Sandals are disclosed herein. A sandal includes a sole assembly and a retention structure. The sole assembly is configured to transition between a flattened conformation and a raised conformation. The sole assembly has a forefoot region, a heel region, and a midfoot region. The sole assembly includes a foot bed configured to face the wearer's foot and an outsole extending underneath the foot bed and configured to contact a ground surface. In the flattened conformation, the sole assembly is at least substantially flat. In the raised conformation, the sole assembly is contoured to raise the heel region relative to the forefoot region. The sole assembly is biased toward the raised conformation, and includes a conformation bias element configured to bias the sole assembly toward the raised conformation.

It is desired to teach an open footwear article where the upper surface contacting the foot is partially combined with, or wholly comprised of, a substantially rigid material that has some degree of open porosity. The purpose of said rigid, porous material serves to immediately absorb perspiration and/or water from the feet. Subsequent drying of the porous, rigid material occurs when the sandal is not in use as water/perspiration are evaporated from within the pores. The porous, rigid material also effects a massaging action while walking. It is the intent of this invention to capture a preferred combination of these two embodiments.

The present disclosure describes a shoe that may be transformed from a high heel shoe to a low heel shoe. The shoe may include three parts: a removable stelo, a removable high heel attachment, and the corresponding attachment systems integrated into the base shoe sole. The removable high heel attachment may be a standard heel of any design, width and height that has a locking system comprising a threaded post located at the heel base. When the stelo and heel attachment are attached, the shoe may be a high heel shoe. When they are removed, the shoe may be a low heel shoe, or flat shoe.

The footwear includes a sole having three holes passing through the sole. A front channel, a first rear channel and a second rear channel are formed in an underside of the sole. The footwear also includes of a strap having a front plug, a first rear plug, and a second rear plug connected to the strap. Each of the three holes in the sole are aligned with respective channels to enable the three respective plugs to pass through each respective hole. The three plugs are releasably attached to the sole and configured to allow a user's foot to be located between the strap and the sole. Each respective plug is completely located within a respective channel such that each respective plug sits flush with the underside of the sole to secure the strap to the sole. The three channels and the three plugs are of complementary size and shape.

A valve assembly includes a rotating shaft 16 rotatably supported and having an internal passage 20 formed within the rotating shaft, first and second connecting portions 26 and 28 connected to both sides of the internal passage within the rotating shaft and adapted to externally send a fluid passing through the internal passage and to receive an external fluid, and a check ball 18 embedded in the internal passage and adapted to control a flow of the fluid. Furthermore, check ball seating portions 24a and 24b adapted to communicate with the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion and to have the check ball seated therein are formed on both insides of the internal passage 20. When the internal passage 20 is inclined by rotation of the rotating shaft 16, the check ball closely adheres to a check ball seating portion at a low position due to gravity or buoyancy and restricts a fluid flow from the internal passage to any one of the first and the second connecting portions.

The shoe herein, in the form of a sandal, uses a combination of a midsole of varying thickness and nodules of varying diameters and heights to provide the requisite level of flexibility, support, and stimulation to the various regions of the foot. The walking action of the user creates waves of pressure across the foot, enhanced by the nodules, thereby increasing blood flow. Gradients of pressure that generate variations in the laminar flow of the foot bed lead to better circulation and perfusion of the capillary foot bed of the foot transection irrigation, allowing for better circulation and venous return.

A modified footbed is provided for use in an open shoe for releasably retaining an orthotic. The modified footbed comprises: a sole, the sole including a toe end, a heel end, a heel region proximate the heel end, a sole margin and a heel sole margin; and a cover, the cover including a cover margin, a heel cover margin and a heel flap, the sole and the cover attached to one another along the cover margin and the sole margin to define a pocket for accepting an orthotic, the heel flap and the sole at the heel region including at least one mating pair on the heel sole margin and the heel cover margin. An open shoe with the modified footbed is also provided, as is a combination of the open shoe with the modified footbed and an orthotic.

An article of footwear configured for prolonged casual and non-casual uses having an upper configured for easy installation and removal of the article of footwear with or without the use of fasteners, a sole, and a substantially continuous series of alternating ribs and grooves on a footbed of the sole extending from a forefoot region to a heel region. The ribs and grooves have base widths that are greater in an arch region of the footbed than the forefoot and heel regions of the footbed. The series of alternating transverse ribs and grooves are oriented from a lateral side region of the footbed to a medial side region of the footbed.

An item of footwear for increasing leg-muscle and/or lower-abdominal-/back-muscle tone comprising: a strap arrangement for securing the item of footwear to a foot of a user; and a sole comprising at least an upper layer, for engaging a foot of a user in use or a further upper layer, and a lower layer, for engaging the ground in use, wherein the upper layer comprises two or more materials of different compressive resistances, or densities, arranged as a frontal/toe region, an arch region and a heel region, the sole is arranged such that application of a user's weight, during use, causes instability in at least one portion of the upper layer, which requires balance correction by a user.