Shoe Size Converter

There is no international standard for shoe sizes, and that is not a caveat tucked at the bottom — it is the most important thing on this page. UK and US sizes both derive from the barleycorn, a third of an inch, but count from different starting points, which is why they differ by roughly one for men and two for women. EU sizes use the Paris point, two thirds of a centimetre, measured on the last rather than the foot. The three scales do not align exactly, and manufacturers then deviate from all of them by half a size in either direction as a matter of routine.

So the foot length in centimetres is the only figure that means anything. Use it to check against a brand's own size chart, which most publish, rather than assuming your usual number transfers. Two pairs marked UK 9 from different makers genuinely are different sizes.

The centimetre figure in the table is your foot, not the inside of the shoe. Add roughly a centimetre of room in front of the longest toe when comparing against a manufacturer's internal length.

Measure in the evening. Feet swell over the course of a day by a noticeable amount, and a shoe fitted first thing can be uncomfortable by six. Measure both feet too — they differ in most people, and you fit the larger one.

Children's sizing deserves its own warning: feet grow in unpredictable bursts rather than steadily, and the gap between whole sizes is small. Measure before each purchase rather than extrapolating from the last pair.