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High-heeled shoes are shoes which raise the heel of the wearer's foot significantly higher than the toes. When both the heel and the toes are raised equal amounts, as in a platform shoe, it is generally not considered to be a "high-heel". This tends to give the illusion of longer and more slender legs. High-heels come in a wide variety of styles, and the heels are found in many different shapes, including stiletto, pump, block, tapered, blade, and wedge.

While high heels today are mostly associated with female shoe styles, and the term high heeled shoe is generally understood to refer to styles of footwear almost exclusively worn by women, there are numerous shoe designs worn by both genders which have elevated heels, including cowboy boots and cuban heels. According to high fashion shoe websites like Jimmy Choo and Gucci, a "low heel" is considered less than 6 centimeters (2.5 inches), while 6 centimeters to 8.5 centimeters (3.5 inches) heels are considered "mid heels," and anything over 8.5 centimeters is considered a "high heel"

See also

• Court shoes
• Cowboy boots
• Foot fetishism
• Foot binding
• Insolia
• Kinky boots
• Kitten heels
• Platform shoe
• Riding boots
• Shoe fetishism
• Stiletto heel