This is why your shoes are a different size in each shop

Ever wondered why you can fit in those pretty size 3 New Look heels, but have to go up to a size 5 in River Island sandals (which is a pain if you’re shopping online, let’s be honest)?

Let us reassure you, you don’t have weirdly shaped feet, nor have they ballooned in the last 24 hours. It’s all down to how the shoes are made.

A journalist at The Mirror conducted an investigation on the high street to find out why exactly it’s so damn hard to find shoes that fit.

She headed to eight different stores, including M&S, H&M, New Look and River Island and found that her shoe size, normally a 5, varied from 4 to 6 across board.

Why? Because the majority of shoes are now made in Asia, whereas a few years go, they were made in Britain, using standard size moulds.

Matthew Fitzpatrick, consultant podiatrist from The College of Podiatry, told The Mirror: ‘In the past there were fewer retailers selling shoes were the majority were built around the traditional sized moulds.

‘But as demand for cheap fashion has increased, each company cuts it its own individual moulds explaining why there is such a variation on the high street.’

Add to that the fact that you’re probably wearing the wrong shoe size, and it all gets very confusing indeed.

The easiest way to find a shoe that fits is basically to go to a store and get it measured, school kid style. Because no beautiful heel is worth the bunions.