Make a stiletto heel a chunky heel - possible????

[GoGoGirl08]

I recently bought a pair of AWESOME thigh high, stiletto boots on ebay. They have a clear stiletto heel, and I was wondering if it is at all possible (most likely EXPENSIVE) to change the whole heel and make it a chunky heel, or something other than a tiny stiletto. So im wondering...

1) Is this possible?

2) How much about will it cost?

3) About how long (days, weeks?) will the process take?

4) Any other info!

These are going to be worn to San Francisco's Lovefest and dancing for hours in 5" stilettos is NOT going to be easy. Thanks in advance!

- Alanna

Here are some links to pics of my shoes. Mine are the ones with the clear heels, not silver.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/babygurl258707/d9e8_1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v511/babygurl258707/GOGOBOOTS1B.jpg

[HHfanatic]

What about make a heel that fit on the outside of the existing heel...?

[shrimper]

It would be cheaper and a lot safer to buy boots that already have the type of heel you're looking for. Many shoes and boots have unit bottoms so that changing the heel compromises the structural integrity of the footwear.

[GoGoGirl08]

Well im not sure about anything being cheaper.. these boots run new about $299 and I didnt find any with a non-stiletto heel.. which is why im trying to make them myself! or get them made for me. I DID think about making a heel that slips right over the stiletto and somehow attaching it to the boot...... i have NO CLUE how to go about that though! Ive been looking for days somewhere to buy a heel and just screw that one into the shoe instead... cuz on mine I can see the screw holding it in place. If I can unscrew it, i can just buy a different kind and screw that in. Right?

[shoerepairer]

1) Is this possible?

Its Possible, but would reduce the life of the boots dramatically! (see below)

2) How much about will it cost?

How longs a piece of string! To find a larger heel block, in the height you would need is the biggest problem! They would probably have to be made from scratch & would need someone with VERY specialist skills to make them. This would involve several hours labour & someone with a passion, a very sort after person!

3) About how long (days, weeks?) will the process take?

For someone described above, if you could find them would be very busy! So I would expect a considerable wait, but I might be wrong!

4) Any other info!

OK! Here’s what changing the heels will do! First of all its important to remember that your foot “has” to bend to walk, & platform boots restrict this movement. I’m sure the majority of platform wearers have had problems with the platforms coming away from the uppers in the circled area of this picture (your boots)

http://brilee.co.uk/hhplace/011.jpg

Why? Because your feet are putting tremendous strain on the uppers, by trying to bend as they normally would & its more a case of the uppers coming away from the platforms rather than the other way around.

Now throw into the equation your “new” larger blocks, in order for these to sit correctly on the upper they will look a little like these,

http://brilee.co.uk/hhplace/012.jpg

Now look at the distance between the front of them & the for mentioned “weak” spot. The strain will be increased in the circled area & the boots WILL fail, you’d be lucky to make it through your lovefest at all!

Many shoes and boots have unit bottoms so that changing the heel compromises the structural integrity of the footwear.

cuz on mine I can see the screw holding it in place. If I can unscrew it, i can just buy a different kind and screw that in.

Right?

Wrong! The Screw you refer to isn’t! in 99% of cases (I could be wrong!) this is a serrated pin, driven into the heel at high pressure, there isn’t a screw thread on it, the slot on the head is a locating one.

I wouldn’t advice altering these boots, as you may run into complications.

Lee

[Elegant]

Yeah, I've done it on my two pairs...

Both of them had their heels fastened with a screw, several nails and glue, so they needed some work to take the old heels off. You have to remove the rear part of the insert to reach the screw / nails. Take the heel apart, that's somewhat tricky but you'll eventually do it. Afterwards, take the shoe without a heel and go to a shop with supplies for cobblers and choose the heels of right style and size. You have to match them carefully so that they'll have proper height and width for the shoe sole's shape. Old heels may come in handy for comparison. You also have to buy some glue, two screws and D-shaped metal pieces with a hole in the center [i don't know a "specialist" term for these]. If the old screw was thin, drill a bigger hole. Put the shoe and heel together, adjust them carefully and screw the heel on. If everything is OK [the heel isn't askew], loosen the screw and glue the parts together, then tighten the screw and glue the insert on.

BUT - I don't think it'll work with your boots. First, heels of such height are impossible [or VERY hard] to get. Second, the sole may be of one-piece kind, but I don't know if so.

[shoerepairer]

D-shaped metal pieces with a hole in the center [i don't know a "specialist" term for these]

Metal heel seat.

[onyourtoes]

I've done it by forming a mold around the heel and filling it with resin.

I made the mold from heavy waxed (rubbed with a candle) cardboard and used duct tape to stick it to the shoe/boot. I used 2 part mix liquid resin that I bought at a boat store, it's sold for making fiberglass repairs.

The result was solid, durable, and heavy.

Be careful of:

• Fumes from the resin (do outdoors and entertain the neighbors)
• Too thin mold material, it will bulge and the heel breast will end up curved.
• The tape seal leaking, what a mess! (and that's the end of the boots)
• Keep the boot level so the heel will be flat.
• Don't overfill. (see #3)

The surfaces will need a lot of sanding, and you'll have to add rubber bottoms or the heel will be noisy, slippery, and chip.

On second thought, ignore this post

[shoerepairer]

ingenuity at its best, got any pictures ? Lee

[jmc]

Those boots look like they have the "unit bottoms" mentioned earlier. This means the platform and the heel are all one piece, connected together with a curved shank. The uppers are stitched together and then fastened to this unit bottom to make the whole boot. Replacing this type of heel is not practical because removing the "unit bottom" would effectively destroy the boot. As "onyourtoes" suggested, it might be possible to build up a more substantial heel around the existing stiletto using the epoxy resin he mentioned. Autobody filler such as "Bondo" might work here too.

[hhboots]

I think unless you are willing to risk destroying those boots, you probably should leave them as is. As many have said, especially since those seem to be a solid one piece platform and heel, and since they are clear plastic on top of that, your options would be very limited. The epoxy resin sounds somewhat doable, but very risky to have you end up with a disastrous result unless you know exactly what you are doing.

[warholchic2]

new to this forum! and im really glad i found it =]

anyway, i have the same question as the OP.

i really want to change these hooker heels that i bought into a pair of wedges

The shoe on the left is how they look right now, and the shoe on the right is what i hope they end up looking like after i've done my modifications.

as of right now, the only thing i can think of doing (besides the CRAZY difficult stuff that other ppl have already posted) is using fabric with self-adhesive on the back... or possibly even flexible laminate to just cover the entire bottom of the shoes...

so basically it'll just be covering the gap that the stiletto heel makes, while giving the appearance of a wedge.

i hope that makes sense and you all understand it.

what do you all think of this idea? has anyone tried anything similar to this? and can anyone recommend me another adhesive that i can use to make it more permanent if i do like the outcome?

thanks in advance!!!

[Dr. Shoe]

I would just take them to a shoe maker... you could try your local repairer and he will at least be able to point you in the right direction. It takes about 10 minutes to whip the old heels off and nail the new heels on... it takes an hour or so to cover the heels with leather so the whole process should only take an hour or so and so I should think you're looking at $30 tops.

[manoleat]

The gap can be filled with blocks of cork. Cork is easy to tool and also lightweight. You can cover it with leather or anything you want afterwards. Have fun, manoleat

[Guy N. Heels]

It would be cheaper and a lot safer to buy boots that already have the type of heel you're looking for. Many shoes and boots have unit bottoms so that changing the heel compromises the structural integrity of the footwear.

Those boots look like they have the "unit bottoms" mentioned earlier. This means the platform and the heel are all one piece, connected together with a curved shank. The uppers are stitched together and then fastened to this unit bottom to make the whole boot. Replacing this type of heel is not practical because removing the "unit bottom" would effectively destroy the boot.

As "onyourtoes" suggested, it might be possible to build up a more substantial heel around the existing stiletto using the epoxy resin he mentioned. Autobody filler such as "Bondo" might work here too.

I think unless you are willing to risk destroying those boots, you probably should leave them as is. As many have said, especially since those seem to be a solid one piece platform and heel, and since they are clear plastic on top of that, your options would be very limited. The epoxy resin sounds somewhat doable, but very risky to have you end up with a disastrous result unless you know exactly what you are doing.

As stated above, the problems associated with this kind of modification are so great as to make the job impractical if not impossible. Personally, I wouldn't touch this one with a barge pole. You will be far and away better off to purchase the kind of shoes (or boots) in the style that you actually prefer than to try and modify what you have.

[shoerepairer]

It takes about 10 minutes to whip the old heels off and nail the new heels on...

Wow! if it can be done in 10 minutes, can you come & work for me!

I reckon on about 30 minutes per shoe to replace heel blocks! (although this always includes a new heel seat & lifting the soles or middles to check the shanks OK!)

And then theres always the 10 minutes it takes to serve the customer:w00t2:

warholchic2, your on a hiding to nowhere! you'll never be happy with them what ever you do! but I wish you luck!

I have just looked through the catalogue I have for heel blocks & there's nothing like the design you are trying to achieve so DIY is probably the only way. put up a link to a picture when they are done, I'd like to see them.

Welcome to the forum

Lee

[Pumpfan]

I fail to see why anyone would want to replace a nice stiletto.