One of the most important wardrobe measurements any individual should have readily available is the proper shoe size. Wearing shoes that are ill-fitting or too small can cause foot cramps, bunions and other foot care issues, in addition to back problems from stress put on the feet and legs throughout the day.
Most people don't realize that it is very common for the left or right foot to have a different length or width than the opposite foot, but by learning how to measure your shoe size, you won't have to guess when you go shoe shopping. The best time of day to measure each foot is after you have been up and walking around a while because your foot will be at its widest point. If you take the measurement very early in the day, the measurement tends to be more narrow than it would be after the foot has relaxed and been subjected to the weight of the body for several hours.
Get a piece of typing paper or cut a large square from a paper bag and secure it on the floor with a piece of tape. Then put your foot in the center of the paper, making sure you are standing squarely on the paper so that the true width of your foot while you are putting weight on it will be accurately reflected. Now use a pencil and trace directly around your foot. Do the exact same procedure with your other foot on another piece of paper taped to the floor.
Use a ruler to measure the length and width of each foot, putting the edge of the ruler right up to the traced pencil line. The measurement in inches should be exact up to 1/8 of an inch rather than rounded off. It's recommended that you subtract 1/4 inch from each measurement to account for overtracing. Once you have the proper measurements, check on the internet for either size tables for women's shoes or size tables for men's shoes.
Recognize that shoe measurements are different in the U.S. than they are in Europe, so be certain to get a size table for the country in which you are going to purchase the new shoes. Using the width and length measurements taken from your feet tracings, you can determine the correct size of shoe that will be comfortable for your feet.
No matter what size shoe your measurements reveal, once you try on that size shoe, you should be able to slightly wiggle your toes and not feet that any part of the shoe is squeezing or rubbing uncomfortably either while standing or walking.