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Europe is better than Britain, but we are far ahead of the US in terms of public transport. I am in a very rural part of Britain, a mile from the nearest (small) town. But I can walk in there and do my shopping - all small local shops - and if I want to go to a supermarket I can catch a bus to a bigger town half an hour away. The busses run regularly. They are clean and pleasant, with WiFi and charging points for phones. And gorgeous scenery out the window. At this larger town I can catch a train and go anywhere. Although it makes for a long day, I can and have made day trips to London and Manchester. Day trips to York and Leeds are easy. i really don’t need a car and don’t feel the least bit inconvenienced by not having one.

Would love to be able to get rid of my car for sure. But, most of the US is just not set up with good public transportation.

Don't forget that there is a vast difference between urban living and rural living. In our case we are 5 miles from a town of about 2000 residents, with very little in the way of shopping: one grocery store, one hardware store, and a few restaurants. If we need to buy something from Walmart, or Walgreens, or Tractor Supply it's a 12 mile drive. If we need something from Costco, or Home Depot, or Lowe's, or other places it's a mininum of 30 miles. Fortunately gas prices are reasonable (right now we're paying $2.39 per gallon) and Amazon knows where we live so it's not so bad!

I will have to measure my nine west ankle boots this way today!

I’ve not owned a car in decades. I get around on foot, or by bike, boat, bus or train

Well my boots were purchased from Italian Heels and were sold as 12cm heels in their standard size, with the heels being incrementally higher or lower depending on however much bigger or smaller your foot size is. It is what it is. Whether it looks accurate in the photo or not. Whatever the actual measurement of the heels on my boots, I regard them as 12cm heels since that is what they are billed as. its sensible to figure things this way as there can be a general talking point - when @mlroseplant or @higherheels says they’re in 12cm heels we know we are talking about roughly the same angle and degrees of difficulty, allowing for slight variations in the designs of the shoe or boot.

This was all getting rather confusing! I hadn't realised that you were describing heel heights by their 'standard' equivalent, and that the true measured height of yours is 14.7mm, which explains a lot as regards wearability. But it makes the pic look even odder - I would have guessed those heels as shown to be no more than 4.25" high in your size. I know what it is like to wear heels (probably same foot size as yours: UK 11/12) that are a truly measured 5" or 5.25" high - not easy; you have my further respect for 'managing' when practising in a true 5.75" heel! It would help mutual understanding if true heel heights were always quoted, with the 'standard equivalent' too if helpful when shoe size is not only marginally larger or smaller. These Office shoes (UK8) belonging to a friend have a true height of 131mm = 5.16". They look noticeably higher (and certainly steeper) than your boots.

Haha, you are not wrong! We drive everywhere. It's a shame that it's that way, but it is. A car is not a luxury in the U.S., it's an absolute necessity, outside of maybe New York City or Chicago. Having said that, I've never known anybody to actually move their car during a trip to the shopping mall. The more common experience is to forget where you parked. But who goes to a mall anymore? That's so 1990s! I'm only 90% kidding.

@bluejay, it is fascinating to me to note where all of our collective significant others draw the line. Some don't like it at all, some tolerate it, and some seem to be totally accepting. For me personally, if I got my nails done or wore a dress, that would cross a hard line. My wife would have a cow. However, it is (maybe not quite perfectly) acceptable for me to wear stiletto heels. Yes, I'll try on my sweater dresses, but I don't see me wearing them out and about.

Yes, very nice wearable boots. I have a similar pair from ASOS (slightly shorter shaft and no platform) which are ideal; for discreet outings. And my duplicate pair (unworn) are still available for purchase:

In the UK and most other European countries, the majority of the population live within a mile or two of most of the 'basic' facilities (shops, post office, public transport etc) that they need to access frequently. And some workers live similarly close to their workplace too. Walking to and from them is usually easy and safe, economical, and desirable from an exercise viewpoint. My impression is that the US is typically very different in that these 'local' trips often involve significantly longer distances and may be difficult or unsafe for walking - so the automobile reigns supreme. That said, the typical American shopping mall or complex seems to require a lot of legwork if to be explored fully - or does every shopper tend to move their car around the estate? (It is some years since I was last in the US (Florida) and I remember the distances needed to reach other places in the same neighbourhood, but not what the drill was when visiting several stores in one complex.)

They look nice. Very wearable - I love ankle boots myself.

I finally got a pair of booties that fit. Nothing special, but they fit. Women’s Fran Bootie by New York and Company Upper: 100% Faux Suede, Outsole: 70% Rubber, 30% Textile, Lining: 100% Faux Suede Shaft height: 5", Shaft circumference: 10" Heel height: 4" Inexpensive, but they fit. Wore them all day at work.

I just saw this. I have seen similar boots lately, but don't remember where. Google either "pee toe thigh high boots" or "open toe knee high boots". Good luck.

Mirose, Start wearing your sweater dresses. I love wearing mine. I have several in different colors. Also I have several sweatshirt dresses too, that i love wearing too. The sweater dresses and sweatshirt dresses keep me warm in the winter months especially wearing them with fleece lined tights and leggings, with my knee boots. Happy Heeling, bluejay

2006 I joined. Just outside the time frame for me. But still can't believe it's been nearly 20 years. Time flies, but my love of heels remains stronger than ever.

So true

I think too that with stilettos, the higher the heel the more fragile it is likely to be

You are sooo right. It is the total design of the shoe/boot that determines walking ease and comfort. I just wish that there was a universal accepted way/method for measuring heel height. As we know, heel heights vary even on a particular manufacturer's exact model depending on size. I have struggled for many years to make the jump from 4 to 5"/12cm heels. I was so thrilled to find these nine west stiletto booties (5"/12cm) heels that are fairly easy to walk in! Too bad I wrecked one of the heels, since found another pair though, will be more careful.

Yes, there are other aspects beside heel height that contribute to a shoe or boot's ease of wear. I have a pair of lovely side OTK boots custom made by Jean Gaborit with slender - nearly but not quite true stiletto - heels that measure about 9.5cms. They are so incredibly easy to walk in, not much different than walking in chunky mid-heels really. If I had the money I would love to get some more of their boots.

Certain shoes with similar heel heights also feel different for me. I think it comes from all the other differences they have combined.

Hopefully the boots can be fixed, especially if it's not as wonky as my Michael Kors sandals got. @pebblesf My cobbler, Marty, will gladly fix loose heels, but declines to touch anything having to do with a shank. I can understand why, because he's busy enough that he probably doesn't want to mess with it. It's a rather involved repair. As far as photographing heels to get an idea of their steepness, it is a very tricky business. If you've ever noticed in my own photos, I tend to pose in what is perhaps a less than natural way for the express purpose of showing the heel height. Whether this is actually necessary with y'all is perhaps open to debate, but it's something I've got in the habit of doing. A 10º difference in angle with make a heel look way different than it actually is. In addition to optical delusions (as I like to call them), I have run into several situations where I cannot get the ruler to agree with the feel of the shoe, and sometimes the look as well. I have some shoes that measure pretty tall, but do not feel it or look it. And yet the ruler doesn't lie, right? I also have a couple pairs that feel insanely steep, but I can't manage to get the ruler to reflect that. I guess I should worry less about numbers, maybe. My latest training shoes, pictured above somewhere, measure 13.3 cm, which translates to 12.5 cm in size 38, and they feel to me exactly like those numbers would suggest. I need to pace around in them for a good 5-10 minutes before I don't feel completely stupid wearing them, and even then, though I haven't measured, I feel like I can only get the heels about 1/4 inch (or 6 mm) off the ground, standing on tiptoe. I feel like until that distance improves, there's only so much improvement I can make.

Yes, I have to walk a bit from the parking lot to the office. While at the office I don't walk that much, the longest distance there is normally going for lunch. Of course I also have several walks when not at work.

Working from home as I do, I have no commute. If I go out shopping it’s a minimum of about 8000 steps, most of that on a badly rutted or muddy towpath. If it’s dry or frozen I’ll do it in chunky mid heels but for wearing stilettos I need to take them with me and change at a park bench or bus stop in town. I do sometimes but the time and hassle factor is a disincentive

Yes. I suspect that single extra centimetre makes a whopping difference. When I was tottering about in my 12cm boots I tried imagining what that extra centimetre’s height in your Hot Chicks would be like. Definitely too high for me even to attempt. That said, I think when I either fix my present boots or buy some new 12cm heels I will start making decent progress. Seeing the tilt on that left heel when I was examining the boot on the tabletop explained a lot of my difficulties so far. I’m really looking forward now to giving 12cm a proper try. until then I’m getting plenty of time in my 10cm heels