Designer shoe size conversion depends largely on where the shoes are made—read on for Italian shoe size to US sizing

As the story goes, shoe sizes in European countries were originally calculated using the metric system: the stated shoe size was the length of the last (the wooden “foot” the shoe is molded and built around), measured in millimeters, and divided by two-thirds.

Today, luxury designer shoe sizing typically follows this tradition, from size 35 (52.5mm) up to size 48.5 (72.75mm). “IT” and “EU” are typically interchangeable and reflect this 34-48 range of sizes for both women and men.

The vast majority of designer shoes follow Italian/European sizing because they’re either made in Italy, Spain, Portugal, or another part of mainland Europe.

In the UK, alternatively, shoe size was traditionally (and is still today) calculated by a similar but different method: the length of the last, measured in inches, multiplied by three and minus a constant, which is different for womens and mens footwear.

For example, a size 41 IT/EU is approximately equal to a men’s 7.5 UK and women’s 7 UK. UK-centric sizing is typical for men’s dress shoes and traditional brands founded in England like John Lobb, Edward Green, and Church’s.

To add another layer of complication, the US follows nearly the same convention as the UK, only adding “1” for women and “0.5” for men across the board. So a women’s 7 UK is an 8 US and a men’s 7.5 UK is an 8 US.

Designer brands that primarily use the Italian/European sizing system: Balenciaga, Golden Goose, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino Garavani, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, Jimmy Choo, Malone Souliers, Christian Louboutin, and many more

Designer brands that often use the United Kingdom sizing system: men’s Prada, men’s Gucci, men’s Tod’s, Adidas, and Church’s

Designer brands that primarily use the United States sizing system: Nike.

As always, it’s best to try shoes on in-person, on your foot, because even knowing your correct size across measurement conventions, some brands and/or types of shoes run big (Prada, Bottega Veneta) and some run small (most athletic shoes).

For a complete overview of the designer shoe size conversion and Italian shoe size to US for both women and men between Italian, European (French), British, and American, please visit Convert World.

Brand-Specific Sizing Information

Church’s

Most of Church’s shoes are available in both full and half sizes. When selecting your size, please note that all sizes displayed on men’s footwear follow the UK size scale, while women’s footwear utilizes the EU size scale.

Church’s men shoes are sized by both length and width. While the length measurement follows general shoe sizing, the precise width measurements can vary between lasts used. Therefore there are three customary widths, from standard to wide: F, G, H.

Please note that italist ships only models in size F. If you receive a different width, please contact our customer service.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Men’s Ferragamo shoes have different widths, from narrow to extra-wide: B, D, EE, EEE.

We ship only “D” width. Men’s sneakers only come in one width: M (Medium).

Women’s Ferragamo shoes have different widths as well, from narrow to extra-wide: AA, B, C, D.

We ship only “B” width women’s Ferragamo shoes. Women’s sneakers have only M width also.

Birkenstock

Birkenstocks come in regular (hollow foot icon) and narrow (solid foot icon) widths.

We ship only “narrow” because this is what our partners retailers receive from the brand.

For Women, Birkenstock’s “narrow” is equivalent to American width A-B; for men, narrow is equivalent to American B-C.

About the Author

Alex English is the Head of Content Marketing at italist.com, building on a lifelong passion for fashion and luxury. After publishing a lifestyle blog for nearly ten years and obtaining an MBA in Milan at SDA Bocconi, one of Europe’s top business schools, he joined the italist team in 2019. His work since then has focused on upper-funnel messaging, brand storytelling, establishing italist as a thought leader in the space, and enriching the customer experience on the platform. Find him on LinkedIn.