Elevator shoes are shoes that have thickened sections of the insoles (known as lifts) under the heels to make the wearer appear taller, or "elevate" them as the name suggests. An elevator shoe, like the platform shoe's heel can be made from different soles like plastic, wood, or rubber. There are some elevator shoes that increase the height of a wearer by 2.6" to 3.2" and even by up to 4".
Unlike high-heeled shoes, the component of elevator shoes that increases the wearer's height is inside the shoe, hiding it from observers. Shoes with thickened soles are also used in cases of orthopaedic problems, although the term elevator shoe is not usually used for these.
Famous quotes containing the words elevator and/or shoes:
“The cigar-box which the European calls a “lift” needs but to be compared with our elevators to be appreciated. The lift stops to reflect between floors. That is all right in a hearse, but not in elevators. The American elevator acts like the man’s patent purge—it works”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“I kept in mind that the minute it got too rough, the minute the fourteen-hour days became too long, the minute people started to be naggy and frustrating, I knew that I could walk away and there were over seventy-nine thousand women who would trade shoes with me in a second.”
—Kaye Lani Rae Rafko (b. c. 1968)