Just like "Sex and the City's" heroine Carrie Bradshaw, millions of women around the world love high-heeled shoes. However, the pain that comes with wearing the towering wonders is another story.
Now two students from Simon Fraser University hope to end that painful, high-heel hell thanks to their intriguing design for an adjustable pump.
Nasim Jahangiri and Pantea Shahsavani created the adjustable high-heeled shoe as part of their final project at Simon Fraser University's School of Interactive Arts and Technology.
The inspiration for this idea came to Jahangiri after attending a wedding in 5-inch heels.
"I was wearing beautiful heels. It was fine for the first few hours, but then it was painful. I didn't enjoy the night at all," Jahangiri said via satellite from Vancouver on CTV's Canada AM Tuesday.
Together with SFU student Shahsavani, Jahangiri set out in September of 2011 to create a heel for a shoe that could be stylish yet comfortable.
The team's other primary goal was to alleviate the pain and health risks associated with the prolonged use of high heels.
Teetering on 5-inch stilettos may look glamorous and create the illusion of a longer, leaner body. But in real life, the extended wear of high heels has been linked to common concerns such as bunions, corns and calluses.
High heels have also been linked to more complex issues such as misshapen hammertoes and chronic pain in the back, knee and ball of the foot.
With those concerns in mind, Jahangiri and Shahsavani fashioned what they now call a "smart shoe."
The prototype created for their "Head Over Heels" project features interlocking parts in the heel. These parts can be used to raise or lower the shoe's height.
For example, a woman can start out her day wearing 5-inch heels and reduce the heel's height to 2 1/2 inches once their feet, calves, knees and back begin to ache. This can be done by detaching the bottom portion of the interlocking heel and storing that piece inside the shoe's remaining heel.
The team's comfort-friendly design also features interactive pressure sensors in the shoe's heel.
These sensors are hidden inside a front panel on the shoe that vibrate after two hours, telling the wearer that it is time to adjust the height of their heels.
"What's really interesting about this design is that the shoe works with the person wearing it," said Shahsavani.
"It allows you to recognize when you're wearing high heels for a long time. That affects our bodies," she said.
How podiatrists or shoe-lovers will rate the duo's invention remains to be seen. But the SFU program has given these two students a business idea that could prove profitable.For Jahangiri, the SFU program will be her third degree, after studying architecture in Iran and web design after arriving in Canada.
Shahsavani will graduate with her Bachelor of Arts this summer with plans to go into marketing.
The team hopes to take out a patent on their adjustable high-heel prototype in the near future.
