The inner sole of a shoe, beneath the foot.
The insole is the inner sole on which the foot rests. Paraboot calls it the link between the upper and the midsole, and Grenson the foundation of a Goodyear-welted shoe. Crockett & Jones cuts its insoles from leather bends and attaches the rib to which the welt is later stitched. Paraboot lists leather, synthetic board or cardboard, and notes that the cheaper boards tend to make feet hot.
In a Goodyear-welted shoe the outsole is stitched only to the welt, so the insole stays in place when the shoe is resoled; Grenson keeps the original insole, which it says keeps the fit the same. In a Blake-stitched shoe, by contrast, the sole seam passes through the insole itself.
The structural insole is distinct from a removable footbed or cushioning insert, although retail descriptions sometimes use the same name for both. ASICS, for example, calls the soft foam sockliner of a running shoe its insole.
In job listings
Insoles appear at both ends of a shoe’s life. Production roles list the insertion of insoles and footbeds among finishing operations, and in-store artisan roles count insole replacement among after-sales repairs. See current shoemaking roles.
