Reference

Glossary

24 terms, 24 of them cross-linked to each other. These are words that describe parts and constructions, which is what a glossary is for.

Two words this glossary does not define

Arch support and orthotic are not entries here, because a glossary defines terms and neither of these is defined by anybody. They are seller vocabulary, and this site treats them as such on their own pages rather than lending them the authority of a definition list.

Arch support Orthotic and plantar fasciitis

Last: The three-dimensional form a shoe is built around. Two shoes of the same stated size built on different lasts will fit differently, which is why size charts are not transferable between makers. No listing in this catalog names a last.; See alsoToe box Width designation
Toe box: The front section of the upper, over and around the toes. Its outline is visible in a photograph taken from directly above, which makes it one of the few parts of a shoe you can compare against a tracing of your own foot before buying.; See alsoLast Vamp Width designation
Footbed: The surface the foot rests on, which may be molded, layered or flat. Some are bonded in and some lift out. A footbed that lifts out is one you can inspect, measure and dry separately, and several listings here state that theirs does.; See alsoInsole Cork footbed Memory foam
Midsole: The layer between the footbed and the ground, usually a foam, which is where most of a shoe’s height comes from. Its thickness is visible in a profile photograph and is given as a figure by exactly one listing in this catalog.; See alsoOutsole Stack height EVA
Outsole: The bottom layer that meets the ground. Its pattern, channel depth and contact area are all visible in a sole photograph, and they are the only grip evidence that twelve of the thirteen grip claims in this catalog offer.; See alsoMidsole ASTM F2913
Insole: Often used interchangeably with footbed, and sometimes used for a separate removable layer sitting on top of it. Listings in this catalog use both words without distinguishing them, so read the images rather than the noun.; See alsoFootbed Memory foam
Drop: The difference in height between the heel and the forefoot, given in millimeters where anyone gives it at all. Not one listing in this catalog states a drop figure, including the four that sell thinness as their main proposition.; See alsoZero drop Stack height
Zero drop: A construction where heel and forefoot sit at the same height, so the drop figure is nominally zero. The term is used across the minimalist trade and is defined by no standards body. No listing in this catalog uses it.; See alsoDrop Stack height
Stack height: The total thickness of material under a point on the foot, usually quoted at the heel and the forefoot. It is the figure that would make a thinness claim checkable, and it appears in none of the sixty-six listings here.; See alsoMidsole Drop Zero drop
Upper: Everything above the sole. Its material determines how a shoe breathes, cleans and holds a shape, and it is named in fewer than half of the listings in this catalog. Where it is named, the word is usually a category rather than a specification.; See alsoVamp Toe box
Vamp: The part of the upper covering the front of the foot, between the toe box and the closure. On a penny loafer it carries the strap; on a moccasin-construction shoe it carries the visible handsewn seam.; See alsoUpper Toe box Welt
Welt: A strip joining the upper to the sole, stitched rather than glued, on constructions built to be resoled. No listing in this catalog mentions one, which tells you something about how the catalog expects these shoes to end.; See alsoVamp Outsole
EVA: Ethylene-vinyl acetate, a closed-cell foam used for midsoles and for whole molded shoes. Closed-cell means it does not absorb water, which is why the word appears alongside water claims and why those claims are more plausible on it than on a textile.; See alsoMidsole Memory foam Machine washable
Cork footbed: A bonded cork layer under the foot, which takes an impression with use. Ten listings here name one and its edge is visible along the side of the sole in the photographs. None states its thickness or how much it moves.; See alsoFootbed Insole
Memory foam: A viscoelastic foam that compresses and recovers slowly. Published test methods exist for density, indentation and resilience in flexible cellular materials, and no listing in this catalog cites any of them.; See alsoFootbed EVA Insole
Suede versus nubuck: Both are napped leathers. Suede is made from the underside of the hide and nubuck from the sanded outer face, which makes nubuck denser and finer. Three listings here say suede; none says nubuck, and none says which face.; See alsoFull grain leather Upper
Full grain leather: The outer layer of the hide with its surface intact rather than sanded or corrected. It is a grade rather than a general word for leather, and it appears in exactly one of the sixty-six listings in this catalog.; See alsoSuede versus nubuck Upper
Closure: The mechanism that keeps a shoe on: laces, a buckle, a strap, a toe post, elastic, or nothing at all. Thirty-four of these sixty-six listings state no closure, which makes it the most commonly withheld construction fact in the catalog.; See alsoSlip-in Elastic gore Break-in
Slip-in: A shoe designed to be put on without hands, which depends on a heel counter stiff enough to stay open while the foot goes in. It is a mechanical property, it is visible in the photographs, and you can confirm it in one attempt.; See alsoClosure Elastic gore
Elastic gore: A panel or lace of elastic that stretches to let the foot through and returns to where it was. It is not adjustment: it changes shape under load and then does not stay changed. Two listings here state elastic laces and neither calls them adjustable.; See alsoClosure Slip-in
Width designation: A letter code such as B, D or EE indicating relative width within one maker’s range. It is a trade convention, it is not aligned between makers, and not one listing in this catalog states a letter designation or a numerical width.; See alsoLast Toe box
ASTM F2913: A published test method that measures the dynamic coefficient of friction between a whole shoe and a test flooring on a laboratory rig. Running it is voluntary. One listing in this catalog names a standards body; twelve grip claims cite nothing.; See alsoOutsole
Machine washable: A care instruction the seller has committed to, unlike the adjectives around it. Where a listing does not state it, this site does not suggest washing anything, because the absence is not permission.; See alsoEVA Footbed
Break-in: The period in which materials take a set from use. It is real in stiff leathers and largely absent in molded foams, and no listing in this catalog quantifies it or mentions it at all.; See alsoClosure Full grain leather