Verification of toe allowance of children's footwear and its categorisation

Abstract

This study verifies the declared sizes of children's footwear, categorising it according to gender and age, the cut of the upper, the assembling method, the material of the upper, the lining material, the fastening, the heights of the upper and the heights of the heel. The study looked into the allocation given to toe allowance, which represents growing room for a child's foot, while ensuring the shoes remain comfortable. Research was conducted on 115 pairs of children's footwear, at the French sizes of 22, 25 and 30. It was found that in all examples at size 22, the recommended design specifications for toe allowance were most consistently observed, while for size 25 this applied in 91% of cases, but an alarming percentage – 54% of pairs – was discerned for size 30. This provision for growth exists to prevent possible damage to the soft tissues of children's feet and also to prevent forefoot deformities from occurring. Maintaining the specifications for toe allowance also contributes to easier customer guidance when selecting the optimum shoe size. © 2015 Taylor & Francis.