You know that feeling when you see shoes at a store and think they’re beautiful and want to tell someone about them, but you can’t explain them or tell them what they’re called, and you’re stuck?
If you’ve ever been in that position, keep reading because after you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll be a shoe expert.
This is going to be a shoe dictionary. I’ll begin with flat shoes and work my way up to heels and boots.
Gladiators
Gladiator sandals, also known as flat sandals, are mostly formed of straps and have a very flat sole. In the summer, it is really comfy. Those shoes were inspired by ancient Roman gladiators who fought for the Emperor and their freedom in the arena.
Ballerinas
Ballerinas are flat, flexible shoes with a rounded front that are inspired by ballet dancers’ pointe shoes. When you’re not wearing them, most ballerinas have a flexible sole that curves.
Moccasins
Moccasins are flat, comfy shoes made of brushed leather with an embroidered or embellished portion on the top of the foot. When you walk in this style of shoe, you won’t hear anything. It is derived from the footwear used by American Indians.
Loafers
They’re similar to moccasins, but they’re made for the city. Although the heel is higher and more difficult to walk in, this shoe is still quite comfy. Loafers can be found in abundance in the collections of high-end designers such as Gucci and Todd. Loafers are a gender-neutral shoe that can be worn by both men and women.
Mary Jane
Those are ideal dance shoes since the strap wraps over the front of the foot, ensuring that you don’t loose the shoe while moving. Those shoes were once thought to be for boys or girls in the nineteenth century, but since the twentieth century, they’ve been recognized as shoes for women. Mary Jane shoes with chunky heels or somewhat higher heels are now available, and are frequently worn with high socks and skirts.
Mules
These are shoes that don’t have a heel and rely on the front of the shoe to keep the foot in place. They used to be slippers, like house shoes that you wore with your pajamas, but now you can get really luxurious and feminine heels on the high streets and in fashion designers’ collections.
Slingbacks
Singback shoes have a strap that holds your heel in place. It’s either buckled or elastic, so all you have to do is slip it on and clip the elastic to your heel, and you’re ready to go. It’ll hold a lot, and it’ll be quite comfortable.
Ankle-strap
These shoes have a piece going up behind the heel and then a horizontal buckle strap which keeps the shoe and the food together.
Kitten Heels
This is a pair of beginner heels. They are actually walkable. That’s the kind of heel you’d wear with a suit if you knew you’d be standing all day for a business meeting.
Stiletto
That’s a traditional high heel, measuring at least 5 centimeters (or 2 inches), but commonly 7 or 8 centimeters.
Scarpin
Scarpin is a stiletto style in which the heel is quite high and the front is highly pointy. But forget about walking; the shoes are designed solely for sitting.
Killer Heels
A killer heel is a shoe with a dangerously high heel (above 10 centimeters or 4 inches) and a narrow toe. There’s a reason it’s called that. It’s really painful to step on someone’s foot with those.
Platform Shoe
A platform shoe is created by adding additional sole to the front of a shoe instead of adding extra heels. Even if the heel is still very high, the front of the foot has more support and hence greater stability, making the shoes more comfortable.
Wedges
Wedges are shoes with a thick sole and no separate heel. They are made out of one piece of sole and heel. The rear can be raised to achieve the same leg-lengthening effect as heels, but wedges allow you to walk all day. That’s my preferred high-heeled shoe.
Chunky Heels
Heels are wider and more substantial than stiletto. If you want additional comfort and stability for your ankles, this is a fantastic option. If you’re not used to walking in heels, the wider they are, the safer it is for you to walk.
Peep Toe Heels
You can see your toes in these heels. If you want to show off your pedicure and nail paint, these are the shoes for you.
Chelsea Boots
They’re a wonderful basic since they’re pretty snug, ending about at the ankle, and they include a fabric loop at the back to assist you put them on. Instead of leather for the rest of the shoe, they include an elasticized portion so that it can extend when you put it on.
According to tradition, the design was created in the 19th century by a shoe maker for Queen Victoria of England. The shoe then became famous in the English city of Chelsea, which is where the name derives from. In the 1960s, the Beatles wore them. They’ve been classics since then.
Cowboy Boots
Those boots were worn by American cowboys, as the name implies. The heel is made of leather and is quite durable. This shoe is really difficult to wear. It started out as a practical shoe, but it has since grown in popularity around the world.
Knee-high boots
They usually have a stiletto heel with a pointy front that goes up to the knee level, frequently above the knee.
Thigh-high Boots
They go all the way up to the thigh, as the name implies. The shorter the skirt, the higher the boots. You may also layer them over skinny jeans for more comfort in everyday life.
Conclusion
The names I’ve listed here can be used to name and describe any other sort of shoe.
For instance if you see peep toe pumps with a Mary Jane strap over the foot, then it’s called a peep toe Mary Jane heels.
If you have peep toes pumps plus a platform at the front and a slingback behind the foot, then you got peep toe platform slingback heels.
