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Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way. Now that kitten heels seem to be popular, which is the absolute worst case when it comes to stilettos.

Yes! Tried but failed! Exactly the feelings these stubby stilettos conjure up.

In the early 2010s or so I really liked the Casadei Blade, I even thought of buying them. But now they look sort of chunky, not so sleek to me. Does anyone else feel the same or am I just getting old and boring 😂?

I have the same experience. Not only short-term, but also long-term. When I started wearing my Hot Chick 130 (and felt like not proceeding so much), any 12 cm heel felt much easier. It makes sense because it's basically a training thing, and when you got to the next level the previous one becomes easier. It's also somewhat like a selfmade challenge to me. I bought them, like them, so I also want to wear them 😄 I also agree with you on the height of stilettos. While I have many heels with around 8 cm, they're almost exclusively block or wedge heels. Stilettos require a certain height not to look like "tried but failed".

I agree with you - 8cm is a nice height for chunky heels but too low for the aesthetic of a stiletto.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 8 cm stilettos, which used to be the gold standard when I was a kid, now look weirdly stumpy to me. I think if I could go back in time I would probably be rather disappointed by the shoes I remember so fondly. This probably has nothing to do with the shoes themselves, but rather my constant exposure to 11-12 cm shoes that makes 8 cm shoes look funny to me. I suppose this effect happens in other ways also. As an electrician, if I run large conduit for a few days or a few weeks, e.g., 3 inch, "normal" size conduit like 3/4 or 1 inch looks absolutely tiny and ridiculous.

For me platforms spoil the lines of a stiletto - not so much with block heels, but stilettos have a slender elegance that seem so much at odds, aesthetically, with a platform. It seems like fitting a bull-bar to a Ferrari.

I have a hard enough time giving my seven pair of heels a regular enough rotation!

I am good with 12 and 13 single soles with is +/- the 5" height. I have some 6" singles that are still ok. Really depends on the fit but the 5's are my sweet spot. I know some don't like platforms but I do have some that are 1/2" to an 1' and some concealed but I think that some platforms don't look good to depending on the shoe or boot

I can understand why walking or trying to walk in something extreme would then make 12cm seem relatively easy, but I’ll never try them. I really dislike the extreme heel heights. To me they just look ugly, obsessive, raunchy - not at all the sort of thing that attracts me to high heels. To me it’s all about the aesthetics with the heel forming apart of the overall look. I love the lines of 12cm heels with 10cm seeming to be a nice compromise between the imperious elegance of 12cm and real world walkability if it were possible I’d be interested in trying the 13cm Louboutins, just to see what it was like, but the extreme 14cm and up heels have no appeal to me at all. Same with platforms

I will admit to having a couple of pairs of extreme-type shoes, which I bought because I wanted to see if I could actually walk in them. The answer is no, and the problem is two-fold: 1) They are made so cheaply that they're not even nice to put on, much less walk in, and 2) I do not enjoy the experience like I thought I would. Even though no one has ever seen me in these shoes, I walk so badly and awkwardly that I feel silly. If I make myself practice, I do get a little bit better after a short time of warmup, but on the whole I do not like wearing them. And yet still I aspire to wear them. I cannot explain this paradox. I will say one thing for practicing in 13+ cm heels. After wearing them for 15 minutes, your 11-12 cm heels feel like butter! I wish I had some evidence to actually prove it, but I feel like I walk so much better in normal height high heels after spending a quarter of an hour in extreme heels.

I've got about half a dozen pairs that I wear regularly for each season, so there's about a dozen, or roughly 10%. Of these, there are some that I don't really wear out in public because they're a little beat up looking. It's not that I never wear the others, but the occasions are relatively rare. For example, I have a bunch of Steve Madden pumps that have gotten a lot of picture time here, but very little wear time in the real world. Speaking of wear time, I have been very lazy this month about keeping up on my walking. It's been an incredible year so far up until this month. Hopefully I'll get my act together again next month.

I am in the same boat. I have not counted lately, I really should, but 100 pairs seems in the ball park. And with limited opportunties to wear them, I am sure pretty sure I have plenty of shoes that have yet to see the light of day.

I tried 10cm heels. Worked a treat! 😀

@Shyheels try magnesium for leg cramps,

I’m impressed that you can walk well in 12cm. A friend of mine can also walk well in 12cm - in fact they are her favourite height. She too bought a pair of Louboutin Hot Chick 13cm and while she loved them, aesthetically, she said she rarely wears them. She said she can walk in them but not to the standard she sets herself. As for me my calf muscles go into intense cramps when I try on my 12cm knee boots

I also found that above 13 cm there are almost no visually appealing heels for me, now I know why! It really seems that there's a gap where almost nothing exists. I really like the mules shown by mlroseplant, but 14 cm is very rare. And 15 cm and up just doesn't look good to me. It makes sense that 12 cm are like a cutoff point. I'd say of myself that I can walk fine in 12 cm heels, but 13 cm are much more difficult. I bought the Christian Louboutin Hot Chick 130 early when they came out and didn't expect them to be that difficult. I still only wear them rarely. They even discontinued the Hot Chick 130 and changed it to a 100, I can understand why. But the 130 version is a very special shoe for me and I'd never change them for the 100s.

Had to make a trip out of town to a specialty store for an unrelated item. Took advantage of the opportunity to hit a few chain stores in an attempt to find some kitten or low block heeled slides. I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find a pair of pumps. I tried them on not really expecting them to fit since they are standard width. I was pleasantly surprised to find they not only fit, but were comfortable. I put them on for the drive home for a bit of break in time and they started to "pinch" a bit in the toe box. Made a stop along the way and when I was standing/walking in them, the pinch went away. First pair of heels that I've ever had that were more comfortable to stand/walk in than to sit. 🤷‍♂️

Yes a friend of mine who is quite expert in heels says she’s never seen anybody who can walk gracefully in 12cm heels. In her words there’s always some little hitch, some kind of concession And with the point of heels being being grace and style and an easy imperiousness you can’t have it looking like the heel is wearing you instead of the other way around.

They look sturdy enough, and high enough!

I have thought about this for a couple of days, and I still don't know what I would wear for a race. Actually, I absolutely know what I would wear, but they don't meet the 10 cm required steepness. I don't feel like any of my boots which do meet the requirement have sturdy enough construction for a race. I suppose I would wear one of the pairs shown below. Even though they are mules, they fit quite snugly and are sturdy. In fact, the black pair has over 275 miles on it (them?), and counting!

I think my feet look ok, but I consider my hands to be unattractive. There is no way I would want to draw attention to them. I keep four right hand nails on the longer side (when I can) for the purpose of playing fingerstyle guitar.

Also, there are few enough people who can walk well in 12 cm, much less 15. I have never seen anybody in real life walk well in 12 cm. There are a few on the internet who do a amazing job.

My regular Mani/pedi is on Tuesday. Have few ideas today. Last time my nail tech choose a glitter dark blue, but I want a lighter color. Fingers - maybe she found more of the special gel color she has been using.

Yesterday, I went to my nail salon for a new mani. I got my clear/pink gel on my hands. On my right pinkie I got bright gold glitter and my left pinkie got a bright silver glitter. My regular nail tech was on vacation, so I had to settle for just color and not a design on my pinkies. Incidentally I wore a black skort with a silver sequined women's top with my new Kelly & Katie (DSW) double band, slide sandals in silver glitter with with 4" small block heels and a 1" platform. Got a nice compliment from the nail tech, " I love your shoes, they go perfect with your silver sequinned top and they show off your red pedi too!". Got another compliment from another woman getting her mani. Happy Heeling, bluejay