Chorlini

On 4/28/2022 at 1:32 AM, Cali said:

Market driven, Law of Large Numbers. Do you want 50% of a small market or 5% of a huge market. If I write an entry level book and get 10% of the market, that could mean 500,000 copies sold whereas a high end book might get 80% of the market and sell only 30,000 copies.  The ideal situation is 80% of a large market. 

On the other, why ignore a growing market, as women are getting bigger feet, in favor of trying to catch a small corner of a heavily competitive market? Also, 10% of the main market would probably mean selling shoes for like what, $20 a pair, whereas 80% of that smaller market may demand a higher price because they have so little options. So big market, 500.000 times $20 a pair means you gross $10.000.000. Small market 30.000 times $120 per pair you gross $3.600.000. Assuming it costs $10 to make the cheap pairs it costs you $5.000.000 to produce your shoes. whereas the high small market shoes cost 3 times more to make, $30 a pair. It will cost you 900.000 to make. Throw in mass market marketing to reach that larger market segment, as you also have to compete with aggressive marketing from your competitors. Whereas if you own 80% of that small market, you don't have to do much marketing at all. In the end the profit margins on the mass market shoes will be quite low and those of the niche market will be much lower, so the final profit you can bank might be more identical for less effort. That has always been what differentiates the two business models. Niche market means you can demand niche prices. Mass market means you must ship a lot to make up for smaller margins.

On 4/28/2022 at 3:42 AM, Shyheels said:

Because heels higher than 12cm look tarty and fetishy 

I knew a woman who was a true expert in wearing heels - 120mm was her usual height - and she owned a pair of those but never wore them because she couldn’t walk well in them. I think also that few women like the look of heels that high. I know some who love heels but won’t go over 100mm because they say it creates the wrong impression.

That argument completely loses all value when you consider that the platform shows and knee high or tigh high boots these womens will still wear come straight out of the fetish scene. I think its less about tarty and fetishy and more about there's no way I can ever walk in those, so I'll give a socially accepted answer instead. Which is something that on average women are prone to do anyway. There's a reason why PUA's say don't listen to what women tell you, listen to what they do.

On 4/28/2022 at 12:18 PM, mlroseplant said:

Probably the reason why they look tarty and fetishy is because almost nobody can walk in them, and what good is a shoe if you can't actually walk in it? Bingo.

Not very many years ago, giant platformed monstrosities with 15 or 16 cm heels were quite fashionable (think Louboutin Daffodile, et al.). Those were not necessarily fetishy. Heck, pianist Yuja Wang to this day wears similar for every concert, even though she has toned the rest of her look down considerably from what it was pre-pandemic. I think a lot of it has to do with not actually being able to use single soled shoes over 12 cm for their intended purpose. I would be willing to bet money that even Ms. Wang could not negotiate Hot Chicks, as least not well enough to present them in public.

Giant platforms ARE fetishy. Came straight out of the stripper/pornstar scene from the middle 90's, when every stripper and/or pornstar wore them. Even today they are still part of the bread and butter stripper/pornstar/pole dancer stable. I reckon that the biggest reason why single sole heels are fetishy is because those people are the only ones willing to walk in them.

16 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I suspect this is because there are two entirely different markets. Ten and twelve centimetre heights are what you find on high street and with designers; fashion heels in other words. Above that you enter a different world entirely. Few designers go above that - and for a reason. The look becomes much less elegant and graceful and is overtly tarty and fetishy

I dunno, you may call anything above 12 cm tarty and fetishy, but the platform shoes that infest the market today come straight out of the strip clubs and porn movies. And high heeled boots used to the hallmark of BDSM mistresses. Now they are mainstream too. So if those can be mainstream, why not single soled shoes with heels higher then 12 cm?

21 hours ago, Pumped said:

Well, I imagine that 95% of shoe sales are size 41'ish and lower. It does suck to be a person with larger flippers. I am a nice size ten, or 40-41 depending on the manufacturer.

Rather shortsighted I would say, because women are getting bigger, and so are their feet. It might be 95% today, could by 90% tomorrow. That's 10% of the market you're flipping the finger too. And worse, that's going to be young women. The ones you want to get out of their comfy sneakers into your heels, as whoever gets the youth has the future

13 hours ago, vinheel said:

Italian sizes 

https://www.sharlenecalzature.it/fr/guida-alle-taglie/

This is a weird sizing system.

Suddenly even Aliexpress's sizing system makes sense. And that's next to impossible to figure out as every seller has its own system.

In this age of comfy footwear of sneakers, combat boots and flip flops, we NEED a day like this. Hell, we need a whole month.

8 hours ago, vinheel said:

Hey everybody, highheels lovers,

I just want to show you an online shop, prepare your eyes and your heart:

https://www.sharlenecalzature.it/fr/

Unless you have very small feet, EU41 or smaller, nothing of interest there. Another store which has yet to discover that people exist with larger feet then just EU41.

It is odd how above 10 cm the choices become erratic. There seems to be very little between 12cm and 14cm, which might make it a rather high increment for people to advance into. Italian heels has heels in 10, 12 and 15 cm, but nothing in 13 or 14 cm. Pleaser has shitloads of 10 cm, basically every platform shoe if you think away the platform, they have 12cm (Amuse range), 14 cm (sexy range), 15 cm (domina range) but nothing in 13 cm range. Onlymaker has nothing above 12cm, and when you go on eBay it was all either 12 cm or 17,5 cm. Cause apparently every high heel fetishists aspires to wear 7" heels only. Although Aliexpress seems to have something in the 13 and 14 cm range these days. But they advertise it very badly, often you have to check the fine print. And still much luck figuring out their sizing,

On 4/22/2022 at 1:06 AM, Shyheels said:

It’s extremely rare here - to the point where I can say I’ve never seen it

I agree. Outside of runners I have yet to see a dude in leggings. And I live in a university city, so LOTS of liberal minded types.

17 hours ago, Cali said:

And here I thought this was going to be a gardening thread about the right way to raise a crop of heels nice and straight.

That would be a neat feat to behold.

9 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

Italian heels is a very good brand. One complain : no new models or just one from time to time. And the price isn’t higher than some Chinese crap! 

Considering he is from Canada it probably IS very expensive for him. With shipping and getting robbed by Canadian customs.

When I started out 14cm or 5.5" was all that I could get in a fetish store in Amsterdam that I used to fine. So I learned to walk in them. Luckily, or probably not as I can't fit into more normal shoes then fetish shoes, my feet are large. Just larger then the biggest sizes you can find in normal shoe stores. So a larger 5.5" heel for my size EU43 feet feels probably like a 4"or 4.5" heel to people with smaller feet. 5 inches feel really comfortable to walk in for me, I could do it all day if I wanted too. Anything below 5" feels like comfy shoes to me, so of no interest to me. On the downside my ankle flexibility is terrible, so 6" is straining it and I never managed to straighten out my ankles in 7" or ballet heels, so I gave up on trying and playing with those.

First wear is always a special affair. Will they fit? Can I make them fit? Will they pinch? Sometimes you think there's no way I can fit in them and they fit comfortably. And sometimes they won't fit even though they look like Shaquille O'Neill could wear them.

I haven't worn hose or stockings in years. I'm all bare feet into pumps and boots kinda guy. I do love me a good pair of leather look leggings though.

Probably not if the purpose is to meet people in person.

Zalando still offers them. Even in large sizes.

On 3/21/2022 at 2:43 AM, Cali said:

Two for 35 is not bad either.

I've paid more for shoes that turned out to be less then what I've hoped for. 😢

14 minutes ago, Jkrenzer said:

Marylin Monroe's shoes were super high at about 4.5 inches. Still here pumps are perfect.

Exceptions to the rule do not invalidate the rule. Currently celebrities tend to wear high heels more then average women as well. Most women wearing pumps in the 50's and 60's wore low heeled pumps.

6 hours ago, Histiletto said:

The first stilettos used the initial spike heel shape as the seat of the heel as it concavely tapered to the breast of the heel about half way down the heel height to and around the 8 X 8 mm or smaller slender cylinder horse shoed circumference look to the 5 mm thick heel tip with the same horse shoed dimensions. Note the stilettos on the women of these two singing groups and Marilyn Monroe's stilettos.

3 hours ago, Puffer said:

Perhaps you could re-write that more clearly (and with punctuation) so we can understand your comments properly.   And why do you suggest that the (US) 'spike heel' is in some way not the same as a 'stiletto' heel?   Surely, after the stiletto was introduced, it was sometimes called a 'spike heel' (particularly in the US) but there is no physical distinction?

Very technical indeed.

Also, I can't help but notice on those pictures, and others of that era for that matter, that the golden age of high heel wearing wasn't that high at all. Around 3" at average.

17 hours ago, Cali said:

It might be weather related. I'm in a temperate locale, so I might see more than someone in a colder area. 

I'm at a lower latitude then Virginheels who is in Scotland, which is not known for its warmer weather.

17 hours ago, Cali said:

Don't the (women) faculty wear boots with heels?

ROTFLMAO! (with respect though, always with respect)

No.

I live in the high heel desert. It was said that the faculty of law was the last bastion of heel wearing, as women who want to become lawyers are told to heel up. But before the coof, when I occasionally frequented their faculty restaurant, 1 in a 100 perhaps? It would seem that the average Dutch woman values comfort over style. At least when it comes to footwear. And maybe other things too, I remember an article that said that the average Belgian woman sleeps half an hour less a day then the average Dutch woman as they are more busy with their looks and take more time to address their looks then Dutch women.

I don't get this trend you guys are talking about. No stiletto heels whatsoever being worn here in my neck of the words. And I work at a university that is 60% female students. At best only some 6cm chunky heeled boots. And those accursed designer combat boots of course.

2 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

I may own one hundred pairs of heels. I stopped buying more. I just realized I was spending more time checking if this or that pair really suits my feet instead of enjoying wearing the 20 pairs that have proved they fit my feet. 

Does it mean  I should get rid of 80 pairs. The reasonable answer would be : yes! 

Emotions don't care about facts. Logically you should get rid of them. But when you try your mind will find ways to keep them. The only argument that your mind can accept is that it will make room and give you funds to get more new shoes.

This must be some really weird high heel fetishist. I know there are women who sell their worn shoes (and clothing) online so there is a sizeable group of men who enjoy that sort of kink.

On 2/11/2022 at 11:29 PM, VirginHeels said:

Trainers are still the majority of shoes, however heels are back on the style menu for many women. Now their office is open, and social, entertainment and recreation are a thing again.

Not in my neck of the woods. Only 1 in in hundreds of women are seen wearing heels. And those are usually older women. It's sneakers sneakers sneakers and those accursed faux-combat boots all around.

6 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

It is time to up my geek game here. I have recently acquired a digital caliper. Actually, I bought this as a birthday present for my son, who is involved in a number of diverse projects where knowing the precise measurement of certain components is critical. What I did not think of at the time was using this caliper to measure the thickness of high heels. For your viewing pleasure, I have included a photo of my thinnest stilettos, at least as measured at the tip. I measured right above the heel cap, as the cap tends to "mushroom" right away once you actually wear the shoes. Evidently, my thinnest heels are my Steve Madden "Barbb" mules, at about 6.6 mm in the north-south dimension, and just over 7 mm in the east-west dimension.

Nearly matching the absolute thinness of my Barbbs happens to be another Steve Madden model, my recently acquired Daisies. The heel thickness is within 0.2 mm of the Barbbs in both side to side and front to back measurements. The main difference is that the Daisie heel remains far thinner throughout its length than does the Barbb, which really gives it the appearance of being lethal. The Barbbs taper outward significantly within an inch or so of rising from the ground.

The Barbb heel height is right at 4 1/2", whereas the Daisie is slightly higher, at >4 5/8", almost exactly 120 mm. Maybe 118.5. I find the Barbb heel easy to wear for an extended period, despite its steepness and thinness. I have done so on many occasions. The Daisie, while as of yet untested in the real world, is proving to be more of a challenge.

Does it bother any of you that I mix English units with Metric freely?

You definitely upped your levels of geekdom and high heel nerd cred. 😄

5 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Here is the difference, you can find these on Alliexpress. Don't actually have names.

Ah, those are Hey Si Mey. I thought you meant Onlymaker. Different brands.

On 2/3/2022 at 3:52 AM, Jkrenzer said:

Actually they do have a style of 130mm, that in my size are about 135mm. They are one of the few Chinese base brands that actually increase height with size. They are the only make in that height I can wear, but still reserved for home.

Oh, now I am curious, which style?