EXCLUSIVE What your foot shape says about you: From 'thinkers' with 'Greek' toes to 'sensitive' people with 'Roman' digits, how your trotters reveal what you're really like
Many people will go to a palm reader to see what lies in their future, but increasingly people are visiting feet readers to learn more about themselves.
While palm readers can tell your fortune - feet readers study the shapes and positions of toes to analyse a person's personality and behaviour.
The belief is our toes and soles give a glimpse into our character and motivations, much like palm-reading.
Meghan Markle, for example, toes show that she's 'bossy' while the Princess of Wales ' show that she is 'big shoulders for other people to cry on', according to the UK's leading foot reading expert Jane Sheehan.
So, what do your feet say about you?
According to experts, there are seven most common types of feet and these include the Roman foot, Peasant foot, Egyptian foot, Square foot, Greek foot, Stretched foot and the Simian Foot.
And as Meghan leans into her new boho chic lifestyle, MailOnline have explored whether those with a particular foot shapes have differing qualities.
Inbaal Honigman, celebrity psychic, and Cas Paton, founder and CEO of OnBuy.com, have revealed what your feet say about you as a person.
THE PEASANT FOOT
WHAT IS IT? This foot is defined by the big toe, long toe and middle toe being short and of equal length.
To accommodate for the lack of balance caused by the shortness of these three toes, peasant foot is structurally 'flat'.
Often there's no obvious cause for flat feet. It might just be the way your feet are. Sometimes flat feet run in families.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to a pragmatist. Fuss free and down to Earth, this shape suggests a happy person that's low on stress and high on energy. This is a passionate, capable individual.'
RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS: Despite aiding stability, having fallen arches - or a flat foot - can affect the bodies alignment which increases the risk of ankle, knee and hip pain.
Normal feet are designed to keep the entire lower body in the proper configuration when you stand or walk.
Flat feet do not provide the same foundation for healthy posture. As the foot collapses toward the ground, the lower legs tend to rotate inward.
This inward rotation can affect the entire leg, including the hips, leading to long-term leg and back pain .
THE ROMAN FOOT
WHAT IS IT? This is the most common and is characterised by inward pointing toes and, much like the peasant foot, the first three toes are of similar length.
People with Roman foot typically have high arches allowing for greater acceleration and ease when changing direction suddenly.
This is due to stiffer form limiting supination and pronation (two terms describing how your weight is distributed when you walk or run), allowing the foot to adapt and move quicker.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to a thinker. Spiritual and devoted, this shape indicates a patient person who might take things to heart but won't talk about it. This is a reserved, successful person.'
RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS: People with Roman foot are however more prone to 'hammer toes', which is caused by the weakening of the muscles surrounding the toe.
People with Roman foot are more prone to this due to already having an imbalance in muscles and ligaments that keep the toes straight.
Symptoms include pain when moving or putting on footwear, swelling or a burning sensation, and - in severe cases - open sores on the toe.
Treatments include exercises such as picking up marbles with your toes, switching to footwear with low heels and wider fit at the front, and shoe inserts to reduce pain.
THE EGYPTIAN FOOT
WHAT IS IT? Egyptian foot is distinguished by a long big toe, followed by the other toes being on an incline. Such feet are usually longer and narrower than any other shapes.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to an empath. Idealistic and intuitive, this shape reveals a peaceful person who is pro-peace visionary. This is a low-tech, anti-war person.'
RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS: Despite being the foot type least likely to suffer from arthritis, bunions and load-dependent pain, this narrow structure allows for greater supination when walking.
Supination means that when you walk, your weight tends to be more on the outside of your foot.
If you have excess supination, where you bear too much weight on the outside of your foot, it causes stress on that part of the foot when you walk or run.
You can check for supination by looking at the soles of your shoes: if you are affected, they will show uneven wear on the outside part.
This uneven weight distribution can cause excess strain on your ankles, which in turn can lead to shin splints, calluses, or bunions on the outer side of your foot, and pain in your heels and balls of your feet.
THE SQUARE FOOT
WHAT IS IT? This type of foot is characterised by all five toes being of equal length, giving a broad, firm base.
A wide ball and narrow heel are typical of this foot structure.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to a grown up. Dependable, responsible and ambitious, this shape suggests a methodical person who doesn't panic when things get tough. This is a wealthy, mature person.'
RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS: The wide-to-narrow structure of the foot can lead to increased pressure on the toes and ball.
This unequal distribution of weight can result in persistent metatarsalgia, a condition where the ball of the foot becomes painful and inflamed, if incorrect footwear is worn over a significant period of time.
Athletes who partake in high impact sports might be particularly prone to metatarsalgia, although this is not always related to the shape of the foot.
THE GREEK FOOT
WHAT IS IT? Also known as the flame foot, this type of foot is defined by a protruding second toe and is one of the most common foot types, according to the survey.
This shape is caused by a structural 'abnormality' in the metatarsals, which are long bones connecting the toes to the back of your foot.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to a Jack of all Trades. Versatile and curious, this shape reveals a multi-talented person who can turn their hand (and foot) to anything. This is a lively, tactful person.'
RELATED HEALTH CONDITIONS: With this foot type the first metatarsal bone is shorter than the second, which can cause more weight to be put on the thinner second metatarsal bone.
This can result in pain in the arches of your feet. Pain in the arches of the foot can be eased at home using simple measures such as supportive shoes and physiotherapy exercises.
THE STRETCHED FOOT
WHAT IS IT? Stretched feet, or splay feet, are characterised by separated toes caused by wide set metatarsal bones.
The forefoot is broadened and the metatarsal bones splay fan-shaped.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to a social butterfly. Original and inventive, this shape indicates a party animal who loves to get to know people and share their lives. This is a confident, adaptable person.'
RELATED HEALTH ISSUES: People who have splay foot generally experience load-dependent pain while walking and standing because of the way the weight is distributed throughout the foot.
It can also lead to painful corns, calluses and sores developing, which can interfere with the rolling mechanism of the foot.
As splay feet are extra wide, it can be difficult for people with affected feet to find comfortable shoes.
THE SIMIAN FOOT
WHAT IS IT? 'Simian' refers to features relating to, or resembling monkeys or apes.
The main characteristic of Simian Foot is that the big toe leans towards the little toe. In some cases, this type of foot can have qualities of the other foot structures.
INBAAL SAYS: 'This foot belongs to an extrovert. Creative, receptive and generous, this shape reveals an individual who can't stand to be bored and has a great imagination. This is a fun, exciting person.'
RELATED HEALTH ISSUES: Due to the natural inward curve of the big toe, people with this type of foot are more likely to develop bunions.
As such, some experts advise from refraining narrow and pointed toe shoes, such as a typical high heel.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
LIZ JONES: With this As Ever launch, Meghan's finally found a money-spinner that will work... because she's realised one key thing
'No more sleeps!' That was the over-excited, slightly infantile proclamation on the Duchess of Sussex 's Instagram account this morning. There was even a ticking clock counting down the seconds before the summer drop of new products landed on her As Ever website. 'Here we go!' shouted the next post, along with a photo of Meghan in a garden swing, hair flowing, sleeves puffy. My excitement could barely be contained. I was on tenterhooks!
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Meghan launches new jams and £20 orange blossom honey in website restock
The Duchess of Sussex has restocked her website with a number of new items, including a 'Limited edition orange blossom honey' on sale for 28 US dollars (£20). Meghan had promised some 'delicious surprises' as she teased, earlier this week, that she would be offering some new products on her As Ever site. Also available are an apricot spread in 'keepsake packaging' and a crepe mix, both £10 each, flower sprinkles for £11 and a range of herbal teas at £9 each. In an Instagram post at the same time as the new products went live, the California-based duchess wrote: 'Yummies, and honeys, and fruit spreads, oh my!' Meghan previously said the April launch of her As Ever products, including jam and herbal tea, had been 'absolutely extraordinary'. But she also spoke of her fear that she annoyed customers when the first batch of her jam and herbal teas sold out in less than an hour. She said wanted to wait until it is 'completely stable and we have everything we need'. In the run-up to her re-stock, Meghan shared a photo of jam-making preparations including bowls of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, and freshly squeezed lemons, on her Instagram stories, writing: ''June gloom?' Not over here! Because this month your favourite products are back.' Her official As Ever account also posted: 'To all who've been wondering and waiting, thank you! 'Your favourites are returning, plus a few NEW things we can't wait to show you. Coming this month … get excited!'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
By royal approval: Van Cleef & Arpels' floral jewels
A century ago, the jewellery designer Alfred Van Cleef introduced an extraordinary floral bracelet at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels in Paris, the fair that is credited with launching the art deco movement. Adorned with diamonds, rubies and emeralds set in platinum, Van Cleef's Fleurs enlacées, roses rouges et blanches (Entwined Flowers) cuff evoked a border of blowsy red and white roses and stunned the judges, who awarded the jewel the Grand Prix. Since then, bejewelled buds, sparkling corollas and golden leaves have flourished within Van Cleef & Arpels' design repertoire. 'Nature has been a perennial source of inspiration,' says the company's CEO, Catherine Rénier. 'For me, this theme embodies freshness, vitality and joy.' As the techniques of its craftsmen have evolved, so have the jeweller's motifs. Patented in 1933, its signature Mystery setting allowed precious stones to be arranged tightly together without any visible metal, giving the petals of rose, peony and chrysanthemum brooches an unprecedented volume, depth of colour and almost velvety texture. With the sleek lines and pared-back silhouettes of early mid-century modernism came a plethora of stylised florals, such as the Fleur Silhouette brooch from 1937, which was crafted from loops of gold wire and curved rows of precious stones. Around the same time, Hélène Arpels — the glamorous wife of Louis, the youngest of the Arpels brothers, who regularly appeared on international best-dressed lists — was pictured wearing the house's iconic Passe-Partout collection at the Prix de Diane horse race in Chantilly. These multipurpose jewels had chunky sapphire, ruby and diamond flower clips threaded onto flexible gold 'Tubogas' chains, allowing them to be worn as bracelets, necklaces or belts. By 1939, one of the maison's gem-set posies had found its way into the wardrobe of one of the era's most infamous women, Wallis Simpson. The Duchess of Windsor was a longtime admirer of Van Cleef & Arpels' work, and many of the spectacular jewels in her collection (so large it has been dubbed the 'alternative Crown Jewels') hailed from its atelier, including a ruby and diamond bracelet gifted to her in 1936 by the Duke of Windsor (memorably inscribed with the words 'Hold tight'); a ruby-studded 'cravat' necklace that was a 40th birthday present, and a polished sapphire and diamond clip that she wore for her marriage to the Duke in 1937. For Christmas the following year, the Duchess received an ornate brooch shaped like a bouquet of ruby and sapphire flowers from her doting husband. The 8in-long jewel came from a new Van Cleef & Arpels collection called Hawaï, which featured miniature red and blue blossoms dotted about 18-carat gold stems and leaves. The gift was a hit: the Duchess wore it to sit for the artist Gerald Leslie Brockhurst in 1939 and the resulting portrait was given pride of place in the library at the Windsors' villa in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. (It is now displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.) Next month, Van Cleef & Arpels will unveil the latest take on its Hawaï design, entitled Fleurs d'Hawaï, in a garden with a modern royal connection. The capsule line of graphic floral earrings, rings and three 'secret' watches — all composed with vibrant, pear-cut gemstone petals and white diamond pistils set in gold — will debut in a sunny spot within the five-acre Queen Elizabeth walled garden at Dumfries House, the 18th-century Palladian mansion in East Ayrshire that was saved for the nation by King Charles in 2007. The 2,000-acre estate is now also the headquarters of the King's Foundation, a charity founded in 1990 to champion regenerative community projects and sustainability. Since 2023, the maison has been the principal patron of the King's Foundation Gardens and Estates (which also includes the Castle of Mey in Scotland and Highgrove in Gloucestershire), helping to fund its extensive horticultural projects, such as boosting biodiversity and the creation of new woodlands and hedgerows. Among its first initiatives was preserving the rose garden at Dumfries House. The 3,300-plus plants that fill its beds and scramble over its arbours bear luxuriant, fragrant blooms resembling clusters of deep red rubies, pink spinels and peach-tinted sapphires in the summer sunlight. 'It is such a focal point for the celebration of nature and the gardens,' says Simon Sadinsky, executive director at the King's Foundation. 'Dumfries and Van Cleef & Arpels both understand the importance of preserving traditional skills and crafts, and of providing the next generation with the opportunity to learn these traditions. In our one-acre education garden, we teach young people about seasonal growing and sustainable waste. You'll find students from local schools there, as well as trainees and experts from around the world. An appreciation of nature and understanding our part in the ecosystem is really fundamental to the King.' Much like the youth programmes at Dumfries House, a key part of Van Cleef & Arpels' strategy is its own educational platform, De Mains en Mains (From Hands to Hands), which introduces school pupils to the heritage crafts of jewellery making and goldsmithing, and offers mentorship to adults who hope to work in the jewellery sector. It is also growing its manufacturing ateliers in France to meet the demand for its bestsellers, such as the clover-shaped Alhambra design, an evergreen favourite of the Queen and the Princess of Wales. Each 18-carat gold four-leaf motif is still finished entirely by hand and every one of its colourful ornamental stone centres is cut and polished by an artisan, just as they were when the collection first appeared in 1968.
