Stilettos and Starlettos

We were guests at a delightful wedding yesterday. It took place at Summerlees Cottage in the southern tablelands near Moss Vale. The ceremony was a garden affair, and this caused great difficulties for some women as their stiletto heels disappeared into the soft grass. But wait – there is a solution. Read on…

When it comes to fashion triumphing over function, stiletto heels are hard to beat. They are uncomfortable, bad for the feet, dangerous for the wearer and damaging to some expensive floors. But on grass they become even more absurd.

So, for a garden wedding, what should a woman do?

1. Wear sensible shoes, or
2. Buy an accessory that allows stilettos to be worn on grass?

And so is born a parasitic industry that exists only to make a silly fashion wearable on soft ground. The product is a slip-on plastic tip for the stiletto heel that increases the diameter of the heel where it comes into contact with the ground. The physics is simple: increasing the area decreases the pressure. Less, pressure, less penetration of soft ground.

These devices are just a bit of injection-moulded clear plastic, simple and inexpensive to make. So what do you think the price might be? Less than twenty cents to make, add a bit of shipping and profit and let’s say $2.50 in the shop? Nope. Not even close. Would you believe $15? Well that’s what Starlettos cost. Here’s their web site: http://starlettos.com/. Have a look at the testimonials – they’re a riot. Here’s an example:

“Starlettos were the STAR of the wedding! All the girls were raving about them for saving their Louboutins!!”