A friend of mine just turned me on to a store on ebay that sells fetish boots and shoes with some unique designs - namely a heel-less ballet boot! Something I've never seen before...
These things look pretty cool. Unfortunately, they aren't made available in real leather, although there are a range of color options in synthetic leather, patent leather and fake suede in sizes 36-46. It looks like they are produced in China and shipped direct.
Love the little zipper up the back, and the box-like look.
...and thigh-high versions.
I can't vouch for the build quality, but for costumes or use as photo shoot props, or just to mess around with 'em, the prices are pretty low - and they seem to have lots of transactions and positive feedback. Anyone have experience with the store or their products?
Almost 43,000 feedback and the few negatives seem like the inevitable unreasonable folks. However more impressive (unlike most of the Asian vendors selling fetish items on ebay) is that all the listings show images of their products they make. Is there anything more annoying than a listing for a cheap "wet look" polyester/spandex item that shows an image stolen from a major european latex vendor?(adding insult, often with the vendor having added his own watermark!) Recently I saw another vendor importing leather goods from Pakistan outrageously accompanied their listings with images from the Bizarre Design site.
ReplyDeleteThe final question would be will this be the unique vendor who can get the size right?
I agree with your comments completely! It seems like a lot of satisfied customers, and their photos (nicely done) seem to be their own.
DeleteI'm curious about the sizing as well - their size chart looks a bit wonky. But the ability to choose from such a range of color options is pretty cool...
I guess it's a bit much to expect but it would be nice to see at least what their idea is of each size- like a measurement of the length from heel to toe at least. Otherwise you can just cross your fingers and hope for the best. Further complicating things though, when you find a mfr whose products fit they are still going to vary by heel height because different lasts are used to build the shoes. Pleaser's Seduce and Domina lines all run small yet their Milan and Heat lines are true or generously sized.
DeleteWhile there are some real bargains to be found on ebay from Asian suppliers my experience over the years at least in clothing is they are using patterns made from models not exactly human! (catsuits with thick torsos, long spindly legs, short arms..) When you have a western distributor (such as Pleaser) in between there is more likely hood for a good fit.
Dear batvette,
DeleteThanks for the comment. I just received a message from someone who made a purchase from Refuse to be Usual, and overall the quality was what you'd expect for the price. They did mention the lack of reinforcement at the toe box, which resulted in a shoe designed more for looks than for actual wear.
Your comment about the sizing made me think of a mini-documentary I saw once about the people making the cheap leather S&M gear in India. The people making the stuff didn't know what it was or how it was used at all, which I think is reflected in the weird sizing and non-human proportions. Of course, as I'm discovering myself, there is so much variety in the sizes and shapes of people, that getting something to fit "all" or even a wide range of shapes is pretty much impossible. The tighter fit you want, the more this is the case - unless you're working with some kind of very stretchy material.