Women's shoes with lift-off top showcase for interchangeable designer inserts

Abstract

Women's shoes with a lift-off top showcase for interchangeable designer inserts, where the showcase is attached to a strip which is disposed directly above and is longitudinally aligned along a center of a sole of said shoe, and where an upper end of said strip is attached at a first attachment point on a strap which encircles an upper portion of a woman's ankle, and a lower end of said strip is attached at a second attachment point at a forefoot retaining band located at a forefoot portion of the shoe.

1 .- 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A woman's shoe comprising:
 an interchangeable fashion design insert, wherein said insert is present within a showcase member,   wherein a strip, which comprises said showcase member when a woman is wearing the shoe, is attached at an upper end to a first attachment point where at least one strap is adapted to encircle an upper portion of a woman's ankle, and said strip is attached at a lower end to a second attachment point at a forefoot retaining band located at a forefoot portion of said shoe,   wherein said strip extends from said first attachment point to said second attachment point in a manner such that said strip interconnects and is suspended between said first attachment point and said second attachment point, so that said strip comprising said showcase member is disposed directly above and is longitudinally aligned along a center of a sole of said shoe,   wherein said interchangeable fashion design insert is stabilized and maintained in a given position within said showcase member due to frictional and gravitational forces when said woman walks in said shoe; and   wherein an upper, top portion of said showcase member is attachable to an upward facing surface of said strip,   wherein said top portion of said showcase member is attached to said upward facing surface of said strip by a plurality of fasteners, where a first mating portion of said fasteners is present on said top portion of said showcase member and a second mating portion of said fasteners is present on said strip,   and wherein said top portion of said showcase member includes a transparent plastic sheet material through which said interchangeable fashion insert is visible.   
     
     
         19 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 18 , wherein said fasteners comprise male or female stud snap ons positioned around edges of said top portion of said showcase member with mating female or male stud snap ons positioned around the edges of said strip. 
     
     
         20 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein said male stud snap ons are positioned around edges of said least a portion of said showcase member. 
     
     
         21 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 18 , wherein a framing layer of material is used in combination with said transparent sheet material, to frame a fashion insert which is placed within said showcase, and to stabilize said fasteners positioned around said edges of said layer of transparent plastic sheet material. 
     
     
         22 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 18 , wherein at least one additional sparsely placed narrow strap in the form of an inset strap is present in an instep area of said show and also attached to said strip comprising said showcase member, thereby further stabilizing said showcase member. 
     
     
         23 . A woman's show in accordance with  claim 21 , where said fashion design insert is sufficiently rigid that it is easily placed within an area outlined by said male or female fasteners. 
     
     
         24 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 21 , wherein said top portion of said showcase member includes said transparent sheet of plastic material framed with a layer of stabilizing material, and said upper surface of said strip forms a backside of said showcase member when said top portion of said showcase member is fastened in place against said strip. 
     
     
         25 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 23 , wherein said stabilizing layer of material which is framing said area of display is sized to frame a fashion design insert such that raw cut edges of said insert are covered when said showcase member is fastened in place over said strip. 
     
     
         26 . A woman's shoe in accordance with claim  1 , wherein said interchangeable fashion design insert is flexibly stiffened so that it will not crimp due to a woman's walking in said shoe. 
     
     
         27 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 18 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         28 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 19 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         29 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 20 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         30 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 21 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         31 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 22 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         32 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 23 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         33 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 24 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         34 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 25 , wherein said shoe is a sandal. 
     
     
         36 . A woman's shoe in accordance with  claim 26 , wherein said shoe is a sandal.