High heel shoes come in different styles, depending upon the upper, the heel and the sole. We are using the term high heel here to describe all high heel shoes for women.
Broadly, the high heel that is not closed but is fastened to the foot with the help of straps is called sandal and the one covering the entire foot is called boot. If it covers only the front part [toes and slightly more], but is fastened with the help of strap or solid band, it is pump or court shoe. When it covers only the front part of the foot but has nothing to fasten the back side of the shoe to the foot, it is mule. D’orsay is the style in which the upper of the shoe is like it has been cut away on sides [and sometimes back], so the toe portion and back are covered while the arch of the foot is uncovered. Gladiator shoes, of any heel height, have a series of parallel horizontal straps often extending to the leg above ankle. French heel is not very high heel and the shoe upper makes a curved cover around the foot. Espadrilles is a Spanish style shoe, with canvas or woven upper and flexi sole, often made of rope or similar looking synthetic fabric. A shoe, of any heel height, is a slide if, like a mule, has no strap but its upper does not cover the full front of the foot; the upper is in the form of a band made of one or many straps that leaves the toes uncovered. A clog is like mule [with covered toes and open backs] but have thick heel and sole, almost of equal height. Heels and uppers, when made of transparent material, give rise to clear heels.
A boot, when it covers only the ankle is called ankle boot; if it covers the leg half-way to the knew is midcalf boot; if it covers up to the knee, it is knee high boot; if it goes slightly above the knee, it becomes over the knee boot; if it goes up to the thigh, it is thigh high boot.
A high heel shoe that has narrow, tall heel is called stiletto or spike heel or pencil heel. Block heel is a thick heel that is not very high.
Heel shapes can also be used to define shoes: a heel that is round in cross-section and is broad above, narrowing down to the tip is called cone heel. If the heel’s cross section is triangular, it is prism heel. If the heel looks like hourglass [broad at ends and thin in the middle] from a side, it is spool. If the heel is like a cone heel but is of less height, it is kitten heel. Heel that gives look of pieces stacked one above the other qualifies as stacked heel. If the heel and sole is all one and the heel portion tapers down at the tip,it is wedge heel. Shoes with thick sole are called platform shoes.
When looked from above, the tip of the shoe can be pointed [pointed toe shoe], square [square toe] or rounded [rounded toe]. If the tip is cut, it is called peep toe or open toe shoe.
The strap can also define the shoe style. It is slingback if a thin strap runs behind the ankle to fasten the shoe to the foot; it is ankle strap if the strap goes around the ankle. A T-strap is the strap that runs in the front of the shoe from toe region to the ankle, and a cross strap is when two straps from the toe region cross each other on way backwards, making a X shape in front of the foot.
