How to Convert From Youth to Women’s Shoe Size

Older teens may be ready to step from youth shoe designs into something they saw in the women’s shoe section. Adults with smaller shoe sizes might find they can swap between youth and women’s shoes, providing a bigger selection and more flexibility for budgeting footwear.

If you’re straddling the line between these two shoe departments, it helps to understand how to convert youth to women’s shoe sizes.

Step 1: Confirm Your Shoe Size

Maybe you’ve swapped between various sizes for a while or your foot has grown or widened in recent months. Start by ensuring you have an accurate understanding of your shoe size.

Measuring your shoe size is easy. You can trace your foot and measure the length and width of the drawing. Subtract 1/16 of an inch to account for the space used in tracing your foot, and compare the measurements to our shoe size chart to find an optimal fit for your feet. Don’t forget to measure both feet, as one may be bigger than the other.

While you can confirm your shoe size anytime, this exercise is most accurate later in the day. Your feet swell throughout the day, so measuring in the afternoon could help you decide whether narrow or wide-width shoes fit best.

Step 2: Convert From Youth to Women’s Shoe Sizes

Once you know what size you wear in youth or women’s shoes, you can use size conversions to convert from one to the other.

Most of the time, the women’s equivalent of a youth shoe size is two sizes up. For example:

• If you wear a size 4 in youth shoes, you probably wear a size 6 in women’s.
• If you wear a size 6 in youth shoes, you probably wear a size 8 in women’s.

This conversion also works going in the opposite direction:

• If you wear a size 8 in women’s, you probably wear a size 6 in youth.
• If you wear a size 6 in women’s, you probably wear a size 4 in youth.

While this conversion method works fairly well, it’s not perfect. If you’re on the verge of a half size — for example, you’re closer to a women’s 8.5 but can still wear a women’s 8 — a youth 6 may not work well for you. The width of your foot could also impact the fit of a converted size. A fit in a specific type of shoe, such as women’s pumps, may not convert accurately to a fit in youth tennis shoes.

Find Youth or Women’s Shoes That Fit Today

The best way to ensure a shoe fits comfortably is to try it on. Measuring your foot and converting youth to women’s shoe sizes — or vice versa — provides a good starting point when shopping for shoes. What feels right on your feet depends on several factors, such as width, sole construction, and arch type.

Find a Shoe Carnival store near you and try on a variety of styles. That way, you can determine how they feel on your feet before making a purchase.