trademark-protected certification scheme for the design and fit of children’s lasts and children’s shoes
WMS constructions guidelines are not published, but reportedly include specifications for length, width, toe height, and insole shape. (See Bosch-Stroot.) The guidelines recommend at least 12 millimeters of toe allowance, including growth allowance. (See Bettina et al.)
WMS uses a geometric method for generating insole shapes that has been widely adapted to adult shoes.
The German Shoe Institute gives shoe fitting seminars and issues certification diplomas for fitters.
Names
AK64: workgroup (Arbeitskreis) children’s shoes (Kinderschuh)
Weitenmaßsystem: width (weiten) measurement (maß) system
Widths
| Letter | German | English |
|---|---|---|
| W | Kräftige | Strong |
| M | Mittlere | Medium |
| S | Schmale | Narrow |
History
The system was initially developed out of anthropometric studies of children in the 1950s and 1960s.
Sources
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Kerstin Bosch-Stroot,“WMS – Das Weitenmaßsystem für Kinderschuhe – Sinvoll oder nicht?”, 2021-12-04, https://kidfoot.de/wms
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Annette Switala, “How Much Toe Allowance Do Children’s Shoes Need?”, Foot & Shoe, https://www.foot-and-shoe.com/216-recent-studies-in-shoe-and-sports-research
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The most commonly used increment in girth is 5 mm, at the same time there are systems using 6 mm (e.g. MONDOPOINT), 7 mm for girth or 3 mm for width (e.g. AKA64/WMS).37
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The most commonly used increment in girth is 5 mm, at the same time there are systems using 6 mm (e.g. MONDOPOINT), 7 mm for girth or 3 mm for width (e.g. AKA64/WMS).37
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The AKA64/WMS system proposed specifically for children footwear in Germany uses Roman numbers from I to V whereas the three middle groups have capital letters expressing the character of widths; namely II=S for small, III=M for middle and IV=W for wide.
Note 37: Shoe last manufacturers (e.g. FAGUS, SEIDL) are using their own standards: some of these are adopted by almost all shoe producers getting their shoe lasts from that particular company. In some countries the increments are prescribed by national standards (e.g. the former Soviet Union).
Note 41: All traditional systems use increments which are constant throughout the given size group. However some modern systems have been introduced with variable increments, whereby the increase in ba.11 girth or width depends on sizes and width groups (e.g. it is 4.5 mm between width-groups for French size 18 and 7 mm between width IV and V for French size 42 - all for ball girth in the AKA64/WMS system).
— Final Report on the Foot Measurement Survey in India
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2.1 Customization of Mass Produced Shoes via Sizing and Grading
Each country has its own guidelines for shoe-last sizing and grading; however, methods for shoe-last design are limited. Two widely used shoe-last design guidelines include the AKA64-WMS American system [20, 21] and the Chinese system National Footwear Research Institute, Chinese Shoe Size and Last Design, China Light Industry Press, Bei Jing (1984) (in Chinese).[22]. The AKA64 system, developed in 1964, was based on anthropometric study of children and is now used for sizing children as well as adults [21]. Fig. 2 shows the shoe-last sizing and grading according to the American system. Currently sizing and grading is based on foot length and foot girth. If a better sizing and grading method were developed, even using mass production technologies footwear fit and comfort can be improved. In addition, by using half sizes, the tolerance was improved.
[Figure 2 shows side and front views of different size lasts superimposed over each other.]
Note 20. Adrian, K.C.: American Last Making: Procedures, Scale Comparisons, Sizing and Grading Information. In: Basic Shell Layout Bottom Equipment Standards. Shoe trades publishing Co., Arlington (1991)
Note 21. Pivecka, J., Laure, S.: The Shoe Last: Practical Handbook for shoe Designers. Pivecka Foundation, Slavicin (1995)
— Zhang et al, “Mass Customization Methodology for Footwear Design”, Digital Human Modeling, HCII 2011, LNCS 6777, pp. 367–375, 2011
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Page 30 of American Last Making page 30 has an insole shape geometric layout labeled “AK 64 Layout”.
THE AK-64 LAST BOTTOM LAYOUT SYSTEM HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT SWING OF A LAST.
— American Last Making page 30
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The design of the last’s plantar surface consists in creating a geometrical construction based on the dimensional characteristics of the subject’s feet, obtained with the INFOOT USB system. This method has its starting point in establishing design methods for the inner sole (G Scheme, K Method, AK-64 Methods, the Method of the Leather and Footwear Research Institute of Bucharest [21]), adapted to the present technical and informational possibilities.
Note 21: 21. Malureanu, G., Mihai, A., Basics of Footwear Design (in Romanian), 2003, Performantica Press, Iasi, ISBN 973-8075- 88-2.
— Sarghie et al, “3D Modelling of Shoe Lasts Using Templates Based on Anthropometrical Measurements of the Foot — Case Study”
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Often the rule-of-the-parent’s-thumb is used to determine the toe allowance in children’s feet. According to this method the children’s feet should have as much space in front of the toes as the parent’s thumb width. Further methods to determine the correct shoe length were developed in the 1960s and 70s by a German consortium of manufacturers and researchers (Arbeitskreis Kinderschuh). The guideline developed by this consortium managed by Erne Maier, AK64-WMS, recommends at least 12 mm. Maier proposed to determine the toe allowance from the respective shoe size according to EU standard divided by two, assuming that longer feet require more toe allowance than shorter feet.
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The 12 mm allowance, proposed by the “Arbeitskreis Kinderschuh” in the guideline AK64-WMS, is closer to the result of the study. However the recommended 12 mm of the WMS exceed the toe allowance found by the present study. The study thus concludes that the 12 mm can be seen as a generous recommendation and not as a minimum recommendation for the toe allowance.
— Annette Switala, “How Much Toe Allowance Do Children’s Shoes Need?”, Foot & Shoe, https://www.foot-and-shoe.com/216-recent-studies-in-shoe-and-sports-research
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Bettina et al., “Evaluation of the rule-of-thumb”, Footwear Science, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1080/19424280.2016.1144654