Vans Old Skool Sizing and Fit Guide (review w/ pics)

I’ve worn the Vans Old Skool shoes and compared their sizing to other popular styles and my conclusion was this: the Vans Old Skool sizing is very consistent with other types of Vans shoes, and fit true to size, but have the same snug fit that is common with many styles of Vans shoes.

***Verify Your Size: Vans.com now has its own sizing tutorial which matches your foot size to a Vans shoe size. Click here to view this Vans sizing guide available at Vans.com (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com).

One thing that is common with Vans sizing, including Vans Old Skool, is these are performance skate shoes that are designed to have a snug fit. If you have wide feet, you will want to make sure you order wide sizing.

To order Vans Old Skool shoes in wide sizing, you actually need to go to the Vans “Custom” page, where you can make custom changes which include ordering custom wide fit shoes. Click here to view the custom wides available at Vans.com (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com).

As I mentioned at the top, I personally have found the Vans Old Skool shoes to fit true to size with a snug design. They are sized consistently with other popular types of Vans shoes. But I will caution you, they do run smaller than some other types of shoes.

For example, when comparing these Vans Old Skool Shoes vs Converse Chucks, I found the Converse Chucks to fit about a half size larger. Here is a picture of my size 12 Converse Chucks vs my size 12 Vans Old Skool Shoes:

vans-old-skool-sizing-vs-converse-chucks

As you can see, the Converse Chucks run bigger in size than the Vans Old Skool shoes. But before you run off and size those Vans Old Skools up a half size, here is a photo of my size 12 Vans Old Skool shoes compared to my size 12 Nike Cortez shoes:

As you can see, those two shoes are sized almost exactly the same. In this article I want to take a closer look at sizing by comparing these Vans Old Skool shoes to other types of popular shoes. Hopefully this will help you find the right size for your foot.

***Verify Your Sizing: I think these Vans Old Skool shoes fit true to size with a snug design, but every foot is unique. Vans.com now has its own sizing tutorial which matches your foot size to a Vans shoe size. Click here to view this Vans sizing guide available at Vans.com to verify your correct size (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com).

Table of Contents

Vans Old Skool Sizing

Do Vans Old Skool Shoes Run Big or Small?

My Advice: In my experience, Vans Old Skool shoes fit true to size. I order my normal sizing and do not have any issues. But, like many types of Vans, these Vans Old Skool shoes have a narrow fit, so let’s discuss what to do if you have wide feet.

I feel like the Vans Old Skool is consistent with the sizing and fit of other types of Vans I have owned. It’s not a perfect illustration, but here is a look at my Old Skool shoes compared to my Vans Slip-ons:

Again, in my experience, I have ordered my normal sizing for Vans, and have not had a problem with fit, but I do not have wide feet. If you have wide feet, you will likely need wide sizing.

To order wide Vans sizing, you actually need to go to the Vans “Custom” page, where you can make custom changes which include ordering custom wide shoes. Click here to view the custom wides available at Vans.com (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com).

Vans Old Skool Sizing Compared To Other Popular Brands

Vans Old Skool vs Converse Chucks Sizing

As I discussed earlier, the Converse Chucks fit bigger than most shoes, including these Vans Old Skool shoes. My Converse Chucks fit about a half size bigger than my Vans Old Skool shoes. Here are these shoes compared, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool vs Converse Pro Leather Sizing

In my experience, the Vans Old Skool shoes have a very similar fit compared to the Converse Pro Leathers (the Converse Pro Leathers might be just a little bit looser, but it was close). This seems to be a bit of an exception for Converse though because both the Converse Chucks and Converse One Stars fit bigger. Here are mine (both size 12):

vans-old-skool-sizing-vs-converse-pro-leathers

Vans Old Skool Sizing vs Converse One Stars

I have found Converse One Star Sizing to be similar to Converse Chucks in that they run slightly bigger than most Vans sizing. The Converse One Stars fit looser than the Vans Old Skool shoes, but take into account that the Converse One Stars have a more pointed toe and a thick rubber overlay around the toe that makes them look longer than they fit. Here are mine (both size 12):

Vans Old Skool vs Adidas Superstars Sizing

Like other classic Vans shoes, I personally found the Vans Old Skool shoes to fit smaller than the Adidas Superstars. The Adidas Superstars have more padding around the collar and behind the foot, which makes the fit a bit closer than it appears. I wouldn’t say it is a full size difference, but the Adidas Superstars were looser. Here are mine, both size 12:

vans-old-skool-sizing-vs-adidas-superstars

Vans Old Skool vs Adidas Gazelles Sizing

I found the Adidas Gazelle to fit just a little bit longer than the Vans Old Skool shoes, but overall the fit was very similar. Just like the Adidas Superstars above, it’s important to mention that there is more padding in the Adidas Gazelle than the Vans Old Skool shoes, and this makes the overall fit a bit closer than it appears. Here are mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool Sizing vs Adidas Busenitz

The Adidas Busenitz has a similar sizing to the Vans Old Skool Shoes. I would recommend ordering the same size for both of these shoes. Here are mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool vs Adidas Samba Sizing

Just like the Adidas Busenitz above, these Adidas Samba shoes have a very similar sizing to the Vans Old Skool Shoes. Here are mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool vs Adidas Nizza Sizing

Again, another Adidas low-top skate-style shoe that is very similar to Vans sizing. This Adidas Nizza shoe fits very much like the Vans Old Skool shoes:

Vans Old Skool vs Nike Cortez Sizing

We discussed this earlier, but the Nike Cortez shoes, in my experience, fit very snug and even fit smaller than these Vans Old Skool shoes. Here are mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool Sizing vs Nike Blazer

I found the sizing of these Vans Old Skool shoes to be very similar to the sizing of the Nike Blazer low-tops. Here is a look at mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool Sizing vs Nike Air Max

These Nike Air Max shoes fit a little bit looser than the Vans Old Skool Shoes. I’d say there’s about a half shoe size difference in sizing. Here are mine, both size 12:

Vans Old Skool Sizing Conclusion

Ultimately, I order my normal sizing for Vans Old Skool shoes, but they do fit a bit tighter than other types of shoes that I have worn. But when you compare them to other types of low-top performance shoes (like the Adidas skate shoes and other Vans skate shoes) the sizing is very similar.

Click here to buy the Vans Old Skool shoes at Amazon (affiliate link takes you to Amazon.com). If you need wide sizing, you will need to order custom shoes from Vans.com, this link will take you to the Vans custom shoe page at Vans.com (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com).

To read more about sizing of Vans shoes, visit our other resources linked here:

***Vans Old Skool Sizing Guide: Vans.com now has its own sizing tutorial which matches your foot size to a Vans Old Skool shoe size. Click here to view it at Vans.com (affiliate link takes you to Vans.com). This is the best place to start so you can be confident your are ordering the right sizing for Vans Old Skool shoes.