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For the longest time I've wanted to master the art of wearing 12cm stilettos. I've always loved the asthetics and lines of that height a heel and wished could manage them - although without ever really putting in the necessary time and effort to accomplish this. I own a pair of elegant chocolate-brown 12cm stiletto knee boots, which I try on wistfully every now and then, but take off when my calves start cramping up and because I feel too teetery in them. In the course of breezy exchanges with @higherheels who wanted to master her 13cm Hot Chicks and @mlroseplant who wanted to improve his already formidable skills (both of these members are way beyond me) I've been making a concerted effort to put in some time in my 12cm stilettos every day, even if its just sitting down to write and getting up every now and then to make coffee or fix myself a snal, or take another fascinated turn around the room. It's not going badly - and it's certainly fun. Today I'm in Scotland on assignment, and have brought along my 12cm knee boots - for hotel room practice Even if I ws competent in them, they're not exactly suitable for waling in the heather!

Like you I wish I had been able to summon the nerve to wear boots and heels much earlier. It is silly and foolish to allow yourself to be so hobbled by the opinions of others, especially in something that in the bigger scale of things is so trivial. It’s not like wearing heels is a sin, or a crime, or damaging to anyone - it’s simply expressing yourself in fashion. Allowing yourself to have fun. And once you realise and accept that it is such a relief to unload all that useless angst

Well, I wish I could jump on that time machine as well, not just for the great boots and styles.... More importantly, to accept my true self much earlier in life, would have had so many more years of enjoyment in boots. Oh well, at least I findally came around. I would do anything to help even one younger guy avoid the horrible emotional trauma I put myself through, wasted so many years of my life.

You look great, and I'm betting those tall heels were fairly comfortable

I definitely have different sets of shoes for walking vs. dressing up. There is some overlap, but not a lot. I rarely wear stilettos to walk in, but sometimes I do it just for the fun of it. Here are some recent examples of dress up shoes and walking shoes. I'm sure it will be obvious which is which. Neither of these are 12 cm height difference. Still workin' on that one.

Church outfit of the week, 10 August, 2025. Miu Miu strappy sandals in nude patent. 5 1/2" heel, 1" platform. I should wear these more often. As I was saving the photos to the folder entitled "HHPlace," I realized that I wore this exact same outfit to church about 2 years ago. Shame on me! 😆

That's a good idea to change into your heels once you're off the boat, so you don't have to limit yourself by that. I know that feeling, I also always want to be sure that I can walk well enough in my heels before I wear them out. Probably I shouldn't worry too much, but I'm a bit vain when it comes to that 😉 No, actually I never wore any 12 cm heels to the office. The highest ones were 11 cm. 12 cm+ heels are way harder to combine with a outfit, not to stick out as overdressed I think. Also I sometimes have to walk quite a bit over the day. As I said, around 1,5 km sure is the minimum. 12 cm heels would be OK for that, but not as comfortable as something lower. Maybe after I fully managed 13 cm the 12 cm will be so comfortable that I'll wear them to the office as well, we'll see 😉

Haha, none of these shoes were meant for walking! On average, I break more shoes than most people buy in a year. However, in 2025 I don't think I've had any shoe failures so far (knock on wood). My interest in heels takes two different paths. Besides liking the way they look, I think of them as an athletic challenge, and most of my physical exercise consists of walking in heels. I have walked a documented total of about 4,000 km over the past decade in heels of at least 7 cm, and in recent years, I don't have anything lower than about 9 cm that I walk in. The 12 cm challenge proposed here will be something totally different for me, because now I will be going for sheer height/flexibility rather than endurance. And I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to accomplish that. As far as shortened tendons, I can really tell when I've slacked off on the foot exercises and calf stretches for several days. I have to be very careful of that because of the nature of my time in heels. On the other hand, I don't live full time in heels, either, because I can't. I think you'll probably be ok with just the slightest attention to stretching your achilles, because you are not in heels full time, all the time. Whoever wishes for shortened tendons (and in real life, that number has to be exceeding rare) is a complete moron.

The outfit for today - simple with a timeless/classic feel to it.

I didn't get in any 12+ cm time yesterday, but I did get a lot of 11 cm time in. I got in 5 km of walking between rainstorms yesterday, which was accomplished in the below pictured Prada mules. They are actually 15 cm, but with a 4 cm platform. They are freshly reheeled, as well. I call them my rain shoes, because they keep my feet out of the puddles! For church, I wore my Miu Miu sandals, which are 14 cm with 3 cm platform. I spent the majority of the day in those. It is amazing how much difference an extra centimeter makes. I am fairly competent and comfortable at 11 cm, but 12 cm is really pushing it for me. @higherheels I am glad that somebody is working on learning to walk in Hot Chicks. I have never actually seen anybody walk very well in them before, even on social media. I know that in my size, which is 40, the heel height of Hot Chicks is more like 137 mm, so that is indeed an accomplishment!