If the prototypical late night wedding scene finds men on the dance floor with their ties draped across their brows then there’s an equal number of women holding their high-priced heels in their hands in an effort to keep the party going into the wee hours of the night. It’s the fashion paradox for women everywhere, the perfect shoes for the perfect outfit that sacrifice on comfort in favor of stylish, good looks. With this conundrum in mind, two UK-based companies are hoping to cash in on this trend, by providing welcome relief to the tired soles of females everywhere in the form of vending machines located in nightclubs that dispense inexpensive, fashionable and of course comfortable, footwear.
Rollasoles pumps sell for GBP 5 (8 US) and are available in four colors – Hi Ho Silver, Gold Digger, Back to Black and Pretty in Pink. Their competitor, Afterheels, offer ballet slippers that are similar in design and price point, but according to the company website, have the added feature of being sustainable; the bodies of the shoes are made from natural materials and the polypropylene insoles are fully recyclable. Both compact pumps are sold with a matching bag that wearer’s can use to transport their stilettos and slingbacks home.
The respective company websites provide a list of clubs in which their shoes are available for purchase, along with offering an online option as well. And while they’re currently only sold in the UK, we fully expect this to make it’s way to the United States very soon.
[via NBC New York]
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and here’s me thinking a pair of hands would extend out of the machine to give tired feet a massage…. wishful thinking!
June 26th, 2009 at 3:39 am
This is an awesome Idea! I just read about it over at Conversational Capital (http://conversationalcapital.com/category/authors_posts/)
They should put these everywhere!
June 26th, 2009 at 10:23 am
There is a US based company already selling this shoe. Check them out at sparesoles.com.
June 27th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Rollasoles are cute, to be sure. I can see them falling easily under the ‘impulse buy’ category, and at $8US, that makes sense. But will this be a ‘get what you pay for’ situation? The sizing is S/M/L, so likely a poor fit regardless of your size.
The benefits to compactable shoes are clear – style and portability is a great combo – but if the soles are dirty when the shoe is rolled, then the whole shoe gets dirty, and what’s to keep them rolled in your bag?
It’s great for gals to have an option like this – especially brides. For the rest of the ladies (and the gents!) who want to get out of painful dress or sport shoes and into something stylish and comfy, check out http://www.kigofootwear.com.
kigo shoes are lightweight (about 1/2lb p/pr), foldable, have a patent pending hook system to keep the shoes compacted, come in unisex and women’s styles, in a multitude of color schemes, and are eco-friendly. Rollasoles are a cute option for the club, and for the commute or for transitioning to and from sport activities (like cycling or skiing), kigo footwear is a much sturdier, yet still stylish (and eco) option.
This is also a newly launched company, poised to make a mark. They’ll be for sale online in August, but info and pictures are on the site http://www.kigofootwear.com.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:14 am