There are many websites that deal with shoes and terms. However, this post focuses on the terms used in golf shoe catalogs that include descriptions of shoe lasts, e.g., FootJoy and Nike.
I called Darlene at Baron’s Shoes in Mt. Greenwood, a local shoe store that offers high quality street, dress and athletic shoes, as well as excellent fitting service. (They are also a great place to find Daniel Green slippers). Darlene is a well spring of shoe information, knows as much about feet as many podiatrists and also plays golf. She kindly explained the terms I asked her about so that I could compile this mini-glossary:
Forefoot: This is the front third of your foot that includes the toe box and bunion joint. It is often where shoes are frequently not wide enough. People with bunions, corns and wide feet require full forefoot fit or a wider size.
Heel: The heel refers to the back third of the foot comprising the heel and ankle. Women tend to have narrower heel areas than men, which is why men’s shoe sizes rarely fit women, even with large feet.
Instep: The instep is the middle third of the foot. It consists of five bones and can be high, normal or flat. This is another area where shoes can hurt, especially if you wear orthotics.
Toe box and toe character: The toe “box” is the top portion of a shoe that surrounds the toes. Toe character refers to how the shoe is shaped around the toes. Rounder toe character is preferred over narrow or pointed toe character if you want comfortable shoes. Anyone with hammer toes or bunions usually needs a full toe box and instep.
Vamp: The vamp is just the top part of the shoe up to where the shoes lace if there are laces, or where the shoe meets flesh. An “oblique” vamp is a long vamp. A long vamp can be supportive or uncomfortable, depending on the way the instep is designed.