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I haven't been practicing in my super high heels much this month, but I did wear what are effectively 100 mm stiletto boots for a 1,6 km walk yesterday. @Shyheels, though I will probably use both systems of measurement for my own thread, I've pretty much decided to go ahead and use SI units for general discussion. It's just easier that way, though I admit, "four inch heel" has a ring to it, but that's obviously my upbringing.

It is now time to reveal my most durable shoes. They hold this title by a wide margin. I would never have guessed that these would hold the record, especially given their shaky start in history. They are True Religion brand, model name unknown. I got them in June of 2019, and have walked a total of 314 miles (506 km) in them, and counting. The last time I wore them was 5 days ago, when I walked 2.1 miles. They have been reheeled 5 times, and resoled once. The heel is 4 1/2 inches (114 mm) tall, with a 1/2 inch (13 mm) platform. The heel is 3/4" (19mm) wide at the base. How I got here is a complete mystery. I bought an orange pair of these back in 2013, the first year I really started heeling in public. I soon got rid of them because a) I couldn't imagine a situation where I would ever dare to wear orange shoes, much less orange high heeled sandals, in public, and b) they were very tight, and once I got them on, were super high to me at the time. I think I made it once around the block in them, and decided they weren't for me. Much much later, I found a brown pair, and decided to give them another go. By this time, I was much more experienced, and I really liked them. Then I lost a heel tip on a walk one day, didn't notice it right away, and it completely ruined the heel. Then I bought this black pair to replace the ruined pair. I actually lost the OEM heel tip on this pair also, but I noticed it before any damage occurred. Fast forward a few years, and I began to notice that although I don't feel they are the most attractive shoes in the world, I often picked them over others to walk in, and I've also done several farmer's markets in them, which involves a minimum of 5 hours of standing. When I got to 200 miles, I figured they were not long for this world, so when I had the chance, I bought a brown pair and an orange pair to eventually replace them. I've put about 50 miles on the brown pair and just a few miles on the orange pair, but the black pair refuses to wear out. Whatever composite wood material these soles and heels are made of is evidently very stiff, but is not at all resistant to abrasion should you lose a heel tip. Without the rubber heel tip, they're done in a matter of a few blocks. I believe that the inherent stiffness of the material has allowed them to be so durable, coupled with the fact that the upper is 100% leather, including the liner and the sock. There is wear, to be sure, but not complete deterioration like you get with man made liners and socks. I do not believe that there is a metal shank, nor is there need for one. I suppose if they do fail someday, the whole shoe is going to crack in half. I am really curious to see if they'll make it to 500 miles.

I understand what you mean. I used to do a lot of long distance running and heel strike there is very much that - a hard strike. Whereas when you’re wearing heels, as you say, the heel acts more like a guide than point of impact. Subtle bit important difference. i think that is one of the mistakes I make with my 12cm heels - because of their extra length they strike that bit earlier than I am expecting.

Well y'all @Shyheels @higherheels, I think about this stuff way too much. For the purposes of this thread at this time, I will pare it down to the bare minimum. Since childhood, I have always been hard on heels, whether it was athletic shoes, work boots, or dress shoes. I would always wear the heels out in the middle (indicating that my weight is balanced in the middle of my feet as it should be), but they would wear out very quickly. As I began to wear higher and higher heels, this natural tendency continued, causing a lot of wear to heel tips, and in the worst case, causing shanks to break, turning the shoes into landfill material. A few years ago I started to study walking, specifically in heels, in an attempt to make myself look more presentable and more graceful. I have amalgamated knowledge from many different places, but the one thing that seems to be universal among those who can (by my estimation) walk in heels well, but is often unspoken is this: Yes, you want to walk heel-to-toe (of course), but you don't want to "heel strike." This is a runner's term that I've borrowed to describe what I believe is a mistake that some people make in heels. The heel is meant to be nothing more than a guide to get you smoothly through the next step for that instant until the forefoot can touch down. It is not meant to bear the whole force of your stride. In other words, think of placing the heel down, rather than slamming it down aggressively. Then, it's just a glide to the forefoot, and hopefully in that millisecond the tall heel will deform very little, stress to the shank will be greatly reduced, and yes, the heel tips will last substantially longer. This is more difficult to explain in written words than I thought it would be. Please let me know if something needs clarification.

Those JS boots are amazing, I had a similar pair. Love the chains, great accessory

Is anyone interested in a "Best Dressed" contest for 2026? If so, respond and I will be happy to organize it all! I'm in with an intent to give others (i.e. @CAT) a run for his stilettos! The photo is a picture of some new pumps from this past summer.

It just so happens that Halloween is my wedding anniversary and this year, I wore a pair of faux suede, just OTK boots with a leather skirt to dinner.

I, too, love wedges. To me, however, they seem to be more of a summer shoe but I do have a pair of wedge knee-high boots that I love. I tend to think that when worn "properly" wedges can be just as alluring as a pair of stilettos, as illustrated by my photo.

Hi Heelguypa! I think any of the "regular" members can appreciate your feelings. First, those Larina heels are wickedly gorgeous! If did not have seemingly 300 pairs of shoes and boots, you better believe that I would pick-up a pair! When it comes to wearing heels out in public, there is "a lot" of advice on this forum about how to approach doing so - all of it good. Any man/male who has ever worn a pair of heels out in public knows exactly how you feel, and any one of them will tell you that the first time doing so is always the hardest. Trust me when I say that it gets easier the more you do it. I recommend that you read through those posts on the "for the guys" part of it as there are many great stories and encouragement about doing so. If it was not for this forum and the stories of others I read some time ago, I probably would have never summoned the courage to take that first step - literally. Now, rarely can I head out in a pair of heels without receiving a compliment. I have said this in many previous posts but it is always worth repeating - "Those that mind don't matter and those that matter don't mind." The photo included is the outfit I wore to work to day. So yes - it can be done and doing so is one step at a time. The outfit: Boots/Jessica Simpson Tulip; Boot chains from Shoebidoo (out of Utrecht).

We’ve had light flurries and a hard frost - enough for the towpath to harden even if the puddles are now iced over. There’s no way anyone would risk their heels or their ankles trying to walk on that surface in stilettos, but it was nice to be able to go for a stroll in my blocky heeled knee boots! @higherheels I’m impressed that you’re making progress in those lofty new boots of yours. I can see how the progression in heights - normal heels, Hot Chicks and then the new boots would help. Because if my time practicing in my 12cm boots my 10cm feel wonderfully easy. I’m really pleased by that.

You have certainly acquired a lot of practical knowledge and skills in the course of your research!

What exactly did you do for a more gentle walk? I also run through a lot of heel tips on my stilettos, but never thought about "walking style"

Great video, I can absolutely agree to what she says about the Hot Chicks. I'm impressed that she says she walked like a mile in them, that's crazy! Seems she's very used to such heels, but even then it must hurt like hell in the end. @mlroseplant That's funny, I thought you're a warm person because you always wear sandals - I didn't know it's just your feet 😀 We've had our first snow now. This was probably it this year for the Hot Chicks. But I'm not ready yet to wear out my new boots. It's getting better, but mostly because they're already broken in a bit. The height is still a challenge. Only if I wear normal heels for the day, then wear the Hot Chicks for my evening walk, and then directly change into the boots they feel easier.

I’m hoping those temperatures you’re citing are in °C because if 6-8°F and windy is still fine for you in sandals you are truly heroic

At least you've got firewood now. Except for a few days when we had a bit of a cold snap, the weather has been on the warmer side for here. It is supposed to become more seasonal next week, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The temperature as I write this at 4 a.m. is 5º. In a week, it will be more like -5 at this time. My body has aged strangely. I am pretty much colder than all of my colleagues, who are 99% male. I wear long johns from October to April, albeit it capri length cotton leggings for most of that time. Though I love to wear shorts, the season where I can comfortably do so is pretty short. [rim shot]. This has its advantages come summer, when I handle the heat much more easily than almost everybody. Evidently, my feet did not get the memo that I'm a cold person. Today, much like yesterday, and the day before, my walking outfit will consist of jeans, t-shirt, long sleeved t-shirt, capri length leggings under the jeans, medium weight jacket, hat, lightweight gloves, and sandals. The dog walkers I usually encounter at that hour are dressed less warmly than me, but I'm the only one in sandals at that temperature, the range of which goes down to 0º, as long as it's not very windy. If it is windy, 6-8º is just fine. Below 0º, I will go to clogs if there's no snow on the ground. I would gladly trade some of my foot warmth for some extra body warmth, but I don't really have a choice in the matter.

This in no way relates to what many of you are seeing in scale, but I was talking with a doctor; a woman who told me she was 29 years old. When she found out where I lived, she mentioned she had been there to hike the many trails. Since I walk the 4.5 mile loop every day, we got talking about the difficulty of it, to which she said, "it's not a difficult hike. Not one I would do wearing my high heels though..." It just surprised me as she looked a bit more earth-based and yet used high heels to make a point on the trail's difficulty. In the office she was wearing high heeled knee-high boots so I guess it should not have been a surprise. I was glad to see and hear the younger generation at least has some in their closets!

I thought I must include my most durable stilettos in this thread, even though the total mileage is not all that impressive. My Shoedazzle rainbow mules are among the most comfortable truly high heels that I own. Even though they measure every bit of 4 5/8" without a platform, they feel very natural to walk in, and I have caught myself walking further than I intended more than once. As I have said on several occasions in the past, I don't normally wear stilettos for actual walking because I don't really find it all that fun, having to watch out exactly where I'm stepping every second. Nevertheless, I've managed 32 miles in these particular stilettos, and at some point I'll probably put a few more on. Part of the reason why I chose these for longer distance walking is because I wanted to do an experiment a couple of years ago to see if in fact I could make a pair of heel tips last a decent amount of time with a gentler style of walking. The answer to the question was yes. I was able to squeeze 16 miles out of a set of tips when my previous average was 8. For comparison, a thicker heel will last me four times that distance. While these shoes are easy to walk in, they do have their drawbacks. The nylon mesh fabric that the uppers are made of does tend to rub the feet raw if you're walking any real distance, so I need to make sure I use bandaids if I'm going for an actual walk. With a little bit of forethought and preparation, these are two mile shoes.

I had a similar experience with a pair of boots I’d not worn in ages. The fit felt awkward for no obvious reason.

Very impressive to walk in those! I think I’d be lucky to stand upright! im back to my block heeled OTK boots as the cold weather has settled in here. Down to -4°C at night. Getting up in the morning it’s very nice to be able to put on heavy suede OTK boots. My stilettos are thinner and not so warm!

I am familiar with that video, though I haven't followed her in years. She also did a review of the Louboutin Merci Allen 130, which is the model I would buy if I could. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they make any of that stuff anymore. There is another video where Ms. Winter walks for an extended distance in Hot Chicks as an experiment. I don't know if any of these videos are still up, but I distinctly remember those two for sure.

Interesting review. I’m even more impressed with @higherheels efforts to master these.

Getting back to the Hot Chicks discussion, this lady ('Engineering in Heels') has a number of videos showing her wearing, and analysing in detail, some very high stilettos - 13cm and above. Well worth a viewing. Link to one of the Hot Chick 130 appraisals:

Stilettos and rounded toes is indeed a rare combination. I think they were more popular in the past.

I much prefer almond toes, but they are so hard to find with stilettos. Italian Heels makes a very nice pump with rounded/almond toes and 12cm stiletto heels that I like the look of. I’ve never worn pumps, only boots. I’m curious and a bit tempted

Ah, yes I've also seen her on the Fuss-Schuhe Shop when I looked for the older videos I remembered. She's also very skilled! I agree with you that this isn't a typical "walk" anymore, but it's still impressive. Such extreme heels are probably made for photoshootings only and to show what's possible, I don't think anyone uses them for normal things like we use our heels. I'm a big fan of pointed toes, but I also don't like the super long ones. Despite the extreme height I actually like both heels from the videos, the peeptoes even a bit more.