How do I Convert Shoe Size?

There are lots of different ways to convert shoe size, and many countries measure their shoes differently. Some of the common measurements people might see are European, often abbreviated as Euro, UK, and US. There’s also the challenge of converting women’s to men’s sizes in each of these countries.

To start, it’s actually not too hard to convert shoe size from women’s to men’s in the US. Men’s shoe sizes are approximately 1.5 sizes larger than women’s. The woman, who wears a size 10, would look for an 8.5 in men’s. Men who wear any style of women’s shoes may want to buy a size 1.5 sizes higher than they would ordinarily wear. The man who wears an 11 would have to look for a 13.5 size in a woman’s shoe, a difficult but not impossible task. In Euro sizing this difference is about two sizes apart, but the shoes don’t advance equally in measurement.

This brings up an important point. A lot of the time, converting sizes can take some work and it isn’t a simple matter of measuring. Instead, people are usually best off by looking at comparative sizing charts to determine which size is likely to fit best. There are several places to find these charts, which can make it easy to convert shoe size.

First, check online, especially at shoe stores that have lots of selection. Stores like Zappos®, for instance, feature sizing charts for Euro to US, Denmark to US, and Germany to US. Note that Denmark and Germany are both in Europe, but they each have sizing charts that are different. This isn’t too hard to understand when people consider the huge variation that can exist in the same size of different brands of American shoes.

Another extremely useful website that can easily convert shoe size from Euro, Japan, England and the US is the WolframAlpha® site. It will perform computations, in addition to giving approximate inch measurements of foot and last. Try inputting US Women’s’ Size 10 Shoe or any other size for the best results.

When shopping online for shoes, pay attention to the possible size conversions. Most retailers now know they serve a global marketplace, and they usually provide instant conversions. In stores that sells shoes from around the world, a good salesperson should be able to convert shoe size immediately so that he/she brings out good-fitting shoes for the customer. Salespeople should also be able to inform customers about each brand and style’s fit or sizing peculiarities.