Women's Shoes

Women's




Women's shoes on display in a shop window, 2005
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-heeled footwear is footwear that raises the heels, typically 2 inches (5 cm) or more above the toes, commonly worn by women for formal occasions or social outings. Variants include kitten heels (typically 1½-2 inches high) and stilletto heels (with a very narrow heel post) and wedge heels (with a wedge-shaped sole rather than a heel post).
Sneaker boot or sneaker pump: a shoe that looks like an athletic shoe, but is equipped with a heel, making it a kind of novelty dress 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.
Ballet flats, known in the 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.
Court shoes, known in the US as pumps, are typically high-heeled, slip-on dress shoes.




Women's high heel pump
Unisex




The flip-flop sandal, worn both by men and 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.
Espadrilles are casual flat warm-weather shoes of a style which originated in the Pyrenees. They usually have a cotton or canvas upper and a flexible sole of rope or rubber. There are high-heeled versions for women.
Saddle shoe: leather shoe with a contrasting saddle-shaped band over the instep, typically white uppers with black "saddle".
Slip-on shoe: a dress or casual shoe without laces; often with tassels, buckles, or coin-holders (penny loafers).
Boat shoes, also known as "deck shoes": similar to a loafer, but more casual. Laces are usually simple leather with no frills. Typically made of leather and featuring a soft white sole 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.
Slippers: For indoor use, commonly worn with pajamas.
Vibram FiveFingers, meant to simulate the "natural" experience of going barefoot, while protecting the foot
Sneakers or Canvas shoes