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 article of footwear includes a decoupled foot stabilizer system. The foot stabilizer system is decoupled from a midfoot region of the article of footwear. The foot stabilizer system includes a plurality of strap members. The foot stabilizer system may optionally include a bootie. The plurality of strap members extend underneath a portion of a foot of a wearer. The plurality of strap members are configured to receive a lace at one end. A lace running through the ends of the strap members pulls on the strap members when the lace is tightened and causes the foot stabilizer system to conform to the wearer's foot.

An upper structure for a shoe improves foot fit and hold of an upper at the time of turn motion. In an upper 2 that covers a foot of a shoe wearer, an expandable part 20 is provided at a midfoot region M that corresponds to a midfoot portion of the foot, and a non-expandable part 21 is provided at a lateral side region and a medial side region except for the midfoot region M. A boundary portion 22 between the expandable part 20 and the non-expandable part 21 has a substantially flat or flush surface. At the boundary portion 22, respective end portions 20E, 21E of the expandable part 20 and the non-expandable part 21 are sewn together such that a seam does not appear on the boundary surface. The shoe may further include an outsole having at least one groove in a particular triangular region on a bottom surface of the outsole.

An article of footwear includes a heel cup that is attached to the upper and extends from the sole structure to at least a portion of the rear heel collar of the upper. The heel cup may be uniformly molded with an upper portion, midportion, and lower portion and the upper portion has a smaller mediolateral length than the midportion, and the midportion and lower portion form a concave structure that receives the heel. The upper portion has a first configuration and is capable of distorting into a second configuration under a load of a user's foot when the user is donning the footwear. In the second configuration, at least part of the upper portion is lowered and is capable of returning to the first configuration after the load of the user's foot is removed. The midportion includes a peripheral portion that may be thicker than a central portion.

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.

A shoe comprising an inner lining, upper portion, and optionally a heel counter in between the inner lining and upper portion. A cutout is positioned at the heel of the shoe, that cuts out the inner lining, upper portion, and heel counter where the shoe's heel comes into contact with the top of the calcaneus bone and above. The empty space from the cutout is replaced with a heel cutout filler that has some degree of stretchiness. The inner lining, upper portion, and heel cutout filler are stitched together to form the heel of the shoe.

The invention is a high heel shoe with an upper that will provide comfort and flexibility for the wearer. In a preferred embodiment the upper consists of two at least two materials: 1) a firm fabric, such as leather, that will hold the shape of the design and have limited flexibility; 2) a flat knitted elastic, such as knit elastic, which will not narrow, or not narrow significantly, when stretched. In addition, the firm fabric is configured to have a flex-point and in a preferred embodiment is formed of two pieces of the firm material having a split between them providing the desired flex-point.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a flexible, form-fitting, slide-type sandal, which includes a footbed and a strap affixed to the footbed on two sides. The strap comprises an underlay that spans the width of the footbed, as well as lateral and medial overlays with an expansion joint therebetween. The expansion joint between the lateral and medial overlays allows the underlay to flex and provide a better fit for the wearer.

A shoe includes a sole and an upper having a heel counter with a heel cup. The upper includes a foot receiving shoe opening. The heel cup is uniformly molded with an upper portion, midportion, and lower portion. On a vertical cross-section, the heel cup has a S wave shape and a thickness of the heel cup decreases gradually from a peripheral portion of the heel cup toward a central region of the heel cup. The heel cup is attached to an interior compressible layer, and the compressible layer extends into the shoe opening. The compressible layer may be compressed by a user's foot during insertion or removal of the user's foot, and may at least partially expand to hold an ankle of the user's foot once the foot is inserted.

A shoe has an upper with a foot receiving shoe opening. A heel counter is located at a rear portion of the upper and includes a rigid heel cup. The heel cup has a lower portion, a midportion, and an upper portion having a curvature extending from a top edge of the heel cup and that is curved downward towards the shoe opening. On a vertical cross-section, the heel cup has a S wave shape. A compressible layer is located along an inner wall of the heel cup and is configured to curve around a portion of a user's ankle above the user's heel once donned. The compressible layer may be compressed during donning of the shoe and may at least partially expand to secure the foot within the shoe once donned.