Footwear guide
The 10 second shoe fit test
We have a quick shoe test you can do yourself to help identify which shoes are on the small side and may or may not give you some relief.
- Feel across the shoe where the bunion is: does this correspond to the widest part of the shoe?
- And how tight does this feel-is there any give?
- You will find in the shoes that are not comfy, they will be narrower in this area and the upper of the shoe will feel a lot tighter across this part of the foot (a bunion especially), whereas in the more comfy shoes the tension across this part of the shoe will be less.
To take this a step further, you could perform the 10 second shoe test with all your shoes – or if you have a lot, just the main ones. You may then end up with a scale of shoes; at one end you will have a very roomy/supportive shoe that you can wear all day with comfort e.g. a trainer, but that is not a shoe you would wear on a night out. At the other end of the scale you will then have a dress/party shoe that will be a lot tighter which you may be able to only wear for an hour or two. This may be OK for an occasion where you’re not doing too much walking i.e. car to bar, but they fit the occasion.