Whether you’re on a cozy evening stroll or planning for a trip to the beach on a sweet summer morning, slippers are everyone’s go-to comfy option.
However, this convenient footwear can unexpectedly lead to dreadful problems if they don’t fit your feet okay. Blisters, Ingrown nails, and hammertoes are just one of the many conditions you can end up with so it’s more important to get the perfect fit instead of being more fashion-focused.
So we’ve brought together a complete guide for you to never make another miscalculation in getting the perfect slippers for you. So stay tuned to find out how to make the best slipper purchase for the ultimate comfort of your feet.
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Getting the Right Fit
There are three areas that should be considered before passing the verdict about whether the slippers match the size of your feet or not.
The first is the length of your feet.
The slippers’ length should correspond to your feet length on that Sizing chart provided to you by the brand you’ve decided to buy from.
If it’s still unclear to you, or if the size chart is not available, then another way to verify is to ensure if there is a distance of half an inch between the slippers’ toe box and your longest toe (for a covered slipper).
For a regular slipper though, make sure there’s room for your toes to fit the head of the slipper to prevent them from hitting the floor and roughening up.
Second comes the heel
To make sure that the slippers would keep friendly terms with your heels, you may try a finger test placing one between your heel and the shoe’s covered back end. If the finger fits easily, or if your feet slide right in while putting them on, then you may consider sizing down a bit.
However, if even your fingertip doesn’t go inside after trying a little too hard, then you should look for a bigger size to prevent any friction to disturb the softness of your heels or cause a loss of blood flow.
As for a minimal slipper, try to have a quarter-inch gap between your heel and the boundary of the back end. This way your heel doesn’t slide off to hit the floor while running.
Thirdly, the width
More than often, everyone focuses on the length of the footwear, and almost always we tend to skip putting the width into the equation (especially during online shopping).
Basically, the area where your toes begin is the widest width of your feet and should comfortably fit the widest part of the shoe.
These days, there are size charts available for the width of the feet to make sure to find them before buying online.
Identify Your Exact Size
Knowing the accurate size for your slippers should top your list of priorities before purchasing any footwear at all.
Now, you’d already have an idea about those size charts for corresponding footwear specifications like your foot size, gender, and the country you live in.
But if you rely on the size you measured for shopping last Christmas, it’d be a rookie mistake. See here’s the thing, not only do our feet keep building even crossing adulthood, but physical factors like temperature and humidity may also affect our feet’ size. Ever noticed that your feet feel more tender and plump in summers? Yeah, it’s just like the Eiffel tower expanding in the summer.
One more thing to consider is that every size chart is not exactly the same. It’s more likely that they differ from brand to brand so ask your brand to give you a guide to get the measurements done right.
Here’s how to measure your feet:
First of all, grab:
- some paper
- a pencil
- some tape
- a ruler for the measurement
Tape that paper on the floor and place your feet on that paper at almost a perpendicular angle for accuracy.
Ask someone to trace your feet.
After removing your feet, use the ruler to measure the distance from the longest toe to the end of the heel.
This is the feet length that’s mentioned on those size charts.
*AND…Mission complete*
Can I Leave Room to Grow?
Ah! That wouldn’t really be a good idea.
Although, over time, some slippers may loosen a bit, which would give you that room to grow naturally. However, getting already loose ones may turn out to be inconvenient for your feet (defeating the entire purpose of wearing the slippers in the first place).
Also, since footwear is always amongst the very first things that people seem to notice, you wouldn’t want to give an impression that you are wearing a pair of hand-me-downs from your siblings, no?
So, on one hand, the slippers which are a little too tight might not be safe, but loose ones won’t work either.
How to Know If Your Slippers Aren’t Fitting Well?
How to determine if a set of slippers that you currently own are either too small or too big? Here’s how to know if your feet are begging for a change.
If they’re undersized:
- They’ll make your big toe’s joint bent.
- When the toe box suffocates the ball of your feet.
- If your fingers curl up and ache.
Too big :
- For flip-flops: if they come off upon pinching your index toe and big toe together.
- If there’s more than a quarter-inch gap visible between their outline and your foot’s.
How to Fit into a Slipper You Love?
Sometimes though, falling in love with a pair of slippers, you come across the line, ” Sorry, the size of the article you wish to buy is not available”.
If the size of the footwear is smaller than your actual size, then sadly, you would have to give up on that pair. But for a size that’s bigger, there are a couple of tricks to make them gracefully fit your feet.
The easiest one amongst them is to put on one, or even more than one pair of thicker socks, instead of those skin-tight ones to put on some extra mass to fit them perfectly.
However, this might feel a little cramped, especially in much warmer climates, causing sweat and emitting that unbearable odor.
Furthermore, it’s not applicable to certain types of slippers such as flip flops which are built open all over. So, if you meet these problems, you can use those ball of foot cushions to help you fit in that loose pair of slippers.
They are a much better option than bulking your feet with socks, as they let your feet breathe and they would work in all weather conditions, however, they are also a little less effective than that.
So next time, save your strength and buy already fitting ones, yeah?
End Note
Let’s be real, we try to look the best we can but when it comes to reality, we’re all big on being cozy and so we’d probably go with slippers for daily life.
However, it can get really annoying if you find yourself slipping or tipping over, losing balance just because we didn’t pay attention to our size while buying them.
Well, with this guide, you’ll be able to choose the slippers that support your feet from your bedroom to the sandy, and trippy grounds of a beach!
