Frauding

Standing taller in shoes: lift insoles, boots and elevator shoes, how much each adds, and how to keep it from showing.

Frauding

Frauding is wearing shoes or inserts that make you stand taller. The height lasts while the shoes are on. Done badly it shows, in your heel and in the way you walk.

Every method raises the heel. The heel carries the ankle and everything above it, so the height gained is roughly the thickness under the heel. There are three ways to get it, and they stack:

• Lift insoles, which go inside a shoe you already own
• Shoes with a thick sole and heel of their own, boots above all
• Elevator shoes, with the lift built in

Lift insoles

Wedges that sit under your heel inside the shoe. A small one fits almost anything. A big one needs a shoe tall enough at the back to hide it.

• Heel-only lifts sit under the back of the foot; full-length ones run under the whole foot. Adjustable ones come as layers you stack or remove, so the height can go up gradually
• Sizes run from about half an inch to 2 inches in Conzuri’s range, 1.5 to 5 cm (Conzuri)
• Take the shoe’s own insole out first. The lift goes in its place, which leaves more room before the heel rises out of the back
• A lift pushes the foot up and forward, so the shoe tightens over the top of the foot and the toes press into the front. Looser lacing over the instep, or a half size up for bigger lifts, makes room

Boots

A thick-soled boot adds height before anything goes inside it. A 6-inch Timberland has a heel of about 1.25 inches, and its tall shaft hides a lift that would show in a trainer. With a lift of about 2.75 inches inside, Timbs come to about 4 inches.

• The men’s 6-inch Timberland has a heel of about 1.25 inches (3 cm) and a shaft of about 6 inches
• The shaft covers the heel even when the heel is raised a long way inside, so a boot takes a far bigger lift than a low-top before anything shows
• Timbs with a lift of about 2.75 inches come to roughly 4 inches (10 cm) over barefoot
• Any high-top does the same job to a lesser degree: the taller the back of the shoe, the bigger the lift it hides

Elevator shoes

Shoes with the lift built in and the back cut higher to cover it. They look like ordinary shoes from the outside. Conzuri's add 1.5 to 3 inches.

• The lift is part of the shoe rather than a loose insert, and the heel counter is extended to hide it, so nothing slips or shows at the back
• Conzuri’s shoes add 1.5 to 3 inches, 3.8 to 7.6 cm (Conzuri)
• The height is fixed per pair

Making it not show

Two things give it away: your heel coming out of the back of the shoe, and walking strangely on a lift that is too big. After that it is trousers, socks, and what happens when the shoes come off.

• Your heel. Stand side-on to a mirror. If the back of your heel or sock rises above the back of the shoe, the lift is too big for that shoe — go smaller, or go to a higher-backed shoe. Check it walking too: a heel that lifts out with every step shows more than one that sits high
• How you walk. Short steps, leaning forward or tipping onto the balls of your feet mean the lift is too big. Start smaller than you want, wear it around the house, and step up once it feels normal
• Trousers. A hem that rests on the shoe covers the back of it. Cropped trousers and no-show socks put your heel on display
• Keeping it consistent. People notice a change in your height more than the height itself. If one pair adds 4 inches and the next adds none, that difference is what gets seen; keep the shoes you wear around the same people at similar heights
• Shoes off. Homes, gyms, beaches and changing rooms: the height goes with the shoes
• Posture. Standing straight gets back what slouching takes, in shoes or out of them (see Posture and measured height)

Big lifts and your feet

A lift puts your foot in the same position as a high heel. The higher the heel, the more of your weight goes onto the ball of the foot, and women who wear heels most days have shorter calf muscle fibres. Keep the biggest lifts for when they count, and wear flat shoes the rest of the time.

• Forefoot pressure rose significantly from trainers to 2-inch to 3-inch heels in 35 women, and the peak moved towards the big toe (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc, 1999)
• Across heels of 1.9, 3.8 and 7.6 cm, the force on the forefoot while standing rose with each step up (Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1994)
• Women who wore high heels regularly had shorter calf muscle fibres, 49.6 against 56.0 mm, and stiffer Achilles tendons than women who did not (J Exp Biol, 2010)
• A lift raises the heel inside the shoe exactly as a heeled shoe raises it outside, so the same applies. The forefoot pressure comes with every wear; the calf and tendon changes were seen in women who wore heels at least five days a week for two years or more

Educational content, not medical advice. Nothing here is a recommendation to take or stop taking anything — talk to a doctor about your own situation.