How to size leather shoes you cannot try on

Online footwear returns are almost always a sizing problem, not a quality problem. Fifteen minutes with a ruler removes most of the risk.

Measure at the end of the day, standing

Feet swell during the day and spread under body weight. Measuring in the morning while sitting down produces a number that is too small.

Stand on a sheet of paper with your heel against a wall. Wear the socks you intend to wear with the shoes. Have someone mark the tip of your longest toe while you are standing, or stand against the wall and mark the paper yourself with a straight edge.

Measure both feet. Use the larger one. Most people have a difference of 2 to 5 mm and it is normal.

For width, measure the widest part of the ball of your foot with a soft tape, keeping the tape flat against the floor and snug but not tight.

Convert length to a US size

Men's sizing in the United States runs roughly 8.5 inches for a size 8 and adds about a third of an inch per size. Rather than working from a conversion chart alone, use this rule: take your measured length in inches, and add 0.4 inches of clearance for the toes.

Write both numbers down. That clearance is the part people skip, and it is the reason a shoe that matches your measurement exactly feels tight after an hour of walking.

Then account for the last and the construction

Numbers are a starting point. Two shoes in the same nominal size can feel completely different, because the shape of the last changes everything.

• Round or almond toe, Blake-stitched: usually true to size, with a snug heel.
• Chiselled or tapered toe: often feels narrower; consider a half size up if your toes are wide.
• Welted boots: stiffer for the first weeks and typically roomier; most people take their normal size, not a size down.
• Unlined slip-ons: they stretch more than lined shoes. Take your normal size rather than sizing up.
• Chelsea boots with elastic gussets: the gusset holds the ankle, so the length is the only real variable.

Socks change the calculation. A thin dress sock versus a heavyweight wool sock is easily half a size of difference.

The three signals that you need to size up

If the shoe presses on the outside edge of your little toe, the last is too narrow; go up a half size or choose a wider fitting.

If your heel lifts more than about 5 mm while walking, the shoe is too long, not too short. That is a length problem, and it will rub.

If your longest toe touches the front while standing, you need more length. Even if it feels acceptable at rest, walking pushes the foot forward and you will lose toenails.

How to break leather shoes in

Wear them for an hour indoors on the first day, two hours on the second, then gradually outside. Leather moulds only while warm, so short repeated wears work better than one long one.

Use shoe trees after every wear while breaking in. Irish or waxed-calf leathers soften quickly; shell cordovan takes months. Do not use water or heat to speed this up. Both damage the fibre structure permanently.

What to send us

If you are ordering from us, send your measured length in inches, your width, and the size you wear in two or three pairs you already own. We will tell you which size to take, and if we get it wrong, unworn returns are free for 14 days.