Heel shortening - YouLookFab Forum

I few months ago a reader of YLF left a comment about shortening the heels of her shoes. The moment I read that comment, I saw four shoe boxes that were gathering dust in my closet. In them resided shoes which I have taken out of circulation because the heel was too high, and they were no longer practical for me to wear. So naturally, I got very excited about the prospect of being able to wear these shoes again. Heel shortening was the perfect solution, except that I didn't have a cobbler who could do that for me.

The first order of business was to find the cobbler. I turned to my local Yellow Pages and I found a few shops which did shoe repair in the area. I wanted the cobbler to be on the premises because so many of those dry cleaning places send out the shoes to a mystical place where they get repaired. Who does the repairs, I do not know. Anyway, I came across a shop where the cobbler was on the premises, and he would speak to each of his clients about what needed to be done even though the dry-cleaning ladies could take care of all the customers. I asked about heel shortening, and he said that I should not expect miracles, but that he could take off at most 1/2", but more realistically it would be 3/8". He explained that anything more would make the shoe unwearable. After I brought my shoes in, he knew the brands and he was very enthusiastic about fixing them. That gave me a good feeling that my "babies" were in great hands. He charged me $12 per pair, which was so worth it.

When I tried my shortened shoes, they were still high-heeled, but I could actually walk in them comfortably, and the slightely shorter heel made them that much more wearable for work.

The shortened shoes (they are still around 4", but trust me, they feel a lot better):
http://farm3.static.flickr.com.....509c_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com.....8069_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com.....65b0_o.jpg

I fixed three pairs, and the fourth pair is going in this week. These sandals have such a comfortable shank, that heel shortening will definitely make a difference.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com.....58cc_o.jpg

I recommend heel shortening if you can find a good cobbler to do it. You will wear those shoes more because you won't have to worry about your feet hurting.

15 years ago

taylor

Veteran

Brilliant...I like this idea. Shaving even a half inch would make some otherwise unwearable shoes wearable, as you happily discovered.:)
Thanks for sharing!!

Sihaya

Wow, great discovery Danja. Your shoes are stunning as usual. I still can't imagine wearing heels that height and actually standing leave alone walking but I'm glad that you can. I can't wait to see you display them with your outfits.

marianna

Very interesting. I don't even own a pair of heels because of my height, but I can keep this idea in the back of my mind next time I fall in love with a pair!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Thanks, Danja. I’m eating my hat! Who knew! I can’t believe you can shorten a heel by about half an inch. Does it have to be a stiletto type of heel in order for shortening to be successful?

Kristen

How fascinating! I know even a half-inch can make a huge difference in the feel of a shoe, so I am thrilled to see you found someone who can do that! I second Angie's question; I have a couple of pairs that just teeter toward too-high for me, but they're not stiletto so I don't know if that would work.

Danja

Active Member

Angie and Kristen, I am taking my last pair for shortening tomorrow, so I will ask the cobbler. He didn't specifically say that he can only shorten stiletto heels. Back with an answer tomorrow evening.

fathenry

This is truly exciting! I can't wait to hear your update tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing this info!

Patience

I am so taking in my too high booties to try this! Thank you, Danja! I'll be waiting for the answer to the heel type question.

Thanks Danja! I’m tempted to get a pair of too high heels *just* so that I can blog about this experiment. I’m all over it :0)

All right, so here is the scoop. A skilled cobbler should be able to shorten any type of heel. While I was waiting to speak to my cobbler, I heard him talk to a man who was trying the "fix" his new ankle boots. The boots looked like an abominable version of what flamenco dancers wear (disclaimer: Joaquin Cortes is gorgeous and he looks gorgeous in flamenco boots), and the man wanted the heel shortened a bit, but he didn't want to lose the angle of the back of the heel. He fussed over the boots like they were Manolos or Louboutines, and was kind of condescending to the cobbler which really annoyed me. But I digress, the cobbler reiterated that if anyone offers to shorten more than 1/2" of your heels, they are going to destroy your shoes and possibly your back too. So there you have it. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Thanks!

Thanks, Danja! I shall be pursuing this experiment :0)

Thanks, Danja, I am already trying this out. Hee hee. I took one pair of booties in for shortening 1/2". The place I go is a shoe only place but the cobbler is not on premises-- it's just a drop off/pick up location. The guy who works there, I think does not know everything but I think the cobblers are very reputable and I will be careful not to have them take off any more than 1/2". I doubt they would, based on what you said. Of course, I won't get to try out the booties for a couple of months due to weather, but I will definitely wear them out before taking in pair #2.

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