apply to both sneakers and dress shoes, I have even tried on narrower brands like Vans and Converse and found that they aren't wide enough even in a 13.
7 Replies
Measurement aside you should wear the ones that feel most comfortable and aren’t giving you heel slip or anything like that, different lasts will fit different feet differently and you will have to size differently in different models very often, brannock size is a good point to start from but it’s not a guarantee on what will fit you
Different shoes will just fit differently. I measure 8.5D US on a brannock device but my running shoes are size 10s and my "fashion" footwear ranges from 7.5 up to 8.5 depending
Also worth noting that store associates are often untrained, and the common shoe stores like redwing or AE are lamented for having people that are awful at reading brannocks.
Best thing to do is post brannock pics over on r/goodyearwelt, and a kind boot nerd will advise
Also you should have asked for EE or EEE for width. They may or may not have it in stock. That said, going a half size up to accommodate width isn't the sin some people say it is. It's the subpar choice but sometimes it's just hard to find the precise right size ... the real proof of the pudding is in the eating and the real proof of the shoe is in the wearing. If you can walk five miles in it without killing the shoe or your feet, repeatably, it's probably adequate, at a modest price point.
👋 Kind boot nerd here! I'm no ChineseBroccoli size guru but I can read brannocks
Samesies! I mostly hang out in Stitchdown tho - I miss broccoli’s brannock divination immensely.
I'll definitely keep that in mind next time I go shoe shopping, to check out a different brannock device and post it