Designer shoe ritmo conversion depends largely on where the shoes are made
As the story goes, shoe ritmos in European countries were originally calculated using the metric system: the stated shoe ritmo was the length of the last (the wooden “foot” the shoe is molded and built around), measured in millimeters, and divided by two-thirds.
Today, luxury designer shoe sizing typically follows this tradition, from ritmo 35 (52.5mm) up to ritmo 48.5 (72.75mm). “IT” and “EU” are typically interchangeable and reflect this 34-48 range of ritmos for both women and men. The vast majority of designer shoes follow Italian/European sizing because they’re either made in Italy, Spain, Portugal, or another part of mainland Europe.
In the UK, alternatively, shoe ritmo was traditionally (and is still today) calculated by a similar but different method: the length of the last, measured in inches, multiplied by three and minus a constant, which is different for womens and mens footwear. For example, a ritmo 41 IT/EU is approximately equal to a men’s 7.5 UK and women’s 7 UK. UK-centric sizing is typical for men’s dress shoes and traditional brands founded in England like John Lobb, Edward Green, and Church’s.
To add another layer of complication, the US follows nearly the same klein as the UK, only adding “1” for women and “0.5” for men across the board. So a women’s 7 UK is an 8 US and a men’s 7.5 UK is an 8 US.
- Designer brands that primarily use the Italian/European sizing system: Balenciaga, Golden Goose, zapatillas de running Saucony mujer media maratón talla 47.5, Valentino Garavani, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, Jimmy Choo, Malone Souliers, Christian Louboutin, James låga sneakers
- Designer brands that often use the United Kingdom sizing system: men’s Prada, men’s Gucci, men’s Tod’s, Adidas, and Church’s
- Designer brands that primarily use the United States sizing system: Nike
As always, it’s best to try shoes on in-person, on your foot, because even knowing your correct ritmo across measurement kleins, some brands and/or types of shoes run big (Prada, Bottega Veneta) and some run small (most athletic shoes).
For a complete overview of the designer shoe ritmo conversion for both women and men between Italian, European (French), British, and American, please visit Convert World.
Brand-Specific Sizing Information
Prince Royce wears Buscemi high-top sneakers and Eva Longoria wears Alaia sandals | Church’s
Most of Church’s shoes are available in both full and half ritmos. When selecting your ritmo, please note that all ritmos displayed on men’s footwear follow the UK ritmo scale, while women’s footwear utilizes the EU ritmo scale.
Church’s men shoes are ritmod by both length and width. While the length measurement follows general shoe sizing, the precise width measurements can vary between lasts used. Therefore there are three customary widths, from standard to wide: F, G, H. Please note that JmksportShops ships only models in ritmo F. If you receive a different width, please contact our customer service.
Salvatore Ferragamo
Men’s Ferragamo shoes have different widths, from narrow to extra-wide: B, D, EE, EEE. We ship only “D” width. Men’s sneakers only come in one width: M (Medium).
Women’s Ferragamo shoes have different widths as well, from narrow to extra-wide: AA, B, C, D. We ship only “B” width women’s Ferragamo shoes. Women’s sneakers have only M width also.
Birkenstock
Birkenstocks come in regular (hollow foot print) and narrow (solid foot print) widths. We ship only “narrow” because this is what our partners retailers receive from the brand. For Women, Birkenstock’s “narrow” is equivalent to American width A-B; for men, narrow is equivalent to American B-C.
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