A brand that I found to be extremely satisfactory is GretaFlora, so I definitely agree with the women who have suggested it in various comments. The shoes are well-made, they have more padding than CiF (if that’s what you prefer), and they have their own unique style, materials, and colors. In addition, the two women who own GretaFlora were incredibly helpful when I requested information on finding and ordering their shoes since there was no distributor even close to where I lived. They took my size, let me know what was in stock, and changed the heel on my shoe to my specifications, which automatically puts them further ahead in terms of customer service. It’s touch and go with Comme il Faut- sometimes the ladies like you, sometimes they don’t, and that will definitely inform their decision in which shoes they bring out to you in their showroom. The various distributors in the US, however, tend to be pretty helpful

But, as I said, Comme il Faut is Comme il Faut. They established the standard in modern tango shoe design and they still made exquisite shoes. But there are some up-and-coming companies who are slowly but surely adding their own unique perspectives to tango shoe design

Getting there, but not quite finished yet.

On one hand, of course good technique can help the way one walks, dancers or feels in high heels. Hey, that’s what I get paid for and it’s what most female students request of me, particularly those who don’t wear heels too often. I’m always happy to help ladies feel more comfortable in heels and dance their best in them. While I’m at it, I’d add that sometimes tango technique can help someone walk in heels better OFF the dance floor too!

On the other hand, I really do believe that (as I said before) we’re all built differently, even our feet (narrow, wide, high arches, low arches, etc), and each of us has a natural walk, a natural way of moving in general. (And my personal style of teaching definitely focuses on that fact).
So yes it is possible that person A moves just fine in 10 cm Comme il Faut heels, while person B just can’t stand them and prefers a 7 cm heel from Raquel. But maybe, just maybe, they are both equally fabulous dancers.

I look forward to your blog post about it, and the comments it inspires

If you have others that look better, it’s impossible to argue with that..

@Claudita: you give the impression that you disagree, but somehow you almost repeat my argument. Yes, some women are more ‘used to’ high heels, and they use them with more comfort and elegance than those who are not. Whether you find it worth the extra effort is not for me to decide.

@both: What is your alternative theory? That you don’t need special technique to walk on high heels, is it just like walking in flat shoes, only they make your feet hurt?

I don’t like padding in my shoes but I prefer dancing in slightly lower heels (I can get used to dancing in really high ones but as I get older just ask myself ‘why?’).

So, yes, there are probably some women out there who are used to very high heels (maybe because they wear them putside of dancing or just because…) and I think they exist in Europe, US and whereever else…And just a word about superhigh heels in BsAs – it seemed to me that there were less of them on the floor than in most places in Europe….

If you’re going to argue that foot pain from 10cm heels is our fault for poor technique, please include your own demonstration of the proposed technique – with a heel height that’s the same in proportion to your foot length.

@Tina Thanks, I have wondered about the quality of Raquel shoes, I’ve seen their ads in Tangauta.

Your comment about padding is really interesting, I have this theory that if you know how to walk/dance on high heels, you don’t need much padding or low heel, but few in Northern Europe and the US got the right technique, upcoming post about that — if I find time that is.