DEMO — fictional range. Local brief only, NOT SENT. No personal data is collected or transmitted.
SIZE
A size run is a set of tolerances, not a label.
Two shoes of the same size can differ in every dimension that matters. What is specified is the tolerance and the pairing, not the number on the box.
- Length tolerance
- Per pair rather than per nominal, because both feet are measured
- Girth tolerance
- Around the ball and the instep, where fit actually sits
- Pairing
- Left against right, which a single tolerance cannot deliver
- Across the run
- Because a grading step that drifts turns one size into another
- Last revision
- Which last the run was graded from, and its own revision
- Sampling
- Which sizes are measured, and how many pairs of each
Illustrative size record
| Property | Set by | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Length | The last and its tolerance | A revision to the toe or the heel |
| Girth | The last waist and instep | A change to the upper pattern or lining |
| Pairing | How panels are cut and matched | Skew in the click cut |
| Across the run | The grading steps | A step that drifts between sizes |
Why the pairing is a separate column.
Because a pair can each sit inside tolerance and still differ from one another. A left and right that differ is a shoe that tilts, and the tilt is not visible in either measurement alone.
The question worth asking instead.
What the run's tolerances are per pair rather than per nominal. A supplier who answers per nominal has described a tolerance nobody wears.