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I wonder if maybe the initial cramps I suffered were because my calves were strong as @higherheels originally suggested - I’ve always done a lot of sports that require strong calves, to the point where if I was going to the gym I would actually have a hard time finding an exercise that would really work my calves - until I tried wearing 12cm stilettos! The 10cm would do it a bit but the 12cm heels were the killers. I suspect it was the combination of strong calf muscles and the unaccustomed isometric exercise of wearing lofty stiletto heels that was the cause. i seldom wear my 12cm heels much as i like the appearance. I’ve never developed the skill to wear them gracefully and so I always opt for other boots. I should make a concerted effort - although I expect at the start I’d experience those savage cramps again

It's interesting how everybody has a different experience doing more or less the same thing. I really don't ever remember having trouble with my calves over the years. I can feel it even today if I take a rather long walk in 100 mm or better, but it is not really something I would call pain. They just feel tired, same as you would after doing anything physical. What still gets me if I overdo it, such as wearing 110+ mm for 6 hours, is arch cramping. It doesn't necessarily happen when I am wearing the shoes, but rather an hour or two after I take them off.

I've had just a very few similar experiences over the years. None of the shoes were very expensive, and I just let it go. I'm not going to start a feedback war or anything like that over 25 bucks.

There are definitely benefits to wearing stilettos - balance, muscle tone, posture, strong ankles It ought to be better known!

Ah, that makes sense. I probably didn't have this issue because I first started wearing heels and then hiking. They're definitely a good workout. I saw many times while hiking that others bent or almost bent their ankle, that never happened to me. I blame it on my ankles being strong enough from stilettos 🙂

Got another pair of shoes off of Poshmark. My first "bad" experience there. The two weeks to ship should've been the only red flag I needed. But I loved the look of them and thought it was worth the wait for less than $20. Then they arrived. The tops were flawless. The soles were atrocious. It looked like they had been removed and reattached with a hot glue gun with glue oozing out the sides. None of this was visible from the angles that the half dozen images were taken from. I almost rejected them, but for the price I'll just keep them for around the house. They fit well, and from my perspective while wearing them, it's not visible. Lesson learned... I hope.

Yes they are extremely good value - especially for a full custom boot maker! Plus their styles are really classy and the leathers and workmanship are first rate.

I agree! I have 3 pairs of boots made by Jean Gaborit. None of those have high heels, but the quality is very good. I bought a pair of JG thighboots 21 years ago and they are still in great condition. Also, they appeared to be only company willing to make me a pair of kneehigh boots suitable for wearing in public and for a price that didn't require a second mortgage on our house...

I’ve done lots of running, cycling and fencing in my time - so my calves are strong and flexible. I think the difference is that wearing heels is an isometric exercise instead of an isotonic one like, say, doing toe raises at the gym. My calves were not used to being flexed and then held in this one tippy-toe position for extended periods of time. And when they were asked to do so they cramped up after a few minutes until I gradually got used to it. i know what you mean though about how wearing heels can help with strength and flexibility for hiking, and vice versa. I sometimes think that if more guys knew how good a workout you can get from an hour in stilettos, there would be a rack of them at the gym!

Interesting, maybe your calves were almost too strong, but not flexible enough. I'm hiking a lot and feel like the required strength and flexibility from wearing heels also helps there and vice versa.

Nope! It startled me how intensely my calf muscles cramped up in 12cm stilettos! It seemed almost unfair! I'm a cyclist. I ride hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres every year. If anyone had fit calves surely it was me! But wearing stilettos, as I quickly discovered, is a lot different than cycling! Because you can do one doesn't mean you can do the other ...

Seems I wasn't the only one wearing way too high heels for the first time.

Sounds like a great place for a nighttime stroll in 12cm stilettos! My university was very much east coast preppy/boho/hippy vibe depending on your social set - and none of these demographics were particularly likely to be seen in heels, especially not in the mid-Seventies. And yes, my university was also located on a hill. No mountain lions though …

It also depends on your university. I went to a university on a hill, about 750 feet in elevation between different locations on campus. Steep gorges, steep hills, redwood trees droppings, uneven pavement, deer, quail, and mountain lions.

I think it depends too on where in the 1980s you’re talking about. The early eighties was still in the shadows of the seventies, but by the end of the decade fashions had changed considerably. When I was in college I don’t remember anyone wearing heels - clogs were a big thing, but not heels

I woukdn’t fancy wearing them on the towpath

Hey thanks for everyone's help. Being a novel this can certainly be tweaked, but in taking into account what people said, I rough drafted it as such. In some light banter on the phone where she was talking with the Code Enforcement Officer while standing next to a building contractor, the CEO made mention of seven inch heels. She scoffed that the builder could not build a house level, so that was out of the question. Later in the novel when he comes to her office with heels purchased for her, he buys four-inch heels. She makes note that she typically wears 3.5 inch heels to work. In that scene she quickly comes to realize he has increasingly creepy affections for her by making a contractors life deliberately a living hell. This results in a fight where she tosses the bought heels back at him in total disgust. Here it sounds ridiculous but over 3000 words works well. In novels there is a technique known as lampshading which is a quick fix to explain an anomaly in prose, and here I lampshaded this all by having her explain that high heels and short skirts only works for male buyers, and goes against sales if it is a couple. Just a quick way to show some of her own flaws that she will do a lot for a sale. Does it work or not? It is hard to say, it is a writing technique that semi-works, and readers tend to accept any answer as, "yeah, I guess", and move on. But feel free to add more advice. I can always change the novel

One of these days I'm going to drag out the story (again) for those who haven't heard about the time I wore way too high of a heel too early in my high heel journey. I'm not surprised you faded pretty early if 12 cm was your first pair. People point to the 1980s as being a good time for heels, but looking back through my old photos and watching old music videos, it was and it wasn't. Yeah, elevated heels were much more common back then, but I don't think I actually saw in person anybody wearing what I would call actual high heels. Taller mid heels, for sure, but 4 inch + was just not a thing in real life around here. Not even in college. The heels I thought were so tall at the time just weren't all that high compared to what I wear every day. I actually went shoe shopping with this girl one time, and she bought some black patent leather pumps which were about the highest heels I'd ever seen somebody actually wear. I never got the chance to actually measure them, but I'd estimate them to be right at 4"/10 cm. She wore them somewhat regularly, but then the next year she chose to study in Europe and I never saw her again after that. That is not 100% true, but close enough for this story. Here is something similar in style and height to what the girl bought when I was with her. As I said, hers were black patent rather than suede.

Even though our town streets and sidewalks are in more of a state of disrepair than in years past, they are still quite acceptable. However, it's much better if one sticks to routes one knows well when the days grow short and it's dark during the walk. As far as rain, here are my favorite rain shoes. They keep my feet out of the puddles. Not much good for mud, though.

I'm going to put my vote in the 4 inch/10 cm camp, if you want to make the story believable. In my area, Latina real estate agents wear heels. Others do not.

Going for a walk in high heels is impossible around here. No sidewalks, old pavement (alligator cracks), uneven pavement, dirt paths, sea weed, ....

The basic real estate pump, 4 " black leather, but not patent. RE agents do not wear high heels to sell SFH but will to sell high rise condos.

Absolutely. But apart from the creepiness of the character, something "appropriate" relating to this story would be: Black or red peeptoe pumps with a 4 inch heel, or maximum of 5 inches (no platforms). Price between 100 - max. 150 $.

They are quite soulless - pardon the pun. My first heels were altogether more memorable - a very elegant pair of chocolate brown stiletto knee boots with 12cm heels. I’d always fancied a pair of boots like that. Trying them on was exhilarating - until my calves seized up in knots! Welcome to the world of high heels!

Yes indeed. Living along a towpath as I do, going for a stroll in stilettos is just not sensible. Even chunky heels are at risk and in the rain ..,