So you want to buy a new pair of dance shoes and you've decided that they need to be Aidas! The only problem: you don't know your size and you don't know where to start. Never fear, Aida is here to save the day!

First thing before you decide what size you need, it is best to understand the differences between dance shoes and street shoes. Here, Ilia Kolosov, President of AIDA Dance USA, explains:

There are two main differences between your everyday shoes and your dance shoes. The first is that your dance shoes have suede soles on them, whereas street shoes usually have rubber soles. This is due to the fact that dancing shoes are only meant to be worn on the dance floor, while street shoes can be worn everywhere in all kinds of conditions. The other main difference is that dance shoes are very flexible, allowing you to point your toes and accentuate any movements. This can affect fit since your street shoes are stiffer and are a little more durable.

The next thing to do is to figure out your AIDA size. Here is Ilia once again to explain:

The main difference between AIDA and other dance shoe brands is that we use centimeters to decide your size. The easiest way to calculate your size is the following:

Materials Needed:

• Piece of paper
• Pencil/Pen
• Measuring device that has CM (a ruler or a tape measure)
• Your feet

Directions:

1. Grab the piece of paper and place your foot in the middle of it
2. Trace the outline of your foot
3. Measure the outline down the middle
4. That’s your Aida size!

If you don’t want to take the time to outline your foot and measure, you can also take your US shoe size and add seventeen to it. This will also get you your Aida size!

Lastly, when fitting your dance shoes it is important to remember 3 things. Ilia explains below:

To find your perfect fit you need to make sure that your toes are at the edge of the shoe, there is no extra room in the heel cup, and the straps must be tight across the toe box.

All of these things are important, because you want the shoe to mold to your foot.This means that there must be absolutely NO space between your foot and the shoe. An easy way to check this is the finger test. If your finger fits between the shoe and the foot, then the shoe will become too big in a matter of days/weeks.

However, you also don't want your shoes to be too tight or ill-fitting!

Some indications that your shoes may not be the right size:

• The straps of the shoe dig into your foot so much that your start seeing blood circulation cut off. We want tight, but not that tight.
  
• The shoes are too painful to walk or dance in. For the first few days that yo break the shoes in, there will be a certain amount of pain. This is so the shoe stretches perfectly on your foot, but it is important that the pain in bearable.
  
• When you put weight on your foot, your toes scrunch up. In the case of closed toe shoes, if you can see the indent of your bent toes through your shoes, the shoes may be tIf you are wearing a close toe shoe and your can see the intend of your bent toes protruding through the shoe, then chances are this shoe is too short for you. 
  

We hope that this has been helpful in guiding you towards your Aida size! If you need any assistance, please contact us!