Importance of Knowing Your Foot Shape
Jul 26 , 2021
Tags - Foot Shapes and Shoe Styles
The idea of buying shoes seems like an easy and simple idea - as long as the size is correct right?
Wrong.
How do you know you’re actually picking the right shoes for your foot shape?
Especially how shopping is shifting more and more online and you can’t physically try them on before you buy.
With this, choosing the right style, shape and size becomes a challenge and sometimes, we end up buying shoes that look great but are uncomfortable and cause pain and discomfort.
Consequently, if you pick the wrong shoes that don’t fit correctly then it could lead to serious problems later down the line.
Knowing Your Foot Shape
Everyone has different foot shapes.
Which means, not everyone will fit into the same shoes.
Consequently, buying the wrong shoe style for your foot shape will feel extremely uncomfortable, add pressure on your toes and cause problems such as bunions, blisters, hammertoe and more.
Generally speaking, foot shapes can be broken down into 3 categories: Egyptian toe, Greek toe or Roman toe.
Let’s look at this more closely…
Egyptian Toe
Arguably the most common, this is when your big toe is followed by the others, in a downwards 45 degree angle.
If this sounds like your toes, you’re winning!
Luckily for you, most shoe styles are designed for this type of foot.
However, you still want to consider shoes that have enough space at the front for the big toe or you risk causing a bunion.
Think about it - you wouldn’t try to fit a square object into a triangle space - your feet should be no different.
As such, pointed shoes are not recommended - instead, try to choose those that are either rounded or square which will have more space and will feel more comfortable - especially if your feet are wide.
Greek Toe
The Greek toe is characterised by its point foot shape which forms because the second toe is longer than the rest and then the others decrease in size as you go down the side.
Although some argue that these are the most “perfect” foot shape, you still need to be careful when it comes to picking the right shoe shape for you.
With this foot shape, it’s crucial you take into consideration the size - too small and your second toe will be crushed against the toecap, and could potentially result in hammertoe if the shoe is not long enough.
In terms of shoes then, pointed shoes will fit best, but not heels as the second toe will be pushed forward.
Roman Toe
The Roman Toe is the rarest of the three, and is identified by the big, second and sometimes third toe being the same length - giving the foot a rectangular shape.
If this is your foot shape, you’ll want shoes that have a wide toe cap so that all your toes have enough room to spread out and aren’t pressured against each other.
Therefore, avoid pointed shoes and go for those that are either square or rounded at the toecap.
Final Words
Of course, there are many other considerations to keep in mind when choosing the right shoes for you, such as high or flat arches, heel shape, width etc.
However, knowing your foot shape will help massively in determining what shoe toe shape to generally go for - you can learn more about shoe toe shapes in our previous post.
If you’d like to know more, please get in touch today.
In the meantime, check our range of comfortable shoes.
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