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This will be perhaps the most unusual "new boots/shoes" post I have ever made, which will be evident when I explain my intended course of action with these NOS Simply Vera Wang Svellie ankle boots in dark gray. I had a black pair exactly like these 12 years ago, and they were the only pair of shoes that I actually bought in a store. Simply Vera is Vera Wang's inexpensive shoe line, and is or was sold at Kohl's. These boots came in the original box, and look as though they were tried on, but never actually worn. They feature 5 1/8" slim heels, about 3/4" in diameter, and a 1" platform, about half of which is hidden, yielding an effective 4 1/8" steepness, which is quite reasonable and not too crazy for me. These days. It wasn't always so. I know I have told this story before, but now I have pictures to go along with it. Shortly after purchasing this boot model 12 years ago, my wife and I had to go up to a shopping mall to the mobile phone store. I proudly wore my new 5 inch boots, which my wife really, really didn't like back then. This was one of my first few pairs of heels ever, and it may have been the first pair that sported shockingly tall heels. So yes, at that time I had been wearing heels publicly for about six months or so, but not very often, and the heels weren't very high. We went to the mobile phone store, and I don't remember any of the business that went on there, but I do remember that they were very busy, and we had to stand and wait for the better part of an hour. And as you know, standing is often way worse than walking if you're not used to heels. Whenever I tell this story, I have often used the phrase, "I thought I was going to DIE before we got back to the car." I did not literally think I was going to die, but I had serious doubts about whether I was going to make it back to the car with those boots on. Oh, it hurt SO bad. And we're talking probably 15 minutes total walking to and from the car, and 45 minutes to an hour of standing, really not all that long. Of course, since my wife was very negative on my shoes, I couldn't really let on that I could barely walk, could I? I toughed it out and somehow managed to cover up my true feelings. Somehow or other, since we took her car up to the mall, I was able to not drive and I can't remember whether I took my boots off, or secretly cringed all the way home, thankful that I was at least seated once again. I do remember thinking to myself, "This whole high heel thing is just a fantasy. Now I get why women can't or won't wear these shoes all the time." I was very discouraged, and thought about giving up the whole thing right then and there, which would have made my wife very happy. As you know, that did not happen. After just a couple of days of brooding, I started to wear my lower heels pretty much everywhere I could, and eventually, I believe my system of purposefully walking and recording the statistics in heels was born during the first half of 2013. It took a while, but by 2015, after many miles in lower heels, I was able to walk 5 miles in these boots with no issues, my first time to walk that far in what I would call a "high" heel. As shown here, which was yesterday, I had walked a mere 3 miles right before this picture was taken, and would spend the remainder of the morning running errands in them. I try not to let myself forget just how badly those things had hurt 12 years ago, to remind myself and show to others that things that seem impossible are not always impossible. I'm not one of those guys who will say, "Anyone can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it." This is patently false. However, many people can accomplish quite a lot more than it seems at first. Now for their future: As soon as I wear the stock heel tips down, they are going in the trash. Although they have never been worn, the chemical reaction of being so old and not leather has caused the gray color to peel off massively from the first time I wore them. How disappointing. They are plenty fine for walking in the dark, but they become less and less presentable with each passing day. Luckily, I have found a replacement already, and hopefully they don't have the exact same problem. If they do, we'll just have to find something else that is real leather.

I have not been keeping up with the new purchases as of late. Part of this is due to the fact that my photo standards have gotten higher over the years. I do not particularly enjoy taking pictures of myself, but I do so for the sake of this group, mainly. And one other person who is not part of this group. As I have intimated recently, I have been expanding my boot collection this winter, particularly the ankle boots. My latest purchase was these Aldo Marille combat/motorcycle boots. The reason I bought them was because I was somewhat dismayed by how huge the heels on my last boot purchase were. I wanted something in more or less the same style, but a little less extreme. I think I have found the answer in the Aldo boots, as long as they hold up to actual use. They are still quite rugged looking, having a lugged heel cap as well as a lugged sole, but at 1 5/8" in heel width, they are not quite as chunky looking as my other similarly styled boots. The heel height comes in at the same 4 3/8" tall as the Steve Maddens, but they appear taller because of their slimmer appearance. However, the effective steepness is less than the Maddens by a substantial 3/8", simply because of the internal construction of the footbed. The platform is a true 3/4", making the effective heel height a somewhat tame 3 5/8", or just barely over 9 cm. I have worn them out a few times now, and they easily passed the 2 mile walking test, though they are ever so slightly narrow. This has a side effect of looking absolutely adorable on my feet, which is why I took a top view photo. You'd swear I wear size 36 from this photo. I may choose to use a shoe stretcher on them in the future, or maybe they will stretch from just wearing them. Being as they are not overly tall, I can zoom in these boots. I clocked 19:00 miles just yesterday, which is not a lot faster, but notably faster than I normally walk in 4 inch heels. Of course, it was colder than crap yesterday, which probably encouraged me to walk faster than I normally do.

Great advice. It is so important to be able to handle whatever style heels you are wearing confidently. Stumbling around, being unsteady, will draw unwanted attention for sure. We think the whole world is watching, but they aren't, too busy with their own lives. Nonetheless, being nervous about the public environment, sometimes leads us to "overthink" our heeling abilities. In other words, heels that we can handle well at home might be more of a struggle in public because our minds are playing games with us. Heading out with a gal/guy pal while healing helps ease the nervousness as well. And you can do it also buddy! Don't expect miracles the first time out. Wear you boots out at night, perhaps to fuel up your car or take a walk in a park. It does easier, quickly.