These are the stable constant, appearing in most fetish photography world wide. They have been a point of concern for “walkers” due to a collapsing toe box and a too long heel, but I think you will find in the fetish range that the Pleaser USA company (all shoes made in China), especially the Scream styles – the heels are too long and pitch the body forward making the wearer wobbly on their feet. I believe this is the intention of the designer.
However, I do believe some changes have been made on the newer models, but cannot confirm this for a certainty, it’s a suspicion I have at the moment.
They are not particularly well put together – cardboard welts, inconsistent heel fixing methods and some “lucky” folk have bought boots with already snapped heels where the steel joins the upper plastic cup. For what they are, they are an expensive buy. Bit leather is used in uppers; and all together they are a cheap construct. Many people absolutely hate the Devious brand boots, and aren’t particularly impressed with the cheaper vinyl versions available either.
If you want leather boots of an excellent quality then go to:
Punitive Shoes
I prefer the vintage styles of the 1940′s – 70′s and the Punitive boots somewhat reflect these.
The quality of these boots is above and beyond anything from their “competitors” – if you can call them that. The Punitive boot is light on the foot, well crafted and very very comfortable.
UPDATE: Please see this entry that I have recently posted regarding Punitive Shoes Gwendoline Ballet Boots. 
REVIEW OF GWENDOLINE BALLET BOOTS BY PUNITIVE SHOES, ITALY
Unbranded Chinese made Boots – also sold at Kassopeya, Milanoo and other online outlets
These are the ones I prefer to recommend to new wearers. They are cheap, or should be cheap to buy. As I state above, nothing about any Chinese made ballet heel for retail sale these days is exciting, or can be considered of a lasting quality. Anyone that says differently is shilling for product. ;-P
They are vinyl uppers, cardboard welts – cheap construction, but stable enough to walk in for a first timer. With all vinyl product you can expect the coating to come away after a couple of years. Depending on how you store them, they could last longer. Out of the sun is a good idea and if you own thigh high boots, laid out flat, not bent up for storage. Often I see people hang their boots in their cupboards and gravity does the “flattening” work. Whatever you find is the best way, do ensure you keep your vinyl footwear well and it should last you for a few good years.
Spanish made ballet boots and extreme heels
I have no comments through experience, only what I see on the website (puckered uppers joining soles, crooked heels etc) and reports from reputable people who provided photographic evidence of the issues they found with the shoes from this maker. Giving poor reviews or providing incorrect “insider” information about competitors to the public in order to boost ones sales, does no favours with me either.
Reviews
This year I will be providing well structured reviews about the products I buy or come into contact with as far as Ballet Heels are concerned. Other reviews for latex and other items will be provided under different page headings, as I get to do the reviews.
I bought some Devious ballet boots and was recommended to go up a size from my usual size since they are supposedly sized quite small. I wish I hadn’t since they were too big length wise. I tried them on for a while before realising that that wasn’t how they were meant to fit and so it was then too late to return them for a new size. The heel height is the slightest bit off. I feel if they were about 5mm shorter if that then they’d be perfect. As it is, because of them being too big (though I’ve padded the toe area out) I can’t stand in them for long. My feet just want to slip down inside the boots
I was wondering if you had ever tried the ballet boots which Milanoo sell? My reaction to the listings is that they either stole the images or actually have them made in the same factories as the branded ones. Neither would surprise me. But they are far cheaper – the shoe ones costs just over £40 and the boot ones are about £58. Which is far cheaper than anywhere else.
Hi Alexa
Yes. As with pointe shoes, you really do need to go a size smaller … you can see from some of the charts that help you size a pointe shoe that some of them are indeed two to two and a half sizes smaller than your street shoe. So, I did the same as you with my first pair, bought them one size too big and ended up giving them to one of my favourite people.
I have used the unbranded boots – yes. I have many pair here that are being pulled apart and turned into boots that I would prefer to wear. They are fine for starting out in, and the heels are a good length. The people who have cut them actually end up with more a problem on the unbranded boots because the shoe is not constructed for a shorter heel. They look funny…and wear funny as well. The heel eventually collapses underneath the shoe, rendering it completely useless. Devious heels can be cut 10mm and no more…the trick is to work the ankles and gain flexibility as it ensures against injury.
I have recently bought some Devious boots and found them to be quite good. I am hoping that they do continue with making them this way, with an arch to the upper instead of the flat looking upper that is present on their older models.
Nobody walks enpointe in ballet heels unless they are modified like the ones that I wear. The angle of the foot is not truly enpointe, maybe a demi pointe…
For the price, the Milanoo are okay, but you know…I sold these things for under $100 a pair and made a profit. They are vinyl and as I say again, are a good starter boot.
Having not worn the ballet heel, but am a ballet dancer who has danced en pointe the quality of the toe box and snug fit are very important for the health of your feet as well as how your weight is placed over the pointe. Your foot should be supple enough to go completely en pointe and supported by your calves so your overall center of balance is over the toe.The added heel would just be a stabilizer to help keep you en pointe as you walk. Walking not turned out is very difficult and as I noticed in your videos you walk with what a dancer would call a soft knee instead of adjusting your center a little more forward, which would then free you up forlonger walking without doing damage to your back.
Just my observations from a dancers point of view. Wish I knew how to convert some of my older worn pointe shoes into boots or street shoes to be walked in, as it is a very cool and unusual look. That’s me always going for something outside the box! lol!
Hi there,
Firstly, you would have then had to have noticed the ballet heel only allows the foot to be in a totally non enpointe position?
That’s why there’s no “over the toe box” in these things, seriously. I am working on making a true en-pointe ballet heel, and have made shoes and boots from pointe shoes already.
Great minds and all that?
To go forward on a ballet heel in demi pointe position means that I am going to walk with bent knees in order to counter the force forward from the heel. Mostly people cannot walk in these things unless they cut the heels, but I was determined to never walk on a cut heel, therefore I don’t.
I think the only similarity between a ballet pointe shoe and a ballet heel is the word ballet. There is no technique of dancing that really can assist in the wearing of these things until the designers make them with a true enpointe foot position. I think it would be far easier for most people because it’s a natural progression for the foot, where as walking with the foot in the angle they take in a manufactured ballet boot or shoe is not particularly comfortable for most feet and ankle combinations.
You might be surprised that the former principal and soloist dancers (Aussie ballet, Graz Ballet and Sadler Wells) could not walk in these ballet heels; and they tried as hard as they could. They caused cramping under the foot and they found the position to be “alarming” and “just wrong”…all these woman are in fine shape and teach ballet, do pilates etc…they have not lost their grace and form…and can still use pointe shoes without a problem.
Here are the boots: White Ballet Boots
Here are some obvious pointe shoes: Crystal ballet shoes
and there are many under the Homecrafts with Suzanzi tag.
Thanks for stopping by and being decent about your ballet knowledge and not running me into the ground, because I am not behaving like a perfect professional dancer, of which I have never been. I spent many years around the stages, with the dressers, costumers and the dancers – having a sister who was a prima ballerina, but stopped doing it myself after I achieved pointe status…I wanted to swim, dive and play waterpolo competitively instead
I had an accident that left me with one leg shorter than the other many years ago; and I was told I would always walk with a cane. Well, “they” never had any idea of how determined I actually am, because I could not think about life having to be slowed down with a cane. *nods* It’s fairly miraculous I can walk in high heels at all…
Hi Suzan,
I found that I had to cut the heels on my Devious ballet boots to make them walkable.
The best ones in my humble opinion are my Little Shoe Box ballets, which I’ve had for years. They were my first pair, and are still the ones I like to lace on, and have a strut in. It’s such a shame that they are not readily available anymore.
Please keep up your great work,
John
I’ve noticed they’ve changed the shape. I have a new pair, they are rather good standard.
I would adore a pair of those for my collection but have gotten no bites. I’m a size 4-5 UK if you know anyone that has any?
Thanks for your wonderful encouragement.
Suzan x
Hi Suzan,
I will keep looking out for you, but you only seem to see them occasionally on ebay, definitely not in my size, but possibly in your size.
You are worth every bit of encouragement anyone on your wonderful site gives you, please accept that you deserve it,
Best wishes
John
Yeh. Like the Fluevogs I have now, they are probably in someone’s storage forgotten about.
Hi, just read your comments on our products , so sad. So sad because the shoes are 100% made in italy (who can affirm the same?) and the craftmen making them are the same of 10 years ago. So I don’t understand why are you talking about outsourcing..since we are in business with the same persons since 1999. I’ìve also read the comment about Devious..since I know their products, there are on the market better ones (I don’t talk about our products…. but also of competitors. According to me is the worst product on the market…. considering the production price (If you buy them bulk…you can pay them also at 20 us$ at wholesale..at that price we don’t pay the leathers we use…. immagine the finished shoe). I suggest people to buy other shoes (is not pubblicity to our product, also buy from competitors…but please buy NOT a chinese product). Devious claims shoes made in USA or Canada but they are simply done in China and labeled. I suggest this because company like that (cheap mass products) have demaged the market with low quality items. A person buy a ballet or a pony shoe that is cheap, unconfortable and maybe will break in a couple of months will not buy something more expensive after that experience. But you know..you’ll get what you pay for…
Hi,
You will notice that I merely mentioned what is in forums etc around the web about the service and decreased quality of your fetish lines.
I own a pair of your Ranchos and always tell people that they are worth buying. I leave their buying experience up to them because it might be different these days.
I know about the Devious/Chinese style boots. But as far as value for money goes, they have served me well.
Until I can afford a pair of your ballet heels I cannot personally comment on them, only go by what owners of them say. Some people love them – but don’t walk or stand in them, and others find them difficult with the foot pitch and prefer the chinese models. It is preference, always.
I have no dispute with your argument about quality of hand made leather goods over pvc made in China. It’s why I also own shoes from your Italian Heels section and will buy more. I love them. That is a fact I repeat over and over and over. Really, if you looked into what I said, you would find exactly what I have. Having been around the “scene” for a few years now I believe I have a very good handle on production methods, hand made over hand finished (which are made in China and probably there is some hand work in the process, but very little) and custom fit footwear.
I make my own ballet heels now, simply due to finding my own way in crafting methods and making a stable end product. I am not happy 100% with the chinese models either. So, we are really on the same page there.
The only difference is that I can comment on the sales and contact difficulties I have had with your company over the years, but despite that still insist your product is good when I am reporting about it, apart from the ballet heels.
As I said, until I own a pair myself, I can only repeat what is in public on the web.
Regards
Suzan
Well, I understand what you mean now but in what you have written before was not clear. I can explain you because is not a good thing to buy for exemple Devious shoes. I know that people is not aware about some points but they must know when deciding for a shoe. Devious is a brand of Please Usa. They usually take the shoes of competitors and replicate the style in china. The result is on a shoe that looks like the original one but cost to , 4 US$ finished without putting out a cent for developing them. For a producer creating a new shoe (and shoe range etc etc)… cost from 2000 to 5000 us$, just to create this. After a long job..you’ll find on the market 300 shops selling a shoe similar to your at a final price that is 1/3 or 1/5 of what you sell…. but many buyers will not ask themself why. They buy that style, they will not feel a good product and the original one will be marked as “bad style”. Do for a style, do for 50 styles…. and the original craftman start to think: ok… if it will continue like that I’ll will close. In these 14 years of business I’ve seen closing many craftmen…with years of experience into shoe making…. just because te market has dropped down because sellers like Devious. In this scenario… small shoe maker (as we are)… try to survive but is every day harder. And when all will close… the result will be having only cheap shoes on the market….maybe then people will understand then what they loose but is to late…a lot of knwolede will be lost. We have decided to continue to stay in Italy even if , since we started to sell on Internet our eanring has dropped down of more than 40%. Every day leathers, matherials and so on increase in price but if you increase too much the end price you are out of market.
The past week I was in N. Ireland to meed my fiancee and I’ve seen a lot of shoes on her friends’ feet: ;-( SO sad…. I’ve found no one of them done with good matherials. But they are used to buy those shoes so the standard is that….
We had to put more restriction on our policy for a simple reason : changing a standard 4US$ (and when i say 4us$ is not a number invented, I have the wholesale list prices and this is the real price of that shoes) sold at 40us$ is not a big demage, changing a custom made shoe that has a production cost of 70 us$ will kill next 3 sales to compensate. On that you have to consider a thing…. is more nomal to find a review of an unappy customer than a review of a happy customer…. We usually try to find an accomodation with customers (we make mistake, we try to not but since the most of process is done manually by humans some mistakes could happens….a color wrong, a size eight wrong and so on)… but some customers want all the reasons and is impossible to find an accomodation. For exemple of a customer of our pony shoes that has a forum. He was not happy with the product he purchased…. was not a big problem… but he started to deasseble the shoes and after that he claimed to change the shoes. no one company will do somethig different than refusing the change. We had over 35.000 customers only fo ItalianHeels.com over the past years: conidering just 2% of unhappy customers (for many reasons) that for every business would be a lucky number…. you have 700 unappy customers…. is easy to find some bad review onlye over these 700. We can do better…. we try to do it but sometimes is impossible because some things are not bounded to us. I’ve seen 3 local italian competitors those have closed in the past 2 years. I should be happy about that…as a businessman…less competitors = more business… no.. is a real problem… less good quality competitors = less quality to end user… Sorry to be so long and sorry for the mistakes in writing…sometimes is hard to express your thoughts in a language that is not your . I wish to every one a Merry Xmas! Mauro
Hello Mauro,
I do understand exactly what you say.
I too have had the price lists for these shoes and am horrified at the end cost I see for them. Mostly seconds are sold at first “quality” price.
I have spent hours pulling these shoes apart to see how they work and basically that is what spurred me on to making my own. I have limited funds, but am good with my hands.
From my experience, being honest about a bad experience leaves people to be very suspicious of my motives. I believe that all feedback should be counted. As I said, I am a returning customer of yours and it was rumoured that you had closed down, which made me sad. But that was a rumour that had no truth in it, maybe speculation, I have no idea how it got there.
I am glad of your success over the years and really do wish you more. As a person who loves your extreme heel pumps and sandals – but again with low spending power, my intent is to buy a pair before the end of the year.
To buy the ballets would take some management on my behalf right now, as I am prioritising my spare money for my trip overseas next year. Maybe I will come to your store and say hello.
As you do, I look at the feet of the women around me too and feel sad. In the forums most of the lusting is done over the cheap louboutin daffodille copies, and the eye for quality seems to have been lost between my and this new generation of shoe fetishists.
Anyway, to you and yours also a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.
Suzan
what do you think about this ones
They are an engineers project for part of the course, but I think they are very interesting in that regard. As a shoe, completely ridiculous, but as a design concept, very clever indeed. I would love to have a go in a pair of them.