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Yes. The build quality of women's shoes is astoundingly bad. Sometimes I look at them and they literally feel like glued on piece of leather, pretty on the outs

Yes. The build quality of women's shoes is astoundingly bad. Sometimes I look at them and they literally feel like glued on piece of leather, pretty on the outside, and nothing more. It's interesting how two different markets have developed (men's shoes and women's shoes) that have such different parameters. Men's shoes have outstanding build quality --- to the point where a good pair of quality shoes gets resoled multiple times. Do women ever resole shoes?

diffeomorph 14y ago
This isn't just true for women's shoes, but women's clothing in general. I don't understand the reasons, but men's clothing tends to be made with less design and more durability. A fashioner designer once told me he made the men's clothing first, then crafted the women's clothing out of its leftovers + some embellishments.
- valgaze 14y ago
  Christina Binkley in the WSJ had a great column on this topic titled "To Dress Well, a Woman Should Shop Like a Man": http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704405704576063962680112114.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870440570457606...
- brc 14y ago
  This is so true. My SO purchases clothes that are made from terrible materials, with stitching that falls apart. Womens shoes exclusively seem capable on only lasting 6 months of regular wear. Everything from straps, buckles, soles and innersoles seem to fall apart. The ultimate insult in all this is that they always cost more than the equivalent male version. The only exceptions to this are where the two items are equivalent (ie mens/womens levis, mens/womens running shoes). I don't like buying clothes unless they're made from natural fibres/materials. It's cotton, wool + leather for me. For a woman, it's virtually impossible to stick to a rule like this. I guess it's all about the fashion and style, and they aren't expected to last due to the built-in obsolescence of womens fashion.
- SCdF 14y ago
  Women go for fashion more than men, Fashion doesn't last, so there is no real point in the clothing lasting. Women's clothing is also cheaper at the lower end, and much more expensive at the higher end for the same reason. .. so women tell me anyway, I can (surprise surprise) male.
- gareim 14y ago
  For an easy anecdote, just walk into any Forever 21. The clothes are extremely thin, with bad stitching, and made from materials that aren't durable at all.
- tsotha 14y ago
  Women's fashion changes quickly, so if she keeps up she may only be wearing whatever it is for a single season. It doesn't make sense to make something durable if it's only going to be worn a handful of times. Men's fashions change much more slowly, and within much narrower parameters. It actually makes sense to spend a few grand on a suit that you're going to wear to work every week for a couple years, and it has to be pretty well made to last that long. The hipster doofus stuff is as shoddy as women's wear and for the same reasons.
- bwilliams18 14y ago
  Stereotypically, because men tend to care less about clothing, fashion and the like, and so want clothes they can wear for a long time, while women worry more about changing fashion trends and wear clothes for relatively shorter periods of time.
groby_b 14y ago
Yes. The good ones get resoled, just as with men's shoes.
kamaal 14y ago
Well from my own personal experience. When I go out to buy shoes, I look at things like durability, ruggedness, comfort. The shoes must be long lasting and one must be able to wear them for long hours without feeling uncomfortable. Most girls I know don't have that criteria. The first and foremost criteria for them is they must fashionable, good looking, must match with their dress etc. Given this use case, there is only so much you can do for things like durability and ruggedness. Because you need to make them colorful, with some deigns etc. Ultimately you get what you ask for.
dclowd9901 14y ago
I wouldn't say it was "bad". Women's shoes are designed with fashion and daintiness in mind. They seem flimsy because they are flimsy, and they are flimsy because well crafted, long lasting shoes are big and burly with lots of material and stitching. This goes counter to the point of the shoes: to look trim and to make the woman's foot look small and pretty.
- sigkill 14y ago
  This maybe a bit impractical by todays social norms but I don't think anyone has ever thought of carbon-fibre footwear combined with leather cushions. I'm reasonably sure that this will be light and strong. We only need comfort testing, but I think the flip-side would be that womens shoes would cost upward of $200-$300 equivalent. I don't know if there's a market for that.
  - DennisP 14y ago
    I walked through Nordstrom's the other day, randomly picked up a shoe and the price tag was $750.
    - sigkill 14y ago
      WOW! I am so out of touch with these high end shoe prices. Suddenly, my idea doesn't seem that far-fetched after all. Except, I know of not many women who'd like the carbon fibre look. I guess, designer labels...
      - enjo 14y ago
        $750 isn't particularly expensive on the upper end. This doesn't apply just to shoes, btw. There is a broad luxury market for almost anything. Don't believe me? Visit a western wear store sometime.
        arjunnarayan 14y ago
        That's the thing with Veblen goods. At some point, they go from being the means to an end to being an end themselves.
leoedin 14y ago
There are plenty of poor quality men's shoes. Go to H&M or any similar "fashionable" retailer and pick up some low cost shoes. They'll have terrible thin rubber soles and fall apart within weeks. Similarly, there are plenty of high quality women's shoes. I'd probably agree that more men buy high quality shoes. In my experience men on average tend to put less emphasis on style over function, and so that does inevitably lead to functional (well made) shoes.
- kemayo 14y ago
  Though the shoes at H&M (in particular) are at least really cheap.
tallanvor 14y ago
Men usually have fewer shoes than women. Some men can get away with 2 pairs: dress shoes and daily wear. --I used to be that way, until I started working out and then was cajoled into diversifying a bit. But even today I have one pair that gets used probably 75%+ of the time, and they're definitely of higher quality than a lot of shoes I see people wearing.

diffeomorph 14y ago

This isn't just true for women's shoes, but women's clothing in general. I don't understand the reasons, but men's clothing tends to be made with less design and more durability. A fashioner designer once told me he made the men's clothing first, then crafted the women's clothing out of its leftovers + some embellishments.

valgaze 14y ago
Christina Binkley in the WSJ had a great column on this topic titled "To Dress Well, a Woman Should Shop Like a Man": http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704405704576063962680112114.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870440570457606...
brc 14y ago
This is so true. My SO purchases clothes that are made from terrible materials, with stitching that falls apart. Womens shoes exclusively seem capable on only lasting 6 months of regular wear. Everything from straps, buckles, soles and innersoles seem to fall apart. The ultimate insult in all this is that they always cost more than the equivalent male version. The only exceptions to this are where the two items are equivalent (ie mens/womens levis, mens/womens running shoes). I don't like buying clothes unless they're made from natural fibres/materials. It's cotton, wool + leather for me. For a woman, it's virtually impossible to stick to a rule like this. I guess it's all about the fashion and style, and they aren't expected to last due to the built-in obsolescence of womens fashion.
SCdF 14y ago
Women go for fashion more than men, Fashion doesn't last, so there is no real point in the clothing lasting. Women's clothing is also cheaper at the lower end, and much more expensive at the higher end for the same reason. .. so women tell me anyway, I can (surprise surprise) male.
gareim 14y ago
For an easy anecdote, just walk into any Forever 21. The clothes are extremely thin, with bad stitching, and made from materials that aren't durable at all.
tsotha 14y ago
Women's fashion changes quickly, so if she keeps up she may only be wearing whatever it is for a single season. It doesn't make sense to make something durable if it's only going to be worn a handful of times. Men's fashions change much more slowly, and within much narrower parameters. It actually makes sense to spend a few grand on a suit that you're going to wear to work every week for a couple years, and it has to be pretty well made to last that long. The hipster doofus stuff is as shoddy as women's wear and for the same reasons.
bwilliams18 14y ago
Stereotypically, because men tend to care less about clothing, fashion and the like, and so want clothes they can wear for a long time, while women worry more about changing fashion trends and wear clothes for relatively shorter periods of time.

groby_b 14y ago

Yes. The good ones get resoled, just as with men's shoes.

kamaal 14y ago

Well from my own personal experience. When I go out to buy shoes, I look at things like durability, ruggedness, comfort. The shoes must be long lasting and one must be able to wear them for long hours without feeling uncomfortable. Most girls I know don't have that criteria. The first and foremost criteria for them is they must fashionable, good looking, must match with their dress etc. Given this use case, there is only so much you can do for things like durability and ruggedness. Because you need to make them colorful, with some deigns etc. Ultimately you get what you ask for.

dclowd9901 14y ago

I wouldn't say it was "bad". Women's shoes are designed with fashion and daintiness in mind. They seem flimsy because they are flimsy, and they are flimsy because well crafted, long lasting shoes are big and burly with lots of material and stitching. This goes counter to the point of the shoes: to look trim and to make the woman's foot look small and pretty.

sigkill 14y ago
This maybe a bit impractical by todays social norms but I don't think anyone has ever thought of carbon-fibre footwear combined with leather cushions. I'm reasonably sure that this will be light and strong. We only need comfort testing, but I think the flip-side would be that womens shoes would cost upward of $200-$300 equivalent. I don't know if there's a market for that.
- DennisP 14y ago
  I walked through Nordstrom's the other day, randomly picked up a shoe and the price tag was $750.
  - sigkill 14y ago
    WOW! I am so out of touch with these high end shoe prices. Suddenly, my idea doesn't seem that far-fetched after all. Except, I know of not many women who'd like the carbon fibre look. I guess, designer labels...
    - enjo 14y ago
      $750 isn't particularly expensive on the upper end. This doesn't apply just to shoes, btw. There is a broad luxury market for almost anything. Don't believe me? Visit a western wear store sometime.
      - arjunnarayan 14y ago
        That's the thing with Veblen goods. At some point, they go from being the means to an end to being an end themselves.

leoedin 14y ago

There are plenty of poor quality men's shoes. Go to H&M or any similar "fashionable" retailer and pick up some low cost shoes. They'll have terrible thin rubber soles and fall apart within weeks. Similarly, there are plenty of high quality women's shoes. I'd probably agree that more men buy high quality shoes. In my experience men on average tend to put less emphasis on style over function, and so that does inevitably lead to functional (well made) shoes.

kemayo 14y ago
Though the shoes at H&M (in particular) are at least really cheap.

tallanvor 14y ago

Men usually have fewer shoes than women. Some men can get away with 2 pairs: dress shoes and daily wear. --I used to be that way, until I started working out and then was cajoled into diversifying a bit. But even today I have one pair that gets used probably 75%+ of the time, and they're definitely of higher quality than a lot of shoes I see people wearing.