How long do your heels last?

[Cali]

I'm an everyday wearer and was looking at the conditions of my heels. I have noticed that some of my 5 year old heels that I have worn 60+ times (at least 700 hours) are showing signs that they are falling apart at various places.

How long or how many hours of wear do you get out of your heels and what type last you the longest?

Edited September 29, 2019 by Cali

[hhboots]

I seem to supinate my feet (foot rolls/leans outward) as I walk.  So I wear out my heels more quickly on the outside on each foot which reduces the life expectancy of my shoes significantly.  If they are more expensive shoes, I usually go through the effort to replace the heel tips if possible.  But generally, I get about 250-500 hours out of a pair, largely depending on the shoe type, the thickness of the heel (chunky/wedge/thin), and if I put the effort/expense into preserving them.

[pebblesf]

Great topic....Most of my boots are showing signs of high mileage, but I usually spend the money for new heel tips/pads....Even had the soles of those cheap Zodiac boots glued back on...Hard for me to gage the actual hours though...

[mlroseplant]

I am not a full-time heel wearer, due to my profession, but I am a daily heel wearer. When I think about all the shoes that I've owned over the years, I can definitely see a pattern. I've definitely had the most trouble with sandals. Usually, it's catastrophic failure, but I have had several pair that were still serviceable when I threw them away, but they were just very ratty looking. I can think of only one pair of full coverage shoes or boots that I've ever gotten rid of because it was just worn to death. This was a cheap pair of Simply Vera Wang calf-high boots I got very early on in my heeling life. Those suckers were incredibly durable for such a cheap pair of boots. They had well over 100 miles on them when I let them go. I believe I replaced the heel tips twice in that time. All of my other full-coverage shoes are several years old, and are in great shape. I do replace heel tips as necessary.

Sandals, on the other hand, are far less durable, with a couple of notable exceptions. My BCBGirls "Bonny" mules have been worn to death, but they still keep soldiering on with a few minor repairs, and they still look decent. I've had them for 4 years, and I would guess they have somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 days of wear and probably 60-80 miles on them. I even bought a duplicate replacement pair, but I haven't had to use it yet. The other exception is my first pair of heeled sandals, Söfft "Belicia." I'd call these a mid-heel, they had tapered block heels that were about 3 1/2" high. The factory original heel tips lasted well over 100 miles (documented)! I finally threw them away because they were so stretched out and awful looking. I have often wondered what they used on that heel tip to make it last so long. If I could find it, I wonder how long a stiletto heel tip might last using that material.

Speaking of stilettos, the one thing I don't do any more is wear stilettos if I know I'm going to be walking any distance outside. The heels just wear out too fast (typically 5-10 miles, depending on the thinness of the heel). Yes, @Jkrenzer, I still haven't set myself up to replace the things at home. I would wear stilettos a lot more if I could replace the tips quickly and cheaply.

[Cali]

I thought I would add pictures. These are one of my MAXX OUT wedges purchase in 2015, one of my first pairs of higher heels. 

However they are failing in two places. First the heel and back of the shoe are coming apart.

Then the man made uppers are delaminating. 

I can fix the heel with glue, but how do you fix the delamination?

[hiddenheels]

I wish I could clock 200 hours in a pair of heels... Would be so happy! :) Maybe one day...

[dagino]

I wear heels every day. Shoemaker is far away. So I slowly become a professional shoemaker.

[Mitsysun1400]

I do a lot of walking on rough tarmac etc so tend to replace my heel tips my self with metal ones, apart from these pleaser heels I’ve had for 5 years which got beyond repairing with a pair of new tips but are still strong to this day! 

[mlroseplant]

On 9/29/2019 at 11:59 AM, Cali said:

I thought I would add pictures. These are one of my MAXX OUT wedges purchase in 2015, one of my first pairs of higher heels. 

However they are failing in two places. First the heel and back of the shoe are coming apart.

 

Then the man made uppers are delaminating. 

 

I can fix the heel with glue, but how do you fix the delamination?

I feel your pain, but unfortunately I do not have a solution. I have had the same problem, or even worse with shoes that are of man made material. It's hard to tell from your picture the extent of the damage, but if it were me, I'd try super glue (cyanoacrylate) first on those uppers. If that doesn't work, I have no idea, sorry. I use super glue all the time on my shoes. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it does not. My second choice for something like that would be contact cement, but I think it would be very difficult to apply effectively in your situation.

Within the last year, somebody explained the chemistry about why most man made uppers deteriorate like that, and it often has to do with time and not wear. I cannot remember the exact process by which the stuff starts to peel and fall apart, but I can vouch that the phenomenon exists. I am the disappointed owner of some "New Old Stock" wedge thongs, which, although never worn, started to deteriorate practically right out of the box because they are probably close to 10 years old.

[Jkrenzer]

19 hours ago, Mitsysun1400 said:

I do a lot of walking on rough tarmac etc so tend to replace my heel tips my self with metal ones, apart from these pleaser heels I’ve had for 5 years which got beyond repairing with a pair of new tips but are still strong to this day! 

Honestly their something a little sexy about very well worn shoes, just have to say.

[maninpumps]

I have a good cobbler , he keeps all of mine in great running order . For me the actual time varies with the brand , material , and my favorites . My stilettos last along time , cause they hardly get worn . ( still have some of the old heel tips that came with Sexy Shoes heels back in the 90's ) . When the covering on the heel starts to separate over time , it's trash time .

 I have a few pair of wedges that have maybe 100 - 150 hour's on them and that's in all weather conditions and surfaces over 8 + year's . Just like a car engine , take care of it and they will take care of you . Also , I use Scotch Guard on my jute or Mink oil on my leather wedges ....... they are mostly natural leather or brown color and you don't get color distortion .    

[HappyinHeels]

I try to really spread out the sandals, pumps, and boots I wear so that wear is more evenly distributed. The place I first see it is the back of the heel. HinH

[5150PLB1]

It seems like the quality of the materials and the workmanship has changed for the worse over the years and my shoes do not last half as long as similar ones did in the past.

[mlroseplant]

13 hours ago, HappyinHeels said:

I try to really spread out the sandals, pumps, and boots I wear so that wear is more evenly distributed. The place I first see it is the back of the heel. HinH

It is logical that the most wear will occur at that spot, because it's an edge with very little surface area where everyone contacts first (unless they are walking very oddly) with every step they take. I find the wear pattern on a brand new pair of heel tips to be unsightly, and I often use a nail file designed for artificial nails (courtesy of my nail shop girls), to take that offending rough edge off. Perhaps it's weird, I know.

[hiddenheels]

On 10/5/2019 at 5:34 PM, 5150PLB1 said:

It seems like the quality of the materials and the workmanship has changed for the worse over the years and my shoes do not last half as long as similar ones did in the past.

While that sucks, you can look at the silver lining and buy more heels...

[5150PLB1]

3 hours ago, hiddenheels said:

While that sucks, you can look at the silver lining and buy more heels...

The good old ones are long gone and most of new ones are like the second act of a very bad play- not worth the cost of admission and not for my budget.