Foot Sizing by Country
Data supporting the problem space and mission of
"Pretty like the Label."
Overview
A study analyzing 1.2 million foot scans combining North America, Europe, and Asia was conducted in 2019, suggesting the need for more inclusive sizing in the footwear industry. The development and advancement of 3D scanning has made such a large-scale study possible as opposed to outdated methods and measurements upon which footwear manufacturers currently base their sizing. The large data set across a span of many regions makes this an incredibly reliable data set upon which to draw conclusions and design a business model. It demonstrates statistically significant differences in mean foot measurements across group, region, and gender. For our purposes, we will just be examining the differences for women’s measurements, but these differences remain present across men as well. This study is conducted using the mondopoint sizing system. Length classes indicate the mean foot length in increments of 5 mm from 210 mm to 280 mm for women.
View the study here: Scientific Reports
- NA
- North America; This includes Canada and the USA
- EU
- Europe; This includes Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
- AS
- Asia; This includes China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
- mm
- Millimeters
- Monopoint Sizing System
- The universal global standard of sizing used to measure foot length for shoes.
- Foot Width
- Horizontal Measurement Around Widest Part of Foot
- Foot Length
- Vertical Measurement Around Longest Part of Foot
- Foot Instep Height
- Horizontal Measurement Around Highest Part of Arch 2cm Before Start of Leg
Glossary
Conclusions
According to the study's findings, having at least three shoe widths per length class is required to provide a proper fit for 90% of customers. Based upon a study conducted by The Journal of Foot & Ankle Research, this is opposed to the 63-72% of individuals who are currently wearing the wrong shoe size. The data not only demonstrates a large amount of variation between length and width ratio, but also between instep height. The most frequent length class was 245 mm for scans in North America and Europe and 235 mm in Asia. Beyond what the data reflects, there are even more variations within populations that could be examined, such as the significant difference in forefoot shape between Japanese and Taiwanese subjects of similar foot length class.
Currently, most shoes only cater to length at the sacrifice of width and instep height, or a combination of the three. Heels in particular tend to run incredibly narrow, making it even more difficult for individuals for wide feet. The brand, Pretty the the Label, will offer size inclusive-heels in narrow, wide, and true regular widths, possibly expanding to instep inserts in future. It’s target market will be in North America and Europe to start, given that foot shape in relation to length class varies significantly across regions, as reflected by the data, NA and EU being much more closely related in sizing than AS. Thus, information regarding foot dimensions and shape should be leveraged far more in footwear development to offer shoes that properly fit a much larger volume of target customers.
Walkthrough
Looking through the foot measurements, at 210 mm , we can see that the mean foot width across all regions starts at approximately 85.5-86.5 mm, with North America consistently reflecting the lowest width and Asia the greatest width.
Comparatively, looking through the foot measurements, at 280 mm , we can see that the mean foot width reaches 109.5-111 mm. The dispersion of widths between North America, Europe, and Asia continues at a relatively consistent rate from 210 to 280 mm length classes.
Disclaimer: * Data based upon the study conducted by Scientific Reports and a 5mm class length spanning from 210 mm to 280 mm, as stated by the study report. Specific data values approximated and line-by-line data insights drawn with Chatgpt using graphs produced by the study.
| Foot Length | NA Foot Width (mm) | EU Foot Width (mm) | AS Foot Width (mm) | NA Instep Height (mm) | EU Instep Height (mm) | AS Instep Height (mm) | NA Heel Width (mm) | EU Heel Width (mm) | AS Heel Width (mm) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Click to open table. | |||||||||||||||
| 210 | 85.5 | 86 | 86.5 | 52.5 | 53 | 53.5 | 51 | 51.5 | 52 | ||||||
| 215 | 87 | 87.5 | 88 | 53 | 53.5 | 54 | 52 | 52.5 | 53 | ||||||
| 220 | 89 | 89.5 | 90 | 54 | 54.5 | 55 | 53 | 53.5 | 54 | ||||||
| 225 | 90.5 | 91 | 92 | 55 | 55.5 | 56.5 | 54 | 54.5 | 55.5 | ||||||
| 230 | 92.5 | 93 | 94 | 56 | 57 | 57.5 | 55 | 55.5 | 56.5 | ||||||
| 235 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 57.5 | 58 | 58.5 | 56 | 56.5 | 57.5 | ||||||
| 240 | 96 | 96.5 | 97.5 | 58.5 | 59 | 60 | 57 | 57.5 | 58.5 | ||||||
| 245 | 97.5 | 98 | 99 | 59.5 | 60 | 61 | 58 | 58.5 | 59.5 | ||||||
| 250 | 99 | 100 | 100.5 | 60.5 | 61 | 62 | 59 | 59 | 60.5 | ||||||
| 255 | 101 | 101.5 | 102.5 | 61.5 | 62.5 | 63 | 60 | 60 | 61.5 | ||||||
| 260 | 102.5 | 103 | 104 | 62.5 | 63.5 | 64.5 | 61 | 61 | 62.5 | ||||||
| 265 | 104.5 | 105 | 106 | 64 | 65 | 65.5 | 62 | 62 | 63.5 | ||||||
| 270 | 106 | 106.5 | 107.5 | 65 | 66 | 66.5 | 63 | 63 | 64.5 | ||||||
| 275 | 108 | 108 | 109 | 66 | 67 | 67.5 | 64 | 64 | 65.5 | ||||||
| 280 | 109.5 | 110 | 111 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 65 | 65 | 66.5 | ||||||