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This post was truly inspired by @Mr. X's recent post regarding the wearing of heels while playing a drum set. As I have also done such in the past and did not want to get weighted down in the minute and boredom of the technique in doing so, I decided to spin off a new thread as his post revived a 1/2 unpleasant memory of attending an event which involved heels many, many years ago. July 15, 1989, was somewhat of an unusual Saturday night as I and my then next-door neighbor travelled across the Chicago metro area to attend a concert by the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne. He was touring in support of No Rest for the Wicked, his first album with his newest axe grinder, Zakk Wydle, and we had fourth row seats. Most unfortunately, there were two opening acts through which we had to suffer before Ozzy et.al. hit the stage. One of those acts was White Lion, a band who then, as they and the whole ‘hair-metal’ genre of the 80’s continue to do, fill an area of a needed void. The first act to take the stage was a four-piece, female, glam outfit who called themselves Vixen. Although their music should be forgotten and they reflected just about all that was “wrong” with the ‘hair metal’ scene of the time, which is everything, to two late teenaged guys, they were gorgeous and we did not want to miss their set only for this reason! That night, all of them wore skin-tight clothing and heels, and had hair that extended several feet in the air, held in place by several gallons of hair spray. Being that close to their heels was the only aspect of their show that was tolerable in any capacity. Vixen had a video that received somewhat regular airtime on the difficult and frustrating to watch MTV’s mistitled Headbanger’s Ball (To the European members, think Eurovision but somehow, far worse) on Saturday Nights. The song was entitled Edge of a Broken Heart and although completely laughable by today’s standards, I went back and watched it on Youtube the other day. Although all of the members of the group are wearing tall heels in the video, it was interesting to see how the style of such has changed from the late 80s to today. This compelled me to think about how heel styles have changed over the years and who was at the forefront of such. Clearly, one can identify those individuals or television shows where the fashion du jour was on full display. That which I find to be amazing is the fact that although the idea of high heels essentially remains unchanged over the past few decades, designers can continually find new ways to change the physical design from year-to-year. Thus, it may be easy to place any pair of heels in the decade in which they may have been worn without any clues beyond the heels themselves. It truly stinks, to put it mildly, to know that some styles of heels have a life-style span of a season or two before they are considered to be “dated.” This, I think, is why I learn towards classical styles as what is trendy now will not be so next year and timeless styles are just that – timeless. I would rather have and wear a pair of heels that hail from Jackie Kennedy’s time than from last year as classic styling never goes out of style. The idea of short-lived footwear trends can be represented in a pair of boots I have – ‘Tulip’ (model) from Jessica Simpson. They feature a 5” heel with a ½” platform but the top has a fold-over flap which was the style about 10 years ago. When I wear these boots, I take that flap and fold it into the actual shaft for a more contemporary look or unfold it to give them an over-the-knee look. As for the show itself – Ozzy, as expected, ROCKED! Zakk covered all of the Sabbath songs very well and played those incredible solos performed by the late and great Randy Rhodes note for note. Sadly, however, it was the second time I had to endure the craptacular show of White Lion, who I witnessed open for AC/DC the previous September. The best part of their set was when it ended and the road crew moved their gear out of the way for the main act. Here is a picture of Vixen. If you should watch the video on Youtube, I highly recommend you do so with the mute on so as not to damage your hearing by simply listening to the song (if you could make it all the way to the end).

In a similar vein I feel more creative in heels, my writing and editing flows better. I think because I’ve liberated myself from those restricting conformist views that prevented visual self expression. As well, the pleasurable feeling of wearing heels inspires me to get up at regular intervals and walk around - instead of sitting g blued to my desk and computer. It’s a healthy side benefit

OK - I can not resist responding to this topic because, I, too, was a drummer and played a drumset in heel and, thus, can and do deeply relate appreciate this topic. I do apologize if I am giving you tips and/or advice on techniques of which you may have already learned. In sum, abandoned the "heel-toe" method of working the bass drum and hi-hat pedals. I was taught to use that and found it to be good only for limiting my speed and agility. If you keep the heel of your foot planted on the bass pedal, for example, it limits your ability to use that for 16th note pick-ups before the first beat of the next measure. Without wearing heels, keep the heel of your right foot on the ground and hit two 16th notes before coming in your snare or toms on the one. Then, trying the same with your foot in an elevated position as if you are wearing heels. You will notice that the elevated position allows you to hit those pick-up notes much faster than with your heel resting on the pedal. Also, as you have/will learn(ed), using the heel-toe method causes the muscles in your foot and ankle to grow tired rather quickly. Thus, the primary movement really comes from the hip while the knee remains stationary (for the most part) and the second note is a quick follow-up with the ankle. If you are wearing heels while playing and resting the heel on the pedal, the primary movement is still coming from the ankle, which is not what you want to do - movement of the leg from the hip is the best technique. Resting your foot on the pedal, heel or not, limits you ability to use your hip and ankle in combination as all movement then comes from your ankle. You will find that you can move your legs from the hip much for quickly that you can move your ankle on the pedal. Go to Youtube and search: Neil Peart - Cotton Tail with drum solo and watch the movement of his legs and feet - there are plenty of close up shots that will clearly show how he places his feet on the pedals. You will notice that only the ball of his foot is on the pedal and the movement of such originates from his hip. FWIW, this solo is undoubtedly one of the finest on a four-piece drum kit you will ever see. That which I do not like about it is his use of traditional grip - don't EVEN get me started on that!

I have continued to wear pumps this week, only now I have an actual picture! My son and I went to the mall yesterday to buy Mama a new computer. It's the first time I'd been shopping at a mall in well over a year, I bet it's been more like two years. I managed my Steve Madden Daisies reasonably well, and even got a compliment from a stranger! They are the mauve colored ones I introduced a while back, and for some reason, they do not look it in this picture. I wore the same pants and shoes Sunday to church, but a different shirt. These Maddens are becoming quite comfy to wear for longer periods of time, despite the fact that they're not leather. They're almost giving the Vince Camutos a run for their money. The other thing of note is how much my feet don't hurt. Some of you may recall my story about going to the mall in my brand new boots 12 years ago, and nearly not making it back to the car because of the pain. I didn't think about it while I was there, but it's the same mall, we went to the same store, I had higher shoes this time, and it didn't even occur to me that I might get sore feet.

I have actually worn pumps 5/7 days this week, and in each case, I wore them with slightly flared pants, which seems to be back in style again. Probably more radical flares are actually in style, but mine are recycled from the last time. Most of my stuff is super skinny, and I have adopted that style for the last 10 years to the point that my flared pants, of which I have only two pair left, are practically New Old Stock because they've been worn so rarely. I get by with skinny jeans better than most guys because I'm pretty small, but it is nice to have a little variety now that I've allowed myself. I will say that it is much easier to get flared pants on and off that it is skinny jeans, and pointy-toed pumps do go rather well with flared pants. One has to be careful with round toes and flared pants because under the wrong circumstances, it looks like you have no feet. I do not have my flared pants hemmed super long, They're an inch to an inch and a half off the floor. Certainly not the style of the early 2000s, where the ideal was to show just a tease of heel between the floor and hem. You could barely see little pins sticking out, leaving the gazer wondering whether the wearer had mere kitten heels or proper stilettos. In some ways it was alluring, and in others it was frustrating. Not so with the latest iteration of flowing legged pants. I have been mainly wearing Steve Madden single sole pumps this week, but I did break out the much neglected Nine West Plantera platforms also. My favorite pumps, from a fit standpoint anyway, are my Vince Camuto Carra stacked heel pumps. They are very pointy-toed, so they work well with flared pants. They are single sole with a slim, tapered heel about 5/8" wide in plain black leather. They are remarkably tall at 4 3/8". I say remarkably because when you glance at them, they don't look all that tall. It can take you by surprise when you put them on. They are pretty steep compared to what their styling would suggest. If you scroll back to my October 2nd post, you can see pictures of them. I haven't taken any new photographs since then. The crazy thing about these pumps is that they fit. When I used to see women who wore pumps every day, I think this is how they must have fit. Not tight in the toes, and yet I don't walk out of them with every step. It's like I can just slip them on and go. Or I could, were they 3/4" lower. I still have to warm up in them before I step out of the house. What I'm saying is, unlike most of my other pumps, I do not have to wait for my toes to rearrange themselves inside of the shoes for a few minutes after I put them on. And, they're the only single sole pumps I own that I've actually walked in for exercise. I may be wrong about this, but I believe they're the only pumps that I've worn for a full day all at once. Unfortunately, they are beginning to suffer from that flaky deterioration that so many non-leather linings exhibit. It's not that bad yet, but eventually I suppose they will become unwearable. I plan on wearing pumps again to church today, we'll see what I end up wearing. In the meantime, it's going to be clogs for my morning constitutional. I still prefer shoes that do not touch the back of my heel.

Great advice for sure: never shy away from others when they look at you. No matter what, "never let them see you sweat". I am so happy to be close to the "I don't give a f@@k" stage also. Keep in mind that the men and women that might criticize the loudest are usually the most frustrated because they don't have the guts or build to pull off great outfits like CAT does. CAT has gone to great lengths to take good care of himself, and grooms appropriately, so definitely deserves all the enjoyment of wearing those outfits publicly.... I hear ya for sure brother! I too wish that someone would offer me constructive criticism about the way I walk/carry myself in boots, but perhaps I don't want to know. Perhaps a video, so I could judge myself. Better yet, go to some sort of training course for walking in heels! I do know my limits though. I have chicken legs, so probably can not pull off hose or tights very well. But, I do like the way I look in snug levis/some womens' jeans with my boots. Just a plain older guy in great boots and jeans I guess. I was thrilled the other day while wearing my new "Hunter gloss black tall refined rain boots" over my levis while in the mall. A somewhat younger man who was running one of the concessions went out of his way to come out of his concession to compliment my Hunters and tell me I looked great. I thanked him profusely.