Top 25 Weird Shoes of the Internet

I enjoy lapidary (gemstone polishing and faceting), reading, writing, crochet, beading, home decorating, jewellery making and upcycling.

One day, while working for a shoe shop, I hopped on the net and Googled “weird shoes”, out of curiosity. What eventuated under the images tab was a collection of some of the strangest footwear I have ever seen.

There weren’t many articles on the net that showcased weird shoes, so I decided to write one and show off the weirdest shoes on the internet so you can appreciate their weirdness as much as I do.

Please note that being Australian, I often refer to "flip flops" as "thongs" in the text. Do not misconstrue as confusion on this often offends!

1. Disco Goldfish Platforms

Obviously a leftover souvenir from the 1970s and bad disco, goldfish platforms were quite a stunning novelty, elevating the wearer to heights of unheard-of geekdom. Made with an acrylic heel, the goldfish could be real or fake, though I seriously doubt that any real goldfish would have lived through more than one night of disco dancing. If the dancing didn’t kill them, the lack of oxygen and acidic bacterial buildup would have. These were the must-have shoes to say, “Look at me, I can kill fish with one kick of my heel!”

Luckily, we live in more humane times and the goldfish now being sold in disco platforms are plastic replicas that only require distilled water to survive.

Verdict: Wear these if you want attention.

2. Circuit Board Sneakers

Gabriel Dishaw’s upcycled Nike shoes are a big hit with any man who fixes computers for a living. Just check out and drool over sneakers with names such as “The Frankenstein Terminator” or “Nike Free Time Y2K” or even “Junk Dunk”. It’s enough to make you want to get into the business yourself, naming upcycled sneakers to make them pump even harder. Apparently they weigh quite a lot, due to the components contained therein.

Verdict: For the IT man in your life.

3. The Gum Stuck To The High Heel

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of this experience, the Gum Stuck To The High Heel shoe will capture it for all time. If I owned these, I would think of stepping in gum every time I stepped out. And the worst part is that it wouldn’t be my gum I’d be stepping in!

Whoever dreamed up this shoe was a genius or an idiot savant, but they were all the rage a few years ago and featured in many magazines showing off something new in the fashion world (it has been a long time since there was something new in the fashion world). Certainly, the gum heels would be talking point at parties and would horrify the host—make sure you wear them on the carpet for best effect.

Verdict: Pick someone you hate. Walk around their house in these shoes.

4. Sandwich Thongs (Or Sandwich Flip Flops)

An idea I’ve seen around the last few years is the Sandwich Thong/Flip Flop. With a corked base reminiscent of the bread in a sandwich, I think these shoes would feature heavily at BBQs and outdoor picnics. Unlike a McDonalds hamburger, which promises a giant burger and delivers a small pattied bun, the Sandwich Thong/Flip Flops deliver a monstrous salad, meat and cheese sandwich that guarantee to cushion your feet but not your waistline.

I do wonder how people would react to a food shoe like this after they were worn for awhile though. Would they get hungry for a hamburger, then almost vomit over the smell of sweaty feet and tinea?

Verdict: Not edible in any way, whatsoever.

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5. The Cacti Heel

For some reason, after spending $400 on a pair of heels they can’t wear, women feel the urge to save the shoes. The Cacti Heel is about rescuing and upcycling shoes which have no real purpose, except to remind the owners of the pain inflicted when wearing them. It’s possible that in a previous life, the owners were dominatrixes who wanted to take over the world, and instead in this life, resorted to scaring other people with the pointy bits. Either way, whether you’re a Cacti Submissive Heel or a Cacti Dominant Heel you can get your kicks out of having one of these on your windowsill!

Verdict: The shoe to aspire to when you want pain.

6. Unisex Skyscraper Boots

You haven’t lived until you’ve put on a pair of these and towered four feet above everyone else. Described as “fantastic fetish footwear”, I’d be inclined to redescribe them as “Giant Ugly Bouncer Boots”. Springs are in the foam heels where the “lights” of the skyscraper reside and you can turn these on by bouncing people out of the nightclub when their shoes aren’t as cool as yours. I’ve no idea why dwarves would want to wear these boots but I don’t want to find out what weapons they hold either.

Verdict: Boots to get a serious job with, if you are not up to height requirements.

7. The LED Lightup Tokyo Toy Sneakers

Looking like something out of Tokyo nightlife, the LED Lightup Toy Sneakers are for seriously freaky ecstasy fans only. Fall in love with your city of choice and enjoy the control person at the helm of your heel. Not only can you get to walk like King Kong all over the “buildings”, but you can also run a bullet train or plane down the lighted tongue runway. There’s only one problem with these sneakers and that is that whoever sees them first will probably want to steal them, also in the city of your choice. And maybe some add some extra figurines in the side grandstands. With moustaches.

Verdict: Wear these shoes to be robbed of your shoes. Or wear them to dance like King Kong all night.

8. Shopping Trolley Platforms

If you’re a non-car type of person, then these shoes are for you. Do the shopping and store some of it in a shopping-trolley lookalike that you can wear home! Get fit by avoiding cars and also lifting heavy items with your feet! No one’s going to steal your shopping when your trolley smells like overloaded sweaty feet and you’ll be able to get the camembert up to temperature on the way home, adding to the inbuilt theft protection system.

Verdict: Wear these everywhere if you want calves like Xena.

9. Fake Turf Thongs/Flip Flops

These shoes are actually a fantastic idea. Not only do you get to spend untold amounts of money feeling like you are walking on grass, you can actually avoid walking on grass while doing so. Ideally used for such scenarios as going to the beach and walking on the road, you’ll find that dog poo will not harm your feet, and neither will slugs and snails, since the grass is fake. Beware of making these with cheap fake grass though—it just won’t feel the same and maybe kids might mistake your feet for slabs of meat in a butcher’s shop.

Verdict: Get close to nature without any natural materials, whatsoever.

10. The Alligator Sneaker

Designed to make you feel tougher than you really are, the Alligator Sneakers are a great way to recycle sneakers that would normally be thrown away. There’s so much bacterial mould and sweat in these babies that they split open, hence the addition of teeth. The artistic thing is, the eyelets look like eyes on the alligator, adding to the “look”. Be the trendiest bogan in the swamps!

Verdict: For people who like to burn, cut, maim, hunt and otherwise be feral.

11. The Sexy Tongue Shoes

If you feel like having an orgasm putting your shoes on, then these are the shoes worth pursuing. Let the red heel tongue lick your foot underside with hot abandon, while the open lipsticked shoe mouth devours your arches with pleasurable attention. The creator describes these shoes as shoes to “let your feel do the talking”, but I’d be highly inclined to sell them to Hannibal Lector types as prototypes for those moments when your feet just can’t say no.

Verdict: If you get sexually excited by dead flesh, shoes or you’re just not getting enough romance from your partner, these are the shoes to make it happen fast.

12. The Spider Web Heel

If you’re a black widow type of female, then this shoe will help you ensnare even more helpless men. Watch them fall like flies as you start up a conversation about your fabulous heels and show them how fabulously fleshy your feet look in them. While not as comfortable to wear as spiderwebs, the general idea is the same. Once they are gone, you simply rebuild again using the bones of your previous conquest to attract more idiots. All that’s missing is a remote controlled heel knife to cut the heel tendons of an ignorant alpha male in the meat market.

Verdict: For females who like attention-seeking games before killing their admirers.

13. The Frippery Ladies Shoe

Give yourself a massive boost at your local polymer clay show with these magnificent beauties! Not only do they take thousands of hours to make, but they also showcase your complete lack of knowledge about fashion and fashion trends. Revel in the old-fashioned history of your new-fashioned crafted masterpiece! Adding a lacy off-colour edging around the foot hole seems to be a prerequisite to join the ranks of the worthy in terms of glue guns and mysterious porcelain offcuts upcycled into an interesting background.

Verdict: Wear or display these to win first prize at any Royal Show or fairground craft exhibition.

14. The Aliens Heel

If you feel like bathing your feet in acid at any point, consider buying these shoes and save yourself the hassle. Not only do you get to join with the original Alien as one being, you might attract some Sigourney Weavers to spit at while you’re waiting for Alien Man. Created with tendrils of god-knows-what and clear plastic straps reminiscent of hospital blood transfer tubes, you’d be shouting to the world about the strong-but-bitter woman you are—especially if you can lift your legs when you catwalk these beauties.

Verdict: Put these on when you have ended a relationship or have PMS. You’ll feel better.

15. Scottish Clan Shopping Pram Heels

Just in case you thought Scottish people were cool, these will remind you that the complete opposite can be true. Wear these shoes to your nearest fish market and revel in the ability to rollerskate while buying fish or meat. Not only will they match your trendoid shopping pram, but you might receive offers of cents to remove them and throw them in the bin. Don’t do it. Fish market shoes are fish market shoes and deserve to be worn to the fish market, where you will be reminded of octopus suckers wherever you go.

Verdict: You have to be a hard core fish market person to wear these.

16. Man Fish Thongs/Flip Flops

The equivalent of the women’s Scottish Clan Shopping Pram Heels, these fish thongs/flip flops are the ultimate in fishy squishiness. Slip and slosh your way through fish guts after your woman buys the fish at the market. Not only are they realistic looking, but you’ll be able to scent them realistically when they are used for their intended purpose.

Verdict: For men who love seafood and fish entrails (preferably in the same sitting).

17. Banana Slippers

Literally designed just like banana peels, you’ll slip and slide your way to the couch in these inventive creations. Worn best with pyjamas, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how comfortable they are, except for on wooden floorboards. Add a banana scent to make you aware of them at every moment. Add a rotten orange to remind you that you are wearing fake fruit on your feet and it is rather embarrassing and geeky.

Verdict: For the couch clown around the house.

18. Aztec Bone Sacrifice Platforms

Ever wanted to feel like you’re on top of the heap? These platforms are inspired by the ancient and bloodthirsty Aztecs who sacrificed virgins, slaves and anyone who wasn’t as good as they were to the Sun God. Stare moodily across miserable vistas of human slavery from the heights of your Aztec platforms. Slit anyone’s throat with your razor sharp heels. Just don’t forget to put in the hamster wheel for next year’s fashion, or maybe next year’s fashion is a dead hamster?

Verdict: For high priestesses and princesses who need to show people who’s boss.

19. Spider Platforms

As if Disco Goldfish Platforms weren’t cruel enough to animals, some inspired soul went on to create the Spider Platforms. Adored by arachnid lovers everywhere, these shoes showcase your hairy pet well and even allow you to put in some food in case the hairy bugger survives its first walk down the street. Don’t worry, you’ll attract lots of attention—from swooping magpies to stray cats and other hungry creatures who want to play with or eat the spiders.

Verdict: Wear to the zoo for some real action!

20. Flipper Heels

Next time you feel like going to a party, throw on a wetsuit and a pair of these heels for a real fashion goof! For that ultra-realistic look, make sure you comb your wet hair back with your fingers and steam up a pair of goggles for good effect. It is easy to tell who you should date when you wear the Flipper Heels—it’s the sexy, funny one in the dolphin costume, with a backup choice of a rum-drinking 45 year old pirate in the corner.

Verdict: The shoe of choice for marine biologists.

21. Gumboot Fence Planters

Show the world how smart you really are and add some mud to your gumboots when you have finished with them. Then add some seedlings and see if they want to grow in your sweaty gumboots from seasons past. You might need to pierce a hole in the bottom of them to make sure the poor plant can breathe, but if you nail the boots to a fence anyway, chances are sunstroke will kill off the baby plants pretty effectively.

Verdict: These boots work well with colourful children’s boots because black adult boots on a fence would look plain stupid.

22. Lego Heels

Perfect for Lego conventions, children’s Lego mess piles and LAN parties, these Lego Heels are easy to make at home with a glue gun, preferably when the kids can’t see what you are doing to their Lego collection. Potential suggestions for additional clout include adding Lego people to the heels, or creating different themes like City, Friends, Harry Potter, Castle, Duplo or Minecraft. Don’t forget to put them away when you’ve finished wearing them. They hurt to step on…

Verdict: Strictly for Lego addicts.

23. The 50 Shades of Pain Shoes

They look painful. They feel painful. Overall, it makes sense to conclude that these shoes were built for women by men who enjoy pain. Looking like a cross between an anime/Bjork/Ikea nightmare, you’ll find nasty men salivating around every corner while wearing these babies. And if you don’t feel the pain after a torturous meander round the block, you can always try adding a venomous spider or a goldfish to check they are working properly.

Verdict: Read the book, then wear the shoes!

24. Crotchet Grandma-Type Thong/Flip Flog Leg Warmer Things

Made by the people who make things even your grandmother wouldn’t wear, these leg warmer thongs/flip flops don’t make much sense at all. Take a pair of shoes you want your feet to be cool in, and warm them up with crotcheted doilies so you can be hot anyway. At least they match the bag pictured, which seems to be the overall objective.

Verdict: Wear these to church. If anyone wants to be friends, they will be your friends forever!

25. The Architectural Heel

From the mind of a suffering fashion designer comes the Architectural Heel, designed to eliminate all expenses in shoe production completely. Bangladesh factory workers will just have to work less hours and pump them out faster for their meagre salaries, as this shoe is set to revolutionize shoe making as we know it. The forefather (or foremother) of many shoes to come, including the Origami Paper Shoe, the Shoe Base Shoe and the Invisible Shoe, the Architectural Heel is a magnificent stroke of minimalist sunstroke available at your local retail store.

Verdict: You might as well save your money and wear no shoes at all.

So there you have my list of the top 25 weirdest shoes on the internet in all their magnificent, shameless and ultimately bizarre glory. If you'd like to see a second installment of this collection, please leave a comment.

If you enjoyed this article, support my starving shoe collection and vote for my words below!

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© 2013 Suzanne Day

Comments

Julie glandon on May 10, 2019:

Crazy but cool

Missy from The Midwest on November 13, 2015:

These are definitely the weirdest shoes I've ever seen.

viryabo from Lagos, Nigeria. on July 22, 2015:

Wow! Who would have thought people could wear some of these shoes!

The Gum Stuck shoe and those Skyscraper boots . . . OMG

LOL!! I remember i had something similar to the Banana slippers.

I kind of like the Architectural heel though. I can wear one of those.

hubsy on July 22, 2015:

This is so awesome! Love this article, very unique. Great idea! The "The 50 Shades Of Pain Shoe" was astonishing! I am a dancer so I would like to get it because it would help make my foot more flexible, but, it does truly look like it hurts.

Shannon Henry from Texas on April 21, 2015:

This is great! The commentary too. I'm sure there are enough outbthere to do multiple sequels. Have you seen those chicken feet heels?

Karen Silverman on April 21, 2015:

Hi Suzanne!

Shannon Henry sent me over here, knowing how much i adore shoes. Loved the article, loved the array of wild and crazy shoes. I've seen many of them already - I have a fb shoe group.

Feel free to check it out. It's called So Shoe Us...

I have a feeling you'll be right at home.

Now..i must go steal some of those photos...

lolxx

poetryman6969 on April 21, 2015:

At first I was thinking: Funny joke on a friend. But as the hits kept on coming I thought: Mean prank for an adversary!

Voted up.

Patricia Scott from North Central Florida on April 21, 2015:

Ok then...all I can say it

'what were they thinking?' and WHO wears these?

Loved the photos.

Pinning sharing voting up and facebook

angels are on the way to you today ps

Georgina Crawford from Dartmoor on March 08, 2015:

Love it. What a giggle!

Anya Brodech from 130 Linden St, Oakland, California, 94607 on October 08, 2014:

These are just for fun

Lizolivia from Central USA on May 29, 2014:

Interesting and a nice selection of very weird shoes, in deed.

Devika Primić from Dubrovnik, Croatia on February 22, 2014:

Nice photos and these shoes are wacky

Victoria Lynn from Arkansas, USA on December 10, 2013:

What great pics! Unbelievable! When I was younger, I remember flip flops being called thongs until thong panties became popular.

Enjoyed the hub!

Susan from India on November 27, 2013:

It seems you did a lot of research on it. Great hub. I enjoyed reading it.

CraftytotheCore on November 22, 2013:

Wow that's interesting! I used to take my children's old boots and hang them in trees stuffed with nesting items for birds such as hay, old leaves, lint from the dryer, etc. Birds would pick out of the boots and make nests in the area trees. The kids got a kick out of it! LOL

Agnes on November 21, 2013:

Interesting and funny. I can't believe some of those. You did your research, girl :-)

Deya Writes on November 07, 2013:

...Those poor fishies! They must be in for the worst water ride of their lives

ologsinquito from USA on November 07, 2013:

I love your selections. Thanks for writing such an interesting article.

vibesites from United States on November 07, 2013:

The cacti heels are interesting and funny. If someone harasses you, you can kick his groin with such shoes. Double pain for such jerks. lol

John Hansen from Gondwana Land on November 07, 2013:

I can't believe I enjoyed an article on shoes. I absolutely hate shoe shopping with my wife. However I found this article so unique, funny and totally enjoyable. Great to see another Aussie writer that know's a thong from a g-string...lol. Can't wait to read more of your hubs. Voted up.

Frank Atanacio from Shelton on November 07, 2013:

weird shoes but an entertaining hub none the less :)

FlourishAnyway from USA on November 06, 2013:

Great hub which had me laughing. I like your writing style, and some of these could make for some very interesting conversation when I go to the grocery store. Hmmm. I'm not even sure which I like best. Voted up and more, plus sharing and pinning. Wacky!

Kristy Callan from Australia on November 06, 2013:

Those circuit board sneakers look SO uncomfortable!! And that architectural heel?! I don't even understand how that would work.

I truly have no idea how people even manage to come up with designs like those.

I loved reading this article... such weird pictures and it was hilarious reading your tongue in cheek style. I would definitely be interested in part two!

I actually found the gumboots with plants idea really cute.

Suzanne Day (author) from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on November 05, 2013:

Thanks! I tried to make it amusing and a sort of parody of a sales hub for shoes ;)

suk91 from Chennai, India on November 05, 2013:

A very unique article!