How to Measure Heel Height

HEY! ShoeLady!

I just bought three pair of the Silk by Bella Vita, three different colors. The DesignerShoes.com website says Silk has a heel height of 2.25 inches. I measured it at 4 inches! What’s going on here?!?

Vanessa, Tennessee

Dear Vanessa,

Vanessa –

I understand you are concerned that the heel height on the “Silk” espadrille by Bella Vita is different than what is shown on the website? The website says 2.25 inches. I took my ruler to the warehouse and measured the shoe. It is 2.25 inches. Heel height is measured by holding the ruler in the center of the heel, on side view, subtracting the height of any platform under the ball of the foot and measuring in a straight line down, perpendicular to the bottom of the heel.

Bella Vita Silk Fuchsia Thai at DesignerShoes.com

Silk by Bella Vita is a Mid Heel Casual Sandal

Larger size shoes do often have the heel height scale up a tad… but in a shoe like this, it would be minimal, not more than a quarter to half an inch at the most. My guess is that you measured from the back edge of the heel at an angle down to the bottom of the heel? Remember math class and the hypotenuse triangle? The longer side of a 90 degree angle triangle is significantly longer than the perpendicular side.

The heel height is intended to measure the angle of the foot as it sits in the shoe, and the rise of the heel compared to the ball of the foot. At most, the Silk has a heel height of 2.75 inches.

It’s all math, when you come down to it.

Stand tall in those gorgeous espadrilles!

The ShoeLady