Time Wounds All Heels...

[LizzieMaine]

So I'm at work tonight, climbing up the little stepstool thingie I have to stand on to thread the projectors, and I slip. My heel catches between the rungs and is pulled neatly off the bottom of my shoe. It's not a very high heel -- 1 3/4" -- but I can't very well go down to greet the moviegoing public with a list to one side. So I sit on the floor of the projection room with a hammer and tap all the nails out of the shoe, and then try to drive them back in. I succeed only in wounding my thumb and bending all the nails beyond use. So in desperation I stick the heel back on with gaffer tape (duct tape's bigger, brawnier show-biz cousin), and manage to get thru the night.

So now I'm sitting here having managed to sort of reattach the heel with a combination of nails and contact cement -- and I realize I forgot to remove the tape first. It's too late, and I'm not even gonna bother...

How about you gals? Ever lose a heel when you least expected? Ever have to throw together a ridiculous-yet-effective repair on the spur of the moment?

 

[Lauren]

I have lost a heel, but the worst footwear breaking story I have involved an oh-so-dreaded pair of flip flops.

In fashion school I had a favorite pair... they were kind of ethnic but very modern- sloping up in the front much like a pair of middle eastern shoes but of a semi-see through gray plastic. And they were so comfy! Well, I was walking to class and all these girls were sitting in the hall and staring at everyone as they went by. I tried to hold my head up and act confident, when I literally tripped over myself. I looked behind me, thinking I'd tripped over something, but nothing was there. I shrugged it off, took another step, and the same thing happened. The piece holding the flip flop between my toes had somehow snapped, and every step made me trip over myself! lol So I had to go through school barefoot until I could go back to my apartment and pick up another pair. hehe.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Yes, only I was standing still! I was wearing my favorite pair of 1940s navy blue platforms, looking at some clothes in a Target, when Bam! my left heel gave way, though it did not break all the way off. I carefully inspected the shoe, realized that it indeed had snapped, and then carefully limped out of the store. The good news is that I had the shoes repaired and they are as good as new. It also caused me to inspect the rest of my collection, as well as any new vintage shoes that come my way, and I have noticed that weakened heels on their way to breaking are quite common in 1940s heels, so now I have them repaired before an accident occurs [huh]

 

[VargasGirl]

Sorry, I've never broken a heel, knock on wood!

 

[Polka Dot]

Great thread title

I'm not a dedicated heel-wearer, so I've never had any problems with heels breaking off. The worst shoe mishap I've ever had was not because the shoes fell apart, but instead happened because of an inherent design flaw. Near the beginning of my freshman year of college I was at the dining hall, wearing flip flops, when I discovered that damp linoleum and the smooth surface of the sole of the flip flop didn't mix. I slipped and fell twice during that dinner, once landing halfway under the table where many members of the football team were eating, and once when I was returning my tray. The second fall involved the entire tray going up in the air and the food raining back down all over me. With the cottage cheese now clinging to my hair, I shuffled out of there to the sound of mocking applause and threw the flip flops away, immediately.

I know it sounds like something out of a bad teen movie, but it was all too real.

 

[Elaina]

I once broke a pair of 5" high Mary Janes. Snapped the heel, and about 2 hours outside of my house and I didn't have time to go buy a pair of heels (It was for a goth club and Payless wasn't going to cut it). I had my big, burly date snap off the other heel and just looked like a kid next to him (he was 7'8, I'm 5'6)

I wound up going back to the store and throwing a class A fit. I had worn them for about an hour when it happened, and had paid $129 for them (ok, *I* didn't my date did). I got his money back, bought shoes somewhere else and never bought them again.

Company went out of business. I've only had the problem once, I have so many shoes I don't wear them where they break.

 

[MissHuff]

There must be something about Target because I broke a heel there once and also the ankle strap of a pair of the cutest little heels. The heel decided to give as I was walking to the register! I tripped and my shopping cart went flying towards the person in front of me. (Thankfully the man stopped it before it crashed into him)

The ankle strap happened while I was 6 months pregnant. Luckily it didn't result in a fall!... I was wearing 3-inch heels but only because that was the only way to alleviate some of my back pain.

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I have had the exact flip-flop mishap that Lauren had. But the most annoying shoe break ever wasn't to do with the heel!

I was wearing a pair of slingback, peep toe espadrilles that I bought for the princely sum of £6 from Primark, the cheapest shop ever. I was out with friends who had been drinking, and one girl was a long way into the happy drunk stage and a little unsure on her feet. we were walking down the street and she accidentally trod on my heel as I was taking a step, and I discovered that the shoe was not sewn together, but rather glued down, because the material came away from the sole on both sides. It was only attached to the shoe at the very front around my toes! Thank goodness it was the first time I'd worn them becuase I had a trusty pair of flip flops in my bag. Say what you like about them, during the summer flip-flops have often been my saviour from new shoe foot injuries and now also broken shoes!

 

[GOK]

Gosh Lizzie, I hope you didn't injure yourself.

The scene; I was 14 -y'know, just the age where any embarrassment is like a slow death. I was dressed head to toe in black (no surprises there!); black wiggle skirt and blouse, black FFs and the most divine pair of vintage 50s stilettos.

As I stepped onto the escalator, my heel got caught and ripped right off. Naturally I felt that everyone was watching me.

Luckily the shoe department was on the next floor, so I looked around for something suitable. To my utter dismay, all I could afford were plimsols - white ones! The shop had no black in my size. Oh, the horror of it all! I had to walk back home with glowy feet. :cry:

 

[~landgirl~]

I was wearing a pair of slingback, peep toe espadrilles that I bought for the princely sum of £6 from Primark, the cheapest shop ever.

And there you go, that's why Primark are the cheapest shop ever! lol

I have the worst luck with faith shoes and they are bloody expensive! Not so much the heel coming off, but more the fact that it wears down so rapidly!

 

[Lauren]

I like Primark... I got like 4 pairs of satin jammies last year that have proved invaluable- and only 4 GBP a pair

 

[GOK]

I never think to go in there...maybe I should!

 

[Miss Dottie]

I've never broken a heel. With my size 10 beauties, I've never been lucky enough to find a vintage pair, but I have had the rubber soles of heels fall off which make it feel like you are running around with a flat tire.

Such a drag!

 

[CanadaDoll]

I had one pair that the heel snapped off of on the SECOND wearing:rage: and the things were $90, I was fifteen at the time, so it was HUGE money. That's how I met Tony, he repairs my shoes, he's a total doll, nice little Italian man. Ayway that's my advice to anyone, find a good cobbler, nine times out of ten they can also fix belts and purses too!

 

[Paisley]

I wore a pair of sandals canoeing. I didn't have any other shoes to wear for the occasion. They got wet and just totally fell apart. Same thing happened during a PE (gym) class when I was a kid: I was running and they just fell apart. Both of them had a lot of little straps over the toes--the straps came out of the sole.

Ugh, how I hate cheap shoes! :rage:

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

I never think to go in there...maybe I should!

You so should, last summer Primark carried The Dress that was later going on ebay for a small fortune - a button down polka dot tea dress with little puffed sleeves and a self-coloured belt, so very vintage inspired and only £10. I was lucky enough to snaffle two before they went out. And as Lauren said, the jammies are just another great thing that cost nuppence from there! (just don't buy the shoes!)

 

[Matt Deckard]

My heels just wear down.

 

[GOK]

You so should, last summer Primark carried The Dress that was later going on ebay for a small fortune - a button down polka dot tea dress with little puffed sleeves and a self-coloured belt, so very vintage inspired and only £10. I was lucky enough to snaffle two before they went out. And as Lauren said, the jammies are just another great thing that cost nuppence from there! (just don't buy the shoes!)

I always miss out on things like this because it never occurs to me to look on the high st. :eusa_doh:

Matt, I'd look at you in a whole new light if you said your high heels broke! lol

 

[Fletch]

What I'm really looking for is a round-heeled woman ...

 

[BegintheBeguine]

Oh, you kid!