Helpful tips
Most customers find mail order to be very easy and successful.
Help us to get it right for you.
Why not ring us to discuss your size?
SIZES.
Shops have to convert foreign sizes to English sizes. All shops do not convert in the same way. Thus if you ask for the
same size in three shops you may be given three different sizes. If possible please read inside the shoe the US size
or the Continental size. Or tell us the shop you purchased from. We know how most shops convert.
Past purchases.
The best way of buying shoes successfully by mail order is to give us the correct information about the shoes you have
purchased previously. Please do not assume what size and width you are in. Approximately 30% of all new customers
get the size they are wearing wrong. The size is usually inside the heel cup of the shoe. It could be European, English
or American. Remember that different shops translate foreign sizes differently! Let us know the make of the shoe. A
size 5 in an English made shoe will probable be longer than a size 5 from the USA. List these details down on the back
of the order form. Put notes next to the different shoes to let us know how they have fit. For example: Excellent fit or a bit
wide. We have extensive knowledge of most makes and can guide you to the correct size from this information.
Our records.
We keep records of all your purchases and returns. Please let us know why a shoe is coming back. If you send a shoe
back because it does not fit, and we know this, then we can avoid sending you out another pair at a later date. The more
information on your record the easier Mail Order becomes. Please feel free to ring us for advice.
Get your foot measured.
Go into your local shop and ask if they will measure your feet.
Footgauges do just as they say. They do not tell you what length or width you are. They just give you a good guide.
Record the length and width of both feet. Everyone’s left and right foot are different lengths. Usually one foot is shorter
and wider than the other. Note what make of footgauge you are measured on. Giving us the measurements will help
us to achieve the correct size for you.
Foot diagrams.
Whilst sitting down place your foot on a piece of paper or cardboard. Ask someone to draw around your feet with a fine
pen, keeping it upright. If the lines do not meet around the heel go over them to show exactly where I should cut them
out. Do both left and right feet. Measure in mm. around the foot from the joint to just behind the little toe. The tape
measure should slant backwards towards the little toe area.
Foot diagrams do not tell you what size and width you are. However they will give us plenty of vital information to help us
to our goal. Just looking at your foot diagrams will tell us about many foot problems. We will then cut them out and
measure them.
Did you know?
That 90% of all shoes sold in shoe shops are aimed at the English standard fit. This is a D fitting. Customers
purchasing from these sources who have narrower than average feet buy their shoes short to make the width narrower.
This causes major damage to the foot in the long term. The main problem caused by short shoes is Halux Valgus
(Bunions)
That most Italian and Spanish manufacturers (that do not make a range of widths) changed
their shoes from B fits to D fits approx 5 years ago. Many customers believe they are still taking B fitting!
That wearing shoes that are too wide for you causes the toes to use a gripping action. This causes clawing of the toes.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Please note all information is given in alphabetical order. No responsibility can be taken for mistakes or incorrect information. Description is brief.
Aniline leather – leather finished with an aniline dye, which gives a natural appearance.
Antique finish – upper finished to give an impression of age by over spraying selected areas with a darker contrasting finish.
Anti-static shoe – shoe with a metal plug in the sole to ensure that static electricity is discharged safely to earth.
Apron front – vamp made up of a flat apron of leather laid over the side forepart.
Arch support – area of insole built up and strengthened to support the metatarsal arch or similar support, which can be inserted into the shoe separately.
Back seam – vertical seam at the centre of a shoe or boot, can be called a heel seam.
Backpart – back of a shoe or the sole or insole.
Bagged top – method of binding the top line of an upper so that no stitches can be seen, resulting in a soft feel and look.
Bead (bead welt) – tubular decoration, usually between the upper and the sole, but occasionally on the upper.
Bellows tongue – tongue in a lace up shoe that is joined to the upper at the sides as well as the bottom.
Bend – sole leather made from the rear portion of a heavy cattle hide divided along the line of the backbone, after removal of the bellies and the shoulder.
Benzene – solvent obtained from coal, which is effective of moving grease and rubber. It is used in the manufacture of rubber solution and has been used for cleaning shoe uppers.
Its fumes are highly toxic and flammable so ventilation is required in working areas.
Bespoke – footwear made to specific request. In most cases a last is made to fit the wearer’s foot and retained by the maker for future orders.
Blake sewn – method of shoe construction, which the sole is attached to the upper and insole by a single chain stitch seam – directly through the insole inside the shoe to the outsole. No welt is needed.
Blind eyelets – eyelets inserted and clenched on the lining, with only small punched holes visible on the tabs.
Box calf – full chrome tanned calf leather. In the UK this is black and any other colours are described ad willow calf.
Brannock device – foot measuring device with an adjustable slide piece to show the length of the foot. It also has a slide piece, which can be move to show the distance of the ball of the foot from the heel. This measurement is used in conjunction with the foot measurements to give the shoe size required. This device also indicates appropriate widths (commonly called ‘fittings’) of shoes. The Brannock system is widely used in America, where it originated.
Brogue shoe – closed front tie shoe, the upper consisting of several parts, each punched and serrated (gimped) along the margins, together with a punched and wing cap.
Brushed pigskin – pigskin leather with velvet like nap.
Calf – leather made from skin of a young bovine animal. In the UK this is 16 kg green weight. The weight classification differs in various countries.
Calf side – calf skin split down the line of the backbone. Calf side is often a euphemism for skin of an older animal dressed to resemble calf leather.
Californian – method of manufacture where the upper and platform cover are sewn to an insock. The last is then forced in, the platform attached and the cover lasted over it before the attachment of the sole. Used for casual shoes and women’s and children’s sandals, it is a variant of the sliplasting construction.
Cap – outside toe reinforcement, may be described as straight, peaked or winged.
Cellulose board – top quality materials used in insoling, produced by a number of companied including brand names such as Bontex and Texon.
Cement lasted – method of lasting where the forepart upper is attached to the insole with a hot adhesive instead of tacks.
Cemented construction – bonding the sole to the upper by means of cement, usually heat and pressure activated. This produces a shoe, which is light, flexible and neat as well as being cheaper to produce than more traditional methods. It is used for light dress shoes and unit sole. If the bonding is not correctly attached the sole will come away from the upper.
Channel – shallow slit or grove made around the edge of an outsole or insole to receive a row of stitching where the thread will finish below the stop surface of the leather.
Chelsea boot – ankle boot in leather or suede, flat heeled with elastic ankle insets. Popularised in the ‘60’s by the ‘Chelsea set’.
Clicking – traditional, 17th century name for cutting out the upper shoe pattern pieces by hand knife. Originating in France the term is ‘derivative’ of ‘Claquier’, sometimes performed with a Clicker Knife. In modern shoe making most uppers are now cut by steel strip dies in a press, the term ‘cutting’ is more commonly used.
Clog – utilitarian wooden soled mule or closed in shoe.
Closed front – front of an Oxford shoe or other men’s shoe style having the eyelet tabs stitched under the vamp.
Closing – stitching together the cut components of the outside and the lining of the shoe.
Corrected grain leather – leather form that the grain layer has been partially removed by buffing and where a new surface has been built up through various finishes.
Court shoe – women’s low cut shoe with a heel height of at least one inch.
Counter (backstrap) – piece of leather or other material used as a stiffener in the quarters / heel area. Originally by means of whipstitch, leaving a scalloped effect on the leather generally invisible from the outside. The term as been adopted more recently to refer to any strengthener attached in this area of the shoe or boot.
Crepe – hard wearing and flexible natural rubber soling material made by drying latex from rubber trees. Small pieces are used in the finishing room to remove marks on the uppers.
Cuban heel – type of heel 4-10 mm high with a straight breast, little or no curvature to the back and sides, and tapering very slightly to a fairly broad top-piece.
Curried leather – leather finished by impregnating with oil or grease to render it waterproof. It is used for agricultural and other heavy footwear worn in very wet conditions.
Derby – men’s boot or shoe with eyelet tabs stitched on the outside or the vamp (see also Gibson).
Diamante – imitation diamond, available in strips, set in plastic matrix and used for other trims.
Di-isocyanate – one of the two essential reagents from which polyurethane is made. See resin mix.
Direct moulded – construction method by which the sole of rubber, PVC or other mouldable material is moulded directly onto the upper, by vulcanisation, injection moulding or reaction moulding.
Embossing – method of decorating leather by pressing a heated dye onto the surface. Used by hand on shoe on shoe or leather goods, or by machine on complete skins to give simulated impression.
Espadrille – roped sole shoe with a canvas or cotton or nubuck upper. Originating in France and Spain, but now often manufactured in Portugal or the Far East, it is a utilitarian style.
Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) – chemical compound with rubbery properties appropriate for soling in the blown or microcellular form. It is light weight and its properties can be modified considerably, according to the proportions of ethylene and vinyl acetate in the co-polymer. It is also used as a basis for adhesives.
Eyelet – metal reinforcement of edge of lace hole, commonly positioned in the quarters, latchets or tongue, sometimes ‘blind’, but often embellished as a fashion feature.
Feather, feather line or edge – boundary line around the upper where it joins the welt or the sole, the corresponding line around an insole or last.
Fibre board – sheet material used for insoling and heel lifts that is made of cellulose fibre obtained from wood pulp or reprocessed cardboard wrapping papers, ect. The quality is closely controlled and graded according to laboratory tests. Grade 1 for seat board and grade 3 for shank board (there is no grade 2).
Finishing – iron and polishing edges and bottoms of leather soled footwear to improve both the appearance and wearability.
Flesh, Flesh side – inner side of an animal skin or piece of leather, opposite to the grain, or outer side.
Flow moulding – process that uses a mould cast from an original model in cold, curing silicone rubber. Reproduction is achieved by pressing a PVC upper material against the mould in a special press where it is subjected to a high frequency, high voltage electric current that momentarily fuses the PVC very easily and cheaply.
Folding – most usual description of an upper edge treatment where a narrow margin of the edge is folded over, skived and secured by adhesive. The word ‘beading’ may sometimes be used for this operation.
Medissa shoes specialize in the following:
AA shoes.
h4. AA shoes for narrow feet.
h4. Ladies AA shoes.
h4. Ladies AA narrow shoes.
h4. AA narrow fit shoes.
h4. B fit ladies shoes.
h4. Narrow shoes.
h4. Ladies narrow shoes.
h4. Tall shoes.
h4. Tall ladies shoes.
h4. Big shoes.
h4. Big ladies shoes.
h4. Ladies large size shoes.
www.medissashoes.com The UK’s largest stockist of narrow ladies shoes.