Surprisingly, the current system we have in place for shoes sizing in the UK is essentially the same system we’ve had in place for over 700 years. So what is the basis for this sizing? Why is a size 6 a size 6? What do the sizes mean? Hold tight, we’ll dig into this and give you all the answers you’re searching for…
So for thousands of years shoes wouldn’t have set sizes, they would be made specifically for the wearer and would be moulded around their foot. However, as populations increased and with the increase in commercialisation, it was necessary for some standards to be set, and shoe sizing would be needed. But how would they decipher which size is which? What would the difference be between a size 8 and a size 9? You guessed it, barleycorns. Wait, you didn’t guess that? I don’t blame you. That’s right, barleycorns.
At a time between 1266 and 1303 a mediaeval statute called The Composition of Yards and Perches was developed to put specific measures against units that had been used for some time. It stated that “three grains of barley dry and round do make an inch, twelve inches make one foot. Three feet make one yard, five yards and a half make a perch, and forty perches in length and four in breadth make an acre”
Businesses and individuals adopted these new measurements, including shoemakers. So it was agreed that ‘one foot’ equals 12 inches. So the largest shoe size would be a ‘size 12’ - 12 inches, one foot. Then they would work backwards from there, each size down would be one barleycorn smaller. So a size 11 would be 11.66 inches, size 10 would be 11.33 inches and so on. This is where our shoe sizing comes from. The difference between sizes is one barleycorn.
The UK shoe sizing system, based on barleycorns, is still in use today, but is no longer the only system used worldwide. Some countries use metric measurements, while others use a combination of both. It is important to note that while sizes are standardised, there can still be variations between brands and manufacturers. But we’ll go into this in more detail in a future post.
How can you make sure you're buying the right size shoes? You could go in store and try them on, you could use a shoe size chart and make a guess, or you could let us tell you which shoe's will fit. AI Fit lets you scan your feet with your phone, and we'll tell you which size you need to buy.