Significant Difference in Heel Height

[mlroseplant]

Hello all, I have just purchased some new sandals, Michael Kors Oksana in what they call "luggage," and what I call "tan." Some months ago, I bought an identical pair in black, and I liked them so much, I wanted a pair in tan as well. The retail price for these sandals is well over $100, and I'm not willing to pay anywhere near that, so I usually shop on ebay or some other online outlet to get a deeply discounted price. I picked these up for under $50, shipping included. I usually take size 8.5 in sandals, but all I could find in my price range was a 9. Since I know this brand, I knew that 9 would be fine, and it is.

Here's where the story gets a little bit strange. When the sandals arrived, I noticed immediately that there was something different about them compared to my black pair. It didn't take too much investigation to find out what. The heel height is a full 3/8" (1 cm) higher than the black pair. I have experience with this phenomenon, that is, of heel heights being slightly higher as the size gets bigger, but I've never seen such a drastic difference in 1/2 a size before. I have several other shoes where I bought more than one pair of the same model 1/2 size different, I even have a different Michael Kors sandal model in both 8 1/2 and 9, and the difference in heel height is less than 1/8" between these sizes.

In a way I feel lucky, because the steeper tan heels are way cooler looking, incrementally of course, than their less-inclined black siblings, but the thing is, the difference is enough to noticeably affect the whole feel of the shoe, and it's right at the limit of what I can wear gracefully. I guess I'll have to work on my ankle flexibility some more.

Has anyone else ever seen such a big difference in heel height within the same model of shoe? I am curious.

Oh, I forgot to include important information for those of you who are interested. The height of the taller heels is 5 1/2", and the shorter heels measure a mere 5 1/8". The platforms on both are identical at 1". 

[maninpumps]

I really like the style ! The tan ones are very nice . Looks to me like you have a challenge with the height . Go with it and have fun , you got more bang for the buck so to say !

Respectfully ,  MIP

 

[Jkrenzer]

Once I had this happen but don't recall the shoe. 5.75 inch heels with a 1 inch platform should be no problem and I am not surprised you prefer the feel of the higher heel. Both are very nice. 

[Sydheel]

Ive noticed this as well. A sales lady told me some manufacturers step up eack size or 1/2 size. While some use same heel for 2-3 sizes then step it up. 

[Shyheels]

I have a question based on these heel height variations. Suppose a shoe or boot was designed and marketed as, say, a five inch heel, based on, say, a size 40. If the heel heights vary slightly according to size, in order to maintain proportionality and the artistry of the design, would someone who wore a size 35 or 45 still describe their shoes or boots as being five inch heels since that is the standard (and marketed) height and proportion or would someone wearing those particular shoes in a size 35 say they had four and a half inch heels, while someone in a size 45 describes that same model as having five and a half inch heels? Or are they just described as having five inches heels since that is the heel height on which that model is based? 

[Steve63130]

Unless you took the time to measure the range of sizes, how would you even know if other sizes have different heel heights? Although they probably do, most companies simply describe the heel height on a women's size 8 or so, and you can assume (yeah, I know, bad word) that it will be higher in a bigger size, i.e., your mileage (or kilometrage) may vary. When I describe my heels, I don't care what a size 8 is in that model. I only care what height a 12 is, because that's all I have to measure.

Steve

[Rockpup]

Shyheels: some sites will list a heel height for a specific size, so in those cases I would expect a '5 inch heel' to have the same angle on the foot across the size range

 

[tina]

On 5/22/2016 at 8:48 AM, mlroseplant said:

Hello all, I have just purchased some new sandals, Michael Kors Oksana in what they call "luggage," and what I call "tan." Some months ago, I bought an identical pair in black, and I liked them so much, I wanted a pair in tan as well. The retail price for these sandals is well over $100, and I'm not willing to pay anywhere near that, so I usually shop on ebay or some other online outlet to get a deeply discounted price. I picked these up for under $50, shipping included. I usually take size 8.5 in sandals, but all I could find in my price range was a 9. Since I know this brand, I knew that 9 would be fine, and it is.

Here's where the story gets a little bit strange. When the sandals arrived, I noticed immediately that there was something different about them compared to my black pair. It didn't take too much investigation to find out what. The heel height is a full 3/8" (1 cm) higher than the black pair. I have experience with this phenomenon, that is, of heel heights being slightly higher as the size gets bigger, but I've never seen such a drastic difference in 1/2 a size before. I have several other shoes where I bought more than one pair of the same model 1/2 size different, I even have a different Michael Kors sandal model in both 8 1/2 and 9, and the difference in heel height is less than 1/8" between these sizes.

In a way I feel lucky, because the steeper tan heels are way cooler looking, incrementally of course, than their less-inclined black siblings, but the thing is, the difference is enough to noticeably affect the whole feel of the shoe, and it's right at the limit of what I can wear gracefully. I guess I'll have to work on my ankle flexibility some more.

Has anyone else ever seen such a big difference in heel height within the same model of shoe? I am curious.

Oh, I forgot to include important information for those of you who are interested. The height of the taller heels is 5 1/2", and the shorter heels measure a mere 5 1/8". The platforms on both are identical at 1". 

both pair  are sexy  hun

[CAT]

Both are sexy,,,,, I always will take the higherr heel. That's just me!!!!

[Shyheels]

12 hours ago, Rockpup said:

Shyheels: some sites will list a heel height for a specific size, so in those cases I would expect a '5 inch heel' to have the same angle on the foot across the size range

 

I guess it is the angle and proportionality that matters. I just wondered when I saw that the same models of shoes and boots could have different heel heights across a range of sizes - how buyers or people discussing heels could keep straight what they were talking about. 

[NrthEastHeel]

Great looking shoes:)

[mlroseplant]

I had a special opportunity to measure the gradient heel height of a different size of this model, because my friend has the same model shoe I have. On the left is a size 6.5 (hers), and on the right is my size 9. As you can see, there is a significant difference. On the size 6.5, the heel height is 4 7/8 inches, versus 5 1/2 inches on the size 9. Now I can better understand how you size 13 guys are able to wear a 5 inch single sole in relative comfort!

[Shyheels]

The degree of difficulty, then, would be the same for you and your size 6.5 friend, and in both cases far less than for someone with size 13 feet in shoes with five inch heels who woukd have a relatively easy ride.

[freestyle75]

@mlroseplant

On 22.5.2016 at 2:48 PM, mlroseplant said:

Oh, I forgot to include important information for those of you who are interested. The height of the taller heels is 5 1/2", and the shorter heels measure a mere 5 1/8". The platforms on both are identical at 1". 

Michael Kors shoes are made in... guess? Right... China.

What I am writing now is an educated guess: China uses the metric system. So when you measure any heels, you would have to do that in centimeters when they come from China. My assumption is that the heels they make are not exactly proportional to the size of the foot, but do have "jumps" to the next higher heel height that is being produced.

So... they are jumping from 5.125 inches (approx. 13 cm) to 5.5 inches (14 cm). My assumption is that the maker chose to go to the next available height for the larger pair, so he/she took a 14 cm heel. The smaller the heel is, the more likely you will find finer variations in heel height, e.g. 6 cm, 6.5 cm, 7 cm.

Would be interesting to talk to someone who actually works in one of MK's factories to confirm what I just wrote

BTW... I do think that you are among the 0.000000000000001% worldwide who looks at his heels from that point of an "engineering" angle

[Shyheels]

Hmmm. I'd say probably 100% of shoe/boot designers would look at heels from an engineering/proportionality perspective. My query arose from my natural journalistic curiosity and scepticism, which was piqued last week by the story about the temp and her heels and the inevitable news stories about guys wearing heels experimentally for a day and hating it etc. Or saying they did. It occurs to me that the four-inch heels they wore - cheap, throwaway pairs unlikely to have been scaled to keep the proportionality throughout the size range - would have been far easier to wear height-wise and thus unlikely to have given them a similar experience or challenge to that of a woman wearing a size five shoe in the same stated heel height. Journalists like to look for inconsistancies like that.

I was also wondering about so many of the guys on the site wearing five-inch plus heels - if they were five inches at men's size 13 or if they were proportionally scaled-up versions of the five inch heels worn by women - a big difference with the latter being a much tougher proposition. 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Shyheels

[Thighbootguy]

12 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I was also wondering about so many of the guys on the site wearing five-inch plus heels - if they were five inches at men's size 13 or if they were proportionally scaled-up versions of the five inch heels worn by women

I think most of the guys claiming to wear 5" and +5" heels make that claim based on a ruler's measurement of their heels, not the manufactures claim.

[Shyheels]

1 minute ago, Thighbootguy said:

I think most of the guys claiming to wear 5" and +5" heels make that claim based on a ruler's measurement of their heels, not the manufactures claim.

All the more impressive then that women, with their typically much smaller feet, can wear heels of that height with such aplomb.

[jetheelsfan]

This topic fascinated me back in 1975 when I ordered a pair of sandals listed with a 4 1/2" heel form Aldens Catalog.  I ordered a pair of size 5 and a pair of 10s and discovered the difference in heel height to be about 1/2"  difference.  Ah to still be that size 10....

[Shyheels]

I am guessing your feet did not shrink...

[mlroseplant]

Dredging back up an old topic, I have some new news on the subject! I have a wonderful pair of Vera Wang loafer style pumps from the "Lavender" collection, model name Talli.  Evidently, Yuja Wang is not yet marketing her own line of shoes, so Vera will have to do for now. I had mentioned elsewhere on this forum that I had a bit of a snafu wearing these quite attractive shoes because the steepness of them is right about at the limit of what I can walk in and not look ridiculous. However, I got myself into a situation where I was standing or walking continuously for several hours, and the muscles in my feet and ankles became quite fatigued, causing some awkward moments.

At any rate, the shoes themselves are comfortable enough, it's just that I need to work my way up to them so I can last more than an hour or two. It just so happens that I saw a pair of the same model shoes, barely worn, in plain black (my favorite) for about 40 USD. Just for reference, new at full retail, they were about 300 USD, which seems a tad overpriced, but they are Italian made, full leather all around, including the soles.

When my "new" shoes arrived, they were exactly what I expected, right down to the fact that I knew I'd have to use the shoe stretcher on them to widen the toe box just a tad. Except there was one surprise--the heels on the new black shoes were noticeably lower than the heels on my brown croc-print shoes--just a tad over 5", vs. just a tad under 5 3/8" (both figures translate to right around 13 cm). Same model, same size, non-Chinese, different heel. I don't get it.

I am not really complaining. They still look wonderful, and as it turns out, that 5/16 of an inch or so makes a big difference for me. The new ones are noticeably easier to walk in. I cannot yet attest to how I will feel after several hours, but given my past experience, they will be fine for several hours, if not all day.

Compare and contrast the two pairs: Remember, identical model, identical size, identical fit, Italian made, the only difference is the color (and of course the heel height).

[Thighbootguy]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

Same model, same size, non-Chinese, different heel. I don't get it.

That seems to happen a lot on Tuesdays.

It may not look like much but 5/16" is a lot when it's already 5" off the ground.    As Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force (1973), "A mans got to know his limitations".  I hit the same limit at 5".  I have a pair of boots at 5 1/2" that are just difficult to walk in, but 4"ers are feeling better and better all the time.

By the way, they are both great looking shoes.  Congratulations on a great find.

Also note that the heel tip on the taller shoe is flared.  When it comes time to replace the tips on the lower pair, I recommend having the tips flared as it extends the life of the hip at least 50%.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Thighbootguy

[Jkrenzer]

Great looking shoes. I've occasionally seen this issue, Massimo has a style that like these the heel was different, and by a full 1/2 inch.

[Cali]

It looks like the black is rotated clockwise slightly. Try putting a quarter or two below the black tip and retake the photo.

The reason they are different is because they come of two slight different assembly lines using different raw materials.

[mlroseplant]

21 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

Also note that the heel tip on the taller shoe is flared.  When it comes time to replace the tips on the lower pair, I recommend having the tips flared as it extends the life of the hip at least 50%.

That is a replacement heel tip, put on by my cobbler, and I wish it were flared--that would be preferable to what is there. It is actually just slightly oversized, and I have decided that I don't like it. It may well last longer, but it just looks odd and slightly ugly to me.

 

17 hours ago, Cali said:

It looks like the black is rotated clockwise slightly. Try putting a quarter or two below the black tip and retake the photo.

The reason they are different is because they come of two slight different assembly lines using different raw materials.

I shall have to more carefully compare both pairs to each other, but you're right--it does look like the black shoe's heel is a little too short for the angle of the shoe. Or, it may be that the brown shoe's heel is really slightly too tall. I'll let you know.

[Thighbootguy]

8 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

That is a replacement heel tip, put on by my cobbler, and I wish it were flared--that would be preferable to what is there. It is actually just slightly oversized, and I have decided that I don't like it. It may well last longer, but it just looks odd and slightly ugly to me.

Oh well, beauty being in the eye of the beholder, so if you don't like it, that counts, but no one else is ever going to notice that heel tip and it really does prolong the life of the tip considerably.

[Gudulitooo]

On 22/5/2016 at 2:48 PM, mlroseplant said:

I thought you americans had to measure in cm and convert to feet and inches each time ? 

What a nice idea to have a rule directly markerd with graduations in inches !

 

[mlroseplant]

4 hours ago, Gudulitooo said:

I thought you americans had to measure in cm and convert to feet and inches each time ? 

What a nice idea to have a rule directly markerd with graduations in inches !

 

Heh, heh, the USA is a bit of a mystery to the rest of the world, isn't it? You almost cannot buy a metric tape measure here. All of those skyscrapers and factories that come out of the ground, almost magically? Designed and built in feet and inches--still to this day. I was on a job once, which was a Barilla pasta plant, with a sister facility in Italy, that almost required that I go out and find a metric tape measure. It took some searching! Scientific fields and automotive have gone completely to metric, but that's about it. Why, I don't know. Feet and inches, pounds and ounces, are a pain in the neck, but Americans are stubborn!

[Heelster]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Heh, heh, the USA is a bit of a mystery to the rest of the world, isn't it? You almost cannot buy a metric tape measure here. All of those skyscrapers and factories that come out of the ground, almost magically? Designed and built in feet and inches--still to this day. I was on a job once, which was a Barilla pasta plant, with a sister facility in Italy, that almost required that I go out and find a metric tape measure. It took some searching! Scientific fields and automotive have gone completely to metric, but that's about it. Why, I don't know. Feet and inches, pounds and ounces, are a pain in the neck, but Americans are stubborn!

Funny, but half the steel industry can't decide what to use. One piece of equipment will have inches and part will be in metric. I get pretty good at looking at the metric prints, and calling out inches. Dual dimension prints are not uncommon so the stubborn US workers can still do things. It is a screwed up way of working, but that's what it takes to get the job done.

[Thighbootguy]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Feet and inches, pounds and ounces, are a pain in the neck, but Americans are stubborn!

Stubborn is the polite term starting with "st".   And even though the automotive industry is metric,we still measure speed in miles per hour.  At one time I suggested using furlongs per fortnight for speed measurements, but it never caught on.

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, or 10 chains and a fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (2 weeks). 

1 mph = 0.0238095238095238 fpf

1 kph = 0.0383177142857143 fpf

[Heelster]

5 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

Stubborn is the polite term starting with "st".   And even though the automotive industry is metric,we still measure speed in miles per hour.  At one time I suggested using furlongs per fortnight for speed measurements, but it never caught on.

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, or 10 chains and a fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (2 weeks). 

1 mph = 0.0238095238095238 fpf

1 kph = 0.0383177142857143 fpf

You would not believe how many guys use domestic tools on metric fasteners. Remember when they would put kilometers and miles to go on road signs - - - that didn't last long.