Women’s Sandals Fit Guide

When summer rolls around, it means one thing: time to break out your favourite sandals. They’re casual, easy to wear and letting your feet breathe when the sun comes out can only be described as liberating. Sandals aren’t going anywhere anytime soon so we’ve put together this guide explaining how your sandals should fit.

We want our customers to get the best out of their shoes and to make purchasing decisions they won’t regret. One of the most common problems we encounter with buying sandals is getting the right fit. So, if you’ve ever wondered how women’s sandals are supposed to fit, our fit guide will show you how they should, whether yours are too big, how to make your sandals fit even better and much more.

How Should Women’s Sandals Fit?

You may have never given this much thought, but to get things started, we’re going to look at how your sandals should fit on your feet. Getting the right size is really important. If your sandals are too small, your feet will look crammed and strained. Probably not the look you were going for.

Not only will they look strained, but they’ll be strained. Sandals that are too small can cause pain, discomfort and even damage to your feet. This happens when your sandals aren’t offering you enough support, stability and shock absorbency. Having sandals that are too big is also no good. They can create tripping hazards, give you blisters and will likely fall off a fair amount.

So how should sandals fit? Your whole foot should be supported by the sole of the sandal. If your toes or heel are overhanging, then they are too small. You put yourself at risk of stubbing your toes or damaging your heel if they are overhanging. They shouldn’t move around much on your feet. Flip-flops will obviously move around but apart from that, there should be a bit of distance between the edge of the sole and the edge of your foot and they should stay in place when walking around.

Are My Sandals Too Big?

Sandals that are too big are no good to anyone. It’s also harder to spot if your sandals are too big. If they’re too small, that’s made apparent by the overhang. You can instantly recognise when a pair of sandals is too small.

Oversized sandals are very easy to trip or slip on. As they’ll move around, they can slip off during your stride, causing you to tumble. They tend to slap on the floor quite noisily which can be seriously jarring after a while. They also interfere with your natural gait and posture. You may find that you have to adjust your stride or the way you stand so that they stay on. This should be a sign that your sandals are too big.

Should Sandals Be a Size Bigger?

Although we’ve just been warning about sandals that are too big, it isn’t a bad idea to buy sandals that are a size bigger. Your sandals don’t have to fit exactly around your feet. One size is normally a fraction of an inch, so you shouldn’t end up with sandals that are too big. Buying a size bigger will ensure that you have that extra room and prevent toe and/or heel overhang. But you should always try them on first as sizes can vary between brands or even styles!

How Should Women’s Flip Flops Fit?

Flip flops follow a similar principle to sandals and should be more immediately obvious whether they fit or not. There are still a couple tips worth mentioning that may not be immediately obvious.

Again, you want there to be some distance between the edge of the sole and your feet. This will prevent you from banging your feet against anything. A good distance for flip flops is around half an inch all the way around your feet.

If your flip flops have fabric, leather or cloth straps then you’ll want to make sure that they don’t rub the top of your feet. This can cause irritation of the skin and discomfort. For these types of flip flops, make sure it’s a snug fit.

Looking for movement isn’t as important here as flip flops tend to move around by design. Something to look out for is that your feet expand when you walk, so make sure the thongs of the flip flop aren’t too snug between your toes. You want to leave a tiny bit of room to allow for that expansion, otherwise you’ll find them digging in to the top of your foot and between your toes.

How Should High Heel Sandals Fit?

High heel sandals should fit in a very similar way to normal sandals. The main thing to avoid with high heel sandals is the overhang. The shape of high heel sandals and the nature of gravity pushes our feet down the shoe.

There is some debate as to whether some overhang is allowed. Obviously, there is no rule that has been passed on from generation to generation but since you’re after our sage advice, we suggest that there should be no overhang whatsoever.

There may be some shoes where the curve of your heel will naturally overhang at the back. If that’s accommodated by some material that covers the heel and you feel it still offers enough support, there’s no problem with that. If your bare heel is overhanging at the book, it just looks like it doesn’t fit.

Buying a size bigger is definitely recommended for high heel sandals. As they tend to be open-toed, like wedges, overhang will stick out and it’s not a good look. Because they naturally push our feet down towards the edge, that little bit of extra room will prevent that from happening. Again, try them on first as sizes can vary!

How to Make Sandals Fit Better

If your favourite pair of sandals aren’t as comfy as they used to be or you’re simply experiencing discomfort when you wear any sandals, we have some tips on how to reduce that stress. Unfortunately, sandals aren’t designed with the health of our feet in mind. Mostly, they just don’t offer the support our feet need, but what else are you going to wear when it’s roasting? These tips will show you how to make your sandals fit better and how to make them more comfortable.

Too small? If your sandals are a bit too tight, then you’ll want to stretch them out a bit. A really easy way to do this is by wearing them around the house with thick socks. There are also shoe stretchers readily available in stores and online that will do a good job.

Too big? For this you’ll need the help of some nifty products or see if you can replicate them at home. Insoles, heel grips and shoe fillers are all good ways of making your shoes fit a bit better. For summer sandals, ball of foot cushions are the most suitable type of insole.

Arch support Where many sandals fall short of protecting our feet is by not offering arch support. Flat soles can lead to sore backs, arch cramps and muscle fatigue. Now, flip flops and many sandal designs have a flat sole, this doesn’t mean you should bin them. Simply having a pair that offer some arch support that you can wear when you plan to be on your feet for most of the day is a good way around this. You should wear flip flops for running small errands, or where you can take them off like the beach. Sandals with arch support are better suited to shopping, travelling, anything that requires a bit more walking.

Mould your leather sandals If you have a pair of killer leather sandals but you find they’re not fitting correctly, you can mould them to the shape of your feet. Simply put them on and put your feet in water for a few seconds. Take them out, pat the excess water and wear them whilst they’re still wet, they will soon mould to the shape of your feet.
Reduce friction and inflammation there are a number of ways to do this. If you have leather sandals, rubbing soap on the problem areas will reduce the friction. Plasters and specially-made blister patches are always effective. If you have strappy sandals, there are cushioned straps that attach to the underside of your sandal straps that will do the job. Wax will also reduce friction and using beeswax can even waterproof some sandals. Antiperspirant has the same friction-reducing effect and will also prevent your feet from sweating too much.

Now you can shop for sandals this summer with confidence. By using our tips, you can make sure you get the most out of them and more importantly, protect your feet. The main things to look out for are the correct size, overhang and friction.

There are plenty of ways to combat sandals straps that are giving you grief and buying the right size is really important. Make sure that if you’re going to wear sandals for something that requires you to walk around a lot that they provide some arch support for your feet. And save the flip flops for short walks and errands.

Be sure to check out some of the sandals that we have available on our website. Our team of in-house buyers have scoured the market to bring you high-fashion at low prices and with free & fast delivery, you won’t want to miss out!