Rocking test for high heels - YouLookFab Forum

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Rocking test for high heels

Gigi

Veteran

Chyna Whyne is an entertainer and an Alexander Technique instructor in the UK (Alexander Technique is a method for improving posture, among other things), and she specializes in teaching women to walk in high heels.

She has a test that she performs on high heels to determine whether they are stable enough to walk in, and I've posted the video below. She calls it the rocking test. It's very interesting! I found that my easiest heels to walk in (Okalas, Aquatalia Rhumba) pass the test with flying colors. Maybe this is why the Okalas are so comfy for people?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozicN4KgB9U

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15 replies

Latest reply was from Ledonna N.

rabbit

Veteran

Okay I'm a little confused. How hard do you tap and where? Because my super stable Earthies shoes which I can walk all day in rocked then resettled when I poked them.

Gigi

Veteran

You don't have to tap hard at all if they're unstable—just a light touch, I think (at least that was the case with mine). Maybe you're tapping yours very hard? You don't want to try to "push" them over; you just want to lightly tap them and see what happens.

From what I gather, you tap the side of the shoe at the heel, at a right angle to the shoe.

Aida

Veteran

Interesting! I'll have to give some of my favorites a try later tonight. I also wonder if this test works best on new shoes, since after using for a while you'll wear the bottoms differently depending on how you walk.

Gigi

Veteran

Aida, I have wondered the same thing about whether the rocking test is affected by heel wear. It would make sense. And that is a good reason to get heels resoled on high-heel shoes as soon as they show substantial wear.

I should also say that I think that the chunkier the heel, the less problematic the wobbling is. I have a couple of pairs of heels that had moderate wobble, but they don't feel unstable, and I think it's because of the chunky heel. However, if I were to wear a pair of stilettos, I think I would be really concerned about a lot of wobble. There's not much to balance on!

AJ

Veteran

Very interesting!

I found this video where Chyna gives tips on how to walk in heels. (About 22 min and her tips are halfway into the video.)
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcCVcURFRcE

rachylou

Veteran

That's cool. My 5" manolos don't pass. Haha.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I looked at the video last night very informative thanks for that. I am going to test my heels but I don't necessarily think that I am going to give them up maybe................................... well maybe not.

Gigi

Veteran

Ladywone, yes, that's the issue, isn't it? That if they rock badly, you might feel like you should give them up. So far, I'm keeping mine, but I'm going to try to watch this before buying any more. I think too it really depends on the heel. If it's a very high heel *and* a stiletto, that might be really dangerous. If it's a moderately high heel (3"?) and not a stiletto, that isn't as bad—at least in my limited opinion.

Gigi

Veteran

AJ, yes, Chyna does have some other videos circulating out there. She is very fun to watch, imo.

She does have a little book about walking in heels, Mastering the Art of Wearing High Heels. It's got some tips and also some exercises for strengthening your feet so you can better walk in heels. Unfortunately, I've got some body-wide muscle issues that prevent me from really doing the exercises long term, or I'd let you know how they work!

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Gigi-update I just wanted to tell you that I actually conducted a test on all of my heels, 10 pair total.

1). 6- had wide heels or platforms these had no rocking

2) 5- were stileto type and of the 5, 1 pair rocked.

Pictures:
1&2 -did not rock,
3 -the beige pair in the front rocked (because the heel was very worn down)
4- did not rock and I danced the night away in these heels they are new to me.

Also I about 2 months ago I gave the Salvation Army 35 pairs of shoes. They were all in good condition but, I noticed that if they were not comfortable I did not wear them.

Thanks again for the video it was very helpful.

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Gigi

Veteran

Wow, good for you, LW! May I ask what brands of shoes you have?

Gigi

Veteran

LW, I also meant to say that I think it's interesting that these shoes don't rock, and you appear to consider them your most comfy heels, since they didn't make the Salvation Army donation bag. So I'll bet there is a correlation between comfort and not rocking.

Where did you get the new pair of shoes, the black stiletttos? Those are too awesome for words!

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I finally got a moment to check this out, and it's interesting! I'm not at home, so I can only test my Matt Bernson sandals -- no surprise, not a hint of rocking in them.

I also wonder about how wear would affect the test. Especially since I strongly supinate (the outside of my left running shoe gets totally destroyed before the rest of the sole shows a hint of wear). I'll have to look at my other heels when I'm at home, because now I'm curious. Thanks for sharing!

Gigi

Veteran

Janet, what kind of heel is on your Matt Bernsons?

I'm glad you find it interesting. Heels are hard enough to walk in without being unstable by design.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

Gigi Pic 1 & 2 are all and the Beige in pic 3 are from Payless. There was a post about multiples and this is my example of buying what is comfortable and looks good to me. The rest of the heels in Pic 3 and 4 were bought from a local discount store called Shoe Time here in Chicago.

My favorites are in picture 2 they are by Isabel Toledo from Payless. The commonality that I find is the heels either had a wide base or a platform. The Heels in the last picture don't have either but well I'm not sure but I danced about 3hrs of and on in them and I was at a 5 hr event.

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