Detachable High Heel Shoe Construction

The goal on this investigation was to develop a detachable high heel shoe construction that could enter the current high heel market. The impact of high heel shoes on women's fashion is enormous but there are associated issues of comfort and health with these shoes. This work aims to maintain the appealing aspects of a high heel shoe while adding a concealed mechanism to enable the heel to be easily removed to convert the shoe into a flat at the discretion of the user. The current solutions and products in the nearly 7 billion dollar a year women's shoe market are minimal. The prior arts of detachable heels fail to develop a simple comprehensive detachable high heel that can enter the market. A feasible and complete design that takes into account arch stiffness, heel removal, styling, and manufacturability is the goal of this work. This investigation deconstructed high heel shoes to learn and leverage the current high heel shoe infrastructure as a basis for adapting the shoe into a detachable high heel shoe construction. Three prototypes of the detachable high heel shoe were developed with a shoe assembly that consisted of a modified insole and a detachable heel that consisted of a dovetailed aluminum shank fastened to a high heel. The prototypes were able to display the ability for the detachable high heel to maintain high heel stability, styling that is consistent with the industry, ease of use, a flat shoe and other critical functional requirements identified in the work. The construction was consistent with the current industry high heel infrastructure. The development of the detachable high heel construction displays the feasibility of such a product in a market where none exist. The detachable high heel construction needs further refinement and optimization to complete a design that is ready to enter this exciting market. Thesis Supervisor: Alexander H. Slocum Title: Professor of Mechanical Engineering