My Unorthodox Way of Fitting Pointe Shoes & Why It's Different
Hello again everyone!
I’m here to talk to you today about my method of fitting pointe shoes. I understand everyone has a different way of fitting pointe shoes, and a good majority of them I don’t agree with haha! It didn’t hit me how unorthodox my way of fitting was until my mother and I attended a retailer conference. We sat in on a fitting seminar with one of the largest pointe shoe companies in the world, and I did not agree with anything they were saying about fitting pointe shoes! “Put a box liner in here, put a heel gripper there, make sure the foot looks super bendy.” It was a bit of a shock to me that this is considered the ‘proper way to fit pointe shoes.’
I mentioned before in my very first post talking about my work profession as a pointe shoe fitter, but I am an expert in my field. Between dancing en pointe for 15 years and my near decade of fitting, I am damn good at what I do. My favorite title from someone who had never been fit by me was “the only girl who can fit weird feet.” A title I am incredibly proud of.
So, back to my fitting method.
The way I fit leads with one, and one thing only - Foot health.
You think this would be a given, considering you’re dancing on your toes. Your health should be a top priority, right? I always say if this were true, we wouldn’t be seeing dancers with beat up and bloody feet. This is an unhealthy stigma that finally needs to be put to rest. But this goes hand-in-hand with having a properly fitting pointe shoe, and it’s why I am so picky and specific about my fittings. If it’s not right, you will get blisters, bruised toenails, bunions, corns - all of the bad foot problems, and they can all be avoided!
I heard another well-know fitter say “the longer your fitting is, the less experienced your fitter is,” and this is something I wholeheartedly disagree with. If you show up to a studio to fit and only bring 5 styles of pointe shoes, it’s quite obvious that the fitting will go quickly. A 10 minute fitting does not give you the crucial information about the dancer’s foot to ensure a proper fit. It also does not give you enough time to examine how the dancer’s foot will react to each shoe. Does it twist? Do they sink because of compression? Does their feet swell as they begin to work their foot muscles? An entire opportunity to learn about the individual dancer is lost. The dance store I run currently stocks over 70 styles of pointe shoes, mostly because of how picky I am about my fittings - Every dancer has a different foot, and there’s an enormous variety to choose from in today’s day and age. Limiting dancers to 5 types of shoes is a disservice to the dancer, and I stand by that as a fitter.
Now, one thing to take into consideration is that finding the most beautiful shoe is not always the priority. With a flexible foot comes weakness too. The muscles and tendons of a bendier, ‘banana’ foot are already stretched out, which in turn makes them weaker and more prone to injury. Throwing a dancer with this type of foot in a pre-arched shoes that pushed on the transverse arch of the foot (right under the metatarsals) risks further damage to the dancer’s foot. Hence why I get these dancers in a stronger, sturdier shoe right off the bat. They need a shoe to support them while they learn to built up the muscles necessary to keep their feet healthy. Not the strongest shoe, but one that will support them. Too strong of a shoe can actually prohibit a dancer from building strength and, instead, prop you up onto pointe.
Another thing I liked to touch on is a dancer’s foot shape - Not every foot shape fits in every pointe shoe. Take my feet for instance. I have very narrow, compressible, tapered feet. Naturally, super square pointe shoes do not work for me feet, and the shanks always twist inward whenever I try on square shoes. The shoes that worked best for me were narrow and tapered, and fit to my individual feet. I never got blisters, I only got bruised toenails from not trimming them, and after 15 years en pointe, I have the most normal looking feet. Same thing goes for dancers with square feet. I’ve got two toddlers at the time of writing this, and I have been referring back to learning shapes in regards to feet. You can’t fit a square block into a triangle shaped hole, and the same goes for feet. A square foot shoved into a narrow and tapered shoe is only going to cause a myriad of problems - Twisting shank, bunions, and even trigger toe.
I have a firm belief that there is a shoe out there for everyone. One that meets realistic expectations, lifts and supports the dancer, but also allows them to control the shoe and work their feet to the fullest extent.
The shoe shouldn’t control you - YOU control the shoe.
I hope this gave you more of an insight to how I fit pointe shoes! It’s quite a complicated process, and one that I believe takes time in order to provide the dancer with a combo of what they’re looking for and what will work best for their type of foot.
Let me know if you’d like to see any other types of fitting posts! I already plan to go over a TON of fitting information and tips for you, but please let me know your thoughts!
Take care my lovelies!