Women’s Shoes

by Kwangkxz

There is a large variety of shoes available for women, in addition to most of the men's styles being more accepted as unisex. Some broad categories are:

High heels may be shoes with heels 2 inches (5 cm) or higher. They are often seen as having more sex appeal than low heels (see article for discussion) and are thus commonly worn by women for formal occasions or social outings.

Kitten heels are low high heels from about 1.5 to 2 inches high, set in from the back of the shoe.

• Sneaker boot and sneaker pump: a shoe that looks like an athletic shoe, but is equipped with a heel, making it a kind of novelty dress shoe.

• Wedge Sandals are sandals but have the ankles higher as if wearing a high heels shoe.

• Mules are shoes or slippers with no fitting around the heel (i.e. they are backless)

• Slingbacks are shoes which are secured by a strap behind the heel, rather than over the top of the foot.

• Espadrilles are casual flat or high-heeled fashion sandals of a style which originated in the Pyrenees. They usually have a cotton or canvas upper and a flexible sole of rope or rubber.

Pumps are known in the US and UK as ballerinas, ballet pumps or skimmers, are shoes with a very low heel and a relatively short vamp, exposing much of the instep. They are popular for warm-weather wear, and may be seen as more comfortable than shoes with a higher heel.

A contemporary sandal for women

• Clog
• Platform shoe: shoe with very thick soles and heels
• Moccasin: originated by Native Americans, a soft shoe without a heel and usually made of leather.
• Sandals: open shoes consisting of a sole and various straps, leaving much of the foot exposed to air. They are thus popular for warm-weather wear, because they let the foot be cooler than a closed-toed shoe would.
• Saddle shoe: leather shoe with a contrasting saddle-shaped band over the instep, typically white uppers with black "saddle".
• Loafer: a dress or casual shoe without laces; often with tassels, buckles, or coin-holders (penny loafers).
• Boating shoes, also known as boat shoes and deck shoes: similar to a loafer, but more casual. Laces, if present, are usually simple leather (often two-tone) with no frills. Often made of canvas or featuring a white sole. They have soft soles/heels to avoid marring or scratching a boat deck. The first boat shoe was invented in 1935 by Paul Sperry.
• Boots: Long shoes (covering the ankle) frequently made of leather. Some are designed to be used in times of bad weather, or simply as an alternate style of casual or dress wear. Styles include rubber boots and snow boots, as well as work boots and hiking boots.