Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with heels

Down at the heels

fixedgear — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:22:54 -0800

Where can I get Rockport shoes resoled in or near Philadelphia, PA? I'd prefer to go local, no shipping, please.

Seeking comfy heels!

youcancallmeal — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:56:38 -0800

I recently bought these shoes and love them. What other shoes might I like? These are the first pair of heels that are a) cute and b) allow me to walk in them without wanting to die. Unfortunately, the style is pretty atypical for that brand, so I'd love to find similar comfy and cute shoes and boots now that I've discovered that heels don't have to hurt. I'd like to keep it under $200/pair.

Hello new shoes, bye bye blues...

triggerfinger — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:25:41 -0800

Help me find comfortable walking shoes! With high heels please. I am going on vacation soon and will spend a great deal of time on foot walking around a city. I have worn high heels (3+ inches) all the time for as long as I can remember. I am very comfortable walking in high shoes and would maybe even go so far as to say I walk better in heels than flats. The only flat shoes I own are my running shoes.

I do some walking in my day to day life but not extensive amounts - usually just around the city for an hour on my lunch breaks. It usually takes about an hour or two of walking before my feet start to get sore, regardless of the thickness of my heels. I plan on doing much more walking than that on vacation and don't want to be distracted by sore feet. Does anyone know of shoes that will be comfortable for a lot of walking but also provide some height? At least three inches would be best, but I know that might be pushing it. All of my pants are too long to wear with flat shoes and I would rather buy new shoes than buy new pants. Closed-toe would be best as it will be in October and I don't care what kind of heel the shoe has, just as long as they provide some height and are black. Does such a shoe exist?

Are flats really that bad?

sunshine arakhan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 04:10:49 -0800

I'm tall so never wear heels in the office, and I had a friend tell me this comes off as 'unprofessional'... opinions? I'm 5'9 and work in a corporate office environment (with great laid back people though, mind you). I was having a discussion with a friend of mine recently in regards to work, interviews, impressions etc and she said that by me not wearing heels, I do not come across as 'professional'.
I own one pair of heels, just for the sake of owning a pair, and very rarely wear them because I hate towering over everyone else even more than I already do. Like I said I work with great people who don't care, and the flats I wear are very smart, however I'd just like some others opinions.

Employers - went interviewing or training a new (female) employee, do things like wearing nice heels with the nice suit matter? Does a woman come across as more or less professional depending on the height of her footwear?
Co-workers - is this something you even notice in your colleagues??

I'm interesting in hearing about other people's experiences :)
(Note: my friend is also female, so no sexism involved)

Thanks!

Women's shoes for duck feet?

NikitaNikita — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:33:51 -0800

What kind of women's dress/business suit shoes work for duck feet? I have a narrow heel and a wide forefoot, and when it comes to women's dress shoes, heels *or* flats, either the back of the shoe is flopping off my heel so I can't keep the shoe on, OR the front is so snug that it hurts after a while (esp with heels, where my whole foot is already sliding down the... ramp. footbed. whatever its called.)

Heel grips that stick inside the heel don't hold well enough. Shoes with ankle straps help, but can I wear these with a skirt? (I'm already quite short/5'4")

Immediate context: Next week, I have a week of interviews which will involve a) wearing a business suit (have both pant and skirt types) and b) running all around the city to different locations.

Hopefully I'm not the only one with this duck-footy problem... thanks!

Sneaky sneaker heels

Brennus — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 06:06:19 -0800

Whenever I buy sneakers, the heel lining breaks With nearly all my sneakers the first thing that breaks is the lining on the heels. This usually happens after about 6 months of on and off use. Eventually the whole plastic lining the heel breaks and I have to throw the sneakers away, after probably a year of irregular use. I don't think this is the typical wear pattern for sneakers for most other people which lead me to believe that it's the shape of my heel causing this. Does this happen to anybody else? Is there any way to prevent the heel from breaking down so fast? I have tried duct tape before but it's not very comfortable or long lasting.

Agony of de feet :(

Madamina — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:30:17 -0800

Grody summer sandal feet, cracked heels, yada yada. I know what I need to do (pumice, shea butter, etc.), but in the summer I'm already burning up even before I try to put socks on at night! Is there anything else I can do? I already try to file my feet in the shower about twice a week. I've tried dry sloughing and wet sloughing. I know there are soaks and creams with lactic acid in them, so maybe that's something that could work better/improve the situation.

However, it's really the incredible warmth that drives me nuts. Even now, when I've been sitting by a nice cool window with dry, bare feet for several hours, my feet are red and hot. Now, slathering them with shea butter and sleeping in socks has definitely helped, but UGH, the prospect of doing that when I already have enough trouble falling asleep in this weather does not intrigue me. I've tried it a couple times in the last few weeks, and I was pretty uncomfortable.

As for shoes, I wear Chacos pretty much every day. I would love to have something like my old Birkenstocks, which had the most wonderful worn-in leather footbeds that got cool when I took my feet out, but I won't wear Birks anymore because they're too flat.

So. Are there any creams that would work particularly well to cool my feet down? (I've got a peppermint cream by EO which doesn't do anything.) How about those wacky gel socks? Buying sandals with slick leather insoles that AREN'T Birks? This problem seems to be partially genetic, so I don't see it going away soon, and any assistance would be much appreciated.

Treating achilles tendonitis on my own

rosebuddy — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:03:10 -0800

I seem to have classic achilles tendonitis and am trying to treat it myself. What treatments worked for you? At what point should I just give up and go to a doctor and get professional assessment and physiotherapy? I've been doing a lot of hill walking without stretching adequately and am now paying the price. A couple of days ago, I found that both achilles tendons were very tight and sore when I got up in the morning, especially when I tried to walk down stairs. They hurt only slightly going upstairs and usually aren't sore at rest or when I do a little walking around the house. Starting yesterday, I've been doing the following.

Resting: no long walks, cycling, etc.
Icing: 3-4 times a day
(not Compressing yet. Should I?)
(not Elevating yet. There doesn't seem to be a need.)

I'm taking Tylenol to fight the inflammation and do gentle wall stretches when I get up in the morning. I've also started wearing good supportive shoes around the house instead of going barefoot.

Normally, I would already be at the sports medicine clinic instead of asking for advice here. But my new medical insurer is auditing my account after I submitted my first claim a month after signing up. They won't even pay for my prescriptions right now, and I have no idea how much longer it will take to resolve this. I'm trying to stay away from any medical consultation unless it's really needed.

Am I on the right track with self-therapy? Is there anything else I should consider?

How do I walk and stand correctly?

JZig — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:17:57 -0800

How do I walk and stand correctly? My upright posture sucks and I want to change it. I stand and walk with my knees locked back all the way, resting the weight on my heels. I walk similarly, not lifting my knee and planting my heels down with a lot of force, and I've been asked more than once If I'm injured, because it looks like I'm limping. It also means that I can't walk or stand for more than an hour or two a day without getting sore joints and back pain. I'm fairly normal physically other than this (only slightly overweight, and I've done martial arts fairly successfully for years). I can make myself walk differently, but only with effort and I soon forget. I've done this for as long as I remember, so I think I just learned to walk and stand wrong for whatever reason.

Anyone have personal experience changing their walking/standing stance? Specific advice on what to change it TO is appreciated, but I'm most interested in the process of changing how you move, hopefully without expensive guided therapy. Also, I have the theory that this will help me dance better :)

these boots are made for walking?

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 16:08:48 -0800

Where can I find affordable and cool looking shoes that I can walk in? I need either tall boots or shoes! With the following criteria:

1. No heel, low heel, or really comfortable heel. I can't really walk long distances in heels (especially pointy or tall heels) and am already tall.
2. Comfortable for walking. I walk everywhere. Including up steep hills.
3. Cool or cute looking. I think thatBobbi Blu and Irregular Choice shoes are adorable but not the most comfortable.
4. Affordable. I don't want to pay more than 70 dollars or so and even that is pushing my budget.

What suggestions do you have that would fit? Being able to walk in them in any sort of weather is probably the most important. My shoe size is usually 9.5. I have comfortable tennis shoes already but they look silly with skirts.

I walk on the edges of my feet - to dire results!

eswusp86 — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 14:10:44 -0800

Without fail, the soles on the heels of my boots wear down unevenly. The outside part (the edge) of the heel on each shoe wears down more quickly than the inside part, so each shoe become lopsided. How can I prevent this? I guess I tend to walk on the edges of my feet, which causes the outsides of my boot heels wear down more quickly than the insides. Eventually, if the heels are lopsided enough, I can't even stand flat on the floor without doing a balancing act. What's the best way to correct this? Should I consciously walk in a 'corrected' manner (though uncomfortable)? Reinforce my heels? Are there inserts I could wear? FYI, I am male and have a moderately high arch. Thanks!

Click! Click! Boom!

mireille — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:31:29 -0800

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?

My feet stick out. Help me fix them.

soulbarn — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:26:26 -0800

I need to fix my feet. For as long I can remember, my feet have stuck out (supination.) I have super-high arches - you can barely see the inside portion of my feet on a foot print. I find it nearly impossible to hold my feet together parallel and flat (inner heel to inner heel, big toe to big toe) - they rotate upward and outward, instead. If I manage to get my feet in something close to that position, my toes get goofy, pointing in multiple directions. I want to learn how to straighten my (bare) feet when walking and hold them together, flat, the way I described...

Squishy shoes blues

Marky — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:06:41 -0800

Squishy noise when I walk, help! I got a nice pair of Timberlines a few years age. Lately, the left shoe makes a "squishy" noise while I walk. The sound is coming from the heel, if I walk on the balls of my feet there is no sound. I also don't hear anything if I'm walking on something soft, like carpet.

I've looked, but I don't see any holes. These boots are in great shape, I really don't want to dump them. Can anyone suggest a fix?

Help me learn how to walk in heels.

invisible ink — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 15:38:39 -0800

I can't walk in heels without falling flat on my bum. Is there some trick to doing this that I'm missing out on? I'm not looking to wear those spiky-thin deathtraps, but I would like to wear a pair of nice pumps, or loafers with chunky heels every now and then. FWIW, I am 5'2" and my shoe size (US) is 8M. Thanks to everyone in advance!