Walkonit

I was concerned it would be too weak, but so far so good. I have only walked around at home with these heels though. Not sure how well it will tolerate further use. I don't think I'd be willing to try this modification on expense heels though for fear of damaging them permanently.

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OK after a bit more outdoor use the 3.5mm bolt started to bend. Need to find a stronger solution.........

The huge amount of website closedown orders, factory closures, counterfeit goods seizures and destruction orders instigated by CL and other brands in the last two years says otherwise.

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Interesting comment. I do not support conterfeits, and have no special knowledge of counterfeits, but I must say that all this action from CL acts as marketing for his brand. Surely better marketing than normal advertising.

The low quality products are often made by using child or slave labour in sweat shops with the revenue often funding terrorist activities and drug-related crime syndicates.

I've seen these claims as well. I wonder where this information comes from. Journalistic articles sponsored by designers perhaps. And what about "normal" non counterfeit brands, havn't they been accused of using child labour in sweatshops from time to time ?

Sometimes I feel we are a bit naive.

I've had the pleasure of working in Iran and other parts of the Middle East over the years and just wanted to make a few comments:

- Iranians are not Arabs. They are Persians. Many Iranians have strong feelings against Arabs for historical reasons over the naming of the Persian /Arabian Gulf amongst others. Some find it offensive to be called an Arab, while most consider those calling them Arabs ignorant. See the article for more info.

http://www.payvand.com/news/10/dec/1144.html

- I havn't visited Iran after the increased vigilance, however earlier Iranian women told me they dislike their dress code and clearly like to wear western clothes and high heels whenever possible. Iranian social life goes on in private homes since clubs pubs bars etc don't exist. Once behind closed doors, the black clothes and head dresses come off and the women like to show off. Since this is their only chance they make the most of it and I've seen beautiful designer dresses and shoes being shown off.

- In other places in the Middle East High heels are everywhere. Take Dubai for instance. Go and visit the Dubai Mall and you will find shops selling just about every high end designer brand, plus many others as well. You can see many women with beautiful heels especially the local arabic women cruising around wearing their black abaya's with designer hand bags, oversize gold and diamond jewelley & 5" stilettos most likely from CL, YSL etc etc.

I tried another alternative on a cheap pair of stiletto boots. The boots have slim 4" heels which have a 7mm diameter plastic tip. Since thery are size 41 and use a standard size heel the heel is too small for the size 41 boot and needs to be about 15 mm longer so the heel is not kicked out or in. After removing the heel tip with pliers I tapped a M3.5 (mm) thread in the metal heel tube. After that I screwed a 30mm long M3.5 bolt into the hole with a round head on it. To make the heel look normal again I found some plastic tubing of 7mm diameter, cut it to length (about 15mm) and placed it over the bolt before screwing it in to the heel. I was concerned it would be too weak, but so far so good. I have only walked around at home with these heels though. Not sure how well it will tolerate further use. I don't think I'd be willing to try this modification on expense heels though for fear of damaging them permanently. This is a small diameter metal heel tip with a cross head pattern on it which easily damages wooden floors, so care needs to be taken. This modification also means I can easily swap the heel tip.

Never so far. I'm on the lookout though. Hopefully I'll be wearing mine when it happens. Much better basis to strike up a conversation.

Another option may be to cut the heel off above the metal tube drill a hole through the plastic, around 6 mm tap it with a sutable thread size and then add a steel rod of the right length which would screw into the tapped hole. This would also allow multiple heel types to be built and changed easily. Not sure if it could be made to look nice though. Anyone done this ?

I have extended the same metal heels by 15mm using small hex bits from a screwdriver set. I had to drill the heel for them to fit but there may be thinner bits which would fit a standard heel pin tube.

Interesting modification, and clearly it worked well based on the Youtube vid. However I'm curious to know more about this since I imagine it's very difficult. Drilling out the heel tip from approx 3mm to accomodate a larger diameter pin means you need to drill away the metal tube inside the injection moulded plastic heel. First this would create a lot of heat which could easily melt the plastic around the metal tube and second the remaining plastic would surely be too weak to support the load of the new heel tip. How did you get around these 2 problems ?

There are some chinese sites if you search around, but they only seem to sell in bulk. If you are repairing a shoe , wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy new shoes ?

All shoes stretch a bit through use, some more than others, but that only occurs if you can get them on in the first place. If you can't get them on, I would say its not going to happen without serious modification and significant cost by a professional.

I havn't had trouble sliding with metal heel tips yet, but perhaps I havn't tried hard floor surfaces yet. Went shopping recently in a store with a linoleum floor in metal heel tips. The surface felt forgiving and quite comfy to walk on. The metal tips really gripped well, but then I noticed I was leaving a trail of indentations where I walked. I was a bit worried at first but the marks disappeared after a short while. Curiously I had trouble with some hard plastic tips in Copenhagen airport one time as the floor in the main terminal was hard and slippery. I had to slow down bit and look for the areas with carpet. Perhaps it would have been even worse in metal heel tips.

Mine ? To be a drop dead gorgeous woman and strut my stuff in a pair of stunning high heel stiletto boots in public that would cause those around me to stare in awe.

Must be the ones in my avatar.

I'm sure many of you are very experienced with this, but recently the plastic tips on my 5" black boots that I like to use in public were getting really worn down. I ordered some metal heel tips from a UK website to replace them, changed them myself without too much problem and tried them out. Now I have other heels with metal tips like the ones in my avatar but I'd never tried them in public before. Wow what a difference ! First they are far more noisy which really attracts some looks. This was a bit frightening at first but after a while it made the experience that much more fun. The sharper louder tick tock combined with the occasional crunch as something small powdered beneath my heel tip raised the experience level for me. The feel of the heel was different as well. There was much less cushioning due to the harder material, but this was positive allowing me to somehow feel more solid contact and grip with the ground (although I've read metal heel tips can slide easily on very hard surfaces). What fun ...I will be taking them out again soon.

Nice question, although I suspect it would be dead clear if the perspective were changed. I'll go for Boot C being the man's boot. You can see a low wide heel, wheareas the heels on A&B arn't clear, so I assume they are higher = female boot.

Many things can become a trademark. See also: ....

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Surely in reality the designers are happy with the counterfeit market. If your brand has become so desirable that it is being copied, then you have hit the big time. Counterfeits and the news surrounding them only makes the real brand more desirable. Those people buying the copies would never be able to afford the real item so the counterfeit arn't actually decreasing income.

It would probably be a smart move for an exclusive designer company to release "counterfeits" onto the market to raise their own profile and raise their own profits.

What about the stories of real "counterfeits" when the employees in third party factories supplying exclusive goods work the night shift to produce the same product but supply the "knock-off market?"

The list of brands using red soles is very long. There are knock-off copies as well as many reputable and designer brands using red soles. There is no way CL can sue them all. Its just a marketing tactic for CL.

This is actually laughable. Someone owns a ' color '?

Actually the whole red soles thing is brilliant marketing by CL. Every knock off worn by any woman (or man) and every court cases only increases CL's exclusive brand name.

It wouldn't surprise me much to hear CL and YSL set up the court case as a marketing ploy. "Any news is good news" right ?

So I guess we won't see it copied onto the high street next year then.

Did the link not point to the Burberry prorsum pointed python pumps for a mere €1,150.26 ?

Here are a few more links...

http://www.thelifefiles.com/2011/03/02/pointed-python-pumps-by-burberry-prorsum/

Interesting new style.

What do you think ?

http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/101590

I agree with Roniheels thats its like public heeling. Thats to say its gets easier with practice, some situations are tougher than others and that its important to go back and give it another go. I've had quite a few "failed" purchases and have days when I'm more confident and do better than others. I have to say though that I've also had only positive comments from sales people in shops. They want to sell stuff and a more "interesting" customer improves their day. When buying a pair of 5" boots last Autumn after trying them on and walking around the shop I asked the sales girl how often men bought shoes like these. She answered pleasantly that it was a bit unusual. Try again....each small success is a high heeled step towards improved self confidence and personal satisfaction.

"The view of the mountain scenery is very beautiful, but that dosn't mean I want to climb them." Your wife's resentment appears to stem from her negative ideas of what high heels represent. That could be many things and you probably have a better idea of this. Perhaps you need to build her confidence that you love her unconditionally. I'm such she is aware that you like high heels worn by her and by others (but possibly not by you). If you manage to build her confidence in your love she may choose to satisfy your wishes more often.

Unfortunately yes. Amongst the current trends for women there seems to be a move towards casual menswear, checked shirts, rough jeans, workstyle boots etc. Being the old fashioned git I am I prefer women to look like women. Maybe the women prefer than I look like a man.....hmmmmm

I agree ! The amount of lift (heel height minus platform height) is a much better guide to how easy they are to walk in than the heel height alone. Also important is: - Footwear type: Boots are easier than shoes which are easier than sandals due to the reduced amount of ankle support. - Sizing needs to be good and snug to provide the right level of comfort versus support. - finally there is the "unknown" factor which is that some shoes with identical heel height and lift are just easier and more comfortable to walk in than others. More expensive shoes are generally better, but I've found some cheap shoes happen to be great, others not. I believe that shoes with a well balanced and stiff heel work well. A classic stiletto shaped heel where the heel curves beautifully inwards under the shoe works better than when the heel tip is located further back.

Is this for real ? I see the 160mm version on the internet, but get no hits on the 220mm version.