How should new shoes fit?

[Tensomoko]

Hey guys just ordered some Florsheim Canfield's black captoe bluchers from amazon, I bought a 10.5 D and find them snug... not uncomfortably so, but enough that I would need a shoe horn, whereas when I've tried an 11D in stores they seem a tad loose. Just wondering what the general consensus is for new shoes, if they need to be a bit snug so that they can be broken in or if they should feel nice and roomy at the get go.

 

[Drydis Greis]

Originally Posted by Tensomoko

Hey guys just ordered some Florsheim Canfield's black captoe bluchers from amazon, I bought a 10.5 D and find them snug... not uncomfortably so, but enough that I would need a shoe horn, whereas when I've tried an 11D in stores they seem a tad loose. Just wondering what the general consensus is for new shoes, if they need to be a bit snug so that they can be broken in or if they should feel nice and roomy at the get go.

You should always use a shoe horn! Do your toes feel like they are cramped, does it hurt to walk in them? When you walk, does the widest part of the shoe equal the widest part of your foot? -- you'll have to forgive me there, I don't yet have all the technical words down...I will, soon enough!

Oh yah!, a photo would go a long way. Your foot in the shoe; that would be helpful. The creases will help to show how the foot fits.

 

[binge]

I prefer snug over loose, especially at the start.

Really though, all my shoes have loosened a bit over time. The difference between snug and uncomfortably tight is up to you.

 

[harburn]

Snug initially works. Avoid loose.

 

[Bartolo]

This is why shopping in a real store vs online is preferrable. One can try on two sizes and buy the right one.

 

[Tensomoko]

I tried on the exact same shoes in store....and the one up felt a little loose.

 

[Mathew J]

I have just sold a pair of shoes that were tight in the sides, they ripped apart my back heel on the right side and the top of one of my toes...ouch.

Then I also have shoes which are a bit big and always feel loose...

Between the two I would take the latter, but if you can get them to be somewhat comfortable at the outset, possible just a little tight then that would be best as they will stretch/break in wheras shoes that are big will just feel bigger with time.

 

[superego]

Originally Posted by Tensomoko

I tried on the exact same shoes in store....and the one up felt a little loose.

You're probably fine with the 10.5 then. I presume though that you mean the 11 feels loose lengthwise, yes?

 

[Ataturk]

The shoes ain't going to loosen up much. And there's nothing more uncomfortable than a pair of shoes that are too tight. I think you'd do better to get the slightly bigger pair and go with inserts if they're loose.

 

[Smudge]

Originally Posted by Tensomoko

Hey guys just ordered some Florsheim Canfield's black captoe bluchers from amazon, I bought a 10.5 D and find them snug... not uncomfortably so, but enough that I would need a shoe horn, whereas when I've tried an 11D in stores they seem a tad loose. Just wondering what the general consensus is for new shoes, if they need to be a bit snug so that they can be broken in or if they should feel nice and roomy at the get go.

Sounds like you have bought the right size (ie snug without being uncomfortable / painful). Don't forget to put some conditioner on your news shoes, it will help with the breaking-in process and extend the life of your shoes too.

 

[hymo]

Eduard Meier, the German shoemaker, says something about being able to slide at least 1.5 cm lengthwise and being able to "play piano" with your toes with the shoe on, and have the circumference around the arch of your feet cosetted as if a sports band was placed there.

 

[JayJay]

I like snug but not tight, and definitely not loose.

 

[hth2002]

Were you wearing the same pair of socks in the store, when you tried on the pair from Amazon.com? Thicker socks will affect fit.

What do you mean by loose and tight? Do the tight areas in the 10D feel just right in the 11 d, and other areas feel loose? This may indicate that a particular last is not right for you in any size.

 

[DWFII]

Fit is subjective...entirely. Shoemakers know that it is only half the battle to fit a customer's foot...you must also fit his head. Even between makers fit is subject to what the maker thinks fit is. In such circumstances it is easy to get a half dozen different answers and a great deal of certainty from those espousing them. But I like to apply a bit of logic and "science" whenever I can: The human foot is one of the most architecturally complex structures in nature. It supports, distributes, and controls weight and mass all out of proportion to its own dimensions. Some authorities claim there are five arches in the foot, certainly there are two critical ones, and a number of joints and ligaments and mechanical relationships that one ignores at one's own peril. On the medial side of the foot there is a long arch. Functionally, it begins at the back of the heel (the calcaneous) and ends at the medial ball joint. It distributes the weight of the body from point of impact to the toes. The length of the foot from the back of the heel to the medial ball joint (sometimes called the shank length) is the critical length measurement on any foot. If a customer is not fit in the shank, he is not fit at all. The shank length determines where the foot bends. The foot bends along one, relatively narrow line from the medial ball joint to the lateral ball joint. We call this the "tread line." When a shoemaker measures up a customer and subsequently models the foot, the last that is created "sockets" the medial ball joint at a very specific point within the shoe. Done correctly and judiciously there is only one point on the last and in the shoe that corresponds with the medial ball joint and the treadline. Just one. The shoe, if built with care and an eye to quality, will have a leather insole that is intended to form to the bottom of the foot. The moisture and heat from the foot will cause this to happen and in a relatively short time the topography inside the shoe will be as idiosyncratic as a fingerprint. We call this the "footbed." It is a good thing--a very good thing. If the shoe purchased is too long (or too short) for the foot, the respective shanks and treadlines (on the foot and on the last) will not match--the shoe will not function as it is intended...and neither will the foot! Some makers recommend that the foot be able to slide forward in the shoe...the width of a pencil or a centimeter or so. If the recommendation is meant to be in effect when the shoe is laced up, I would view it with a great deal of suspicion and doubt. Such sliding will prevent the foot from ever finding its "home" in the shoe. All the same issue arise when considering width as well. There is another arch that runs across the foot just behind the treadline. This is known as the metatarsal arch. If a shoe is too narrow...so that the metatarsal heads cannot find their proper and natural positions...the bones will tend to rub against each other and inflame the ganglia between them. If the shoe is too wide, any footbed that might develop becomes indeterminate at best, simply because the foot is rattling around inside the shoe like a ping pong ball in a galvanized trash can. Girth measurements and heel seat widths are nearly as important. But the bottom line is that there is very little leeway in fit. You are either fit or you are not. Period. It is seldom...perhaps verging on a contemporary miracle...that RTW or "off the shelf" footwear truly fits the foot. It is perhaps true that most folks feel like they get a satisfactory fit with RTW shoes and experience no real discomfort. But structural damage to the foot...like structural damage to a great bridge...takes place over a long time and will almost certainly become irreversible if ignored. The shoe should fit like a glove--with no pain nor discomfort but no slack or surplus, either.

 

[4realyo]

In my experience, if it doesn't feel comfortable from day one, I will not buy them.

The shoes that worked out for me in the long run always felt good immediately. I don't believe in a "work-in" period for good shoes.