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Footwear_Jan10_p22_24:Footwear_Jan10_p22_24 21/12/2009 13:49 Page 22
Foot Health
Well, it does when it comes to shoes! At Footwear
Today we find when we are sent shoes to road test
Does size matter?
that a size 10 from one manufacturer can be size nine
or size 11 from another manufacturer. Half sizes aren’t
available in continental shoes, which only
exacerbates the problem. We pitched some questions
to Laura West, Secretary of the Society of Shoe
Fitters, to find out her views:
Q: On what is the shoe sizing system in this country based?
A: The English size scale was based on barleycorns – but even barleycorns
can be different sizes! Both English and Continental sizing are
predominantly used in the UK, and because of the number of imports
having overtaken British manufacture, continental sizes are now the most
commonly used size scale.
If you are a retailer the benefit of continental sized shoes means less
stock, therefore less money on the shelf, as some sizes may cover an
English whole and half size. However, for the comfort of the public this
is not so good. The greater the choice of sizes, width fittings, brands etc.
the greater chance of finding a shoe that is comfortable and fits well.
and their idiosyncrasies!
There is no standardisation of shoe sizing in the UK, which is a good
The size scale is almost immaterial as most suppliers’ gauges are
thing. Feet are not standard – they are highly individual.
calibrated to suit the manufacturers lasts. The Society of Shoe Fitters
Q: Is it a measurement and what is the measurement based on? I remember
uses Brannock devices and we chose a continental size scale for our junior
when I was young going into shoe shops (I think Clarks were good) and
gauge, and English scale for the adults gauge. Why? Because if retailers
having my feet measured in a device that measured the length and breadth
are selling children’s shoes in English sizes they are probably selling Clarks
of my foot.
or Start-rite and they can provide their stockists with their own gauges
calibrated for their footwear. It is the shops that want to fit correctly but
A:
only selling continental children’s shoes, that needed a device to guide
There is no substitute for a simple measuring gauge - which is merely
them. However we believe in English full and half sizes and various width
a guide to a qualified fitter with an expert and experienced eye. Over the
fittings, and disagree they are unnecessary and only appear in expensive
years suppliers have tried all sorts of gadgets to make the process look
shoes – far from it, which is why we provide the adult gauge in English
more professional and slick by introducing machines of different shapes
sizing.
and sizes, x-rays, lasers etc., but this is a marketing tool, as opposed to
Unfortunately people are hung up about size – which is hardly
need or necessity. The gauge or size guide is merely a starting point and
surprising when every celebrity magazine feels obliged to comment on
a size stick and tape does the job if teamed with the knowledge of shoes
the size and shape of everyone they feature! They know nothing about the
content of the person, simply what they look like, and shoes are treated
in the same way. Shoes are today’s celebrities – the public know nothing
about them other than what is fashion and what is not, but do not
appreciate what goes into designing them, how they are constructed, what
materials are used and why, and the importance of fit and how they are
the only item of clothing/covering that can seriously damage your
physiology.
It is the obsession with eternal youth, tomorrow never comes, so they
don’t care or are not aware of what they are doing to their bodies just by
simply buying the wrong shape shoes for their feet. Many retailers can be
categorised in the same way. If shoe shops were more responsible and
trained staff professionally, or the government stepped in to ensure that
shops selling shoes did so responsibly and ethically, it would save the
NHS a fortune and there would not be the need for more than 10,000
chiropodists in the UK as there is at present!
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FOOTWEAR TODAY

JANUARY 2010 www.footweartoday.co.uk
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