What are single sole high heels?

High heels are sometimes described as “single sole heels” without any explanation of what single soles means when used as a term in the footwear industry.

The definition of a “single sole heel” is simply a high heeled shoe without a platform at the front. This means the heel only has one sole ie a single sole.

Here’s a graphic that compares single sole to platform heels.

As we indicated, single sole high heels (sometimes styled as “single-sole” with a hyphen) are named because they have one sole not two. This means that the same piece of leather or other material that touches the bottom of your foot also touches the ground.

The term “single sole” is not limited to pumps either: boots, sandals and other high heels can also be referred to as single sole heels.

By way of a little background, the phrase “single sole heels” started to become widespread in 2013. This was when platform heels were beginning to go off trend and designers and fashion commentators were trying to explain what they would be replaced with. They used the term “single sole” because that’s what they were familiar with.

Google Trends data shows that searches for single sole heels really took off in 2013.

A typical example of the popularity of the term can be seen in the video below, in which Sarah Jessica Parker gives a sneak peak of her SJP shoe line in January 2014. “The inspiration really was the idea of the single sole…” she said at the time.

 

Google Trends data also shows that single sole searches have lessened over recent years. While that could indicate a trend away from heels altogether, it can also be explained by there being no need to differentiate single soles from platform heels when searching now that platforms are somewhat less popular.

The name “single sole” heels still does cause a lot of confusion, but it is a common term in the footwear industry and increasingly is used by heel fans to describe their shoes. It might be easier to think of them as non-platform shoes, but single soles are a wardrobe staple whatever they are called.