“You can never take too much care in the choice of your shoes…”
Christian Dior
My mother wouldn’t have dreamed of buying me a new pair of school shoes without one of these devices. If you are of a certain age you will know what is, but it is unlikely you know its name. This is a Brannock Device. It was successfully patented in 1927 by Charles F Brannock, after he spent many years developing a working prototype. The Brannock Device was immensely successful, for several decades its production was the key industry in the town of Syracuse, New York. The device was designed to scientifically and reproducibly measure foot size, and hence determine shoe size. Three key parameters were measured – foot length, arch depth, and foot width. The secret was that the device acted both a measurement tool and slide rule to directly calculate shoe size. This of course lead to the standardisation of shoe sizes that still exist to today. Naturally the device was calibrated to mens feet and shoes, but women could accommodated in the device, with a simple +1 added to the shoe size. #nowibuyshoesonline #letsmakelemonade
