• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
I don't have anything against staging a pair of shoes especially for my own or for educational purposes.

The only reason those shoes are positioned as they are is to simultaneously show the shoes from above and below. There is nothing suggesting the shoes are anything but what you see.

And I think it is misleading and a little insulting to intimate otherwise.

But yes, I am aware of 'stylistic effects" whether they be just to put your best foot forward or to deceive. Anyone who makes things wants to do the best he can, show to best effect. And anyone who makes things in this world knows how many ways there are to deceive and to manage expectations even if delivering on those expectations is, as you suggest, another enterprise.
 
Last edited:

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
27,320
Reaction score
69,979
I don't have anything against staging a pair of shoes especially for my own or for educational purposes.

The only reason those shoes are positioned as they are is to simultaneously shoe the shoe form above and below. There is nothing suggesting the shoes are anything but what you see.

And I think it is misleading and a little insulting to intimate otherwise.

I think you're reading too much into this. I don't think they're doing anything besides staging a photo. They're not trying to eliminate toe spring. Otherwise, why would they manufacture shoes with a toe spring? Nor are they trying to hide the toe spring. The photographer is simply angling the shoes downward because it makes the object look more stylish, not unlike how you pose shoes when you take photos of them.

When you browse their Instagram, nearly all the shoes are angled downward at different degrees. It just gives the object some dynamism. The ones posted early just happened to be angled at a slightly lesser degree, but the intention is the same.


Screen Shot 2020-09-14 at 8.24.17 PM.png


Screen Shot 2020-09-14 at 8.24.25 PM.png

117064295_1350107505192640_838193855367040148_n.jpg

117303185_324957755300431_7848377223736823560_n.jpg

117439003_332169211247936_1313771972459108719_n.jpg

118130440_850388092032562_6806741974327110281_n.jpg

118690909_3686174891402400_2623878586722080572_n.jpg

118727195_176454327270345_8727834314767252851_n.jpg




Yours are set up to do the same:

24125624_1562238120535287_2434728161653555200_n.jpg
 

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
I think you're reading too much into this. I don't think they're doing anything besides staging a photo. They're not trying to eliminate toe spring. Otherwise, why would they manufacture shoes with a toe spring? Nor are they trying to hide the toe spring. The photographer is simply angling the shoes downward because it makes the object look more stylish, not unlike how you pose shoes when you take photos of them.

When you browse their Instagram, nearly all the shoes are angled downward at different degrees. It just gives the object some dynamism. The ones posted early just happened to be angled at a slightly lesser degree, but the intention is the same.

Well, maybe you're right but the question was:

Honestly, why do they do that?

I get that TOO much toe spring is clown shoe–like – but a healthy amount is both necessary and not at all unattractive. Why make it seem like the soles sit flat on the floor?

in response to:

I love the floating heel photos they all do to make it look like there’s no toe spring

Seems to me it's a whole 'nuther issue.
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
27,320
Reaction score
69,979
Well, maybe you're right but the question was:

in response to:

Seems to me it's a whole 'nuther issue.

I don't think it's done to eliminate the toe spring. It's done just to make the object in the photo look stylish. The Armoury does it, as well

c@2x.jpg


beautiful-cap-toe-brogue-in-brown-by-carmina-580x870.jpg



And then Skoaktiebolaget.

da4017e7a29bb073423f8d6e6737467b.jpg

e35a4e8699edbc7ac5c785ab7e053604.jpg




Gaziano & Girling


100997455_596857401183373_2766395342086464258_n.jpg




Lifting up your heel is also a common pose in women's fashion/ selfies.


DSC_4691-1440x2158.jpg

c0c4f35d46a18cc4f71fdc9c4f2f125d (1).jpg

ec6f4eab471ef8a3f18962460d2619dc.jpg



Men do it too!

15-Most-Popular-Poses-For-Male-Instagram-Models.jpg


Popular-Contrapposto-Or-Counterpose.jpg
 

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
I don't think it's done to eliminate the toe spring. It's done just to make the object in the photo look stylish.

Because...despite good reasons it, no toe spring is perceived as .... (come on you can do it.)
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
27,320
Reaction score
69,979
Because...despite good reasons it, no toe spring is perceived as .... (come on you can do it.)

Half the photos I posted show shoes angled at about 45 degrees. I don't know what kind of toe spring that would be. Negative toe spring?

106414613_4245658048939331_451629492403107511_n.jpg



Maybe a heel spring?

Mens-Freestyle-Pose.jpg



Can it be no toe spring if the shoes are angled but not even on the ground?

82026047_2981692375280841_7157330757226742054_n.jpg
 

acapaca

Distinguished Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
1,072
Reaction score
1,174
Maybe on some of those close product shots it also helps to minimize some shadows.

@DWFII , for the life of me I cannot seem to find some good learning material online about 'fair curves'. Any recommendations on where I could read up on the subject?
 

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
Half the photos I posted show shoes angled at about 45 degrees.

You can photo-bomb the thread till Gabriel's trumpet blows and it won't change the fact that such posing is designed...deliberately...to present the shoe in a manner that it is not normally seen in and/or where it cannot be evaluated in any significant relation to reality.

If a shoe is photographed sitting on a shelf, as lasted, we see the actual toe spring; we see if there is any heel spring; we can see if the shoe is sitting properly at the treadline; and we can see the actual heel height and if the heel seat is straight and parallel to the ground.

The human eye/mind looks for points of reference--it's just the way we are built. Set a slightly warped staff next to a straight point of reference--a door frame, the corner of a building, etc.--and we immediately see the warp that was not noticeable beforehand.

All that is obscured by photographing a shoe at any angle that detaches it from the context it is associated with...the context that informs its existence--the ground. And it's intentional.

In a very real sense, it is deception...as innocent and harmless as it may (or may not) be.

You're right--it's just for stylishness. But stylishness is, in and of itself, a deception--a distraction for the eye; a deflection of criticism.

A magpie is, and person can be, so enamoured of the flash of the gum wrapper that they completely ignore/dismiss the contents. That's the secret of all advertising.
 
Last edited:

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
@DWFII , for the life of me I cannot seem to find some good learning material online about 'fair curves'. Any recommendations on where I could read up on the subject?

Well, sad to say, I don't know what to tell you. I know that it is a commonly understood concept in nautical and aeronautical engineering. You can do a 'Bing' search and find definitions and explanations, but as for a longer treatise, you may need to narrow your inquiries to the field.

For me the simple definition of:
Curves which are smooth without sharp changes in direction over any portion of their length

was enough to make the point to my students or to people who had never really considered how important a fair curve is to what humans generally regard as beauty, and in the life of any diligent maker of anything.

The only further reading I might suggest (I didn't dig too deep into it myself) is here. No guarantees that it will answer.

Interestingly enough...and something I just found out myself--the concept of fair curves goes back to the 18th century.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:

DWFII

Bespoke Boot and Shoemaker
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
10,132
Reaction score
5,714
I don’t claim to know anything about fair curves, but I think the reading I did on things like the Fibonacci sequence has informed my understanding and appreciation for aesthetics
I am vaguely familiar with Fionacci sequences but never did explore them in any depth. That said, I'm sure your reading could and did help.

Perhaps more for myself than anyone else, here's a layman's explanation:

Any decent set of French curves is comprised of fair curves.

A bicycle tyre is the ultimate fair curve. Any perfect circle is. Any deviation from the perfect circle compromises the fair curve. A sidewall blowout on the tyre affects not just the aesthetic perfection of the tyre but the functionality as well.

In shipbuilding or in aeronautics any deviation in the fair curve of the hull or the surface of the wing compromises air or water flow. Compromises aero or hydro dynamics. Introduces drag.

I got interested in the concept of fair curves as an offshoot of the exposure I had to vector analysis (high school level stuff, and a long time ago). A vector is an expression of direction and velocity (in part) and can often be represented as an arrow.

Fundamentally, (as I'm sure you know) a line is just a series of points. A curved line is a bending series of points.

If we superimpose a straight line on any segment of a curve and extend it such that it leaves the curve...no matter how small the deviation...and the curve is redrawn to reconnect with the endpoint of that straight line, it creates a break in the flow, an abrupt change in the vector.

Sometimes when we examine a curve, such as the flow of the lines of a last as they transition into the lines of the toe stiffener, we can see slight (hopefully) deviation from those lines. Rounded corners, bumps, humps and sacks of potatoes. Not fair curves, IOW. Not even pretty if we allow ourselves to notice.

Coincidentally(?) vector drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape or CorelDraw...even CAD programs....all depict curved lines as a series of 'nodes'. Some are 'cusps' (to use CorelDraw nomenclature), some are 'smooth', and some are 'symmetrical'. These nodes control the placement, magnitude, velocity, and direction of adjacent nodes. If a curve is comprised of cusps it will never be a fair curve. If it is comprised of smooth nodes it might be. If it is comprised symmetrical nodes it is almost certain to be a fair curve.

I can draw a perfect fibronacci spiral using smooth or symmetrical nodes.

Maybe not so helpful an explanation but just making the attempt helps me to better understand it, myownself.
 
Last edited:

Manuel

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2016
Messages
303
Reaction score
498
We are studying in programming " the fibonacci numerical sequence" it is very interesting ... how small the world is and how many coincidences.......:-D
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
27,320
Reaction score
69,979
If we superimpose a straight line on any segment of a curve and extend it such that it leaves the curve...no matter how small the deviation...and the curve is redrawn to reconnect with the endpoint of that straight line, it creates a break in the flow, an abrupt change in the vector.

Sometimes when we examine a curve, such as the flow of the lines of a last as they transition into the lines of the toe stiffener, we can see slight (hopefully) deviation from those lines. Rounded corners, bumps, humps and sacks of potatoes. Not fair curves, IOW. Not even pretty if we allow ourselves to notice.

Coincidentally(?) vector drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape or CorelDraw...even CAD programs....all depict curved lines as a series of 'nodes'. Some are 'cusps' (to use CorelDraw nomenclature), some are 'smooth', and some are 'symmetrical'. These nodes control the placement, magnitude, velocity, and direction of adjacent nodes. If a curve is comprised of cusps it will never be a fair curve. If it is comprised of smooth nodes it might be. If it is comprised symmetrical nodes it is almost certain to be a fair curve.

I can draw a perfect fibronacci spiral using smooth or symmetrical nodes.

Maybe not so helpful an explanation but just making the attempt helps me to better understand it, myownself.

^ I believe this is called a tangent


TangentRadiusPic.png
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 35.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 60 38.7%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 17 11.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 27 17.4%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 28 18.1%

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
505,180
Messages
10,579,207
Members
223,890
Latest member
alitamartin07
Top