Stability of ultrafine / thin metal heels

[heelma]

I haven't posted here for a while, might have missed a similar discussion. I would like to know what experience you have with these really thin metal heels. There are some out in my size on Aliexpress or Amazon (same manufacturer in China), then there is Fashion Style from Poland and then I also found Fuss Schuhe from Germany. My experience with the Chinese ones is that they often break after I take them out for a mile walk on bricks or even just plain concrete sidewalks. The Chinese one breaks loose where the actual metal heel meets the wider plastic part. The polish heel is a design with 4 screws holding a circle, in the middle of which the heel is mounted; it breaks off right there. Before I make any investment into the ones from Fuss Schuhe and spend $150+ on those, what experience do you guys here have with Fuss Schuhe? Is it worth the investment? Do you think they would break off easly too?

[Jkrenzer]

Man I love the the two on top. I have the 3rd pair from Poland along with a 2nd very high heel. They are very sturdy, no issues.

[Pierre1961]

I already have bought several shoes from Fuss and never had a bad experience with. 

Pesonnaly I feel good in the round cap ones ( even extremely high) and not so comfortable with the pointy toes. Just a question of arch shape. 

You can have a look to my album  

The quailty is more than ok. 

Pierre 

[Histiletto]

Many years ago, I purchased a pair of Fuss High Heel Pumps, but the heels weren't as thin as the ones you have presented. However, some of my other brands with heels this thin and comparatively tall, a few have come loose at their seating with the sole and a couple have cracked horizontally about mid way down. Of course, the rubber or plastic heel tips barely last any lengthy walking distance and walking a mile requires at least one heel tip replacement for each stiletto heel during the walk and then again at the end even on the best of surfaces. Most high heels, especially stilettos, are worn as formal show and exhibition footwear, not for long hikes, on rugged terrains, nor in heavy and laborious uses.  

[nzfreestyler]

I think Histiletto has summed it up pretty well.

I wear 4 inch + stilettos (very thin stilettos) daily - I haven't worn any of the shoes named/ pictured above, although the heels are comporable.

I find sturdiness & reliability of my thinnest heels no different than the standard heels etc, the key point is the heel-tips.

They need to be metalled to stand any chance, and even then they wear quickly. I walk around 5000-6000 steps a day in heels and smaller heel tips don't last long . Similarly the soles under the toes also wear out very quickly!!! (alas its true I've worn holes in my prettiest shoes)

I think a good quality shoe brand should be fine regardless of the heel thickness - as long as the heel tips get metalled it'll all be similar. Certainly doesn't really feel any different from a standard stiletto to a really thin stiletto - not in my heels anyway.

 

[Histiletto]

I agree that good stiletto heels do feel just as sturdy and reliable as block heels. However, I have to qualify the concept of good. With most of today's fashion heels, the support of the heel seems to hold up the back of the shoe and not necessarily the heel nor the ankle of the wearer. Since the support from the heel isn't perpendicularly centered under the forward section of the wearer's heel, the amount of work needed to land each step also increases. The sound made by the shoes a toddler wears, until the action of their ankles are strengthened enough to coordinate the fall of the sole is the same action high heelers have to deal with while high heeling. Putting the support of the stiletto heel under the wearer's heel lessens the time and leveraging the ankle has to manipulate holding the foot in suspension after the heel tip contacts the surface. The aesthetic beauty of the shoe backed heels isn't that alluring either, at least to me. When the idea of the stiletto is merges with the styling of the spike heel, the perfect high heel shaping results. These heels are my examples of the aesthetically beautiful spike/stiletto heels:    

[Pierre1961]

Histiletto: your analyze is perfect. Totally agree with you. 

[nzfreestyler]

Agreed,

If you look closely at my stilettos they're all of these styles. The heel slightly forward from the back of the shoe feels better to wear, the balance is better as I step forward and the heel can pivot better as I walk with each step. Hard to describe in words, really need to put a pair on a talk about it one on one... A heel that is back mounted on the back of the shoe (as a lot are - even the likes of CL pigalle) I find them floppy to walk in, the heel touches and the shoe clomps forward and down as the toes land with each step. Hard to explain, but the end result is I agree with Histiletto that the classical stiletto heel shape is best, tapered heel, the hel front face is square and forward from the back of the shoe.

Much nicer to wear! Also much better to look at....

[JeffB]

Perhaps this is a bias on my part, but whenever I see those sort of pencil thin heels, I invariably wonder how they could support someone's weight without snapping like twigs. I know I wouldn't have had the courage to wear such shoes back in May when I was a whopping 243 pounds, and even though I've lost fifty pounds since then, I'd still be leery of them.

[nzfreestyler]

I always place trust in my heels to look after me.

I look after them and they look after me.... sounds kinda silly, but I buy good quality shoes and I look after them, reheel them, check them, don't abuse them etc... I alternate my shoes so as to not overuse any etc.... and I've only broken 2 heels in 15 years of serious heeling (actually one was a bend to be precise, the other detached from the sole, the bend was not repairable, the detached heel was repaired perfectly).

One has to take a step of faith sometimes and trust ones heels - especially the little skinny ones, but they are deceptively strong!

[Histiletto]

On ‎11‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 2:27 AM, JeffB said:

Perhaps this is a bias on my part, but whenever I see those sort of pencil thin heels, I invariably wonder how they could support someone's weight without snapping like twigs. I know I wouldn't have had the courage to wear such shoes back in May when I was a whopping 243 pounds, and even though I've lost fifty pounds since then, I'd still be leery of them.

For about a decade after the stiletto style heels were introduced, many of them did break, bend, or become detached from the sole at the seat, but now the chances of these damages happening are rare, at least with good quality heels. My weight may not be under yours by much, but I worry more about the scrapes, gouges, soft or penetrable surfaces, and replacing the heel tips, which seems to be almost an every other wear day necessity when I wear the same thin heels a few times.

[heelma]

On 11/20/2017 at 7:48 PM, nzfreestyler said:

I find sturdiness & reliability of my thinnest heels no different than the standard heels etc, the key point is the heel-tips.

They need to be metalled to stand any chance, and even then they wear quickly. I walk around 5000-6000 steps a day in heels and smaller heel tips don't last long . Similarly the soles under the toes also wear out very quickly!!! (alas its true I've worn holes in my prettiest shoes)

I think a good quality shoe brand should be fine regardless of the heel thickness - as long as the heel tips get metalled it'll all be similar. Certainly doesn't really feel any different from a standard stiletto to a really thin stiletto - not in my heels anyway.

I always replace all heel tips by metal tips from England. Forget about plastic tips, they don't do it for me. If I wear heels then on sidewalks and for a few hours/miles. But to me the problem with really thin heels is that the actual heel tends to break. Problem is that I can't easily get "high quality" heels in my size US 14/15 anywhere. Aliexpress has plenty, though much less than they used to have, but they are rather low quality. This is why I am wondering about Fuss Schuhe - how much better are they, is that worth the money?

 

[nzfreestyler]

Hi Heelma,

I think your reply has ended up in the quote from my previous post above, but I think what you were saying was:...

I always replace all heel tips by metal tips from England. Forget about plastic tips, they don't do it for me. If I wear heels then on sidewalks and for a few hours/miles. But to me the problem with really thin heels is that the actual heel tends to break. Problem is that I can't easily get "high quality" heels in my size US 14/15 anywhere. Aliexpress has plenty, though much less than they used to have, but they are rather low quality. This is why I am wondering about Fuss Schuhe - how much better are they, is that worth the money?

 

In answer to the above....

I'm lucky in that I can get mainstream style high heels in my size so I'm spoilt for choices. I'm not familiar with fuss shoes - I know of them and have heard good things about the brand but I haven't worn any of their heels-  so can't comment first hand. I wouldn't want to put you wrong. All I can say is well made high heels should be solid - even with the very fine heels - mine all are!! There shouldn't be any difference with a well made shoe in a smaller or a larger size - the mechanics are all similar and construction methods just the same. I have worn some of the cheaper shoes and they are inferior in fit, in the curve of the insole, the firmness of the heel, the balance of the shoe etc... so there will be definitely be a benefit with a quality high heel brand.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. Perhaps someone here can speak first hand of fuss shoes ?

 

 

[Pierre1961]

I am a great fan of Fuss Shoes. With no doubt I recommand this brand. 

Most of  the shoes you can see in my album are Fuss Shoes. 

Pierre