An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.

At least one of the pair of shoes has a back portion of the shoe, cut from the collar of the back portion (the top of a shoe above the shoe-heel [the heel of the shoe]), and runs down the back of the shoe. The cut forms a slit running down the back portion of the shoe, forming a right-back portion and a left-back portion of the shoe. The right-side edge of the right-back portion and the left-side edge of the left-back portion are separable from the foot being inserted into the shoe. The right-side edge and the left-side edge return back to their positions when the foot is taken off or when the foot is fully inserted, not overlapping each other when the slit is not separated.

An article of footwear may include an upper configured to receive a foot of a wearer, the upper including one or more elastic portions and one or more substantially inelastic portions. The footwear may further include a plurality of lace receiving members fixedly attached to an outer surface of the upper on the inelastic portions of the upper. Also, the footwear may include a sole structure fixedly attached to the upper. In addition, the footwear may include a motorized tensioning system including a motorized tightening device and a tensile member extending through the plurality of lace receiving members, the tightening device being configured to apply tension in the tensile member to adjust the size of an internal void defined by the article of footwear by drawing two or more of the plurality of lace receiving members closer to one another.

An upper structure of an article of footwear includes an upper, a cuff member, and a strobel. The upper includes an exterior upper member and an interior upper member. The cuff member includes a first end coupled to the exterior upper member and a second end coupled to the interior upper member. The cuff member is folded over on itself at a fold to define an ankle opening. The strobel is coupled to the upper and cooperates with the upper to at least partially define a foot-receiving void.

Embodiments of footwear, in particular, a shoe, sandal or boot, that have the unexpected benefit of reducing the pressure on the plantar surface of the foot while also reducing metabolic demand of walking while also gait speed and improving walking, running, hiking, as well as jumping, hopping, and other motion involving the ankle, lower leg and Achilles tendon, through integration of force-carrying mechanisms within footwear that manage the forces and energy associated with such motion by productively harvesting and storing energy during dorsiflexion motion and releasing and returning energy during plantar flexion and limiting range of motion that conduce towards ankle inversion and eversion. Such footwear may comprise a yoke connected to footwear at a pivot region in parallel to the axis of rotation of the ankle and a tension spring region suspended between the yoke and the posterior portion of the footwear sidewalls or sole.

Embodiments of footwear, in particular, a shoe, sandal or boot, may reduce the effort and improve the performance of walking, running, hiking, as well as jumping, hopping, and other motion involving the ankle, lower leg and Achilles tendon, through integration of force-carrying mechanisms within footwear that manage the forces and energy associated with such motion by productively harvesting and storing energy during dorsiflexion motion and releasing and returning energy during plantar flexion and limiting range of motion that conduce towards ankle inversion and eversion. Such footwear may comprise a yoke connected to footwear at a pivot region in parallel to the axis of rotation of the ankle and a tension spring region suspended between the yoke and the heel counter.

A shoe upper body of a shoe has a stretchable portion made of a stretchable material. The stretchable portion forms a region of the shoe upper body including a portion corresponding to the center of each of the medial malleolus and the lateral malleolus of a foot of a wearer of the shoe and including a position of an ankle opening. The stretchable portion is configured so as to be deformed from a non-stretched state to a stretched state and elastically recover from the stretched state to the non-stretched state.

A shoe upper structure includes an inner upper having a foot-dorsum top portion that covers at least a dorsum top region of a foot of a shoe wearer, an outer upper having a heel portion that covers at least a heel region of the foot of the shoe wearer, and a stretchable portion that generates a tensional force to the foot-dorsum top portion of the inner upper toward a lower end of the heel portion of the outer upper when the shoe is worn by the shoe wearer.

The object is to improve fitting and supporting properties relative to the midfoot region of the foot of the wearer. The upper structure 2 for the shoe 1 includes a stretchable inner upper portion 20 that has a forefoot part F to cover the forefoot region of the foot of the shoe wearer and a midfoot part M to cover the midfoot region of the foot, and an outer upper portion 21 that is less stretchable than the inner upper portion 20 and that is disposed outside the inner upper portion 20 and overlapped with the inner upper portion 20. In the state of a free length that the inner upper portion 20 is extended without slackening via its own weight when the upper structure 2 is inverted upside down, the inner upper portion 20 has a clearance e relative to the outer upper portion 21 at least at the midfoot part M.

In a sole structure of a shoe, each of a first sole portion and a second sole portion is configured such that a first sole body and a second sole body come close to each other and are separated from each other at least in the foot length direction while maintaining a state in which a first connection portion and a second connection portion overlap each other in a vertical direction.