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This is not a heel topic per se, but it certainly applies to wearing such. I'll ask the question first and then provide the back story for those who want to read it. The question is, have "you" ever not worn a pair of heels (Pumps, boots, etc) or not worn them in a certain way because doing so was "too young" of a style? The back story: Last week I was at my local large shoe store (part of a national chain here in these good ol' United States of America) looking to purchase a few "heel backers" for the hoard of new heels I just purchased/received. As I finished perusing the discount section, I noticed a pair of "chunky sole" Mary Janes (Steve Madden "Millee") that were intoxicatingly adorable. Needless to say, a short time later I had me a pair. I wore them to work today but due to swelling issues with my feet, they alternated between being just right, to loose, to rather tight. This is due to the fact that I spend a large part of my day sitting and thus, there is build-up of blood/fluid in my feet from time-to-time. This happens in the mornings as well, so that what pair of heels/boots I wear any given day is largely dependent on what fits in the morning. This is relieved by simply getting up and get moving for about 15 minutes. I have become much more aware of the condition of my feet/toes and now put forward more of an effort to care for them via trimmed nails, moisturizer at bedtime, and better fitting shoes. Likewise, I wear prefer to wear socks/tights to prevent blisters, and use bandages to prevent my skin rubbing against the side of the shoe/boot. I wearing my new Mary Janes without socks as when I left my place this morning, they felt just right. But as the day wore on, they went from being too tight to too lose, and I was constantly having to put on or take off "footies" much to my annoyance. Given my constant having to put on/take off the footies, I realized that next time I wore these shoes, doing so with socks or tights will be a necessity. I am not disappointed by this as they can be dressed up or down. Interestingly, however, I went shopping in them without socks/footies and they were fine. There is a young woman at my "normal" grocery store who has exquisite style, and I have observed her wearing black patent Mary Janes with white socks (my new Mary Janes are leather). I have absolutely love the look as she pulls it off so well, but then again, she is probably in her early 20s. I did some research on the style and most of what I found/read seemed to be geared toward those individuals young enough to be my children (again, IF I was a parent). So the question arose of if there are certain styles of footwear, or wearing footwear in a certain manner that is "too young" for some of us. I am of the opinion that the Mary Janes with the white socks is uber cute but do not want to appear that I am trying to wear fashion my children (If I....) would wear. I suppose if I can make it work, then why not? Just to clarify, I wore my Mary Janes with a pair of above the ankle black jeans and a t-shirt sporting my love for the "Other woman" in my life, Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Let me begin by offering my apologies on behalf of all enlightened American across the globe for those ignorami in your tour group. Sadly, however, there are not too many of us! I am not "elderly" by a longshot and don't plan on ever considering myself to be such, but I am of the age where I could be a grandparent (which, I suppose, would require me becoming a parent first). I can tell that acceptance of new and/or different idea was always hard for my parents (both born pre-WWII) compared to me and my siblings. I, as an early Gen Xer, however, have a much more "live and let live" approach to life/society. Just this afternoon, I was at my local grocery store and noticed a couple of (probably) teenagers with their jeans exposing more of their rear end then actually covering it. I felt that if wearing their pants like such makes them happy, then who am I to say differently? I do not need/want anyone negatively commenting to me about my choice of attire, so I only comment to those individuals who truly have put some effort into being presentable. FWIW, I did notice two (assuming) middle aged women at the store who, probably after their work day ended and were getting their shopping finished prior the weekend getting started, looked very well put together - refreshing to see that not everyone wears leggings, t-shirts, and flip-flop to the office. A person I have always admired is Nicola Sturgeon. Say what you will about her politics and positions, but she has always presented herself as very well dressed and wearing a pair of heels. I think an individual like her speaks to how wearing heels can be very powerful.

I guess so! Where do you find these people? I've heard of them before, but I've never actually met them. They must go over there to the Bab-dist church. 100 years ago, we Methodists were admittedly a little uptight, but today we'd be right up there with the Catholics wanting a taste of that whiskey.

Oh I agree. Perceptions are changing. It’s just the tourist groups that I end up leading can skew my impressions - they are so tightly wound and abstemious. When the waiters offer coffee after a meal they positively blanche (caffeine!) and at the whiskey distillery on the Scotland tour they primly decline the offered tastings. Their attitudes towards heels were perfectly aligned with everything else

I had an experience yesterday at the grocery store that would reinforce my belief that perceptions are changing, at least somewhat. I cannot perhaps do anything about your elderly American tourists, but it does seem like Gen Z is different than older generations. I know that my younger son's classmates (Class of 2027) seem to be far less concerned about what I wear than were my older son's (Class of 2017). And once again--this is becoming far too common to be a fluke--I was approached by a girl I would estimate to be about 12 (who was wearing Crocs, of course) and said, "Excuse me, sir, but I absolutely LOVE your heels!" I smiled and thanked her. At that moment I realized she was with an older woman who appeared to be her grandmother. The grandmother looked slightly uneasy about the encounter. Luckily, my grocery list was short, and I did not encounter them again.

No opportunity even for mid-heels today - a day of gadding about on an assignment that requires steel-capped work boots. I considered bringing a pair for after hours at the pub I’m staying at but after I hefted my bulging camera bag, with the tripod lashed to the outside, I thought better of it!

I strive to be at least as accurate as that! 📐🔨 My middle stepson may well have a view after I have finished assembling and fitting a whole series of wardrobes in his refurbished and extended house, where the floors are out of level by typically 2-3mm per metre across the wardrobe width.

Indeed not boring at all! So much more fun than flats - and quite liberating to step outside the pigeonholes. it always strikes me as funny to think that if we were to read in National Geographic about a tribe of South Sea islanders who’d developed all these complex and contradictory taboos about a style feature on their footwear, we’d smile and find it quaint but amongst ourselves we take it so incredibly seriously, as though it were a natural law, something encoded in our chromosomes: women wear high heels, men do not.

Absolutely true. And heels don't get boring, even after decades. As it can be seen very well with our spontaneous height challenge 😉

Yes! That’s one of the things about heels that fascinates me. There is sort of this “official” view these days that they are tools of the patriarchy, designed to hobble and objectify women, and must therefore be discarded and abandoned. on the other hand high heels are worn with panache by some of the most powerful women in the world who spend small fortunes on designer heels and speak of the sense of empowerment that comes with putting on a pair of lofty stilettos and striding into a meeting. what’s the story? Nobody waxes lyrical about their hiking boots or a pair of loafers but you can fill a book with quotes about the transforming magic of high heels. Heels are a fascinating cultural icon

I can relate to what got you into high heels. It's actually not that different from myself. And even though I'm a woman, I sometimes feel like an outlaw for wearing heels. In my youth it was totally normal for most girls to try high heels, and see how far we can go 😉 Nowadays I'm already an outlaw for wearing heels to the office, not even speaking of wearing anything more than a 10 cm heel.

I suppose it is odd that there are so many men on a high heel forum. We’re we’d a pretty normal lot really, whatever our out of the ordinary fashion tastes. I was always curious to try wearing heels - perhaps it’s the people-watching travel writer in me and my fascination with the foreign and exotic. Heels looked fun, stylish, a challenge and had the additional allure of the forbidden. I originally was just interested in trying 8-10cm chunky heel boots - a kind of edgier version of the hiking boots I’ve lived in for ages. I tried them and really liked them and was emboldened to push the envelope a bit further into the world of stilettos. And now trying 12cm stilettos- the black diamond slope of high heels!

Yes, humans definitely are a strange species 😀 Many cultural norms are so manifested that people can't think outside of them. I was also surprised that there are mostly men here on hhplace, like how could it be if I don't know of any man wearing high heels? But I'm open-minded and for sure learned a bit already 🙂

I smile to think of the three of us, all very different, living in three different countries and on different continents, doing much the same things … I agree - 7cms is a minimum

Yes the story of how heels came to Europe and became a masculine fashion, later to be repudiated during the Age of Enlightenment is fascinating. I’ve done a fair bit of reading and research on the subject since I first learned of it and when I tell people about it they are invariably interested, even if they scoff at the idea of men in heels. Humans are a strange species

Even though in Germany it's very uncommon (or even non-existent) for men to wear high heels, I believe that the reactions would have been different. Most people wouldn't know about this history and rather be interested in it.

Seems we're all currently more going mid-heels. But as shyheels said, nothing wrong with that. I also like these styles very much, at least if it's not below 7 cm. And they're way more suitable for everyday wear, for both the look and the comfort.

I’ve not been doing overly much myself, just wearing my 12cm heels while writing or otherwise pottering about. I do like mid heels too and have a couple pairs of boots with 8 to 9cm heels which look nice and are so easy to wear. I’m always tempted to go with them and not just out of laziness either. This is the style that originally attracted me to heels and is still a favourite

I'm very sorry to report that I've been going the wrong way lately. That is, I wore shoes pretty much all of our Labor Day weekend which I don't even consider to be high heels. My excuse is that I spent nearly the whole holiday under the weather. I felt absolutely terrible for most of three days. Speaking of weather, it couldn't have been more pleasant the entire weekend, and I did take the opportunity to get out of bed and get a couple of snaps (and yes, I don't pretend that they're anything better than that). Shoes are a mere 8 cm (on the scooter), and effective 9 cm (on the deck). I sometimes wonder why I don't wear mid heels more often, but I usually come to my senses after a week or so.

Debbie simultaneously is and is not before my time. In other words, I remember her very well, but I was not really a participant at the time. The only man I know who can answer your question has not really been active on this site this year. And anyways, one ought to look forward and not backward.

I was wondering if anyone has been here long enough to remember Debbie HK. I use to have a lot of her photos which I have now lost as the hard drive they were on died so I lost them.:( So does anyone have any photos Of the gorgeous Debbie HK they would be willing to share please.

Yes narrowboats are susceptible of movement although it is generally very subtle. Living on a boat as I do I am quite used to it and tend to forget about it entirely - as I say, it really is very subtle - so it may be that I am better in heels than I imagine I am; that if I was on a dead-level rock stable surface I might be more capable of walking fluidly in 12cm heels, although I expect I am still a good ways off the sort of effortlessness that one needs to carry off the style. in general if a narrowboat is pitching noticeably, something is happening - usually it’s some clown in a rental boat speeding by at a rate of knots and throwing up a wake, or you’ve tied up at a lock landing, really close to the gates of a big lock and someone’s thrown open all the paddles, or else there are some big winds blowing.

I always suspected that you were just about half a bubble off plumb. . .

Regardless of the water level and any motion, a narrowboat is always going to be sensitive to the effects of loading - and that includes someone walking around. It can be slightly unnerving to find that the boat lists slightly one way, and then the other, and when walking around (in heels or not) one can feel as though slightly drunk! Also, as I well recall when doing some work on my brother's narrowboat in fitting a shelf along one side wall, being pleased that my spirit level initially 'proved' the shelf was level - and then a re-check ten minutes later said otherwise! I simply forgot that the lack of stable foundations made use of a spirit level (or a plumbline) pretty well pointless!

But we all know that you, @Shyheels, love challenges.