and heel. The metal plates, which are known as taps, make a loud sound when struck against a hard performance surface. Tap shoes, which are used in tap dancing, may be made from any style of shoe to which taps can be attached. Character shoes are leather shoes with one- to three-inch heels, usually with one or more straps across the instep to secure it to the foot. They may be soft-soled (suede) or hard-soled. They may be converted to tap shoes by attaching taps. Kierpce are traditional dance shoes in German, Polish, Slovakian, Lithuanian, Latvian and maybe other cultures. They are lightweight, do not have a sole, and are made with leather. Traditionally white wool socks are worn alongside kierpces. Orthopedic Orthopedic shoes are specially-designed footwear to relieve discomfort associated with many foot and ankle disorders, such as blisters, bunions, calluses and corns, hammer toes, plantar fasciitis, or heel spurs. Certain types of therapeutic footwear are prescribed for children with mobility issues. They may also be worn by individuals with diabetes or people with unequal leg length. These shoes typically have a low heel, tend to be wide with a particularly wide toe box, and have a firm heel to provide extra support. Some may also have a removable insole, or orthotic, to provide extra arch support. Measures and sizes The measure of a foot for a shoe is from the heel to the longest toe. Shoe size is an alphanumerical indication of the fitting size of a shoe for a person. Often it just consists of a number indicating the length because many shoemakers only provide a standard width for economic reasons. Worldwide, several different shoe-size systems are used, differing in their units of measurement and in the position of sizes 0 and 1. Only a few systems also take the width of the feet into account. Some regions use different shoe-size systems for different types of shoes (e.g., men's, women's, children's, sport, or safety shoes). Units for shoe sizes vary widely around the world. European sizes are measured in Paris Points, each measuring two-thirds of a centimeter. The UK and American units result in whole-number sizes spaced at one barleycorn ( inch), with UK adult sizes starting at size 1 = . In the US, this is size 2. Men's and women's shoe sizes often have different scales. Shoe size is often measured using a Brannock Device,