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@mlroseplant You really studied many walks it seems! I agree with you, and I didn't mean that you should walk with a totally straight knee all the time. Only if you're unable to straighten the knees at any time it's a sign that the heel is too high.

I am really trying to get up the motivation to go out for my walk. It's the first day that it's been really cold here (below 0). The temperature wouldn't be that bad, but of course it is very windy, and it has just rained yesterday, and whatever is left over is ice, I'm sure. My deck is probably a death trap, especially in heels. I gotta go. Bye for now! Wish me luck!

Concrete adhesive and cold weather are not the best of friends, I hope your repair/project goes well. I actually have a couple of sweater dresses hanging in my closet. I've worn one of them outside exactly once. Maybe it's time to break them out again, and at least try them on!

I think it’s the kind of bend in the knee that indicates a struggle for assured balance and an element of uncertainty. Like people bending over slightly when they are learning to skate instead of standing upright. Learning to walk in heels does remind me a bit of learning to skate.

This is a point of great interest to me. Having studied many walks, both in person and on video, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that it is not 100% necessary to have a locked straight knee when walking, like a latin dancer would do. It's just a question of how much bend is there in the leading knee, and for how long is it slightly bent. I have not yet reduced this to an exact formula. Naturally, the length of the stride is a key component of the equation.

That’s nice. I have long fancied a pair of white boots but have never summoned up the nerve to buy some

Couple of days ago, I had to go to Home Depot to get a tube of concrete adhesive. I decided that I would wear my Buffalo Bills sweatshirt dress by Erin Rogers. It was a bit cold outside so I added a royal blue puffer vest. With that I wore my white knee boots with a 4" stacked heel and carried my Buffalo Bills cross body bag. As I approached the entrance, a woman on her way out said to me " I love those boots you're wearing". I replied so do I, thank-you for your compliment. Another great comment for a guy in heels! Happy Heeling, bluejay

Our weather here in Britain is fickle to say the least. I went up to Scotland for a couple of weeks this past August and came back with a tan. Sunny every day and temperatures of about 25°C. You just never know. Mind you this past spring and summer was unusually dry and warm. its definitely not warm now! I’ve obtained some wood for heating - much preferred to coal! - and now that I’m warm again am about to resume my practicing in my 12cm heels. I suspect I’ve lost a bit of whatever skill I picked up …

I was out traveling to a 400-450 person conference this past. Flew in early (and in my JS knee high) and had dinner with a friend I had not seen in several years. While at dinner a woman walked by in what I would say were 12 cm pointed-toed bejeweled stiletto sandals. Just gorgeous. At the conference itself the leader wore some very tall stiletto pumps (several during the conference)..over 13 cm...but then she is tall and I bet has size 13 us or 45-46 eu More on heels and this trip in CaliWorld in a few days after I rest. But a tip bit, flew back in faux leather pants and JS knee highs. 15 hour day, meetings and flights.

Yes, I can return them. I'm so excited to see if they fit and also about the height.

I can attest to that. Even the summer can be that way to. I was in Bath in June and it was cold, wet, and windy And then Scotland ... I was also at the Edinburgh Castle in the same trip in June and the cold-wet-wind made me think I was at the top of a double black run when its -5F (-20.5C) and howling. I was so glad I took my heavy duty ski jacket for that summer time trip. Can you return them if you don't fit or if you don't like them in reality? Then it a (as we Yanks like to say) NO Brainer.

Yes! There is quite an art to this. I think that’s one of the things I find so appealing about it. Heels not only have a mystique and are aesthetically pleasing - especially 12cm stilettos - but require skill to wear well. It makes them special. I want to acquire this skill!

I'd say being able to straighten the knees while standing and walking are the basics. Of course you can also walk with bent knees, but as it can be seen by your (and also my) experience, even if the basics are covered it can still be difficult.

Although I’ve not mastered my 12cm heels yet, I can stand with straight knees in them and can straighten them when I walk. That part is fine. I am just clumsy in them - or clumsier than I would want to be! I feel like I am clomping around

Absolutely - if one can't straighten it's knees it's always a sign that the heel is too high. I always think it's better to choose a lower heel if that's the only thing you can handle right (or first practice with the higher ones at home), but nevertheless I have respect for everyone wearing out really high heels. Everyone started at some point and it takes practice.

If they’d been living in 12cm heels they’d be straightening their knees. It’s part of learning to walk well in heels - something I’m still working on in my 12cm stiletto boots

Maybe I was mistaken. They looked like models to be honest. Looked like they had spent the last decade wearing 120mm heels.

I was thinking that too - bent knees is not a good sign.

@VirginHeels Wow I'm very surprised about your sights! I can't even remember when I last seen something in the range of 12 cm heels worn out, even on events. Did you mean without bent knees? Because if they'd walk with bent knees it probably won't be fluidly and elegant 😉

Festival of Remembrance too. That’s later on, there will be heels there. It’s funny as when you say Ascot, it’s similar here for Ayr Races. Glasgow Central to Ayr is full of people dressed up to the nines going to have a good time. Theres about a mile walk from the train station at Ayr to the Racecourse. On such occasions, its nice to hear the click click on the hard floor in Central.

I passed through London one day last year - via Kings Cross and Waterloo stations - and was startled to see many women in towering stilettos - so many that I began wondering what was going on. I found out it was Ascot. Only time I’ve ever seen anywhere near that many heels in London - or anyplace else for that matter.

This is exactly this. I think anywhere north of say Manchester women want to get a little dressier, a little classier to feel good. They want to let their hair down, they want to feel special. Im not sure about Birmingham, that’s an area where the culture clashes a bit. London, it’s different from my limited observations. They only want to go out when it’s a gala ball, go out with a gown on, or go out to get something to eat and show all their “drip” as the youth will say. Show their designer clothes. Up here, it’s common for women to wear a pair of red soles or ankle boots with a pair of Primark or H&M jeans and a white or black t shirt for going for “a girls lunch” or even to their workplace for one of their office days when they are meeting someone at night for dinner. Not going to lie, the amount of flat shoes is the non noisy majority. I think there’s a socio-economic reason too, the people who are in traditional areas where how much people earn to what they wear to be studded too. The people who are less well off areas just want to dress nice to escape and have some fun. It’s why I like to go to concerts, go to the Theatre and see a musical or see something different. It’s a chance to dress up a little, and escape what was my home life. My home situation has now changed now and want to go out more and dress up more.

My observations about 'northern women' particularly relate to the Tyneside and Glasgow areas. It was certainly more obvious there that shorter (but not necessarily slimmer!) women prefer heels and that 'dressing up' was more common, and likely more traditional/expected, even for fairly routine activity such as work or shopping. The current observations of VirginHeels bear this out. Frankly, I get the distinct impression that few women in the south can be bothered to make an effort unless they are attending a really dressy event, in which case expensive designer clothes will often be present, but not necessarily an improvement on high street fashions.

The two women in 120mm were in Red Sole So Kate’s. They were tall to start with, they were probably 178cm to start with, before heels. They walked fluidly, elegant and with bent knees. They had an old money vibe to them. The road outside the venue is closed right now for works. So they had to walk a fair bit to get to a taxi or their transportation. And the venue is on a hill. They were women in their 30s. I parked about a mile away, in a car park quite a distance away, the 6 flights of stairs were very long too. Only good thing is it was a clean car park. Didn’t smell of bodily fluids or a green plant. The one thing I did find encouraging is that there was 16-18 two sisters with their mum, asking to go shopping for their first heels. They liked the looks of the pointy toe ankle boots on a woman. The mum said, you will have to wear heels at least 4 days a week to get used to them. That means, go to your college in them. Tonight will be my longest time in heels, maybe 5 or 6 hours.

Sounds like an interesting evening. I'm surprised there were some in 120mm heels - that's a very elegant, and challenging, height and not often seen, at least not worn around and about town. I suppose an event is different. As someone who is trying to master the art of walking fluidly in 120mm stilettos, I'm wondering how well the people you saw wearing them were able to walk? Straight knees? Bent? Gliding or tottering? I can definitely see why having to climb and later descend 6 flights of stairs would be a disincentive to wearing heels. Did these others go up and down all those stairs to the venue? If so they must have been very dedicated.