Foot Size in relation to Heel Height Question

quella · 24th September 2007, 17:37

It seems logical in many ways, but I have to ask the experts here to see what your thoughts are.

I was thinking that my wife who is 5'6" with a size 8 shoe in a 4" heel, is much higher than some one that is 6'0" with a size 13 shoe in a 4" heel.

With that thinking, is it easier for a person with a larger foot to have a higher heel with less impact? Or, does the extra weight or height of the person added to the heel height make a 4" seem the same regardless of shoe size.

Quella

Dr. Shoe · 24th September 2007, 18:26

TBH, I don't really understand the question.

If someone is 6' and wears 4" heels they will now be 6'4", if someone 5'6" puts on 4" heels then they will become 5'10"... Logically...

Except that logic doesn't really come into it, there comes a point where adding inches to a heel does not add to the person's height. The larger the foot, the higher the heel has to become before this happens. This means that a guy with size 13 shoe size will be able to add as much as 6" to his height whereas a woman taking a size 6 will only be able to add 3.5" or so.

A 5'6" woman in 4" heels can only ever be 5'10" max and so a 6' tall guy will always be taller in his stockinged feet let alone in heels.

quella · 24th September 2007, 20:38

Sorry for not being as clear as I could have been. I'm asking if a higher heel is easier for a person with a larger foot then the same heel height for a person that is shorter with the same heel. So is it more difficult for a person with a size 8 to walk in a 4" or a size 13 in a 4"?

Quella

tallguyinheels · 24th September 2007, 22:03

yes, easier to wear a 4 inch heel on a larger foot b/c the foot doesn't rise as much an angle...

Trigonometry at work here... <feel free to ignore the following dissertation>

The angle from the ball of the foot to the ankle joint is the starting place - on my foot I get 9 cm rise to a 14 cm run (Tan< = 9/14 or about 33 degrees). That means I can only get 57 degrees more rotation b4 my ankle is directly above the ball of my foot. A 4 inch heel raises my ankle to 17cm (an increase of of 8 cm over my flat footed position) an the run decreased to 6cm) in a four inch heel that puts the angle of the foot at (Tan<=17/6) 70 degrees. The 8cm height increase works out to a little over 3 inches. My preferred five in heel reduced the run to just 4cm and the rise to 18.5 cm an almost 80 degree angle - but the inch increase in heel height only raised the ball of my foot 1.5 cm (5/8 of an inch). In practice, the top of my head even increase less because of the added curvature of my spine.

A smaller foot not only starts with a decreased run to start with but for a given heel height the run is decreased at greater percentage.

Danielinheels · 24th September 2007, 23:16

Put simply, there's less surface area that a small foot covers than a larger one.

Therefore, the larger foot can distribute the physical feelings of wearing heels better than the smaller one.