Aris Allen is known for making vintage style swing dance shoes and reproduction models that are more authentic equipment for dancing swing than ordinary ballroom shoes are. Their philosophy being that your dancing will look more authentic if you wear the same style of shoes the inventors of the dance were wearing. The heel is approximately 1 7/8" and the base of the heel is wide enough to keep you stable. Most women know which two sizes they fit best (like 6.5 & 7 or 8.5 & 9). To figure out which size you"ll fit in these: Narrow to Normal width = you"ll probably wear the smaller of the two sizes you usually fit. Wide feet = you"ll probably fit your normal size or one half size larger than the two sizes you usually fit. Because the shoelaces are fairly high on the vamp and because of the shape of the toe they don"t work very well with wide feet.