1. By the time you see me for a fitting, I will usually have asked you for your foot size and, if you are already doing pointe work, your current shoe brand/style/size and width. That enables me to plan in advance the sort of shoes you might wish to try. If you have been very specific about the shoe(s) you wish to try, I will not push you to consider others unless you genuinely show an interest in exploring other options. I usually explain the range of shoes I stock and the reasons for doing so. If you are looking for a specific brand/style which I do not stock, I will tell you at the outset and suggest the best place to buy these. I am usually able to tell you about similar brands/models which might work as good alternatives.

2. I will ask you to take off your socks or remove the foot section of your convertible tights so that I can see your feet. If you are wearing baggy trousers, I will ask you to roll these up. (It is best if this type of legwear is avoided as it tends to get in the way.)

3. At the outset, we will have a chat about your training, your existing pointe shoes (if applicable), any challenges and your aspirations. I will then check the shape of your feet and ask you to pointe tendu from First position and also with your feet in parallel – Sixth position. This gives me the opportunity to check the strength of both your tarsal and metatarsal arches and to see how strong your toes are. I can also see whether you have a tendency to pronate or sickle the foot and generally how strong your turn out is. I usually check with clients whether their foot size changes at different times of the day. If your feet swell towards the end of the day, it is better to arrange a fitting time in the evening rather than the morning.

4. I will then ask you to get your feet ready for pointe shoes. If you are already doing pointe work, this will simply be a matter of applying your toe pads and any other accessories and ensuring that everything is held in place either with your convertible ballet tights or ballet socks of a similar denier (I can supply freshly laundered socks if you do not have these.) We can discuss what sort of toe pads and, if necessary, toe tips and separators, are appropriate for you if you are unsure.

5. I will kick off the trying on process by prioritising the shoes which I think are going to suit your foot shape and strength best and we use a process of trial and error to identify a shortlist of, ideally, 4 or 5 pairs which you particularly like and support you well. This is always a collaborative process and I welcome an active dialogue about the suitability of the shoes I suggest. On average, we will try about 10 pairs of shoes to reduce this to a shortlist of 4 or 5. Then we review the shortlist until we have the 2 favourite pairs at which point you can do a “compare and contrast” to make your final choice unless, of course, you decide to buy more than one pair of pointe shoes.

6. Throughout this process I will ask you for your feedback on how the shoe feels and looks. If you have brought a friend of relative, I will ask for their views too. I will feed back to you my observations as to the appearance of the shoe both on the flat and on pointe and whether it looks as though it is providing sufficient support. We will also discuss how the shoe will behave in the demi pointe position. This latter analysis is always a challenge because you cannot execute demi pointe in brand new pointe shoes which do not have the ribbons attached. A lot will depend on the vamp depth of the shoes and the length of your toes. These are all issues which we can discuss at the fitting.

7. Once you have chosen your shoes, we can discuss care and how to prolong their longevitiy. The key recommendation is to dry them out after each wearing by hanging them up in a warm dry environment away from direct heat or damp. If you are new to pointe work I will take you through the ribbon sewing process and also how/when to attach elastics. We can discuss the merits of darning your shoes or I sell suede toe tips as an alternative to darning which will help to stop you from slipping. If you are new to pointe work, I can show you how to break in your shoes – ideally guided by your teacher – so as to avoid any damage to the shoes whilst ensuring that you get the best from them right from the start of your first pointe work class.