ABSTRACT
This chapter provides general information about how the foot is measured, the origin of shoe sizing, various shoe sizing systems, what is involved in determining the shoe size of a particular person, and some of the reasons for variations in a manufacturer's shoe size designations. It provides information regarding the size of crime scene impressions and the design/size relationship of footwear. Barleycorns, a drawing are often mentioned when discussing the origins of shoe sizing measurements. A barleycorn was the smallest Anglo-Saxon unit of length, and was defined as 1/3 inch. The first recorded shoe sizing system was reportedly introduced in 1688 in England by Randle Holme and was based on a ¼-inch system. The next recorded description of a shoe sizing system was not until 1856 by Robert Gardiner in England and used a scale where each full size was 1/3 inch longer, taken from the barleycorn system.
