Shoe size Shoe size A shoe size is an indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. There are a number of different shoe-size systems used worldwide. While all of them use a number to indicate the length of the shoe, they differ in exactly what they measure, what unit of measurement they use, and where the size 0 (or 1) is positioned. Some systems also indicate the shoe width, sometimes also as a number, but in many cases by one or more letters. Some regions use different shoe-size systems for different types of shoes (e.g. men's, women's, children's,
Patten (shoe) well-swept and paved streets. The motto of the London Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers, the former representative guild for this trade, was and remains: "Recipiunt Fœminæ Sustentacula Nobis", Latin for "Women Receive Support From Us". The 19th-century invention of cheap rubber galoshes gradually displaced the patten, as did the widespread use of urban paving, especially elevated, paved pathways only for pedestrians- the now ubiquitous pavements, sidewalk in American English or hard road surfaces. Wearing of pattens inside church was discouraged, if not outright forbidden: perhaps because of the noise they made, the oft-commented "clink" being the consensus term for the sound;