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So true... Design and construction mean so much...

Interesting. I think it also depends on the design and construction of the shoe or boot. I have a pair of very lovely black suede OTK boots by Jean Gaborit with a slender heel ⅜ inch wide at the base. It is very stable. It is easy to forget that you are walking in a slender heel while wearing them. Of course these are boots not shoes or sandals and therefore offer more ankle support. They are well designed and the nubuck suede is quite thick and luxurious, and that in turn adds to the level of support given to your ankles and lower leg.

Yes! It was WWII metallurgical advances that created slender steel rods of sufficient strength to make stilettos a viable proposition. The idea of stilettos had been around since the 20s but were impractical - the heels couldn’t be made strong enough. Roger Vivier introduced what we know as the stiletto in 1953 and they caught on quickly. Ive no doubt that is the peacocks at the Sun Kings court could fave worn stilettos, they would have!

As a result of the latest turn to the conversation, I actually dragged out several pairs of shoes to do an experiment. I wanted to determine at what heel width does the heel start to contribute actual stability to the human platform. No pun intended. Although my experiment doesn't meet any sort of scientific standard and is purely subjective, it might interest some, as this has been a subject of discussion in the past. My methodology was to walk slowly, stopping often at key points in the stride to get a feel for how much force it took to tip the heel sideways from the normal vertical position. The key points being those times when both heel and forefoot are in contact with the floor. Most of what I discovered is not surprising, but some of it is. I didn't even bother to test stilettos because I think we can all agree that the heel itself very little lateral resistance to tipping. While I don't find them difficult to walk in, that's not universally true. I started with heels that are 3/4" wide, of which I own many pairs. It's my favorite heel width besides stilettos, being much more practical for everyday outdoor use than is a stiletto. As I suspected, at 3/4", the heel provides very little lateral stability when standing or walking, very similar to a stiletto. At 1" heel width, that's where one can begin to tell that's he for sure not wearing stilettos. By 1 1/4" in width, the heel is a big contributing factor to shoe stability, in that it takes a lot of ankle force to rock one's heel from side to side. Once you get bigger than 1 1/4", it seems like the law of diminishing marginal return kicks in. Of course, there is nothing really surprising here, and there are a number of other factors which can affect shoe stability, so it's kind of a silly exercise, but I did it anyhow, just to put some numbers on it. The one kind of surprising thing I found it that when the heel cap becomes significantly worn, as many of mine are, that throws off stability more than you'd think. A 1" broad heel with a worn heel cap is significantly easier to move laterally than one with a brand new one. Keep in mind these tests were done on smooth, hard flooring, and may not directly apply to the real world.

Well, the right place, wherever it is, will not be a place where one would wear the suits with which they have been paired in the catwalk

Those thigh boots look almost identical to (fishing) waders in all but material. Waders are 'acceptable' male wear - in the right place - so perhaps these new boots could follow in their footsteps (pun intended)? The question is - what is the right place?

My podiatrist advise me to wear at least 2.5 inch heels to deal with my extreme high arches. I go to a nail salon where it is more of a coop, where each nail tech has their own clients and manicure stations, but share space and pedicure stations. Very, very hard to get in for none-regulars. And I get great leg and foot massage, too. I wear open toes throught the year. Not much this month. I too let my nail tech do dealers choice, bt many times I have a design in my head when I come in. After the pedicure I get my manicure. I have damaged figernails so I get acrylic nails with gel color. Ran errands this morning, 4 random compliments on them. Men can get colored fingernails. PS. My podriatrst loves my nail color.