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Heyo. Decided to try a pair of Sneex. Kinda clunky to look at, but they are comfortable to walk around in.

After shattering my ankle nearly a year ago and finally finishing physical therapy, I've been making up for lost time. I've been shopping quite a bit on Mercari and Poshmark over the last couple of months. I've picked up some Lucky Brand sandals, Torrid mary janes, Nine West open toed pumps, Vince Camuto sandals, some Tom's wedges, and my favorites by far, Vince Camuto Frasper heeled sandals in black. I like them so much I got a second pair as backup. Wedges aren't normally my thing, but I still struggle to walk properly in heels. After trying them, I'm really starting have a change of heart.

I bought my first pair when I was in high school in the early 90's. It was a navy blue pair of pumps from Payless with a silver decorative piece on the front. The men's shoes were on the wall directly across from the larger women's sizes. I must've pretended to look at men's shoes for twenty minutes before I got the courage to go to the cashier with them.

I too have wondered why I have heard that same comment over and over again, "Oh, I can't wear heels." Or, alternatively, "I can't wear heels anymore." I understand that there are some valid physical reasons why somebody can't wear heels, or at least not for very long. However, thinking back to my own experience, I think a lot of these obstacles can be overcome. It's just that overcoming the physical challenge of wearing heels requires a lot of work, and I don't think most women want to put in that kind of effort. Or perhaps it would never occur to them that it's a skill rather than just a fashion choice. In any case, it's generally a conversation that can't go well. This is why I tend to say very little in reply to such comments, and do much as you did, saying something like, "Ehhh, they're really not all that bad."

I have been wearing heels to work (and almost everywhere else) for over 10 years. I have heard the “How can you wear those? I can’t wear heels" statement hundreds of times. Here are some on the reasons I have heard and some I have reasoned myself. (1) Their feet got wider when they got pregnant and they can't get heels that fit, now. A very valid reason. (2) They ruin their feet when they were young by wear ill fitting heels. (3) They never learned how, they have weak ankles, never ran or played sports, so they never strengthen their ankle. (4) They wore running (trainers for the Brits) their whole life and never developed the balance needed to wear heels. I watched a college graduation 10 years ago and you could see those women have trouble walking in heels. (5) They buy heels solely on looks and not fit, so they look pretty but never fits right. Result: the heels hurt their feet when they walk. That leads to them to equating heels with pain.

The reason I don't see so many heels is because I spent the majority of my waking hours at a construction site. Having said that, I can remember back in the day when a building was nearly complete, the owner would give tours to groups of people (I always assumed that they were employees/bosses at the company). Invariably, there would be several women in high heels during tours through a building under construction. I can recall another job site I worked on where the female engineer would show up every week to check things out in 4 inch block heeled boots. That was the Barilla pasta plant, and the engineer was actually from Italy. That may have had something to do with not only her footwear, but her impeccable sense of style, despite being on a construction site. The concrete floors were in by that time. It's not like she was stepping over clods of dirt in heels.

Got a strange message on social media a couple of days ago. It was a friend from high school who asked in a private message, "Hey look--I am in no position to judge anyone, but I was wondering when you decided to wear women's shoes... Are they comfier, because my feet hurt." This really seems a little off to me for an initial contact message. No "Hey, how's it going? It's been years and years!" or anything like that. As I had accepted his contact request maybe a month ago, I can only assume that he picked up on one of the remarklably few photos of me that show my shoes, and none of those really feature the shoes. After I came home from work, I messaged him with some short answers, and he responded to them with similarly short answers. I'm quite sure he was otherwise occupied, because the conversation trailed off rather abruptly. I'm glad I did not invest a whole lot of time into an explanation. We'll see what happens in the days to come.

I just ordered these Freebird Detroit in Red Croc. I had hoped to get a size 11, BUT I waited too long, so hopefully a size 10 works. A 40% off Mother's Day sale was my incentive, $275 otherwise.