Why Buying Eu 39 in Us Sizes Often Leads to Costly Footwear Mistakes

Exploring the core elements of Why Buying Eu 39 in Us Sizes Often Leads to Costly Footwear Mistakes—read on to discover what experts are saying.

Shoemakers on opposite sides of the Atlantic do not speak the same physical language. Continental Europe measures footwear using the Paris Point system, established in the mid-19th century. One Paris Point equals two-thirds of a centimeter, or precisely 6.67 millimeters. Every single jump in European sizing adds that fraction of length to the shoe last.

The American footwear sizing apparatus operates on an antiquated imperial metric called the barleycorn. Originating in medieval England, a barleycorn represents exactly one-third of an inch, or 8.46 millimeters. Half-sizes in the US system advance by approximately 4.23 millimeters.

Because 6.67 cannot divide evenly into 4.23 or 8.46, shoe size conversion chart makers must round up or down. EU 39 sits squarely inside an awkward mathematical zone. The length of a standard EU 39 shoe last lands right around 25.0 centimeters to 25.3 centimeters, which covers foot lengths between 24.5 centimeters and 24.8 centimeters. That range falls dead center between an American half-size and full size, forcing footwear manufacturers to take calculated guesses on their size labels.