How Do French Shoemakers Measure Feet?

YouTube video by Kirby Allison showing foot measurement by Philippe Atienza

Notes

• starts seated
• open notebook
• one foot on each page
• pushes the book to straighten the shins vertically

• And now, now, please don’t move. I will do everything.

• joint girth with tape measure [can’t tell if angled or straight]

  • compress a bit, and then I let them open a bit

  • marks the tape position on the tracing
• foot tracing
  • same pressure all around
  • keep pen straight
  • uses the same pen to trace the last later, to compare
  • uses the same thickness of pen when tracing standing
• second girth: just behind joint area
• finds instep position on the bone, takes instep girth
• high instep girth
  • beneath, just before heel bulb
  • to instep point on top
• short heel
  • “entrance”
  • same top point as high instep
• ankle girth
• for boots, would take girths up to the crook of the knee
• returns tape to angled ball
  • with tape held around, asks to stand
  • increases the measurement
  • 5mm more
• traces outline standing
• more or less only uses the seated outline, but comparison shows whether changes a lot
• palpates joints
  • supple or not
  • fleshy or bony
• feel for, e.g. high joint height
• notes bony prominence on instep
• question: most important for comfort?
  • most important: from back of heel to joint area [heel-to-ball length]
  • balance between high instep and short heel: measurements clarify whether to add or reduce from top of cone or back of backpart
• can compress the foot behind the joints for good fit
  • keeps the foot in the right position
  • prefer compressing waist over ball
• can visualized whether suited to a narrow or pointed shape from doing measurements
• also looks at the type of shoes the client wears
• analyzing current shoe
  • bottom of sole wear: more wear on outside
    • more wear on outer joint than inner
    • implies need to shape the bottom of the joint to give more room for articulation of big toe
  • looks for marks on outside of vamp, inside of lining
  • hint as to taste