STEVE MADDEN SHOE GLOSSARY

The SM guide of shoe terms to know.

Ankle Boot

The most commonly worn boot over the years, this style sits at ankle height.

Ankle Strap

A strap which secures the foot to the shoe. Usually ties around the ankle and fastens with a buckle.

Almond Toe

A softly pointed shape, not as sharp as a poined toe

Ballet Flat

A soft and comfortable flat shoe, which closed toe and no heel.

Block Heel

A thick and sturdy heel, usually in the shape of a rectangle or square.

Boots

From ankle, knee, or thigh high heights, boots cover the entire foot and come in a variety of styles.

Booties

A boot that covers the whole foot and sits just below ankle height.

Chunky Heels

Commonly rectangular shaped, a thick and sturdy heel.

Clog

A platform-heeled shoe that features a closed toe and open back.

Cowboy Boots

Embossed with decorative stitching or tooling, a boot with a pointed toe, mid-calf height, and chunky slanted heel.

Croc-Embossed

Material printed to resemble the look and texture of crocodile skin.

Combat Boots

A heavier lace up boot, usually with a lug sole. Inspired by military footwear.

Cork

A material derived from bark tissue, cork can be used to wrap heels, wedges or even insoles.

D'orsay

A style of heel or flat where the inside of the shoe is cut away to reveal the arch of the foot.

Embellished

Decorative details or features added to enhance a shoe like rhinestones or studs.

Embroidered

Stitching sewn directly onto the shoe to form a pattern or style.

Espadrille

A shoe featuring a woven sole, usually a sandal or wedge.

Eyelet

Small holes in the upper of a lace up shoe. Sometimes with a trimming of metal.

Faux Leather

A man-made leather like fabric.

Flats

A shoe style with no heel height.

Flatform

A flat shoe with a thick platform sole.

Gladiator

A style of open sandal that was designed to resemble the shoes worn by Roman fighters.

Grommets

Often of metal or plastic materials, grommets are rings used to reinforce eyelets found on lace up shoes.

High Heels

Shoes with a heel height typically 3 inches and above.

Heels

Shoes with a low or high heel height. The heel style can be a stiletto, block, chunky, or wedge.

Insole

The inner part of the shoe that the sole of the foot rests upon. Some insoles can be removed or replaced.

Iridescent

A lustrous and pearly finish, showing luminous colours giving off a sheen.

Jelly-stones

A faux rhinestone, crafted with clear material.

Kitten Heel

Often between 1-2 inches in height, a low stiletto heel.

Knee High Boots

Boots that sit on or above the knee with either a flat sole or high/low heel.

Lace up

A style that features string or lace that is threaded through eyelets to fasten the shoe to the foot securely.

Leather

A treated and tanned material made from the hide of an animal.

LINING

The material used inside a shoe or handbag made from leather, canvas, faux-leather, wool, polyester and much more.

Loafer

A slip on or step-in shoe without laces or buckles.

Low Heels

Shoes with a heel height typically 3 inches and below.

Lug Sole

A lug sole is a heavy, quite chunky sole. Usually used in boots but has become a trend for heels, loafers sandals and more.

Man Made

A shoe crafted, manufactured or constructed by human beings, usually vegan.

Mary Jane

A shoe with a strap across the top that can either be a heel or flat.

Mesh

A material designed with an interlaced, loosely woven fabric.

Metallic

A type of finish or colour that presents a shine.

Mules

A shoe or sandal featuring a backless heel of any height with a closed toe.

NUBUCK

Often made from leather, this durable material is characterised by it's velvet-like finish.

OUTER SOLE

Also referred to as Outsole, this part of the shoe is the bottom part that contacts the ground with each step.

Patent

A hard, smooth high gloss finish usually coated over leather.

Peep Toe

Shoes with a narrow front toe opening. Peep toes can come flat or heeled.

Platform

Providing instant height, platforms are typically a high heel shoe with a thick sole under the front of the foot.

Pumps

An enclosed shoe with a heel of any height, pumps feature a pointed toe.

PVC

A clear man-made plastic

Quilted

A quilted fabric is crafted with slight padding and stitched in a way to created a plush detail.

Rhinestones

An imitation diamond, usually made of gem quartz to decorate a shoe.

Raffia

A woven material, made of palm.

Sandals

A common type of footwear, sandals are an exposed style that features an open toe and open back. They can be made flat or with a heel, usually held in place with straps across the foot.

Slides

Slides are recently becoming very popular with their convenient open-toe, backless slip-on sandal design.

Sling back

A backless shoe held in place with a strap at the back of the foot.

Slip on

A shoe that can slide on the foot without laces, straps or a buckle.

Slippers

A flat shoe that slips on and is commonly worn indoors.

SOLE

This is the Outer Sole or Outsole of the shoe that touches the ground with each step.

Sneaker

The most popular style of footwear, sneakers are a rubber-soled casual shoe which usually feature laces.

Stiletto

A very thin and very high, heeled shoe.

Studs

Used for adding design or decoration to a shoe, studs stick out from the surface and are decorative metal or plastic points.

Suede

A type of leather treated with a soft, napped surface.

SYNTHETIC MATERIALS

Materials that are man-made often used as an alternative to leather. These materials are considered vegan as they are not sourced from animals or animal by-products.

Thongs

A sandal with a V-strap that passes between the big toe and second toe, connecting to the sole.

Thigh High

Boots that sit above the knee at thigh height with either a flat sole or high/low heel.

TONGUE

The strip of material attached to the vamp, commonly featured in sneaker style shoes and runs beneath the laces.

UPPER

This term covers all parts of the shoe above the sole, representing all elements of the shoe other than the sole.

VAMP

The portion of the shoe located at the shoe's upper and covers the top, front of the foot.

Vegan

Shoes constructed using non-animal products.

Velvet

A woven, rich looking fabric of silk, cotton or nylon that has a thick short pile.

Wedge

Running along the entire length of the foot, a wedge is a triangular, wedge-shaped heel.