The Last and Fit

A deep dive into comfort fit:

The Turriff anatomical comfort fit last was designed with all feet in mind. Our zero heel drop, natural foot shaped last provides room for almost anyones feet to spread out, giving the wearer optimal stability and comfort. The forefoot is broad and allows for all foot shapes to sit comfortably and naturally with little or no pressure from the upper. The mid and rear foot areas are designed to be a little more form fitting so that the shoe feels secure on foot and moves fluidly with your feet.

I have spent the last 12 years making shoes and the last five years making orthopaedic footwear . Over this time I have seen thousands of different feet. One thing I kept seeing was people oversizing their shoes to accommodate the width and volume of their feet. Even when fit in the “proper” length shoes, the stylized design of most contemporary shoes funnels the toes into an unnatural form. I also noticed that many companies offered wider widths, but rather than making the lasts wider through the toes, they only made the shoes deeper to maintain the sleek narrow toe appearance. It made no sense that we would sacrifice comfort and foot function for style. One of the main focuses while creating Turriff Functional Footwear was to create a last that did not hinder our natural foot shape and its movement. With a background in sculpture and technical experience in bespoke and orthopaedic last fitting, I was able to design an aesthetically pleasing footwear last which allows for pure comfort and function of the foot.

Please be aware, Turriff Footwear will fit and appear slightly shorter than most contemporary footwear. The wide foot-shaped last allows for less excess room in front of your toes. Choosing your usual shoe size could result in an oversized shoe.

Fit recommendations:

Don’t want to think too much about sizing? Choose a half size down from your standard shoe size or Brannock device measurement. (This might result in a roomier fit for some especially if you consider yourself to have very narrow and low volume feet.)

Wider, high volume or thicker feet: We suggest sizing down a half size from your standard shoe size or Brannock device measurement.

Slimmer, lower volume feet: We suggest sizing down a full size from your regular shoe size or Brannock measurement.

For the most accurate fit, we recommend going through the sizing exercise outlined below, then comparing your measurements with those from our lasts. If you have any sizing questions please feel free ask anything and send in you measurements.

How to Measure your feet:

Examples of tracing method from two different angles:

For best results please read the instructions below and watch the videos above.

You will need a piece of paper big enough for your feet. A pencil or slim pen and a soft measuring tape or string which you can mark, lay flat and measurement with a ruler. See bottom of the page for last measurements

For best results, have someone else do the trace and take your measurements, while the wearer stands. 

  1. Trace around the whole foot keeping the pencil vertical while applying moderate pressure with the pencil against the foot.

  2. Next while keeping the pencil at a 45 degree angle, trace along the pad of the foot. Start just behind your big toe, above the metatarsal head and trace around your foot until just past the metatarsal head behind your smallest toe .
     
    The pad of the foot is the point where your foot touches the ground. This point is generally about 5mm inside your vertical trace line, however it can vary. This trace is used in traditional style bespoke fitting to fit the insole to the pad of the foot.  In the Turriff opinion, this style of fitting does not allow for freedom of movement and comfort. For Turriff sizing we will only use this secondary pad line to get a more accurate length measurement.

  3. Next, using a soft measuring tape or a piece of string, take your circumference measurements.
    We prefer to use millimetres as they are more accurate.  

  • Measure the ball of the foot, which is the widest point of the forefoot where your foot flexes when taking a step.

  • Second, measure around the waist which is found at the centre of the arch of your foot. Most people can find the centre point by following the bones of your big toe up your foot until you come to a small protruding bump which should line up approximately with the centre of the arch of your foot.

  • Third, measure around your instep. This is a little further back up the foot and closer to your leg, measure around here at the point where your foot and leg join.

  • The last circumference measurement is your heel. Placing the tape at the same point from the instep measurement where your leg and foot join. From the instep point, take the measuring tape around the back of your heel placing the tape behind your foot to the point where the pad of your heel hits the floor. 

  • The final step is to measure across your trace at the ball of the foot. With this measurement you can see how your feet will fit when standing in comparison to the insole.


    Compare your measurements with those provided off of our lasts    .

  • Ideally you want to have about 8mm to 12mm in front of your toes.  However this can vary depending on personal preference.

  • Your foot circumference measurements should at minimum be the same as the last, but ideally they should be 3 to 10mm larger than the measurements to allow for socks and some freedom of movement.

  • The heel measurement is more relevant for boot fitting. Our shoes are lower cut on the foot, so the instep measurement is sufficient to help in sizing. Our lasts were developed to suit both shoes and boots. As a result the lasts have an exaggerated heel measurement which allows for easy entry into boots, which will be available soon.

  • The last bottom measurement is there as a reference to show how your feet will sit on top of the insole. This measurement does not have to be exactly the same as that of the last (larger or smaller), but the closer the better. As long as the circumference measurement allows for enough space, you will sit comfortably in the shoes.

Sizing Example:

Brannock size: 11 D/E North American sizing

Length: 276mm, Ball measurement: 263mm, Waist: 263mm, Instep: 277mm, Heel: 253mm,

Trace measurement across the ball of the foot: 109.5mm

Best Turriff fit: size 10

***Please keep in mind that the suggested measurements are a guide. Shoe fitting is personal. Please take into account your personal preference when choosing a size. Allowing additional space from the measurements suggested above is not the end of the world. However sizing yourself under the measurements provided could create a constricting fit.