Shyheels

I remember getting comments on a pink Goretex parka I bought about thirty years ago. I coukdn’t have cared less. I liked the colour

I agree. I’m quite sure there is a large latent desire out there to wear tall boots, with and without heels

So nice that your son is supportive of our high heel challenge! And it does sound like you had quite a good workout in that regard with the added bonus of a cool car. i just did 7263 steps in chunky mid heels in a walk up the towpath to town and the grocery store. Not really helpful for the 12cm challenge but beforehand I did two hours of writing standing at the counter in my 10cm stilettos - and did that quite comfortably. It felt weird taking them off and having my feet flat in the floor (until I put in my mid-heels) for the shopping expedition

Yes that’s true. I could never understand this bias against pink for men. Even back in my university days, long before I gathered the courage to wear high heeled boots, I was more than happy to wear pink. I remember my grandmother being appalled by my wearing a pink shirt once. I don’t recall ever seeing pink shoes, let alone pink hiking boots - hiking boots were all I ever wore back then.

Very nice, very presentable (as usual) And that looks like a nice tie, too. I can understand the compliments. You do a lot to make the notion of men in heels seem reasonable and acceptable

No such thing as stiletto wedges in my view. I've seen what purports to be stiletto wedges, but stilettos, as the name suggests, are styled to resemble the lethal and needle-like Italian dagger of that name. "Stiletto wedges" are more like meat cleavers.

I neither like nor dislike wedges. They look all right as sandals. But for me the are just not heels. They’re more like angled soles. To me heels are just that - a distinct identifiable style feature, sporty in the case of chunky heels, elegant in the case of stilettos

Yes, I like the feel of being in heels. And while I like the forbidden aspect, if wearing heels was accepted I’d absolutely enjoy them just as much - perhaps even more because the market would be there for more styles and they’d be easier to find and buy. My tastes are also very classical - clean lines and simple elegance. That’s what I like so much about 12cm stilettos. They seem to me to be the ideal height - elegant, imperious, but without ever exceeding the bounds of good taste. That’s why I would love to be able to walk gracefully in them

Yes, this is by no means a full avoidance of the headaches of care and maintenance, but life on the cut seems a whole lot simpler than in the world of bricks and mortar and automobiles. As I write this I’m getting ready to take off my heels and head down the muddy towpath with my collapsible dolly to buy a couple of 25kg bags of coal …

Well done you! I’m having to learn about diesel engines, solar power and electrical systems - and starting from a very low knowledge base!

Exactly this!

I can only speak for myself although I suspect that was I'm about to say holds true for others - and here Im thinking specifically of my two colleagues in the high heel challenge, @mlroseplant and @higherheels, but others on here as well. For me it is a matter of aesthetics, style and elegance. I like the look of them and always have, and for years resented the fact that as a man I was not supposedly allowed to wear them too. Heels are about self expression and personal theatre and bring with them a sense of fun, and a kind of sassy delight in their impracticality. Sure, the fact that walking gracefully in heels is an acquired skill adds something to the mix - there's a quiet pleasure to be had in doing a challenging thing well and with offhand grace, probably not too different to the satisfaction a motorist might feel in driving a sportscar well. And yes, there is a sense of pleasurable rebellion in wearing heels as a guy - and from what @higherheels has said, wearing them as a woman as well - but if by some magic all that were to go away, I would still wear heels, as I suspet others on here would too. My enjoyment is not dependent on flouting convention, but really, very much, a love of the look and style ad the sheer fun of wearing them

I’m so glad to be out of the whole car ownership thing. It saves me a fortune and doesn’t inconvenience me a bit

Indeed, nobody needs to be around people with a mediaeval mindset. in point of fact all the women I know who love heels are really interesting intelligent people. I don’t know any (other!) men who wear heels, other than on this forum, but again they all seem to be people worth knowing. From what I can see a love of heels seems to indicate an appreciation of style, elegance and a sense of fun.

Some of those trucks are literally as wide as my narrowboat!