Nov 18, 2024

How to find out someone's shoe size

If you want to surprise someone with slippers (or any footwear) but you don't know their size, here are some fun ways to guess their size without spoiling the surprise by asking outright.

Note: For slippers we would recommend going up a size if you are unsure. We also have free and easy exchanges should they want to change size, colour or style.

Ask them to go bowling

For the base:

– 200g of butter

– 1 can of condensed milk

– 2 cups of desiccated coconut

– 500g of rich tea biscuits (or plain vanilla biscuits)
– Zest of 2 lemons

For the icing:

– 2 cups of icing/powdered sugar

– 60 grams of melted butter (4 tbps)

– Juice of 1 lemon

– Zest of 1 lemon

It wouldn't be unusual to request someone's shoe size for a bowling booking, just drop in a casual "I need to reserve your shoe size".

Make sure the "bowling date" is way in the future after you have given the gift. That way you can come clean once you have gifted the slippers, and tell them the whole thing was a ploy to get their shoe size.

Or better yet, actually go bowling.

Method:

Crush up the biscuits. Be careful to not over crush them if using a food processor, you want some bigger pieces to give texture.

In a bowl, add the desiccated coconut and zest of both lemons, along with the biscuits.

Gently melt the butter and condensed milk on the stove, and stir until combined.

Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients and mix.

Do this riddle with them.

Ask them to see if this trick works for them (it will).

Take your EU shoe size and multiply by 5, then add 50. Multiply this number by 20. Add 1024, then minus your year of birth. This will give you a 4 digit number which will be your shoe size then age.

Ask what number they end up with - the first numbers will be their shoe size (EU size).

To make the icing, whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, adding the lemon juice last, bit by bit until the icing is thick but spreadable (you don't want it to be too runny).

Once the base is cool, pour on the icing and spread over.

Chill again until your icing is set.

The forearm trick

For many people, the length of their forearm is similar to the length of their foot. It's not a perfect measurement but it could give you a close guess if you can get close enough to measure that.

To make the icing, whisk all ingredients together in a bowl, adding the lemon juice last, bit by bit until the icing is thick but spreadable (you don't want it to be too runny).

Once the base is cool, pour on the icing and spread over.

Chill again until your icing is set.

The most common sizes

If you were taking a complete stab in the dark, these are the most common shoe sizes:

Women - EU 39 | UK 6 | US 8

Men - EU 43 | UK 8.5 | US 10

Guess from their height

The following trends can be helpful as a guide to guess someone's shoe size based on their height.