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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 😀

Them days are over, friend. You can't afford to be too much of a lazy ass these days, or you'll probably be the subject of a one-man layoff pretty quick!

I saw the report in the Grauniad (the name was given by Private Eye in the days when that paper was famous for its typos). I went to the Birmingham market a few years ago (2019 I think) and it looked pretty good. It was certainly big. After a while I realised that the same stalls seemed to be occurring multiple times which wasn't so good. I've not been to a genuine German market so i don't have a reference point.

A lot of it depends upon what you wish to do in heels. As is the experience with most here, I started low and went gradually higher. I spent a lot of time wearing 3 - 3 1/2" before I got to where I was truly ready for anything higher. Not that I didn't go higher sooner, but it's always a shock to catch a glimpse of yourself in a storefront window, and think, "Who is that idiot, and why is he walking so funny?" "Oh, that's me." We would rather avoid those moments, so practice in lower heels is advisable. It also depends upon how durable you want to be. Do you want to wear 5 inch heels to Disney World, on multiple days? I'm sure there is somebody out there who can do it, but it would be a select few in the world, kind of like there's only a few Olympic caliber athletes in the world. Do you care what you look like when you walk? I can "walk" just fine in 5 inch heels, but I wouldn't want anybody to see me. I am living proof that it is possible to be able to wear heels that are quite steep for long periods of time, and over long distances, but I didn't get there very quickly at all. It took years. Some people can do it in much less time that me, but that's been my own personal experience.

Yes, I’m looking forward to it! Yes, you’d be surprised and probably amused by our “German” Christmas markets. There was a story about them in the Guardian a few days ago. Apparently the one in Birmingham is the closest to a genuine German Christmas market. The descriptions of yours sounded wonderful - and a lovely evening to go around in stiletto boots.

I didn't know that our markets are object to a bad imitation, crazy. Yes that's the issue with stilettos. At our christmas market were paths and places with cobblestones and my heels were stilettos, that's really not the best combination. Your idea with bringing your 12 cm boots with you sounds great!

Yes. They imitate German Christmas markets here - badly! I would have liked to have worn my stilettos to the town fete but the walk along the towpath is just too rough. I am thinking of packing my 12cm boots in a knapsack and walking into town, and changing there. Or maybe taking the bus and the train and trying my stilettos at the imitation Christmas market in Leeds

I have no real idea of the corresponding 'union' position in the UK, but doubtless it will impede work and increase costs and time on a major construction project. Fortunately, a great deal of new-build and renovation work is done by non-union businesses and individual tradesmen, who are usually fairly adaptable and often multi-skilled. I can fairly claim to be too, in my 'amateur' way - and am currently doing some work (alas, unpaid!) on my middle stepson's rebuilt and extended house, alongside 'professional' builders, plasterers, plumbers and sparkies - none of whom seem to upset the others or object to my input - which has necessarily included some reworking of what they have done, e.g. moving a wrongly-placed socket outlet and altering skirting boards to accommodate fitted wardrobes. So much for my retirement ...!

Indeed they are very nice. Oh, so in britain they try to imitate the german christmas markets? Yes, it's really great to try something new from time to time. And I'm sure it would've not been as comfortable if I didn't have the recent training from our challenge! Your experience sounds great too 🙂