Designer Shoes for the Masses

[mskim61]

I have been following designor shoes for the last few years and they are doing some great and unique stuff. Just take a look at shoes made by Louboutin, Chloe, Lorenzi, Jacobs and you will see tall heels, interesting colors and textures, unique designs and a sense of proportion that you just do not see from the big retailers. There are 3 major problems here though-first is the crazy prices, second they are usually cut too narrow and third it is difficult to find anything above a size ten. On occassion one does come across a size 42 which equates to a 11 if you factor in that the shoes are cut smaller. Despite the price and size issues, these shoes sell quickly.So the question is, why can't 9West or Steve Madden or even Payless produce these style shoes at a price and in sizes that we all could enjoy?

[Dr. Shoe]

There are a number of factors involved. First of all they would need to be careful about stealing the design so they tend to "reinterpret" the design. This usually means leaving off a feature or adding one on, they modify the heel shape and height so that they are not producing an identical item. Secondly, it depends on the resources available to them. They tend to use the same lasts for a wide range of styles so the design needs to be adapted to fit their lasts, it would be too expensive to buy more lasts just for one style. The suppliers supply huge quantities of components such as heels at 100,000 pairs at a time which again will be used on a wide range of styles. Designer shoes tend to be very distinctive and differ from each other so of course they tend to use very expensive materials and every shoe is lovingly handcrafted. The third reason is the fact that designer shoes tend to have a "life span". That is to say that they will only last a season before they are deemed "old fashioned", moreover, they tend to be worn once to a party or something and then consigned to the back of the closet and most of payless's customers will want shoes they can get a fair bit of wear out of. Even if they are buying shoes for a special occassion they are going to want to be able to wear them to their next special event in three years time.

[pumpedup]

I love the higher-end designer shoes! They are handcrafted so much nicer than the everyday run-of-the-mill shoes. They put better workmanship into them, making them last longer. THAT'S why you get a heftier price tag. I can't believe that some medium-end shoe designers are taking the high road to China these days. Nine West shoes used to make a beautiful, sturdy, fashionable pump back in the 80's and 90's. They were made in Brazil, and you could tell how nice the leather was. These days, they're made in China, and selling for the same price, or even higher! What kind of quality can you get from a pump made in China, with sweat shops galore!

[Guy N. Heels]

There are a number of factors involved...

Designer shoes tend to be very distinctive and differ from each other so of course they tend to use very expensive materials and every shoe is lovingly handcrafted...

It's common knowledge that it costs far more to produce one of something than 100. But if you really want the price to drop you need to produce 10,000 or more.

More often than not, designer shoes are for those who really don't look at the price tag. They tend to inhabit that rare category where if you have to ask the price, you can't afford it.

[Dr. Shoe]

I love the higher-end designer shoes! They are handcrafted so much nicer than the everyday run-of-the-mill shoes. They put better workmanship into them, making them last longer. THAT'S why you get a heftier price tag. I can't believe that some medium-end shoe designers are taking the high road to China these days. Nine West shoes used to make a beautiful, sturdy, fashionable pump back in the 80's and 90's. They were made in Brazil, and you could tell how nice the leather was. These days, they're made in China, and selling for the same price, or even higher! What kind of quality can you get from a pump made in China, with sweat shops galore!

You can get fantastic quality from China.

I bought a pair of m m m men's dress shoes for £20 that were made in China. As a designer I could not fault the quality, they even had leather soles.

[Allu(M)]

Does anyone of you know such brand as "Dumond". I think they actually made shoes for desingers. Their factory locates in Brazil. My wife have some pair of Dumonds and they are easy to wear and quality is good. Pumps cost between 70 to 120 euros.