Tamaris Leather Insole Size 39 – Ready Cut Bed for an Awkward Toe Shape

Description

Tamaris Leather Insole Size 39 – Ready Cut Bed for an Awkward Toe Shape – a leather insole made to size 39 rather than trimmed, for pointed and asymmetric shoes that defeat scissors

Trimming an insole is a one way job and pointed shoes make it harder than it looks. The line you need is not a curve but a long shallow taper to one side, and a millimetre too much leaves the bed sliding about for the rest of its life. Take too little and it buckles against the toe box as you walk. There is no third attempt, because leather cannot go back on.

So this bed is not supplied as a blank. It is made at size 39 with a finished outline all the way round, which means the shape that goes into the shoe is the shape the factory intended, and no part of the fit depends on how steady your hand was with the kitchen scissors. You take the old liner out and put this one in.

One pair of size 39 leather beds, a UK 6 by the brand chart, die cut and ready to fit.

Why choose this tamaris leather insole size 39?

• Made at the size, not cut down to it. The outline is die cut and finished, so the edge is smooth and the shape is symmetrical. That is worth real money in a pointed shoe, where a hand trimmed bed almost always ends up slightly wrong on one side and never quite settles.
• No cut edge to fray or lift. A trimmed insole exposes the raw inside of the leather along the cut, and that edge picks up damp and starts to separate from the underlay. A factory edge is sealed the whole way round and stays intact for the life of the bed.
• It stops the bed migrating forward. Insoles creep towards the toe when they are even slightly short, and in a pointed shoe they then jam and buckle. Getting the length right from the outset removes that problem completely rather than managing it every few weeks.
• Leather over latex, with a carbon filter. You get a firm leather face that takes your print, a latex layer that cushions and recovers, and activated carbon in that layer holding on to the compounds that make a shoe smell. Three useful things in something under three millimetres thick.
• Perforated so the shoe still breathes. Fine holes through the leather let air and damp move up and out rather than gathering under the arch. A pointed shoe is usually a closed shoe, so any ventilation you can build into it is worth having and this is the simplest kind.
• Right first time, which is the real saving. At £11.99 this is not the cheapest bed on the site, but a ruined trimmed insole costs you the whole price and the shoe still is not right. Buying the correct size once tends to work out cheaper than buying a blank twice over.

How to use the Tamaris leather insole size 39

Because there is nothing to cut, this is the quickest bed I sell to fit. The only part worth care is getting the toe fully home. Take it in this order.

1. Ease the old liner out, starting at the toe rather than the heel.
2. Check nothing is left glued down inside the point of the shoe.
3. Feed the new bed in nose first and push it right to the front.
4. Press along the toe taper with a finger so it lies flat.
5. Resist any urge to trim, because this one is already sized.
6. Wear it indoors before committing to a full day out.

My tip as a shoe specialist

Get the toe of the bed properly home before you judge the length, and use a shoehorn to do it. In a pointed shoe the taper wants to ride up the inside of the toe box, and if it does the bed sits a few millimetres back and feels short when it is nothing of the sort. Slide a shoehorn down the front, feed the nose of the bed underneath it and draw the horn out, and the bed drops flat into the point. Nine times out of ten a bed that felt too long never reached the front of the shoe at all.

Specifications

Quick reference

• Size: 39, which the brand charts as a UK 6
• Length: About 24.5cm
• Supplied: One pair, ready cut
• Face: Perforated genuine leather
• Layer beneath: Latex holding active carbon
• Edge: Factory finished, sealed
• Colour: Black
• Made for: Pointed and asymmetric shoes
• Brand: Tamaris

Frequently asked questions

What if my shoe is between two sizes?

Take the smaller bed. A bed that is a shade short sits still and does no harm, whereas one that is a shade long buckles at the toe and you are back to cutting it after all.

Can I still trim it if I need to?

You can take a sliver off the toe if you must, though it should not be necessary. Cut with the leather face upwards and try the shoe after each pass rather than cutting once and hoping.

Does the shape suit a left and a right?

Yes, the pair is handed, so one bed is shaped for each foot. Look at the curve along the inside edge of each one and put the deeper curve towards your own arch.

Where can I buy the tamaris leather insole size 39 in the UK?

You can pick it up from Shoespecialist.co.uk in any size I hold in stock. Same day dispatch applies to orders placed before 5pm, returns stay open for 60 days after that, and delivery stops costing you anything past £50.