Ideal Heel Height - Page 3

Arctic · 15th April 2002, 00:14

Quote:

On 2002-04-09 15:49, allheel wrote:
Is there an ideal heel height -
for an individual or their feet
for an outpit
for an occasion
or is it a function of all these and other factors.
I often wonder when we are trying to accustom to higher heel heights, might the ideal be exceeded? Any comments?

Well, in my case it's something like this (all assuming a quality shoe):

- 90mm and below: unlimited periods of time
- 95mm: perfectly ok, but happy to get them of my feet in the evening if I have walked really a lot
- 100mm: perfectly ok for a normal day, but if there is more than, say 2-3 km of walking involved, I start to feel them before the end of the day
- 105mm: ok for a normal day, but tiring if there is any significant amount of walking involved
- 110mm: ok for short distances, >1km not practically possible

Higher is not practical at all. I'm a US W11/M9 or EUR42.

t:Bert

Firefox · 15th April 2002, 00:28

What a difference an inch makes! (90mm = 3.5" to 115mm =4.5" for our non metric friends). I'm tolerant of 4.5" even for long walks shopping, but I'll certainly feel them. I've seen Xaphod walk 5+ miles in 4.5" boots with little problem, and he is size 39, 8 USA(f). I can also walk in 5 1/4", 130mm heels for about 1km before I'd really feel it.

Like Bert, my ideal height is around the 100mm mark. I don't wear a certain height shoes to prove anything or knacker my feet up, but more for the style to suit the occasion. I don't think we do bad for guys though, considering we are't supposed to be able to wear heels

JB · 30th April 2002, 15:50

Over the years, I've found that 3.5 ins. is the minimum that I like to wear, for the feel, and the maximum for all day wear is around 4 1/3 ins.; but that maximum is also influenced by the design of the heel, which influences the comfort. A 4.5 ins. heel can be more comfortable that a 4 ins. sometimes, depending on shoe and, especially, heel design. I think that if the back of the heel is curved inward a little bit, it makes for a smoother walk, and that, in turn, is less tiring in the long run. I once had a made-to-measure pair of knee boots of excellent quality with 4.5 ins. net heel height, and they never tired me, even after 8 hrs. wear. But I was in my early forties then; today it might be different, at age 61. So: on average, for myself, around 4 inches is a good compromise which will give feel and pleasure, and with good fit and quality will be wearable for hours if not whole days.

Firefox · 3rd May 2002, 09:39

Looks like another 4 inch fan. I suppose it's nice to have something higher than what you regularly wear for some days. My 4.5 and 5 fit that purpose, but others will be a notch higher or lower.

JeffB · 3rd May 2002, 10:40

I forgot to mention that I have a pair of 4 inch high ankle boots that I've worn to the office on occasion. I can go an entire day in them easily because I spend a majority of my time at my desk, so it's no problem. However, I'd never go higher than four inches. But that's just my preference.

prettyboots · 3rd May 2002, 19:09

well right now, I'm wearing my platform loafers with 4 inch heel, & they are VERY comfy to walk in all day long! I do have a pair of platform wedge ankle boots (from steve madden) that have 5 inches but they are also comfy to wear all long, because of the wedge platform design on them. I also have a 3 inch leather pair of knee high boots, but those are actually harder for me to walk in for any exented period of time so it seems to me that thicker platform types (wedge or regular) are easier to walk in for most of the day.