Payless Highheeled sneaker

[ems8]

Just a note to let you know of a new style Oxford style sneaker with a 3 inch heel at Payless.com Lot number 034294. They are brown in color and really don't look like they have that high of a heel. At $16.00 with free instore shipping They are worth a look. EMS

[Rockpup]

I can't seem to find those. I stopped and checked out the oxfords with this lot number, 034112, and although they state they have a 3" heel, they are not nearly as high as my other payless 3" wedge sneakers. I have measured my old ones, and they do have 3".. these felt more like 2".. If you can find any other info on the sneakers you are mentioning please let us know. Jim

[ems8]

On there web page is a spot called new arrivals pick on this and then the Lot number 034294 BROWN Tether Roller Bottom Oxford as it is called. I called a local store where I usually by shoes from and was informed that this pair is a web only shoe. I had to order it hope it is as nice as the picture.

[ems8]

Hope this works EMS

[genebujold]

This would have been an outstanding shoe for those guys who want to wear heels in public but are afraid... The only problem is that Payless put a nice pink stripe on the shoes. Bad Payless! Bad! Nothing an indelible marker can't change, however...

[Rockpup]

Ok, I've seen those in the store in black/white, no pink stripe. As I said I was able to compare them directly to their old style (no longer on the web page, but a pic can be found in this thread http://www.hhplace.org/hhboard/viewtopic.php?t=3217&start=0 ,

The new ones are definatly lower profile, and both are listed as 3" heel.. but the old ones -are- a 3" heel, the new ones seem like a 2" heel.. still not bad, and I have not been able to get over to their store to pick up a pair and try em out... lets just say when I first saw them I was disapointed enough to not spend the $15 to buy em.

Jim

[genebujold]

Ok, how's this, courtesy of Photoshop?

It's not actually available, but hopefully this mod will give the Payless "designers" something more realistic to shoot for.

I think one thing that may be driving it is that due to the large sizes available in Payless, they've probably been doing a lot of sales to men, and wanted to curb that somewhat by "feminizing" everything they offer in one way or another. The current selection of larger heels is quite "dainty" compared to what was being offered just 2 years ago.

[Nicole]

Ok, how's this, courtesy of Photoshop?

It's not actually available, but hopefully this mod will give the Payless "designers" something more realistic to shoot for.

I think one thing that may be driving it is that due to the large sizes available in Payless, they've probably been doing a lot of sales to men, and wanted to curb that somewhat by "feminizing" everything they offer in one way or another. The current selection of larger heels is quite "dainty" compared to what was being offered just 2 years ago.

Why on earth would they care whether men or women buy their women's shoes?

[genebujold]

Why on earth would they care whether men or women buy their women's shoes?

It's all fashion/market economics.

If you knew that by offering a shoe in sizes men could wear would result in an increase of overall sales by 5%, but as soon as some (not all, or even most) women began seeing men wearing that shoe they would no longer buy it themselves, thereby causing a 7% drop in overall sales, with the net effect of offering the heel in larger sizes being a net overall drop of 2%, what would you do?

If you're running a business (and Payless is a business), you'd take whatever action resulted in the most profit. Since offering in larger sizes results in a net overall 2% less profit than just the smaller sizes, you'd offer it in just the smaller sizes.

OR, you'd do what I believe Payless is doing - only offering the most "dainty" shoes in larger sizes, or putting more feminine touches on shoes they plan to release in larger sizes.

Now certainly there are some plain shoes Payless offers in larger sizes, but those are usually the ones without the heel.

And Payless isn't the only one doing it.

Examine the following shoe from Zapoos:

http://www.zappos.com/images/159/127159/57433-d.jpg

It's a reasonably benign shoe, but with a very high heel - the kind most men might choose if they wanted to wear a high heel in public. But the size stops at 11.

Here's one that's available all the way to size 13, but notice all the feminizing touches, the low vamp, the curlyque detailing:

http://www.zappos.com/images/181/7135181/76827-d.jpg

My point is, you'll rarely find benign higher heels in sizes larger than a 10, and the heels that are 12 and 13 are unmistakeably designed with fairly feminine styles.

NOW - there are exceptions!!! But this seems to be the general rule.

I was just postulating a reason as to why this might be.

Finally, consider this search on Zappos (size 13, high heel, any type of fashion or color). There's not a gender-neutral shoe among the whole lot!

http://www.zappos.com/n/es?d=722000223&pm=0&so=0&sn=0&color=0&size=17&width=0&price=0&heel_height=4&order_by=price_asc&show_all=1

But on this search, same criteria, but in size 8, you'll find lots of heels, such as the Harley Davidson line of boots, that few people would ever notice on a man:

http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722000223/heel_height/4/order_by/price_asc/page_size/99/size/7/page/2.html

[Nicole]

It's all fashion/market economics.

If you knew that by offering a shoe in sizes men could wear would result in an increase of overall sales by 5%, but as soon as some (not all, or even most) women began seeing men wearing that shoe they would no longer buy it themselves, thereby causing a 7% drop in overall sales, with the net effect of offering the heel in larger sizes being a net overall drop of 2%, what would you do?

If you're running a business (and Payless is a business), you'd take whatever action resulted in the most profit. Since offering in larger sizes results in a net overall 2% less profit than just the smaller sizes, you'd offer it in just the smaller sizes.

OR, you'd do what I believe Payless is doing - only offering the most "dainty" shoes in larger sizes, or putting more feminine touches on shoes they plan to release in larger sizes.

Now certainly there are some plain shoes Payless offers in larger sizes, but those are usually the ones without the heel.

And Payless isn't the only one doing it.

Examine the following shoe from Zapoos:

http://www.zappos.com/images/159/127159/57433-d.jpg

It's a reasonably benign shoe, but with a very high heel - the kind most men might choose if they wanted to wear a high heel in public. But the size stops at 11.

Here's one that's available all the way to size 13, but notice all the feminizing touches, the low vamp, the curlyque detailing:

http://www.zappos.com/images/181/7135181/76827-d.jpg

My point is, you'll rarely find benign higher heels in sizes larger than a 10, and the heels that are 12 and 13 are unmistakeably designed with fairly feminine styles.

NOW - there are exceptions!!! But this seems to be the general rule.

I was just postulating a reason as to why this might be.

Finally, consider this search on Zappos (size 13, high heel, any type of fashion or color). There's not a gender-neutral shoe among the whole lot!

http://www.zappos.com/n/es?d=722000223&pm=0&so=0&sn=0&color=0&size=17&width=0&price=0&heel_height=4&order_by=price_asc&show_all=1

But on this search, same criteria, but in size 8, you'll find lots of heels, such as the Harley Davidson line of boots, that few people would ever notice on a man:

http://www.zappos.com/n/es/d/722000223/heel_height/4/order_by/price_asc/page_size/99/size/7/page/2.html

I've certainly not noticed this trend, although I've not gone shopping much lately. In fact, the last few times I've been in Payless, I noticed the opposite trend. There seemed to be less 'interesting' (for me that means feminine) shoes in size 11 than in past times.

[shyguy]

If anyone in the states wants to send me a black pair I'll give my verdict

[onyourtoes]

I own both of the PayLess styles under discussion. The one the original question was about, the "Roller Bottom Oxford," is definitely not 3 inches. Measured from the floor to the visible top of the heel wedge is about 2 1/4 inches, with maybe a 1/4 inch more inside for the padding. They're about 5/8 inch thick at the sole. They may look even lower because the back of the heel curves up about 3/8 inch off the ground. As the name implies, they walk with a slight rolling motion, like clogs, but not as pronounced because the soles do bend. They are comfortable for walking long distances. The wedge, being covered with black canvas, is not obvious -- it makes them appear to have higher tops, not higher heels. The other style, 31503 in my case, tops out at closer to 4 inches and the sole is thin, too. They're amazingly comfy and fun to wear, but they are definitely high heels and walking long distances can be tedious as your steps are shorter. I've got the black ones, they do come in pink, too. I actually saw a pair of pink 11 in my local store recently. I bought mine online, they had a buy 2 and ship free deal so I bought a pair of 11 and 12. I kept the 11 because they were the better fit and put the 12 on ebay.

[Rockpup]

Ok, I picked up a pair of these in Ft Lauderdale. They do not have the pink strip, they have a red one.. Very discrete street heels I wore them while fireworks shopping (found some -VERY- loud rockets), and the salesgirl didnt even notice even though I was just wearing shorts. Quite comfortable for walking as the wedge material is quite soft, and a little bit more padded under the front of the foot then the actual 3" wedges. They are noware near the claimed 3" heels, but I'd say they are a good 1.5.. just enough to know they are there, but not enough to catch peoples attention. I will post some pics soon comparing them to my other wedges. Jim

[new_look]

ive wanted a pair of heeled sneakers for a while, but it seems to be my bad luck that only the zappo's and payless sell them (who wont ship to UK) which is a shame. so i am still on the lookout