Finding your size

A size 39 is a convention, not a measurement. What feels like a 39 in a Chelsea boot can be generous in a sandal and tight in a narrow loafer. The number on the box tells you less about the fit than the shape of the shoe does – and that differs from model to model.

Which is why we find centimetre charts of limited use. It is more useful to know how our ranges actually wear.

Which models run narrower?

Feedback and exchanges from our customers point clearly to three ranges that sit closer than the rest of the collection. If you are between sizes, take the larger one here.

CHIUSI · CAM · BIRDIE

On the product pages of these models the note sits directly above the size selection. For every other range you can stay with the size you usually wear.

Which size for ankle boots, sandals, sneakers and loafers?

Ankle boots and boots are worn across months in which socks get thicker. A shaft also barely widens – unlike an open shoe, which gives over time. When in doubt, the larger size. How a Chelsea boot wears is covered in our Chelsea boot guide.

Sandals and mules work the other way. Your foot should sit on the sole rather than overhang it, and open styles soften and widen as you wear them. Here the smaller size is usually right – except in CHIUSI and CAM, which are cut close to begin with.

Sneakers, loafers and ballerinas fit in your usual size. In closed styles without a fastening a little room wears more comfortably than a tight fit: the foot needs space to move forward as you walk.

Does leather stretch – and by how much?

Real leather adapts. It gives across the width, moulds around the ball of the foot and takes on your contour after a few days. What it does not do is grow in length. A shoe that touches at the front will not get longer – it stays too short, and you notice by the second hour.

A leather-lined style may sit snugly on the first day, but nothing should press. The difference between "holds firmly" and "presses" is the one that matters.

Should you order two sizes?

In short: Usually not – trying a single size calmly is more reliable.

The idea is an obvious one: order two sizes, compare them directly, send one back. In practice it often backfires. Side by side, the smaller size feels too tight and the larger too loose, because there is no reference point – and both end up going back.

A single size is more reliable: tried on calmly at home, on carpet, worn for a few minutes. If it is not right, you exchange it. Shipping and returns are free with us.

How do you know a shoe fits?

It fits when the heel is held without rubbing – a slight lift when walking is normal in new shoes and disappears. When the widest part of your foot meets the widest part of the shoe, not before and not after. And when there is room at the front: noticeable, but no more than that.

Unsure about a particular model? Write to us – we will tell you how it fits and which size our customers kept.