Heels.
A heel is decided by three numbers: the height, the pitch, and where the heel sits under your foot. Everything else — the brand, the price, the photograph — is downstream of those. A 100mm stiletto with a hidden 12mm platform walks like an 88mm shoe; a true 100mm with the heel set under the ankle stays comfortable far longer than the number suggests.
That's what we compare here. Every duel puts a designer pair against its affordable twin, measures both against the same specs, and tells you which one is still on your feet at hour four.
Heels questions we keep getting
Pitch matters more than height. A 100mm heel with a hidden platform has a true pitch closer to 88mm, which most people can walk in comfortably. A true 100mm with no platform asks more of your arch but places the heel directly under the ankle — better balance, longer wear. Below 70mm almost anyone is comfortable regardless of construction.
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