A low, slender shoe heel.
A kitten heel is slender, like a stiletto, but low. The V&A describes a pair of Jimmy Choo Couture sling-backs from 1996 as having “kitten” heels, and the designer’s shoes as having tapering heels; it also holds Rayne slingbacks with kitten heels from the 1960s. Christian Louboutin sets its Miss Z Sling Back pump on a 60 mm kitten heel, half the 120 mm stiletto heel of its So Kate pump.
Height does not separate a kitten heel from a low block heel; shape does. The kitten heel tapers to a narrow tip, while a block heel stays broad where it meets the ground, even when it narrows a little, as on the gently tapered 85 mm block heel of Louboutin’s Miss Jane sandal.
In job listings
Kitten heel is a product term and rarely a title word. It belongs to women’s footwear roles: product development, merchandising for a women’s footwear category, and selling women’s shoes, where listings ask for deep product knowledge. See current women’s footwear roles.
