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January 30, 2007 2:31 PM

I walk to work, so I'm good for the environment these days. However, the wear and tear that used be directed to my car tires now falls on my high heels!

Okay, so I wear flats for the commute and do the Mr. Rogers thing when I get to work. But even just walking around a little bit on the city streets is enough to wear my heels down to the support nails within 3 short weeks! It's expensive and inconvenient to be constantly repairing them, and if I don't then I sound like a walking nail gun when on tile or concrete.

Has anyone found a solution? Something I could use to reinforce the heels? A better substance that I could ask the shoe repair shop to use that will handle my terribly urban (and, yes, privileged) problem?

posted by mireille to clothing, beauty, & fashion (16 comments total)

Get some trainers or running shoes for walking to work?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 2:35 PM on January 30, 2007

You don't even have to get running/tennis shoes - there are tons of very fashionable, fun-to-wear sneaker-type shoes that are much better for walking than flats or heels, and that you can wear over nylons and the like. I have a pair that I use during the summer, and cute furry winter boots for when it gets cold out.

Try looking at Zappos for shoes like these, these, or these.
posted by bibbit at 2:44 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Don't shuffle when you walk. Actually pick up your feet and plop them down again.

Another solution is to get a good pair of shoes that is made well. Chinese made shoes are notorious for wearing out very quickly. Spend a little extra for some good Italian made shoes.
posted by JJ86 at 2:45 PM on January 30, 2007

EndsOfInvention, it looks like the OP is already wearing more sensible shoes on the way to and from work.

I too suffer this problem (though usually over a longer period than three weeks! I wear flats to drive to work then stiletto heels during the day)... I feel your pain, there is nothing worse than the *clack* *clack* *spark* of bare metal on pavement! When I get my shoes repaired the cobbler always uses a much stronger substance for the heel "tips" than the original (and replacement) heels that come with the shoes, so perhaps ask your cobbler if s/he can use something tougher. Plus I'm pretty sure my repairs usually with something like a two month guarantee, so see if yours do too.

Also, I have no idea what shoes you're actually wearing, but perhaps spending a little more might mean more durable shoes?
posted by snap, crackle and pop at 2:59 PM on January 30, 2007

Seconding that the original tips last a mere few weeks, but whatever the cobbler uses to replace them lasts for an entire season, even with heavy use.
posted by desuetude at 3:05 PM on January 30, 2007

EndsOfInvention, it looks like the OP is already wearing more sensible shoes on the way to and from work.

I meant it more along the lines of trainers ("sneakers" in the US) or running shoes being more durable and lasting longer than 3 weeks worth of walking to work. Whatever she's wearing now is either badly made or not designed for lots of walking on tarmac.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:16 PM on January 30, 2007

Here's the recommendation of my local walking champ.
posted by pril at 3:41 PM on January 30, 2007

I wear Clarks (solid English shoes that look orthopedic but feel great!) for the commute. The damage occurs during the day. Thanks for all the posts thus far!
posted by mireille at 3:51 PM on January 30, 2007

Oh, and currently my most frequent two pairs are 4-inch boots, Aldo and Tahari. It's not for lack of quality or money, I'm fairly certain (at least my wallet agrees).
posted by mireille at 3:53 PM on January 30, 2007

I meant it more along the lines of trainers ("sneakers" in the US) or running shoes being more durable and lasting longer than 3 weeks worth of walking to work. Whatever she's wearing now is either badly made or not designed for lots of walking on tarmac.

I'm reading mireille's question as complaining about the heels of high-heeled shoes, into which she changes at work, wearing down from walking to lunch and back and such. Not the flats she wears to commute, which I don't think are the subject of this post.
posted by desuetude at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2007

The absolute longest lasting soles you can get are sandales made of car tires if you are a hardcore walker or foot scuffler. Otherwise I would use outdoor cross trainers which have a tougher sole than the indoor variety. Of course 'high heels' are going to wear out. It's not practical footwear for walking long distances on the sidewalks. You're commuting to work in high heels??
posted by GleepGlop at 3:55 PM on January 30, 2007

desuetude-- correct!
posted by mireille at 3:56 PM on January 30, 2007

Well, I've noticed my shoes last a lot longer when I rotate them more often. I've even heard (anecdotal) evidence that it actually is better for the shoes, so perhaps you just need to buy more shoes! (A suggestion my girlfriend always takes to heart).

Also, if you haven't before, talk to your cobbler about this, I'm sure they can suggest something that would be a better heel than what you have now, that would hopefully last longer.
posted by KirTakat at 4:48 PM on January 30, 2007

Shoemakers call the part of the heel that is wearing so quickly on your high heels the lift, for starters. In high heel shoes, a women's standing weight, and much of her walking strike motion is entirely concentrated for part of her stride on the small areas covered by the lift material, which may begin to explain why these parts of high heeled shoes wear fairly quickly. I was an executive for the #2 women's footwear manufacturerer in U.S., mireille, so take what I'm about to say as the friendly advice its intended to be.

Footwear manufacturers are regularly sued by women who hurt themselves while wearing high heels. It so common a type of suit, all the major companies have managment committees which review the incoming letters, claims and legal work, to ascertain the facts of each case. And in far, far less than 1% (maybe .01% total) of all these proceedings, is a settlement offer even entertained, because of liability for which the footwear maker can be held responsible. That's because a lot of thought, testing, and practical experience goes into materials selection of footwear. Major manufacturers have fit models and wear testers who routinely check the scuff resistance and wear of new soling and lift materials, and balance wear properties against slip resistance, because the #2 type of injury for which footwear is blamed by lawyers is a slip and fall injury (the #1 injury being twisted ankles when women wearing high heels get a lift caught in flooring, on steps, etc.). I, personally, used to get paid to spend one afternoon every week, with other design and manufacturing execs, watching our fit models walk up and down our studio runways in our new styles, and if new materials were involved, we'd also have them take a walk around our wear lab, over glass floors, carpet, linoleum, wood, marble, and many, many other kinds of flooring. We'd give them samples to take home and wear, and bring back in a couple weeks, and we'd cut up the samples and analyse them for wear and function. We knew these individual women's gait characteristics and walking issues, and we had worked wit hsome of these models for 20 years in footwear testing. So, believe me when I say, your lifts wear for good reason.

Lifts on new high heels are soft for the simple reason that the hard rubber material of which quality lifts are made has good slip resistance, at the expense of increased abrasion and wear. Metal lifts and very hard stryene plastic lifts have long been available which will wear nearly indefinitely, but they have much lower slip resistance, especially on wet flooring or pavement. Nearly anything compound that is hard enough to wear significantly longer than hard rubber lifts do, will have far lower slip resistance. So, be aware of this important property, if you continue to shop for longer wearing lifts. If you only wear your heels in carpeted indoor office settings, very hard lifts may not be much of a traction problem, but if you wear them out on the street, small amount of rain or liquid in which you step, or worse, ice, may have you suddenly questioning the wisdom of your choice.

Also, many women who are part time wearers of high heels tend to buy heels that are 1 or 2 sizes larger than they actually should wear, in an attempt to get the ball width they need to avoid feeling their toes are pinched. A larger shoe increases in length far faster than it does in width, so if you need an 8, but buy 9 or 9 1/2s for comfort, you stand a good chance of having shoes that are heel slipping a bit, which will be a major source of heel drag when walking. That is both a big source of wear, and a dangerous fit condition for high heeled shoes. If you have a wide foot, seek out shoes which are made in widths. American makers, in particular, have made a far greater size/width matrix since WWII, based on biometric data collected by the American Army that showed that women had larger feet, and more variation in size, by far, than men of comparable stature. If you're at all hard to fit, shop for heels carefully, and insist on proper fit.

Finally, it takes less work to replace lifts that aren't worn down all the way to the nail head. Talk with your shoe repair people, and if you're a frequent customer who regularly brings in shoes for lift replacement, before they are a mess to fix, you're making a 10 minute job for them, versus a 30 minute job. Their prices may be negotiable, if you represent regular business, that isn't difficult. But don't overrun a set of lifts badly, and then expect them to fix them cheaply, if they can fix them at all.
posted by paulsc at 5:47 PM on January 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

There are different brands of replacement lifts, the brand name being printed on the bottom surface. I think "Avanti" is the best, from the experience of talking to our customers about it on a regular basis. "CT" is another brand, not as good but maybe more commonly used, but they are still better than what comes on most new shoes.

We see cheap materials used on the best quality brands of shoes, people always ask why. Answer: economics, profits. Say a factory makes a million pair of shoes a month. If they can figure out how to save a nickle per pair, that's $50 K profit.
posted by shoeman at 6:57 PM on January 30, 2007

I'm reading mireille's question as complaining about the heels of high-heeled shoes, into which she changes at work, wearing down from walking to lunch and back and such. Not the flats she wears to commute, which I don't think are the subject of this post

Whoops, I read the question wrong. My bad.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 1:27 AM on January 31, 2007