High Heel Fashion | High Heel Shoe blog

Siriano’s Spring 2010 Heel Design

February 07, 2010 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion

Last spring’s hot design for high heels was Chanel’s gun heel which was worn by Madonna to a movie premiere in 2008. At a price tag of over $2000 a pair, many people went looking for a look-a-like.

This spring is to see the release of Alexander McQueen’s ‘lobster claw’ heel. I’m sure most everyone has seen them and heard the stories about models refusing to wear them on the catwalk. There is mixed reaction from the public, ranging from they are to die for down to they are completely hideous. Like normal there is expected to be a release of what one may call a look-a-like, or possibly an improvement on the original idea.

	Christian Siriano, season 4 winner of ‘Project Runway’, who interned with McQeen, is said to be launching three styles this spring, exclusive to Payless, which have a McQueen-esque style. These wild, watercolor-and-sequin embellished platforms from the runway are supposed to hit stores in mid-March, retailing for $79.99 a pair.
In December 2008, Siriano signed a deal to desing a line of low-cost shoes and handbags for Payless. In the fall of 2009 his designs were available for purchase. There are currently 10 shoes styles and one handbag style available at Payless, with a price tag as low as $29.99.

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Wearing high heels related to sagging breasts?

August 12, 2009 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion

It is said that sagging or drooping of breasts is a natural, inevitable process that happens to all women at some point in their life, except those with fairly small breasts. It is also believed that pregnancy and losing weight are additional reasons. Thousands of women every year undergo plastic surgery to have breast lifts done, but surgery results are not permanent since the skin and ligaments will stretch again eventually.

Constant or prolonged sitting, which most of us do, causes the muscles on the fronts of the hips to become short and tight. Also the glutes — or butt muscles — actually forget how to contract. The combination of tight muscles on the front of the hips and weak muscles on the backside causes the pelvis to tilt forward. This pushes the lower abdomen outward, making the belly pooch out. Another belly pooch culprit: high heels. “High-fashion shoes not only contribute to your pooch, but again, leave you less perky up top as well”, according to Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., fitness advisor for Women’s Health. “wearing high heels can result in saggy breasts. Heels make your ankle muscles tight. This leads to tighter muscles all the way up your legs to your lower back. And a tight lower back causes you to compensate by hunching forward even more, so your sag worsens”.

So should you throw out your heels? Many women ‘have’ to wear them for work and therefore cannot get away from them. But there are a few things you can do to help. Always sit as tall as you can, exercise daily, eat healthy and stretch your chest. You can also try to minimize the amount of time wearing heels. Wear a pair of flats to work, change out into heels at work, and change back into flats for the commute home. Women also just wear them to try and look more appealing, but in the long run can they be doing more harm than good?

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Vending Machines for After Party Shoes

June 27, 2009 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion

This is a follow up on our post Free Shoes For People in Devon, in which a town in the UK was handing out flip flops to people who have had too much to drink. The program was geared towards women in high heels that had been out drinking at bars in fear that they will injure themselves walking home.
Image courtesy of Rollasole	Three new companies in England have taken this idea a bit further by selling their version of portable flats in vending machines at nightclubs. Rollasoles, Afterheels and Butterfly Twists have manufactured rollable or foldable ballet flats that sell for about 5 GBP, or $8.25 USD. There are listed 27 clubs offering the Rollasoles and 11 offering Afterheels. There was no information availalbe on clubs offering Butterfly Twists at this time. Rollasoles are available in 3 colors (black, gold and silver) and sold
in 3 sizes (small, medium and large). AfterHeels are currently available in metallic black pearl with fuchsia pink lining in two sizes (small and medium). Butterfly Twists are only available in black in 3 sizes (small, medium and large). All three are sold with a matching bag to carry their wearer’s shoes home. These shoes are a great idea also for those who must wear high heels at work. One can wear these for the ride or drive to and from work and easily change out of them into high heels. There currently are no vending machines here in the US selling this product. We are	Image courtesy of AfterHeels
Image courtesy of ButterflyTwists	unsure if these companies ship to the US but we did find one company here in the US, SpareSoles, which has an online store that carries ballet flats that has them in 4 sizes (small, medium, large and x-large) and 7 different colors (black, brown, gold, ivory, leopard, silver and white). They range in price from $25-$29 a pair (not including shipping). Each pair comes
with a matching pouch with wrist strap meant for carrying the flats only. They are not designed to carry the heels which have been taken off. Is this trend something we should be expecting to see here in the states in the next few years? We buy food, drinks, personal products and many other items from vending machines, why not shoes? Women go out clubbing in high heels and normally have aching feet by the end of the night. Due to our society, women here in the US usually have some sort of transportation to get home, other than their own two feet. But in resort areas these could possibly become a big hit. Along with vending machines selling flats for women wearing high heels one could find in fancier restaurants or clubs, vending machines that sell ties for men or dress shoes for women.

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Bordello Collection Now Available

May 31, 2009 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion, New Styles and Discontinued

We have finished adding a new collection shoes and boots to our store. The Bordello collection of heels range from 2″ to 5 3/4″ in heel height, featuring glitter, satin, rhinestones, sequins and velvet. These new items include booties, peep toe sandals, pumps, slides, ankle and knee high boots. This is a truly sophisticated line of footwear perfect for special events including weddings, proms, pageants or if you just want to be noticed.
	The Rosa-02, shown left, features a 3 3/4″ heel, closed heel, and flower accent on the vamp. It is available in baby pink satin as shown, black satin and champagne satin. This beautiful shoe is perfect for bridesmaids or the mother of the bride.
The Courtess-1025, shown right, is a front lacing 5″ platform calf high boot with glitter and rear lace up accent. This item is available in gold as shown, green and baby pink.
	The Teeze-07L, shown left, is a 5 3/4″ concealed platform Mary Jane style pump with lace overlay decor. This shoe comes in hot pink as shown, lime green, red and nude.
These three items are just a sample of the exquisite new styles now available for purchase.

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Can High Heels Improve Your Sex Life?

January 04, 2009 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion, News

Happy 2009 everyone!! I hope everyone got what they wanted and had a safe holiday and New Year. I took the week off to spend time with family and friends. It was nice, but it is now time to get back to work.

Most people will agree that high heels are very sexy and some would go as far to say they are just as sexy as any piece of lingerie a woman can put on. But although these shoes are sexy and have the power to instantly turn on most men, they can also improve your sex life in other ways. Dr. Maria Cerruto, an Italian urologist, discovered that wearing high heels can improve a woman’s pelvic floor muscles. His findings were based on 66 women, all under the age of 50, who after wearing 3 inch heels were found to have elevated electrical activity in their pelvic muscles by as much as 15 percent on average. The women were also noted to have better posture as compared to women who wore flat shoes. This finding disproves the assumption that the spine will curve forward from the wearing of high heels. Professor Ki Kyung-Do, a professor at Kyung Hee University, states “Wearing reasonably high heels can tighten the thigh muscles and affect the pelvic muscles connected to the leg muscles. Since pelvic muscles are not used often, wearing high heels can provide them with a form of exercise. Although more negative studies show that wearing high heels can shift one’s body weight forward and put pressure on the knees and spine, there is no real danger for young women in wearing 1 3/4 to 2 inch high heels.” He goes on to say that if a woman wears heels that are 3 inches or higher that they should not wear them for more than six hours at a time and not more than four times a week.

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Gun Heeled Shoes

November 10, 2008 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion, New Styles and Discontinued

Well another week and we go from the stress of an election to the stress of the holidays. With all that we do not really need any added stress, especially stress over our shoes. Now you may or may not have seen all the images or read all the stories of the new lines that are coming out this spring, as there are many and most of them I like.
	There is one shoe though in particular I would like to point out as I feel it has a major design flaw. This shoe is the Gun Heel that was designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel Shoes and were seen in Miami at the 2009 Resort Runway Presentation. Now before we go into the many flaws
of this shoe, I would like to go on record that I’m not in any way trying to put down or discredit Karl or Chanel in any way. I love their products and I believe Karl’s designs are top notch and they reflect his passion for what he does, as he is truly one of the best. With that though I have to also state that it is not the design but the construction of this shoe that I believe is flawed. Many times a designer has an idea and on paper it looks great, but it is not feasible or structurally sound. This is what I believe happened here.
	To the left you see and image of a Gun Heel shoe. While this shoe looks great, it has what I believe are flaws that will lead to the breaking of the heel and possibly injury to the wearer. I would like to point out first the white arrows, drawing your attention to the thickness of the material. This is not thick enough to prevent wobbling of the heel in a side to side motion or back to front. This wobble will cause undue strain on the mounting point “purple arrow” causing it to
eventually fatigue and break. The next factor in this is the point of the heel “the blue arrow”. The shape of this is round making it very easy for the heel to rock back and forth. Although this normally would not be a factor as most heels are round, it’s placement makes it so. As seen by the red line, the point is in front of the heel of the foot on the person wearing it and is not located under it as most heels are, which makes it so the persons weight is not centered over the heel but behind it. Which brings me to the green arrow. The gap here is the main issue. This gap lets the back of the shoe drop down putting even more stress on the thin material and the mounting screw. If the handle of the gun was fastened to the bottom of the shoe eliminating this gap then there would not be an issue. But as it stands, the 1 1/4″ area shown by the purple arrow is all that is preventing this heel from moving and it is not enough.
	This is my view of how this shoe should be made. I tried to keep the overall look of the shoe in mind while also fixing any possible issues. I started by increasing the thickness of the shoe bottom to prevent any possible wobble of the heel as weight is applied from the person wearing the shoe. I then flattened the barrel of the gun giving the heel more surface area to the ground. Then I changed the handle of the gun slighty to remove
the gap and also to provide another fasten point to secure the heel to the shoe. Lastly I branded the handle of the gun with their logo not only to add accent to the gun, but also to show at a glance the brand. These few changes I believe would make this shoe much easier to walk in and also make the shoe itself last much longer then its predecessor. The Highest Heel also has come out with their own version of this shoe that is available now. You don’t have to wait until spring ’09 to get yourself a pair of gun heels, nor pay hundreds of dollars to get them. We are carrying the new gun heels designed by Highest Heel / Global Footwear. Now these are not the same design as those by Chanel, nor do they carry the same price tag or possible flaws. There are two pair of sandals, one pair of pumps and one pair of calf high boots that feature this unique designed heel, all of which are a five inch platform. You can find these shoes on our site quickly by searching the word “Gun” without the quotes in the search box.

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How high is high enough?

November 07, 2008 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion, New Styles and Discontinued

Hello Friends

I hope everyone had a chance to get out and vote. The election has made history, but history is also being made here in the fashion world as well. Now if you have not seen and heard, designers are designing high heels of an monsterous height. Reports are stating that high heels of 5 to 6 inches are in style, with designers coming out with 8 inch high heels for next year.

Photo from estresmodes.com

With this I have to ask how high is too high? Manolo Blahnik, who is a very well known and respected designer, for over the past 20 years has designed shoes with heels no higher than 5 inches. But Manolo Blahnik has announced that he will be raising his heel height from 5 inches to six. Manolo Blahnik though is not the only one leading this pack. Christian Louboutin recently declared that he will produce the first 8 inch stiletto heel outside the world of fetish. Now the world outside the world of fetish is the key here. These shoes are not anything new. They have been around for a long time, but have always been put off as a “fetish” heel. Now that well known designers are creating them and they have been seen on the fashion runway, they have made the change from being “fetish” to fashion. But why the push? Why are designers starting to design heels of this height? Manolo Blahnik says that 6-inch heels already account for about 30% of his company’s business.

Women, instead of rejecting the extreme heels, can’t seem to get enough of them. So the height is pushed up as the designers respond to what women want. Is this true or has fetish become common place? Some have compared high heels to drugs, even stating that wearing them gives such a feeling to some that they want more and the only way to get more is to go higher. I’m not sure if I agree with all of that, but for some men and women it sure seems to be the case. No matter how you look at it though, it is clear that fetish is no longer fetish but has become mainstream. The question though we have to ask is will this trend keep going? And if so how high will it go? Will one day people be walking down the street 8 feet tall? The image to the left is from a site call Estresmodes, and they sell some of the highest heels we have ever seen. The boot in the image is a 100 cm platform thigh high boot. That is a little over 3 feet in height! The average height of a woman is just over 5 foot tall here in the USA. That would make the woman 8 foot tall and feeling bullet proof! Could you picture yourself walking down the street in these? I’m not sure how I would react to be honest. Now I do not think that fashion will ever get to this point, but no one thought that 8 inch heels would ever become fashion, but it has. So where do we draw the line? Where does it stop? The truth is no one knows. I personally believe that it will top out at the 8 or 9 inch mark as anything higher crosses the line from fashion to gaudy, but think about it…walking down the street just once 8 feet tall. What fun as long as you do not fall down.

estresmodes.com is in no way an affiliate of The High Heel Store. They are though the only ones we know of that sell heels of this height.

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Wearing jeans with high heels.

October 15, 2008 :: Posted by - admin :: Category - High Heel Fashion

The GaGa look.

There are many, many ways to make men go gaga, including short skirts and low cut tops. But there are also ways to do it without exposing anything! High heels have this power over men and even turn on some women for that matter. In this article we are going to discuss wearing jeans with high heels. Jeans, if fit properly, give your legs and butt a sexy defined shape and movement that is nicely accented with a pair of high heels. But not just any heel will do. So here are a few things to think about before you go out to insure you turn heads while strutting your stuff.

1. Jeans themselves come in many different styles and colors. When shopping for jeans, look for a tapered leg, not a boot cut, as a boot cut tends to make legs look thicker than they are. Stretch jeans are good for that tight butt look but you do not want them tight by the ankle as you want the jeans to come down over the top of the foot to about midway between the very back of the toes and ankle. If your legs are on the thicker side, finding jeans that fit properly to your leg may be hard as they will tend to fit in one area but not the other. Do not give up hope just yet. If you know your waist measurement then head over to the men’s section of the store. These jeans are cut differently and you may find that they fit you better. You want to look for a relaxed fit when looking through men’s jeans. The big issue when trying on men’s jeans is the crotch. Make sure you do not buy a pair that has material bunched up in that area.

2. Now that you have a pair of jeans, the type of heel you add to them is also very imporant. With jeans you want to wear a higher heel.
A 3 – 5 inch heel is the best for this look. You can also wear a heel with a mini-platform as they work very nicely. If you choose to go with the mini-platform, try to find one that has a silver accent line or some sort of accent, but do not go overboard.

3. When the jeans are worn with the heels, the jeans should come down to or just below the arch of your foot hiding your ankle and some of the top part of the foot. This leaves only the heel and toe area showing.
A. You can wear open or closed toe shoes with the look, but if you decide to wear open toe sandals make sure you paint your nails a bright color like a bright red or blue. Also make sure the heels you pick are not too strappy. You do not want to cover the exposed part of your foot with straps. Pick a heel that either has a clear section or only has 2 or 3 straps crossing the foot.
B. If choosing a closed toe, you also do not want to pick a shoe that covers the entire top of the foot as you want to leave a little skin showing. Pointy toe shoes work best, but if you want to wear a rounded or square toe, try to find a pair in a PU and not patent as the patent will take away from the look due to the shininess of the shoe.

Notes:
We have found that black or dark colored heels go best with blue jeans where colored heels like blue or red go better with black jeans. White heels just do not seem to work very well and should not be worn with jeans.

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The fashion industry has been calling out for more designers to design and create eco-friendly fashions. Yet another designer, Jean Paul Gaultier, has stepped up with his design for recyclable plastic high heels. Gaultier has partnered with Brazilian eco footwear brand Melissa, to produce a stunning, chiseled-heel plastic stiletto that is not only 100% recyclable, but sexy and stylish as well. It will be available in black, caramel, tangerine, lime and beige, and is expected to be available this June for around $320 a pair.

French-born fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier never received formal training as a designer. Instead, he started out by sending sketches to famous couture stylists at an early age. Pierre Cardin was impressed by his talent and hired him as an assistant in 1970. Afterwards he worked with Jacques Esterel in 1971 and Jean Patou. He later moved on to designing his own label. His collections have been based on street wear, focusing on popular culture, whereas others, particularly his Haute Couture collections, are very formal yet at the same time unusual and playful. Gaultier produced sculptured costumes for Madonna during the nineties with her infamous cone-bra, and has caused shock by using unconventional models
for his exhibitions, like older men and full-figured women, pierced and heavily tattooed models, and by playing with traditional gender roles in the shows. This earned him both criticism and enormous popularity. Not is he only famous for his clothing and accessories, he also has a popular line of perfumes.

Unlike the process of producing plastic, the process of curing leather involves the use of a very toxic compound called Chromium 6 (hexavalent chromium), which makes leather soft and easy to work with, but results in one of the most noxious pollutants known to humans. Exposure to Chromium 6 can cause gene mutations, cancer, and skin and lung irritations. As for some other accepted vegan footwear materials, harsh chemical solvents, toxic glues, petroleum products, polyurethanes, PVC, and other harmful ingredients that can off-gas, affect factory workers’ health and contribute massive amounts of eco-toxic waste.

The footwear and textile industries are slowly coming around to changing their ways. Leather tanning can now be accomplished with a curing process that involves vegetable tannins, and some companies are reverting to older practices such as using wood smoke and fish oil to cure the leather. Footwear companies are catching on – many are changing their manufacturing processes to include less toxic materials, such as water-based glues and solvents. These eco-friendly practices are also extending to the packaging department, producing an abundance of recycled shoe boxes decorated with soy-based inks.

High Heel Shoe blog

Recyclable Plastic High Heels

Siriano’s Spring 2010 Heel Design

Interview with Diana Nesbitt

Wearing high heels related to sagging breasts?

Vending Machines for After Party Shoes

Bordello Collection Now Available

Can High Heels Improve Your Sex Life?

Gun Heeled Shoes

How high is high enough?

Wearing jeans with high heels.

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We thought it would be of great interest to our readers to get some input from professionals in the fashion industry regarding their experiences and opinions about current events / happenings in the field. We recently conducted a brief interview with Diana Nesbitt, a fashion model / modeling teacher in the UK. Born and raised in Russia until 2002, she then moved to the UK and received her masters in teaching. Just some of her experience consists of working as a TV presenter and journalist, modeling for a number of fashion and retail companies, TV ads and brochures and has often been employed for catwalk fashion shows.

Below are our questions and her answers. Q. Due to your profession we understand that you wear high heels just about all day. Outside of work how often do you wear them and what heel height do you prefer? A. “Outside of work I don`t wear them at all. I might wear some 2-3` heels that are square or wine glass shaped if I go out and very seldom(like once or twice a year for Xmas party and a holiday night out) I`ll wear stilettos.” Although Diana does not wear high heels often outside of work, we must say she looks good when she does. Q. With top high heel shoe designers designing heels that reach heights of 6 inches or more, do you think that the shoes themselves are becoming too high and very hard to wear? A. “I don`t see any practical use for heels this size. They don`t even look elegant or feminine but rather aggressive. The only place they look harmonious is high fashion catwalk which is nothing to do with real life.”

Q. Not that long ago Chinese models refused to wear Alexander McQueen’s 12-inch high heels due to the risk of injury. In your opinion do you think we will see more of this in the future and do you believe that it will make designers create high heels with a lower heel? A. “I am sure that we`ll see extremes like that in the future although I do anticipate some law suits from the injuries. Designers will inevitably be experimenting with the shape and length of the heels because that`s what the have to do to keep the shoe-making industry going.” Q. Do you find it difficult modeling with your son or do you think it brings the two of you closer together? A. “I never had any problems modeling with my son. In the actual fact I would like to have more opportunities to do so.” Q. If the opportunity arises, can you see yourself doing commercials or runway, or would you prefer to stay a photographic model? A. “I would love to do all sorts of commercials and runways. I enjoy this sort of thing even more than still photography.” Q. In your own words, what would you say was your favorite shoot? A. “It was a shoot modeling fashion clothing and accessories.” Q. Outside of modeling, what are your favorite things to do? A. “I enjoy singing in a band and taking photos in my home studio.” We would like to thank Diana for taking time out of her busy schedule to answer our questions. We wish her all the best in her endeavors. If you would like to check out her website, the address is http://www.diananesbitt.co.uk/