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I find it to be quite serendipitous that the topic of age and miniskirts should occur when today, I wore this delightfully cute outfit to the office. Whether or not the skirt would be considered a miniskirt or simply above-the-knee is a matter of debate and/or personal preference. I believe that there are two important considerations to wearing a miniskirt. The first is undoubtedly having the confidence to do so while the second is being able to style it for the settings in which is going to be worn. I am of the opinion that wearing a well-fitting miniskirt exudes a highly elevated sense of confidence and style. I understand that not everyone wants to wear a miniskirt for a variety of reasons. I do, however, strongly agree with some of the other opinions offered here that if one should feel good/comfortable/confident about doing so, then do it – age be damned! I have come to truly admire those individuals, regardless of age, gender, and whatever else, who are so confident in themselves that they will wear a miniskirt despite any conventional wisdom that says to the contrary. Please excuse my apparent brashness, but I believe that well styled and fitting miniskirt is the epitome of confidence. Just a note/warning – this year I am upgrading some of my boots to higher heels and skirts with higher hemline because they reflect the confidence I feel about myself in every aspect of my being. So, watch out! After I took the photo that is part of this post, I looked at it and feel is it a great example of exactly the point I am trying to make. I “know” that I “can” wear a skirt with the helm line hitting where it does and I am proud to do so even though yesterday was 54th half-birthday. I feel this way because of how I styled it (color and fit) and that I am supremely confident in myself to wear such an item. Perhaps it is a degree of a circular argument but wearing miniskirt and higher heels boosts my confidence. With such, I am more inclined to continue to do so be doing so builds my confidence. As my confidence increase, then the heels become higher and skirts shorter. I have, in fact, recently started transitioning my skirts from being long and boring to shorter and a degree of flair to them. There is a time and place where straight black, knee length skirt is best for the occasions, but I asked myself why not make that a leather pencil skirt? I do not know about anyone else, but when I finally retire, I fully plan on wearing a pair of five-inch heeled leather over-the-knee boots and a leather miniskirt (with some sort of top) to my retirement party. And I plan on looking Meryl Streep level fabulous, and yes, I will post pictures! What bothers me about this “debate” (not here, but by fashion “experts”) is that every such individual has his/her own opinion on the matter that is based solely on his/her own opinion. It is rather common to hear ‘this’ fashion tip that individuals over X age should not wear a miniskirt while others say, “if you’re comfortable doing so, do it.” As far as I am concerned, any advice about the appropriate age at which individuals should not wear a miniskirt is nonsense. I have miniskirts, knee-length skirts, and longer skirts that I find to be wonderful because they all express a sense of style. As has been said many times before on this forum, it is not so much what is worn, but more so, how it is worn. It should be well known that I am supremely disappointed as to what passes for acceptable attire nowadays. I enjoy so much seeing photographs of years ago when going out anywhere meant presenting oneself at his/herbest. I have seen old photographs of a crowd at a hockey game in the 1940s, and every man and woman is wearing a hat of some degree. One will never see that again! But I digress. Many years ago in these here United States, there was an advertisement (both on television and radio) for a more popular chain of men’s clothing store. The advertisement ended with the owner of the storesaying, “You’re going to love the way you look…I guarantee it.” That line has been such an inspiration to me as if I love the way I look when wearing a miniskirt, heels, or whatever, then gosh darn it, I am going to do so. When I exit my residence in the morning to head out to my car and off to the office, I see my reflection in the glass of the front door of those individuals living across the way from me (I live in an apartment complex). It was so gratifying to see my reflection of wearing today’s skirt and with the sounds of my heels hitting the pavement as I headed out to my car. It is not just one day, but every day I see this that makes leaving my residence so worthwhile. Remember, it never goes out of style to have style! Not sure what happened - photo did not upload Sorry - had to compress the living daylights out of this.

Yes indeed, clean classic lines and styling for sure...

Here, if the "basement" is under 7 feet it does not count in the over all square footage of the house and does not influence the home owner's tax. (BTW mine tax is over 9k a year). In the last house I built, we hat a 300 sq. ft. basement with access via the garage. In the house I am designing now, I will have a much larger basement, but we have a high water table here, so I will also have to design an automatic French drain system.

I recently discovered an online store from China that sells really nice designed boots. They also have many youtube videos under the name "Oriental Boots Lady". And they sell their boots in large sizes too! When shopping on this site it gives the impression that you can enter all kind of custom measurements (e.g. foot length, extra height, circumference, etc.). I was wondering if anyone has experience in buying from them. How is the quality? Do the boots fit true to size? Is it a reliable online store? www.oblboot.com

Yes there are a lot of boors in the world - wearing sweatsuits and pyjamas to to their shopping, and I saw an article last week where airlines in the US are now bringing in dress codes for passengers - with such challenging demands as no travelling barefoot. I can’t even in my wildest dreams imagine heading off to the airport barefoot to catch a flight Apparently it’s done often enough to require a rule. So I’m not surprised to hear you and your wife are the odd ones out at social gatherings.

My heels are generally fairly chunky. I haven’t measured them but I would guess a couple of inches across. My stilettos - Italian Heels - are very skinny, and I’ve one pair of slender but not quite stiletto heels that are perhaps 8mm across

I doubt very much I have influenced anyone - nor am I likely to on the canals.

Looks great, but a little weird with that sack over your head. 😜

I totally get saving the stilettos for special occasions, as it requires a lot more attention to wear them out in the real world, and the heel tips wear out quickly. I am curious, however, how broad of a heel do you guys like to wear on a daily basis, and why? I ought to do some experiments to find out at what point a broad heel actually provides stability, and at what point a broad heel provides security in the sense that one can start to ignore cracks/holes in the pavement. Without actually measuring, my gut feeling is that although not technically a block heel, my personal comfort level starts at about 3/4", or 2 cm. This still allows the fluidity associated with a stiletto without worrying about every single surface one might encounter.

I know I have influenced several women to be wistful about wearing heels, but as I said, I have a zero percent long term success rate, with the possible exception of one, in the instant case. I know you have a love of Jessica Simpson heels, but I've never had any luck with them, along with Micheal frickin' Kors, a beloved figure amongst my ever-shrinking circle of heel loving friends.

If there is a distinction in the U.S., I'm sure that it's about the same as you describe. I call what is the mostly-below-grade floor of my house a "basement," but it could very well be called a "cellar," according to your definition. The only reason it is now somewhat habitable is because we switched from coal heat to gas heat a long time ago. The average height of this couple of rooms, which do not encompass the entirety of the foundation of the house (we call this a "half basement") is 6'8", or barely over 2 m. The lowest headbanger, not including the stairway to get down there, is about 6'4", or 193 cm. So forget all you tall guys! The room contains all of the utilities, including the laundry facilities, and I prefer it that way. It also contains my entire shoe collection, most of my wardrobe, and my ironing facilities. It's also the location of the formerly famous plumbing drain pipes that used to be a regular part of my photographic contributions to this site. It is also where my son and I have our music room. Mama banished us to this place, as she can shut the kitchen door and not hear us as much. Can't fit the piano down there, though.

In the UK, any storey of a building that is constructed mostly or wholly below the immediately prevailing ground level is its 'basement' or 'cellar'. The two terms are often treated as synonymous but are generally regarded as having distinct application in that: (i) a basement is a part of the building that is or could be readily used for most domestic purposes as it usually has easy access (e.g. via an internal staircase), is typically divided into separate rooms (usually with normal windows), and possibly has a separate doorway to the outside. In many buildings, such a basement constitutes a separate dwelling, in which case there is typically no stairway connection from above. (ii) a cellar is not intended for normal domestic purposes and may be one open area or divided by simple supporting pillars or walls. The internal wall surfaces, floor and ceiling are often unfinished. There will only be windows (usually small and high up) if the surrounding ground does not fully cover the outside walls. Access may be via a trapdoor or staircase from above, with possibly a separate doorway (or hatch) to the outside. The essential difference is that a basement is a normally usable part of the building but a cellar is primarily for storage or to accommodate services. But the distinction is often blurred, especially where enterprising occupants have 'converted' a cellar into living space. In my house, the basement has an internal staircase, an external door, two living rooms, a utility room/kitchen and a bathroom (shower/basin/WC), all with windows. My neighbour's house (a different design) has a cellar, used only for storage and reached through a trapdoor and without external access or windows. When my house was built (1886), the basement was intended to accommodate the servants' quarters and the kitchen. In due course, live-in servants disappeared and the kitchen was then moved to the ground floor to occupy what had probably been a study; the original kitchen remaining as primarily a utility room and store.

I think we are all influencers (I know I have influence several women to wear heels). I just wish I got paid for being that influencer. (Hear that Jessica Simpson)

I am very similar in my pickiness about boots. THey've got to strike a chord, otherwise - no. As you say it can be something seemingly minor but that's all not takes. I like clean classic lines and elegance in the heel shape and styling, whether it's stilettos or block heels. Three to four inches is my favourite height, although I love the imperious elegance of 12cm stilettos. Like you, I'm always worried about wearing out my stilettos and so tend to go for the more solid heels.

Yeah, I love them also. It's strange that I love many different styles of boots, but am extremely particular at the same time. One misplaced design feature, or strange heel style, and I'm out. I love wearing my stiletto boots but tend to kill the heels pretty quickly on crappy terrain/streets/sidewalks. My ankle block heeled boots were a lucky thrift store find, not the greatest materials, but look good and are super easy to walk in. Better I should wear these out from constant use than some of my other more valued boots...

Cat, you look amazing....What brand boots are those? My favorite classic stiletto styling and fit your legs perfectly....Home run

Stunning! Yes, it was rather cold about two weeks ago. Downtown Chicago, I presume? Looks like the race for "Best Dressed 2025" has started!

A style I love. Along with go-go boots, block heeled boots were what attracted me to feminine footwear in the first place. I love them. I’ve always preferred boots to shoes and high heeled ones seemed like racier more daring forbidden versions of my usual style. I like stiletto but block heeled boots are “me”

If you are visiting San Francisco the 'Painted Ladies' Victorian houses are classic examples and are worth the visit.

I think we are all more influencers than we know, and you especially. You just have this huge love of high heels that bursts through, a true passion, so I think you influence a lot more people than you give yourself credit for. That includes a lot of people on this site. And never forget, most forums have 99 people lurking for every one that posts a reply, so you might (and others on here) have far, far, far more influence than you think. But that is what being authentic does... it shows others its fine to like whatever it is that they like!

I have been wearing my block heeled ankle boots the most lately.

That is all so true. I also think motivation has a lot to do with it too. My wife straight up dresses for me because she loves me and knows I like it. Since she is not dressing for others attention, I think its a look she can pull off. But people also suck. My wife and I are probably some of the most humble unassuming people in the world, but we do like to dress up and most of the time are some of the best dressed people at a venue. Not over the top bling-bling, but sharply dressed. Yet we hear snide comments a lot. Most of the time it is my wife who hears them from other women in the bathroom, or walking past just loud enough to her husband but so that we can hear, and occasion for us as a couple. I think it just becomes unusual as more and more people dress down, and in doing so they either feel guilty about how they constantly dress, or flat out make the wrong conclusions on why we do dress nice. For us, its all about this: "You feel how you are dressed". Spend a week in the wilderness bush crafting it, you are going to feel gross and yucky. But dress nicely, and you feel better about yourself.

Nice to hear the knee boots are getting an outing! I've not been wearing heels much these past few weeks. It's been quite nippy here and I've been wearing my heavy suede OTK boots with low heels - they're so nice and warm.

After four days in a row of practice, I believe I am back to normal. The super cold weather has left us, at least for now, and I can stand to walk outside again. It may be that I will feel like taking some pictures again soon. It's kind of too bad I missed the last couple of weeks. I wore knee high boots to church two weeks in a row!

Thanks for the illustration. It is obvious that the word means something different here vs. there, although some of the visual features are similar. Now, to keep the subject going, what is the difference between a cellar and a basement? At least in the Midwest U.S., they are synonyms. Well, sort of. If you live on the farm, you call it a cellar. If you live in town, you call it a basement. Most houses in the Midwest have basements of some sort, and they've only gotten bigger and deeper in my lifetime, and people like to actually finish them and use them as living space. Obviously, places like Florida do not have basements, as the water table is way too high for that.