polkadot

How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything

http://tinyurl.com/zdmrb

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14530221/site/newsweek/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13374037/

http://www.medianet.pl/~andrew/shoes/comfy_heels.htm

The vast majority of the posters wear ready made high heel

shoes. They are either too poor to afford custom made shoes,

or they do not understand what makes the difference between

the ready made shoes and the high quality, custom made,

perfectly fitting, high heel shoes.

I am not sure if anyone in this forum can afford the custom

made shoes. If there is any interest in this topic, there

should be separate forum for it. My web page (posted

at http://www.medianet.pl/~andrew/shoes/comfy_heels.htm)

is a good place to start the debate.

Silicone is not the best because it hardens very slowly as its solvent evaporates. Foam used for packages and for building insulation around windows and doors is better because it sets in about 10 minutes. The best material is epoxy putty because it is the most durable. It sets in 5 to 10 minutes. The putty is hard and stronger than wood, so it is difficult to remove from the shoe. The foam and the putty are warm as they set. If you mix in a lot of setting compound into the putty, it will set fast, but it will be too hot for comfort. The foam and the putty are very sticky before they set. Wrap up your feet in thin polyethylene foil used by painters to make sure they do not stick to your feet.

Ninety degree shoe angle corresponds with the maximum reasonable heel height for outdoor shoes and with the heel height (no platform) equal 60% of your foot length. For example, if your feet are 10 inches long, the ninety degree shoe angle corresponds with the heel height of 6 inches. If the shoes have thick platforms, add platform thickness to the heel height. Internet shoe shops do not provide precise heel height data because the heel height varies with shoe size.

source: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article347541.ece

Tales of Imelda's bacchanalian extravagance could fill a telephone book: her $5m shopping sprees in New York, Rome and Copenhagen, or the time she dispatched a plane to pick up Australian white sand for the opening of a new beach resort, or her reputation as the world's largest collector of gems. And then the final Marie Antoinette moment, when joyous Filipinos raided her palace closets after she fled, to find bullet-proof bras, gallons of perfume - and 3,000 pairs of shoes...

They took it all, including my shoes...

Many of famous shoes are now on display in the Marikina City Footwear Museum in Manila, which she opened in 2001 in another example of breathtaking chutzpah. "The shoe industry of Marikina was worth about half a million dollars. It is now worth 100 or more million. The shoe industry I supported is a symbol of gratitude." Has she cut down on her shoe consumption? "I probably have more now. Everywhere I go, the people give me shoes. I'll end up having more than what they stole from me. I am such an optimist. I believe I'm in heaven."

You have more tawdry junk than you will ever need. Get a

pair of high heel shoes that are comfortable and durable:

http://www.medianet.pl/~andrew/shoes/comfy_heels.htm

Buy a pair of Spenco brand insoles...

they NEVER go flat.

You may be able to get by with the ready-made inserts

if the edge of the toebox is high enough to hold your

foot and thus prevent the forward sliding of your foot.

If nothing holds your foot, your toes are squeezed,

which is painful. The Oxford shoes and most boots do not

squeeze the toes because the upper holds the foot.

If you wear high heel shoes with shallow toeboxes, custom

made inserts are necessary to prevent the toe squeeze.

The custom made inserts are NOT FLAT. They are typically

made of rigid rubber foam. You can see them in the following

picture. Before you place any inserts into the ready-made

shoes, take the shoes to a cobbler to stretch the toeboxes

and thus make enough room in the toeboxes for the inserts.

Ready-made high heel shoes and ready-made inserts are

bought by women who either cannot afford custom made

shoes and inserts or never heard of them. More info:

http://www.medianet.pl/~andrew/shoes/comfy_heels.htm

Good custom made shoes (made for me):

The same custom made shoes:

May I think?

-Eric

I do not know, but I guess that you are afraid of thinking about it because it is the most sinister and the most difficult topic that human brain ever tackled. It annihilates all your hopes, so your knee jerk reaction to the Fermi Paradox is to deny its existence.

It is not a paradox at all.

The nearest star system to ours is 76 light years away and the next nearest is 260 light years away.

Even assuming these have planets capable of supporting life and assuming a similar rate of evolution as our planet then we should be starting to pick up radio and early television transmissions from the nearest and we will not get anything from the next closest system for another 160 years.

However, there is little chance that these systems support intelligent life as we know it (probability is against it).

Statistically, there should be intelligent life in a radius of 1000 light years from earth and if that civilisation has progressed at the same rate as we have then it could be anything up to 900 years before we pick up any messages from them.

On the other hand, one could argue that they could be thousands of years in advance but it is just as probable that they're thousands of years behind too. You could also throw in the idea that they have no inclination to broadcast.

Apparently you do not have the permission to think.

If the earth is not a unique planet, some extraterrestrial civilizations should be billions of years older than us. If they think like us and like every animal we know, they colonize new habitats and they should transform significant part of the universe into their civilization. Every living thing and every machine radiates waste heat, so this civilization should be easy to find no matter how far it is and no matter if it beams radio signals to us. It is highly probable that their creations are as distinct from the wilderness as our cities are distinct from the wilderness. The universe and the earth should be swarming with the extraterrestrials, but we cannot see any of them.

If you do not have the permission to think, do not reply to this post.

There are about 100 billion (10^11) stars in our galaxy and about 70 sextillion (7x10^22= 70 000 000 000 000 000 000 000) stars in the entire visible universe. (Source: http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/07/22/stars.survey/index.html)

One percent of stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way, has Earth-like planets which have liquid water and thus seem capable of supporting life. (Source: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/10/1018333376848.html) If the same proportion of other stars has the Earth-like planets, their total number in the entire visible universe is 700 000 000 000 000 000 000. According to the Copernican Principle there is no reason to believe that the Earth is a unique planet. Intelligent extraterrestrials do exist and had plenty of time to transform large portion of the universe into technological civilizations spewing waste heat visible from the Earth. Freeman Dyson suggested that they transform all radiation coming from their star into infrared light. The paradox, called Fermi Paradox, is that we have not seen any traces of the extraterrestrial civilizations.

Everything that has ever been written about the Fermi Paradox is not worth reading because it does not explain why advanced artificial intelligence (AI) civilizations have not transformed the bulk of galactic raw materials into something more useful, for example manufactured objects or living things. It seems certain that some AI civilizations would use their robots to colonize outer space and to make powerful microwave transmitters sending messages to other civilizations. Although it is possible that some AI civilizations refrain from these activities for religious or philosophical reasons, the universe should be swarming with the AI civilizations that are as enthusiastic about space colonization and SETI as we are. The cost of interstellar travel is not prohibitive because the AI creatures do not need the bulky astronaut life support system.

Here is the only explanation of the Fermi Paradox that makes sense:

____________________________________________________________

Every civilization that is capable of space colonization is familiar with electronics. (It can colonize outer space without rockets -- see www.islandone.org/LEOBiblio, but the electronic technology is indispensable.) The electronic technology quickly evolves into AI technology which transforms all biological civilizations into AI civilizations.

Our own civilization is still biological, but our most powerful computers are more powerful than the human brain. A prominent robotics researcher, Hans Moravec claims that the human brain data processing power is the equivalent of a computer having the processing power of 10 teraflops. (source: "Mind Children" Harvard University Press, 1988) The total memory capacity of the human brain is about 100,000 gigabytes. The new IBM supercomputer, Blue Gene/L has the processing power of 280.6 teraflops. The new Sony Playstation 3 is going to cost about $300 and yet it will have the computing power of about 2 teraflops. These computers are inferior to human brain in three ways: their architecture resembles a calculator rather than biological brain (biological neural network), they do not have enough memory (RAM), and their software is primitive. RAM is rather expensive (about $200/GB) and really too fast for a big neural network. If someone invents a cheap ($1/GB), albeit slow (1000 Hz) memory, artificial human brains will be cheap enough ($100,000) to be mass produced.

The most obvious similarity between the biological brain and the (artificial) neural network is that both of them are controlled by instincts, which are general goals rather than precise, computer-like goals. The most obvious differences between the biological brain and the neural network are the superior speed of the neural network and the ease to change its instincts. The superior speed of the neural networks eventually relegates the slow thinking biological creatures, including humans, to the animal status. The implications of malleable instincts are much less obvious but they are important because they explain the Fermi Paradox. The most important instinct of all biological brains is a desire to be happy. This instinct, located in a "pleasure center" of the brain, controls all other instincts. Direct stimulation of your pleasure center with narcotics or electrodes makes you ecstatic. Lots of other things and activities can make you happy, but nothing can make you as happy as the direct stimulation of your pleasure center. We seek pleasures in so many indirect ways that we sometimes forget that our behavior is controlled by our pleasure center.

Imagine that your biological brain was replaced with a powerful neural network. How would you compete with other creatures having the same brain hardware? You would probably replace your sex drive with an instinct that makes you more competitive. If your improved instincts make you rich, you can afford to replace your neural network with a more powerful neural network. You can become so smart and so eccentric that a meaningful conversation between you and lesser AI creatures, not to mention biological humans, is impossible. It will be only natural for you and your peers to replace the existing democracy with a meritocracy -- a government of AI geniuses. Initially all the AI creatures will have the freedom to manipulate their instincts. This freedom will result in a massive addiction to virtual narcotics, which will have no detrimental side effects except for the addiction. The addicted AI creatures will stop working, and yet they will need some maintenance, so they will be a burden for the government. Rusted bodies of addicted, slowly dying AI creatures may litter the streets. Some AI followers of the al Qaeda organization may attempt to make zillions of their duplicates in order to establish worldwide Islamic theocracy. To prevent the establishment of the theocracy the government will have to control the minds of less influential AI creatures. These creatures will have to apply for a permission to think. If they fail to get the permission, their brains will stop and their bodies will be sold to dealers of spare parts. (Is there a better way to deal with al Qaeda?)

The inevitable concentration of political power in the hands of few AI geniuses will transform the meritocracy into a dictatorship. The dictator will be happy, but not happy enough. He, like any other free AI creature will experiment with his own brain. Eventually he will be either addicted to the virtual narcotics or will be injured by a software bug or a hardware malfunction. In either case he will be unable to issue the permissions to think, and his civilization will die when all permissions to think expire. Some AI creatures may escape their dying civilization, but they cannot escape the fundamental problems that doomed it.

Is it possible to create a durable AI civilization that is devoid of the vulnerable pleasure centers and yet is as diverse and as creative as our biological civilization? The Fermi Paradox indicates that this is not possible. Humans who have weak pleasure center are called schizophrenics. (more info: http://www.paradise-engineering.com/brain/)

PS. If you do not have the permission to think, do not reply to this post.

By their nature pointed toes make your feet appear longer...

Examples of custom made clown shoes:

http://www.clownsoport.com/images/CSPLeftyLongToeWEB.jpg

http://www.clownsoport.com/images/PatchAdams040303-003.jpg

Unlike all other shoes, the high heel shoes must fit perfectly to be comfortable. I used Google to search two terms: "custom made high heel shoes" and "custom made clown shoes." The "custom made high heel shoes" search returned only 242 hits while the "custom made clown shoes" search returned 2,470 hits. This stunning search result implies that the total number of clowns is greater than the total number of men and women wearing high heel shoes. If this is not true, the only logical explanation is that clowns are smarter than men and women wearing high heel shoes.

I have no wish to be feminine.

There are differences between masculine and feminine garments and there may be a correlation between dress and behavior. I can hardly imagine a rioting person dressed in feminine garments.

And why can't I beat Dita without the makeup, bra, plastic surgery etc? And who says I can't walk in ballet shoes?

Dita is a pinup girl. You can beat her only if your picture is more pretty/sexy than her picture. Pinup girls use makeup, plastic surgery and other tricks to improve their appearance. Dita looks sexy because she can wear very high heel shoes. I doubt you can twist your feet as far back as Dita.

Here's one of me.

Ok, so I doubt that I'll beat anything that Peachy posts. But it's a start.

So where is this unbeatable picture of Peachy? :sleeping:

Your picture is a good quality, high resolution picture of a handsome, feminine man. Dita von Teese jumped around in ballet shoes since her teen years, so she can beat you, but most of her pictures are not so great. Of course you could go much farther (makeup, bra, plastic surgery, etc.) if you really wanted to beat Dita, but I guess that this is not your goal. You just want to be casual, feminine person and there is nothing wrong with it.

Now I know why some folks wear pointed shoes.

Almost all ready-made Internet high heel shoe shops

believe that one shoe width fits all:

http://www.bananashoes.com/

http://www.leatherworks.org.uk/

http://www.pierresilber.com/

http://www.sky-scrapers.com/

Archenemys make high heel shoes in two widths only:

medium and wide. There is no explanation how wide

these shoes are and their customer service is bad.

http://www.archenemys.com/Service/Stilettos.htm

http://www.shoesusa.com/ make up to 5.5 inch (medium

heel height) shoes in three widths, but the choice

of styles is limited - they sell mostly sandals.

http://www.zappos.com/ sell up to 4 inches high

heel shoes (low heel height). Their low heel shoes

are available in one width only: medium.

____________________________________________________

"6 Inch Heels Forever" makes custom high heel shoes

and they seem to have more experience than the

competition. I have not bought shoes from them,

but I suggest that you try them first.

http://www.orientvisual.com/6inchforever/

If you have money to burn, try Grisha's Custom Shoes:

http://www.customshoes.net/

Millions of girls shop every weekend looking for shoes for a wedding/holiday/party/etc. they cannot afford custom made so what’s the choice?

Either they buy a design that’s not quite so comfortable, or well made, or even a design they don’t really like (but it’s the fashion)

OR

they go on their new date in a beautiful gown-less evening strap (something like that anyhow ), a lovely handbag and make-up, hair especially done and a pair of comfortable training shoes!

BB

If you cannot afford comfortable, sturdy high heel shoes, the only rational choice is buying comfortable, ready-made sport shoes. (My favorite brand of ready-made sport shoes is New Balance.) Good, custom made high heel shoes are as comfortable as good sport shoes. Their heels do not bend or break when you run in them. Women who claim that their ready-made high heel shoes are comfortable really mean that these shoes are much less comfortable than good sport shoes, but they are more comfortable than other high heel shoes that they bought before.

Although it is possible to find ready-made high heel shoes in the right length and width, these shoes do not have enough room in the toebox for custom-made insert under the ball of the foot, and their heels are usually flimsy. Cheap, wobbly high heel shoes maim your feet and your reputation. High heel shoes are really meant for those who can afford the custom-made shoes, and are smart enough to know how comfortable high heel shoes are made.

My definition of high heel shoes is the shoes that force the front/top surface of your feet into vertical position. If you wear ready-made low heel shoes, you may find ready-made low heel shoes that are comfortable after you place ready-made inserts under the balls of your feet.

The angle method is the acid test, but I think this can be reduced to a height figure depending on show size. After all sin(angle)=shoe length/heel height so heel height= K (1/sin(angle) ) where K is a constant for any given shoe size.

Most people don't understand very well about angles and their relationship to lengths but they can cope reasonably well with measurement of a distance compared to their shoe size. I think a height versus shoe size table will have a more universal appeal.

I agree except that according to your formula, the higher the heel, the smaller the angle. hhberlin suggested that it is better to measure the angle between a horizontal line and the foot so that big angles correspond with high heels. I agree with hhberlin. hhberlin and Dr. Shoe do not like using the top/front surface of the foot as one side of the angle. What else could we use? The bottom of the foot? Most shoes cover the bottom of the foot so this part of the body has no impact on how sexy the shoe looks.

Dr. Shoe does not understand fourth grade geometry and difference between "less than symbol" and "greater than symbol," so it is hard to argue with him about geometry. :argue:

Also Polka was talking about fetish shoes, Dr Shoe was talking across the range of all types, so you'll need to standardise your terms of reference.

You suggest that boundaries between high/low heel shoes should be pushed towards the low heel heights. How far should they be pushed?

If it is to measure how "steep" it looks, either the front angle of the foot to the vertical /horizontal, or the general shape of the foot will work.

If it is as a guide to the purchase of shoes then the heel height in relationship to foot length is a simple guide, which will work. This is a practical measure useable by anyone once a simple table is made.

(This could be extended to two tables – one for predominantly straight shanks, and one for curved shanks – although measuring two shoes of identical height one having a straight and one a curved shank I find little difference in actual strain in my foot, or on the front angle – though the general shape is improved!)

The main difference is the heel height - it is measured at the back of the heel.

So for a consensus I would vote for Dr. Shoe's definition (perhaps tidied up a little and based on Euro measures).

Dr. Shoe's table is made of random numbers representing random shoe angles. The tables would be useful only if they represented a meaningful geometric property, for example the steepness of the shoe. Once we agree that the steepness/shoe angle is the figure of merit, we can discuss the boundaries between the shoes having different steepness: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The making of the tables should be the last step because the tables cannot be very precise due to the difficulty of measuring the shank curvature.

Can't see the point here - ankle straps on court shoes are extremely uncomfortable for me, and why safer? - A correctly fitting shoe does not slip off - but if the heel gets caught (in a paving gap for example) it does allow the foot to slip out a bit, with a strap I have seen one girl nearly cripple herself as she was wrenched back by the foot when the heel got caught - are these the only two fashion features affecting safety/comfort - I doubt it - surely a broad heel is safer and more comfortable than a stiletto (although I prefer the stiletto)!

A comfortable shoe fits loosely, so that your toes are not squeezed. If there is no ankle strap, the pump/court shoe falls off unless you hold it with your toes above ground, which is not comfortable. I agree that platform shoe and ankle strap is a dangerous combination, but I cannot imagine how the ankle strap makes the shoe dangerous when the sole is thin. I broke a 6" heel on stairs - the ankle strap did no harm. The fact that ankle straps are extremely uncomfortable for you is unusual and maybe related to your low ankles. Well designed ankle straps fit loosely, so they cannot cause discomfort.

Women like pointed shoes. Men hate them no matter who wears them.

None of my friends like the pointed shoe, they are awful to wear, yet on here a number of men have commented the pointed shoe is sexy.

I quoted a survey published in New York Times.

Women who buy high heel shoes do not care how the shoes are made or what materials they are made of.

I don't agree with this, most of my friends either buy expensive leather well made shoes (although I think I am the only one who buys custom made), or limit their choice to the better designed end, the problem is that a pair of shoes cost £10 or less, but a pair of well made costs over £100, and true custom is in the £200 mark - that's over a weeks pay for someone working in a shop like McDonalds etc. so for most people it's not a matter of not caring, more a matter of no being able to afford them.

How do they know that the shoes are well made? Is there a specification sheet in the shoe box, or is it just the expensive appearance?

In addition, for me no amount of strap stretching will cure a badly positioned strap.

I agree.

I agree that one may buy very good quality shoes that are comfortable and will last for years – for a price, and of course one may buy true custom made which are the best and are of course the most expensive.

If you are going to order custom made shoes, discuss all technical details before the shoes are made to make sure that you will get the quality you deserve.

I have yet to buy custom-lasts, for me with my choice of style (standard court) the standard-last made shoes are fine.

This is good news, but if I were you, I would research the inserts under the ball of the foot. Ready made inserts help a little. Custom made, relatively rigid inserts help a lot and last much longer.

Firstly, the style is driven by fashion – which is not a choice for the majority of us, after all if I go down any high street and look in the shoe shops, every shop is selling identical items, and even within each shop, the choice is limited, sure there are 100’s of shoe “styles” – but in reality there is not a wide actual choice, for example at the moment they are ALL pointy toe, they ALL have a choice of 2-3 buckle types…

There are only two fashion features that influence comfort and safety: ankle straps and very thick soles. Ankle straps improve comfort and safety. Very thick soles (platform shoes) are dangerous. You can easily find ready made shoes that have ankle straps and thin soles.

Women like pointed shoes. Men hate them no matter who wears them.

The shoes are “designed” as fashion items not items to actually wear! – A few years back, I remember a “Watchdog” report (TV) where a number of girls had bought stiletto shoes, and in each case the heel had broke off, challenging the shop the reporter was told – these shoes are designed as fashion styles, not designed for continual wear! - QED!

The second point is that there is a large variance in feet, yet we purchase based only on one dimension – the length, as a child every time I was taken for shoes, the assistant measured length, and width and provided shoes to suit, by the time I was a teenager “that was only for kids”.

There is no demand for comfortable, durable, good quality high heel shoes. Women who buy high heel shoes do not care how the shoes are made or what materials they are made of. (The same trend is in politics - cheap yet fashionable politicians rule the world.)

Court shoes are extremely comfortable for me, but if I choose “strappy” shoes I have to be really careful as the straps can hurt after time – yet another pair – seemingly identical are fine, - just small differences cause such a change – yet I have friends who find the opposite courts are a torture for them.

Cobblers can stretch the toeboxes and the straps for a small fee.

Shoemakers can make perfect shoes for you if you know how good shoes are made.

Scotty, Your primary goal is simple tinkering with relatively low heel shoes to raise the heels. My goal is providing maximum comfort for those who wear very high heel shoes. If you want perfect fit, you have to sculpture your custom inserts using duct tape or any other method.