Half Sizes and What to Do When You Are Between Sizes
A half size is roughly four millimetres — about the thickness of two stacked coins. That is a smaller difference than most people assume, and it is why the right answer when you fall between two sizes depends more on the shoe than on the gap.
What a half size actually is
Shoe sizes step in one third of a barleycorn, an old English unit, which works out at about 4.2 mm per half size in UK and USA scales. EU sizing uses the Paris point instead, where each full size is two thirds of a centimetre, which is why EU half sizes exist on some models and not others — they are not part of the original system.
Four millimetres is less than the difference between wearing thin socks and thick ones. Keep that in proportion when you are deciding.
The general rule, and when to break it
Between sizes? Go up. A shoe slightly too large can be brought in with a thicker insole, an extra sock or different lacing. A shoe slightly too small cannot be made longer, and nothing you do inside it will help.
Break that rule in two cases:
- Formal leather shoes. Leather stretches across the width with wear. Dress shoes are meant to fit closely, and a size up will slip at the heel once the upper relaxes.
- Court and futsal shoes. These need a locked-in fit for lateral movement. A loose court shoe lets the foot slide inside on a hard change of direction, which is both slower and how ankles turn.
What changes when the pair is pre-loved
A worn shoe has already done most of its stretching. The upper has softened and taken the shape of the previous owner's foot, so a second-hand pair generally feels slightly more forgiving across the width than the same size new — though not longer, because length does not change.
The practical effect: if you are between sizes and looking at a well-worn pair, the smaller of the two is more wearable than it would be new. If the pair is close to new condition, size up as usual. Our condition grading standard tells you which you are looking at.
When a brand offers no half size
Some models are made in whole sizes only. Size up rather than down, then close the gap:
- A thicker insole takes up roughly 2–3 mm — most of a half size
- Heel-lock lacing, using the last eyelet, stops the foot sliding forward without tightening the whole shoe
- A thicker sock is the crudest fix and the easiest to reverse
Half sizes in our stock
We list plenty of half sizes — EU 40.5, 42.5, 44.5 and so on — because they come with the shoes we take in. What we do not do is group them into their own size pages, since each pair is a single listing rather than a size run. If you wear a half size, use the size conversion page to find your number and browse the whole size on either side, or search the exact size directly.
Not sure of your size to begin with? Measure your foot properly first — it takes two minutes and removes the guesswork.