Size guide — UBILAM

UBILAM is made on eleven lasts — the wooden form the shoe is built on — which the workshop grades in centimetres. Sizes are given in US, one number per last, and Modelo Uno comes in US 5–11 women's, US 7–14 men's. Men's and women's share the same length scale and differ in width; the women's last is the narrower one. Sizes are given for a bare foot, and the leather moulds to your foot over time.

Measure your foot

Stand on a sheet of paper with your heel against a wall. Mark your longest toe, measure the distance from the wall in centimetres, and do both feet — go with the larger one. Measure in the evening, when your foot is at its largest.

Measure the girth

Measure around the widest part of your foot — over the ball, just behind the toes, and back under the sole. Keep the tape against the foot without pulling it tight. Stand up while you measure: the foot spreads under load.

Compare your measurement against the girth column for the last you are choosing. Those figures are the last's girth, not the foot's, and the leather stretches about a centimetre in girth — so a foot measuring up to a centimetre more than the last will still go in. It sits tight the first few times and then settles around the foot. If the gap is larger than that, it stays tight.

A foot seen from above, with a tape measure drawn around the widest part just behind the toes. The dashed line shows the tape continuing under the sole. — The tape sits around the widest part of the foot, over the ball and back under the sole.

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US men's	US women's	MX (last length)	Approximate foot length	Last girth, men's	Last girth, women's	Roughly EU
—	US 5	22 cm	21.5 cm	—	20 cm	EU 34–35
—	US 6	23 cm	22.5 cm	—	20.5 cm	EU 36
—	US 7	24 cm	23.5 cm	—	21 cm	EU 37–38
US 7	US 8	25 cm	24.5 cm	22 cm	21.5 cm	EU 39
US 8	US 9	26 cm	25.5 cm	23 cm	22 cm	EU 40–41
US 9	US 10	27 cm	26.5 cm	24 cm	22.5 cm	EU 42
US 10	US 11	28 cm	27.5 cm	24.5 cm	23 cm	EU 43–44
US 11	—	29 cm	28.5 cm	25 cm	—	EU 45
US 12	—	30 cm	29.5 cm	25.5 cm	—	EU 46–47
US 13	—	31 cm	30.5 cm	26 cm	—	EU 48
US 14	—	32 cm	31.5 cm	26.5 cm	—	EU 49–50

Each last covers about one and a half EU sizes, which is why some rows carry two. MX is the length of the last in centimetres — the workshop's own measure. Foot length is approximate: the last runs about half a centimetre longer than the foot it is made for. US differs between the men's and women's last, so both are given. If you're between two sizes, take the larger one: the leather gives in girth, not in length.

The girth figures come from the workshop's own tables and are the last's, just as the MX column is the last's length. The women's last is narrower than the men's at the same length, and the gap widens from half a centimetre at the bottom of the range to one and a half further up. That is precisely what men's and women's mean here: a width at a given length.

How the sizes are set

Mexican punto

The workshop grades in Mexican punto, where the number is the length of the last in centimetres. The last — the horma — is the wooden form the shoe is built on, so MX 27 means a last measuring 27 cm. It is a measurement of the form, not of the foot. The workshop's own table gives each last a US number, and that is the number you order in and the one marked in the shoe.

Eleven lasts, eleven sizes

The lasts sit one centimetre apart, and each last is one size — no more, no less. That sounds obvious and was not: the shop used to sell sixteen EU numbers across eleven forms, so 40 and 41 were one shoe with two names. The number you pick now answers to a wooden form, and the next number along is a centimetre longer.

Men's and women's

The same length scale, a different width; the women's last is the narrower one. It is a width choice at a given length, not two different shoes. A pair that feels tight is more often tight across than short — the last is cut narrow for its length.

If you fall between two sizes

Take the larger. The leather stretches in girth but not in length: a pair that feels tight across the ball gives about a centimetre and settles around the foot, while a pair that starts short stays short. The give is a reason to dare to go tight across — not to go short.

The measurements are for bare feet

Sizes are given for a bare foot, which is how huaraches are worn. Measure in the evening when your foot is at its largest, measure both, and go by the larger one.