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spike or stilletto's whats the difference?


gaijin gig

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Hello it's me again.. Just quick note..I was asked not too long ago what the difference was between the two... I drew a blank.. I was once told that a spike heel was just that a spike , but a stilletto was supposed to be a more drastic higher heel than the spike.. since we have such an distingushed panel of experts here I thought that this would be the place to ask such a question. thanks again.. Gig

Cheers

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I always thought that a spike heel and stiletto heel referred to the thickness or width of the heel and not the height.

Click on the links below for more authoritative definitions:

http://www.bartleby.com/61/85/S0758500.html

http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=stiletto+heel

click .... click .... click .... The sensual sound of stiletto heels on a hard surface.

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I have seen 1930s heels referred to at the time as spikes. The term stiletto did not come in until the much thinner heels were invented in 1950s. Then and 1960s just about all heels were thin and tall or not were generally known as stilettoes. Now seems like people call anything high and not chunky a stiletto. Just shows how language changes. Means now have to explain a bit more the kind of heel y ou mean.

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A spike is generally a thicker heel which still might be quite high, named originally after the spikes which hold down the rails to sleepers on the railway. A stiletto is a thinner version. It is supposed to be over 3" to be a "true" stiletto. In modern American parlance I think the terms are now used interchangably, with spike being favoured, whereas in England the term stiletto for both is used 95% of the time. Other languages have there own variations. Eg French, Talons aiguilles (needle heels) or Italian, Tacchi a spillo. The last two I learned from the the HTML code on Jenny's site because they are mentioned in the key words on the meta tags.

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According to my pattern cutting lecturer (David Lyon an old boy with over 45 years in the footwear industry) Spike is easier and quicker to spell than stiletto. That is the only difference! Spike tended to be an Americanism as in "Spike Heel Pump" we in the UK would tend to say "Stiletto Court Shoe". Hope that clears that up.

Graduate footwear designer able to advise and assist on modification and shoe making projects.

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I would tend to agree with you Dr. Shoe.

According to my pattern cutting lecturer (David Lyon an old boy with over 45 years in the footwear industry) Spike is easier and quicker to spell than stiletto.

That is the only difference!

Spike tended to be an Americanism as in "Spike Heel Pump" we in the UK would tend to say "Stiletto Court Shoe".

Hope that clears that up.

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Speaking for myself as an American heel admirer, I've used both terms of 'spike' and 'stiletto' many times in conversation and in written form. I always call a stiletto heel with a heel higher than 4", while I call a spike heel any heel height from a 1/2" to 7" (and beyond). This is my own personal preference.

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