Adjustable high heels hit fashion websites

Women are being offered the best of both worlds with shoes that transform from sensible work wear to a dramatic high heels at night.

An American firm is producing shoes with adjustable heels for busy working women – which go from a comfortable one-and-a-half inches to a stylish three-and-a-quarter inches within seconds.

The shoes can be bought in Britain over the internet. The shoe makers’ website, Camileon Heels, says the footwear is designed with "the professional working woman in mind".

The Italian-made shoes, which cost around £150 (€220), were created by brother-and-sister team Dr David and Lauren Handel, who used an industrial design team.

They were inspired by a New York taxi cab ride in which Dr Handel, a radiologist, spotted smartly dressed women walking to work in Manhattan wearing trainers.

At the time, his two young sons enjoyed playing with Transformer toys – robots which change into vehicles.

The company says wearers don’t even have to remove the shoes to adjust them.

The heel positions are locked into place. To change the “high heel” position, the wearer must push the lower part of the heel forward until it is under the arch of the shoe and is no longer visible.

The steps are reversed to restore the shoe back to its original position.

A steel rod through the length of the heel helps to prevent it from breaking.

Last year a hospital doctor warned of the dangers of high heels following a spate of admissions involving women toppling from their shoes.

Senior emergency unit expert Dr Rupert Evans said he had seen an increase in the number of women being admitted to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, with injuries caused by the fashionable footwear.

Injuries varied from a sprain to broken bones, dislocated ankles – and in some cases permanent damage.