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This does seem to be a very hidebound generation - as you say heels used to be considered fun and exciting. Now everything g is very worthy and earnest and requires the approval of the Twitter mobs

I feel like most of the girls today who wear heels for such events don't really do it for joy but because "nicer clothes" as you say are expected. In my days of youth, for most girls in my area it was more that we were excited to be able/allowed to wear heels and looking for every possible occasion where we were allowed to do so. The classic black pump wasn't really a thing for us younger girls. Pumps yes, but almost everything had a platform 😄 this was mid-2000s.

I stopped off after work yesterday to pick up my son, who was auditioning for a regional honor band. There were hundreds of high school kids at this audition, along with hundreds of parents. It was one of those deals where they expected the kids to dress nicely. Maybe not formal concert black, but they needed to wear something a little nicer than normal. When I finally found the place, and was trying to figure out where to find my son, the first thing I noticed was a mom in 4 inch chunky-heeled boots. Then I saw another mom in 3 inch heeled boots. In the 15-20 minutes I was there, I saw many high school girls in heels, mostly sandals (in spite of the season), and all of them were this modern style of super chunky, big heels, most of them with platforms. The way I figure it, girls these days buy heels for a high school formal dance, and then recycle these for occasions such as yesterday. What one does not see much of at all these days is just a normal, conservative black pump, something every girl my age who had any occasion to dress up would have owned from age 15 on. Nowadays, it's either boots or sandals. We are in a strange time. "They" say that heels are dead with Gen Z. I can tell you that this is not strictly true. I'm hoping that this is like the 90s, and that shoes will eventually get less huge.

It's better to not take a risk if the conditions outside are bad. There will come a time when you can wear them out again.

Well done! that’s excellent news! I shifted my boat up the canal and thought I might be able to get a bit of real world practice in on a better conditioned towpath but a quick survey made me think better. I did go for a long stroll in my chunky heeled (8cm) boots which was nice. My 12cm practice is still all done indoors.

I can imagine that it must be hard for you to find heels in your size. I'm not very often at Deichmann, but their stock on high heels generally degraded, not speaking of size. I'm looking forward to wear out my new boots this weekend. All the snow is gone again, so this might be a good chance. I wore them indoors everyday now and also did stretching exercises. In difficulty they now feel similar as the Hot Chicks did before, so I made some progress 🙂

Your decision makes sense indeed. Slipping/falling/possible injury are things we all need to avoid indeed.... I'm looking forward to a little snow so I can wear my gloss black knee high Hunter refined rain boots.... A true compliment indeed! Sounds like a great shopping trip, sorry they didn't have your size. Did you have a chance to talk with the other man who did find a pair?

Decided to go into Deichmann in Glasgow on Monday. Was looking at a few heels myself, alas they had stock that was too small. However, there was another man trying on a pair or knee high boots with a 3-4 inch heel on it. Clearly in not the only guy here who is interested in heels. He must have had small enough feet as UK 8 was their largest.

Now that's a nice compliment you got 🙂

Nice story! I can well imagine block heels would work in snow. I find 8cm block heel boots very, very easy to walk in. I had a funny experience today when I was walking into the boatyard to buy some kindling. I was wearing a pair of grey suede OTK boots with 8cm heels and one of the women boaters jokingly told me she was going to be mug me one of these days for my boots. Apparently she loved boots and heels and likes the styles of mine very much.

Yes, winter can be a tough time for the higher heels. In snowy or icy conditions I also prefer something lower and a block heel, such conditions can even be difficult in flats. But boots with a low block heel can be just as good. It's been like 15 years ago that I last wore any flat boots for winter, and I never had any problems since. This reminds me of a funny story a few years ago. We were (once again 😉) out at a christmas market with friends. Because snow was everywhere I wore a pair of boots with a block heel, something around 8 cm. While at the christmas market, we saw that on a nearby mountain there was also a christmas market which looked nice, so we decided to visit this one too. It was only a small mountain, something like 150 meters of altitude from the bottom and only accessible via a footpath. My husband and friends asked me "are you sure you can handle this path in your heels?", but I had no doubt because they had a good sole, block heel and weren't that high. And I wasn't wrong, it was really easy. Uphill was pretty much the same as with flats, and downhill I even had a bit of an advantage when walking on the side of the footpath where the snow was a bit softer. Because my heels could grip into it. I sure got some funny looks when other people obviously struggled more in their Uggs and such than me in my heels 😀 So this is my proof that heels can be as good as flats or even better in snow.

I totally understand! It’s what I face all the time in the towpath. If I’m lucky and it’s frozen I can manage my chunky heeled boots on the frozen ruts and bumps. Otherwise it’s a slick mire. I do my challenge heels practicing indoors - at that I can get around 15 paces each way (maybe a bit more) so it’s not a total loss.

I may be in a holding pattern with my training for a while. I had planned to take a couple of days off from walking just because I needed some rest, but then the snow hit. On the last day of November, I had some extra time, so I thought I would walk a mile in something a little bit high, like 10 cm, just to keep myself from going downhill too much. The snow was over, and I wasn't in a hurry, so I thought, "Why not? It will be fun!" I thought I might even leave a few footprints here and there that would raise eyebrows. I pulled on my knee high boots, put on my coat and scarf, and headed outside. I got about 20 meters down the street and looked at the continuous sheet of packed snow and ice ahead of me, thought of my smooth, slick bottomed boots, thought of my less-than-youthful age, and then actually said out loud, "This is a BAD idea." I turned around and went back inside. I took the next day off, too. On the third day, I did walk, but I chose lugged rubber soled boots with 8 cm block heels. One never knows what the weather will bring, but at least for the next couple of weeks, I'm not going to be pushing any crazy steep heeled boundaries. Even the garage floor is kind of slick.

Me too! My “10cm” boots are scaled up for my size but are the equivalent of 10cm in standard size and are very easy to wear all day. My 12cm boots - my challenge heels - are also scaled up for size and are the equivalent of 12cm in the standard size 38

So they should be like a 10 cm heel in "standard size", I also like such a height for office days.

They are size 11, Nine West shoes are narrow. I had 4 "love those heels" today. Maybe I'll wear my black ones tomorrow

Sounds like a nice pair of boots for work. In a bigger size they won't be that steep and comfortable for a whole workday.

So today I pulled out my Nine West leather knee high boots and measured the heel, 4.75 inches, just over 12 cm, no platform. Small block heel. I have these in two colors, wearing the dark red/brown ones today. Haven't worn these in many months but plan on at least 8 hours in them today at work. Don't plan on having any troubles in them.

My best to all for a healthy/happy holiday season

Yes, the dress code rules for the asian airlines are usually very rigid, so heels are required. I always felt badly for my female crewmembers. Policy required them to wear heels in the terminal, then they could change to flats on the plane. Needless to say, some folks are comfortable wearing heels all the time, many are not. This policy was rarely enforced at my airline, except for new hires. I was always amazed/envious of a few women that wore great heels all the time, and made it look comfortable and effortless.

Like everyone says, start of with lower block heels. It is unreasonable to expect to be able to step into 5" stilettos and enjoy walkiung. Fumbling around in ill fitting heels that are too tall is a confidence killer. Being confident is just as important as being skilled.

Indeed, I had the electrical system on my boat installed by a guy who turned out to be utterly incompetent, although he was working for a guy with a long and very good reputation in the boat building world. Because of the builders reputation, I never saw this screwball for what he was until it was too late and it ended up being a complete mess.

Perhaps so, but one still hears accounts of petty job demarcation and restrictive practices that interrupt progress, or worse. I should have added to my last note that, although the tradesmen working at my stepson's house seem competent and generally efficient, there are many such people offering their services who carry out shoddy, over-priced and sometimes dangerous work, especially for naiive householders. My wife may complain about me being a slow and maybe fussy worker, but at least I get a decent job done at minimal cost.

I went from 2 inch to 4 inch in one minute, BUT I had done years of toe raiser on inclines to recover from multiple ankle reconstructions. Men's shoes were the problem for destroying my ankles and knees.

I only know our german christmas markets, so I also have no comparison. From your descriptions it may be better that I don't know others 😀