Creative problem: any suggestions?

[Andy in Germany]

Problem:
So, my wife wants to wear heels to an event, but she finds the constant clicky noise annoying after a while, she also discovered that in the building where the event is held, the sound of heels in the room we're in will travel to the floor below. Being Japanese this makes her feel self-conscious, as if she's impinging on the quietnes of whoewver is the floor below.

Solutions(?):
I'm trying to make a solution so she can walk in the heels without feeling self conscious. The solution needs to be:

• Safe, not slippy or wobbly
  
• Make the heels quieter. (Although not necessarily silent, the level of a pair of trainers would be fine.)
• Discrete: We don't want a great lump on the bottom of the heel.
• Removable, and
• Not damage the heel.

I make models as well as ride bikes so I have some experience of different materials. First tests with a protoype showed it is possible to achieve most of this.

The Prototype used a piece of felt on a piece of plastic cut to the shape of the heel base, with the inner tube wrapped underneath and up the back and front of the heel, then held on with a piece of elastic around the heel. The plastic made the construction stable, while the inner tube and felt ran up the back of the heel slightly to cushion the first contact point.

This was effective as lonng as the heel didn't taper too dramatically but doesn't look great.

I am looking for better materials to make the design more discrete than an old inner tube will allow and also allow different colours.

I've wondered about some kind of plastic moulded around the heel but I'm no expert in these matters. I know there are putty formers and heat formers but I don't know what they are called or where to try and get them. I'm also a bit cautious about applying heat to the plastic when it is in contact with the heel, although I can try on an old pair before getting out the best shoes.

This is all pretty selfish from me I might add as I think my wife looks stunning in heels...

 

[perplexed]

I think it's very commendable that your wife is considering others in the building, too many wouldn't. I'm not sure of the nature of the event or what sort of building it is, but if it's an event, rather than a small, more intimate gathering, would the general noise make the sound of the heels just be part of the background anyway?

You've obviously applied some thought to this, but off the top of my head I can only think of suggesting those small, rubber/felt things one can purchase in a DIY shop, which are designed to go on the bottom of coffee table/chair legs and the like to protect a wooden floor. Cut them to shape, and they should be fairly easy to peel off afterwards?

 

[Levo-Lon]

Tell her you like her in flat shoes.

Or as above

 

[Andy in Germany]

I think it's very commendable that your wife is considering others in the building, too many wouldn't. I'm not sure of the nature of the event or what sort of building it is, but if it's an event, rather than a small, more intimate gathering, would the general noise make the sound of the heels just be part of the background anyway?

You've obviously applied some thought to this, but off the top of my head I can only think of suggesting those small, rubber/felt things one can purchase in a DIY shop, which are designed to go on the bottom of coffee table/chair legs and the like to protect a wooden floor. Cut them to shape, and they should be fairly easy to peel off afterwards?

It varies, sometimes small, sometimes larger. Apartments here have wooden floors as a rule, so the sound travels if we are upstairs.

I used the DIY felts on the first version, between inner tube and heel: they are designed to be stuck on the base of a piece of furniture and tend to peel off when glued on the tiny curved and angled surface of a heel. The glue sometimes leaves a residue as well.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Tell her you like her in flat shoes.

Or as above

I do, but.. I kindof like her in heels too...

 

[jefmcg]

Different shoes instead af classic stilleto eg

 

[I like Skol]

White noise? Simply report a water leak in the road outside and the utilities company will turn up with a pneumatic drill and start digging up the road. Now nobody will hear your wife's heels, simples

 

[Andy in Germany]

Different shoes instead af classic stilleto eg
View attachment 417942

That's one style she uses, but it still makes 'too much' noise for her. The cushioning needs to be right on the corner at the back of the heel because that's what hits first.

Cushioning the rest is partly to make the wehole quieter but mainly to make the whole heel sit flat on the ground so it isn't dangerous or uncomfortable to walk...

 

[Andy in Germany]

White noise? Simply report a water leak in the road outside and the utilities company will turn up with a pneumatic drill and start digging up the road. Now nobody will hear your wife's heels, simples

We tried that but they came three weeks later.

 

[Paulus]

How about glueing a piece of inner tube to the heels? It would be thin enough not to be intrusive and trimmed to shape it would not notice.

 

[Fnaar]

Stilettos with wheels

 

[Levo-Lon]

I do, but.. I kindof like her in heels too...

 

[jefmcg]

Loud and proud

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_AXOjlPF0Y


But, yes, I know it's different for Japanese women

 

[alicat]

What about something like Sugru?

Or get her to practise walking more quietly or wear a shoe where the heel has a bigger surface area?

 

[Globalti]

Why not talk to your local heel bar man? The 1cm2 area of a stiletto exerts a huge pressure and carries a lot of weight especially while walking so a DIY bodge is risking a wardrobe malfunction or a sprained ankle.

But yes, stilettos are a powerful thing. I used to have a Spanish agent who wore them and walking around town with her I couldn't help noticing the attention they attracted, mostly from men.