Footwear combining comfort with fashion
An article of footwear has a relatively elevated heel composed of durable material with fashionable characteristics such as design and style as well as functional features such as arch support and comfort. The article of footwear includes a sole having a front portion and a rear portion, a heel positioned over the rear portion of the sole, an insole positioned upon the heel and the front portion of the sole, a cushion positioned on a rear portion of the insole above the heel, and a strap attached to the insole for removably securing at least the insole to the foot of a wearer. The heel has a height greater than the thickness of the insole. A fastener removably attaches a portion of the strap to the insole, and is a hook-and-loop fastener. The heel could be composed of hardened plastic.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to footwear, and in particular to an article of footwear which provides a elevated heel with comfort.
2. Description of the Related Art
Footwear is typically divided into formal footwear and leisure footwear. Formal footwear ofttimes provides a elevated heel and aesthetic characteristics, such as sharp edges, pointed edges tooled or punched leather surfaces, and/or patent leather surfaces. Typically, formal footwear sacrifices comfort for fashion, since such footwear is not worn during recreational, leisure, and/or lengthy activities, but rather is worn for brief periods, such as for social events including cocktail parties, or during working hours within an office.
In contrast, leisure footwear typically provides a low heel for ease of movement and comfort, and includes materials designed to provide cushioning for the foot during commuting between work and home, or for errands which require standing on one's feet for extended periods of time, such as shopping or gardening, or for recreational and sporting activities, or for attending children's events such as soccer games. In this manner, leisure footwear sacrifices fashion for comfort.
A need exists for an article of women's footwear which combines both comfort and fashion.
In addition, leisure footwear may be in the form of sneakers or sandals. Sneakers may provide more comfort and higher heels than sandals, for example, to support the arches, but typically a sneaker substantially encloses the foot, and so reduces the ability of the foot to breathe. Sneakers also typically require some form of fastener, such as lacing or “VELCRO®”, to secure the sneaker to the foot, and so sneakers are not as easy to remove from or to secure to the foot as sandals are.
In contrast, sandals are more open than sneakers, allowing the foot to breathe and to be less restricted during walking. Also, sandals typically use thongs which fit between at least one pair of toes to cause the sandal to be quickly secured but relatively easy to remove from the foot, for example, to allow the wearer to quickly slip them off and jump into a pool without the hassle of untying the lacing or any other type fastener. However, sandals typically provide minimal cushioning, such as foam or a sponge-like insole, and the insole is relatively flat. Accordingly, sandals may be less comfortable and more harmful to the arches of the wearer's foot than sneakers.
A need exists for an article of women's footwear which improves comfort and health considerations, such as foot breathability and arch support.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWhat has been invented is an article of women's footwear which provides cushioning for comfort as well as a relatively elevated heel composed of durable material for providing fashionable characteristics as well as arch support. Such footwear may be worn by women but so comfortable that men may even wear such footwear, and also to enhance one's height and appearance as well as comfort.
The article of footwear includes a sole having a front portion and a rear portion, a heel positioned over the rear portion of the sole, an insole positioned on top of the heel and the front portion of the sole, a cushion positioned on a rear portion of the insole above the heel, and a strap attached to the insole for removably securing at least the insole to the foot of a wearer. The heel has a height greater than the thickness of the insole. A fastener removably attaches a portion of the strap to the insole, and is a hook-and-loop fastener. The heel could be composed of hardened plastic.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGSPreferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, wherein:
As shown in
Unlike known high-heeled shoes and formal footwear which have a sole substantially adjacent to the insole with the heel extending downward from the sole and located only at the rear of the footwear, the present article 10 of footwear has the heel 12 positioned between the intermediate and/or rear portions of the sole 14 and the insole 38.
A configuration of straps 18-22 allow the article 10 to be relatively open, to enhance breathability of the foot as well as to allow the article 10 to be easy to wear and/or to be readily removed from the foot.
The heel 12 is composed of a durable material, such as plastic or other materials as described herein, and may optionally include at least one aperture, such as apertures 24, 26 passing through the heel 12 from the left side to the right side of the article 10 of footwear. Alternatively or in addition, the durable material may be composed of solid colored material, with translucent material passing from the left side to the right side of the heel 12 to provide the appearance of apertures. The heel 12 may be, for example, at least two inches in height.
The heel 12 may also be adorned with a logo 28, in the form of a decal, an engraving, or a shaped aperture and/or a translucent material passing from the left side to the right side of the heel 12.
In an alternative embodiment, the heel 12 may be composed of a solid mass of colored and/or painted plastic, with a translucent or transparent front portion and a solid-colored rear portion, so the overall combination of transparent and solid portions present the appearance of a spiked-heel, even though the heel 12 is solid as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In an alternative embodiment, the cushion 16 shown in
In an example embodiment, the article 10 of footwear includes at least one strap, such as the straps shown in
In another example embodiment, the front strap 20 may be permanently attached to the insole 38, as shown in
Accordingly, the strap configuration composed of straps 18-22 may be partially removed and bent away from the rear of the article 10 of footwear to allow insertion of the foot onto the insole 38 and into the cushion 16, and then the rear strap 18 is removably fastened to the cushion 16 or insole 38 by placing the extension 44 with the hook-and-loop fasteners onto the top surface 46 having complementary hook-and-loop fasteners.
The straps 18-22 may be composed of various materials which provide flexibility, comfort, and especially elasticity. Example materials include foamy spandex, suede, leather, patent leather, cotton, etc. The straps 18-22 may be of the same color, or colored such that the colors of the straps are the opposite of or in contrast to the color of the heel 12.
The upper or rear strap 18 of the article 10 may be attached to the upper back of the heel 12 substantially adjacent to or below the ankle of the wearer. The rear strap 18 has the optional fastener 42 which may be hook-and-loop fasteners, such as commercially available “VELCRO®”, and has a detachable top half-layer forming the extension 44 which may be adjusted to fit the width of the ankles of the wearer. The top half-layer is composed of soft material such as the material used to make the straps 18-22, and so causes no bruises to the feet, to avoid causing bunions, corns, or blisters. In another embodiment, the straps 18-22 and the top half-layer forming the extension 44 may be composed of soft colored and/or colorful suede.
In an alternative embodiment, the straps 18-22 are not present, and the cushion 16 provides sufficient frictional engagement with the ball and/or ankle of the foot to retain the article 10 of footwear on the foot of the wearer without using straps 18-22. For example, as described herein in alternative embodiments shown in
In a first alternative embodiment shown in
The retaining device 58 may optionally include a tab 60 or thong which may be positioned between at least one pair of toes of the user, such that the tab 60 retains the front portion of the foot substantially adjacent to the insole 56. Alternatively or in addition to the tab 60, straps as described herein and/or other known retaining means may be included in or with the retaining device 58. Accordingly, the foot is removably retained in the article 50 of footwear during use such as walking.
In the first alternative embodiment of
Accordingly, the disclosed article 10 of footwear combines the elevated heel of more formal footwear with the comfort of sneakers and sandals, with enhanced breathability and greater arch support than known footwear.
Claims
1. An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole;
- an insole;
- a heel having a height greater than the thickness of the insole, with the heel being composed of a solid material; and
- a cushion positioned on a rear portion of the insole above the heel.
2. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising:
- a strap for removably securing at least the insole to the foot of a wearer.
3. The article of footwear of claim 2, further comprising:
- a fastener for removably attaching a portion of the strap to the insole.
4. The article of footwear of claim 3, wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener.
5. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the solid material of the heel is hardened plastic.
6. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the heel includes:
- a bottom portion of a first predetermined width; and
- a middle portion positioned vertically above the bottom portion and having a second predetermined width less than the first predetermined width.
7. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the heel includes:
- an aperture passing through the heel and extending from one lateral side to the other lateral side of the heel.
8. The article of footwear of claim 1, further comprising:
- a logo attached to a lateral side of the heel.
9. An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole having a front portion and a rear portion;
- a heel positioned over the rear portion of the sole, with the heel composed of a solid material;
- an insole positioned upon the heel and the front portion of the sole; and
- a cushion positioned on a rear portion of the insole above the heel;
- wherein the heel has a height greater than the thickness of the insole.
10. The article of footwear of claim 9, further comprising:
- a strap, attached to the insole, for removably securing at least the insole to the foot of a wearer.
11. The article of footwear of claim 10, further comprising:
- a fastener for removably attaching a portion of the strap to the insole.
12. The article of footwear of claim 11, wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener.
13. The article of footwear of claim 9, wherein the solid material of the heel is hardened plastic.
14. The article of footwear of claim 9, wherein the heel includes:
- a bottom portion of a first predetermined width; and
- a middle portion positioned vertically above the bottom portion and having a second predetermined width less than the first predetermined width.
15. The article of footwear of claim 9, wherein the heel includes:
- an aperture passing through the heel and extending from one lateral side to the other lateral side of the heel.
16. The article of footwear of claim 9, further comprising:
- a logo attached to a lateral side of the heel.
17. An article of footwear comprising:
- a sole having a front portion and a rear portion;
- a heel positioned over the rear portion of the sole;
- an insole positioned upon the heel and the front portion of the sole;
- a cushion positioned on a rear portion of the insole above the heel; and
- a strap, attached to the insole, for removably securing at least the insole to the foot of a wearer;
- wherein the heel has a height greater than the thickness of the insole.
18. The article of footwear of claim 17, further comprising:
- a fastener for removably attaching a portion of the strap to the insole.
19. The article of footwear of claim 18, wherein the fastener is a hook-and-loop fastener.
20. The article of footwear of claim 17, wherein the heel is composed of hardened plastic.
21. The article of footwear of claim 1, wherein the cushion extends along at least a portion of a peripheral edge of the insole.
22. The article of footwear of claim 21, further comprising:
- a retaining device for retaining at least a portion of the foot substantially adjacent to the insole.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 5, 2003
Publication Date: Jun 9, 2005
Inventor: Hugo Rodriguez (Bronx, NY)
Application Number: 10/729,065