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Last week, I was in The Netherlands to celebrate a milestone birthday for my wife. We went to dinner on the evening of her special day and for the occasion, she selected an intimate setting about 2kms from our residence. Given that the notoriously unpredictable Dutch weather was cooperating (No rain, non-hurricane force winds, and mild temperatures) we decided to ride our bikes to the restaurant. My outfit for the evening consisted of a pair of just delivered, custom made, black leather, high-heel knee boots from Noe, my favorite brand, which just happens to be based in The Netherlands. They feature 4.25" heel with a .5" platform and ~14" top circumference. Simply put, they are "to die for" gorgeous! Pair with a very "flirty" grey skirt and black top, it was a beautiful outfit if I do say so! If anyone has ever biked in The Netherlands, they would know that doing so can be a challenge in its own right. Doing so in heels, however, adds a new level of difficulty. Admittedly, the ride to/from dinner had to be done carefully so that I did not damage the heels if the ball of the foot area slipped off the pedals, or I had to come to a sudden stop. The sole of the boots is not rubber such as that found on a pair of trainers, so their slipping off the pedals was somewhat of a frequent occurrence. Fortunately, I made it to and from dinner with no damage to the boots. And I loved being seen wearing my new boots!

It's happened before when I've worn some pretty tame heels to appointments: "Ya know that those kinds of shoes are really bad for you, right?" We have never had a real conversation about it, so I decided to pull out all the stops and wear pointy stiletto pumps to my appointment, as the opportunity presented itself. Not a word, and he even has to pull on my ankles as part of the normal adjustment. I wonder if he has any other patients who wear any sort of substantial heels?

I went to the chiropractor earlier this week wearing 4 1/2" stiletto heels, and he didn't say anything. I was kind of prepared for a discussion, but none ensued. It's not happened a lot, because I usually stop in on my way home from work, so it's a non-issue, but on several occasions when I've been in "civilian" clothing, I've changed my shoes to go up there because I didn't feel like talking about it. Maybe that has become unnecessary.

And now. . . for something completely different! Yesterday it snowed. Again. It's going to be one of those winters, apparently. It's not even Christmas, and I'm already wearing of removing snow. A couple of years ago, I got these vintage boots. Cobbies is the brand name. I got them because they are shearling lined, and I wanted some "heels" to wear when it was really cold. These boots feature 2 3/8" heels, which is right at about 6 cm. In other words, FLAT. Which suits me fine for the work I'm doing. I do consider them low heels in the grand scheme of thing, but they're flats. Let's be realistic. Where things get interesting is the coefficient of friction factor. The forefeet of these boots are quite grippy, while the heels, once covered in ice, are dangerously slippery. This leads to some interesting footwork, worthy of a ballerina or Latin dancer. Walking heel to toe on smooth concrete after walking in the snow can lead to catastrophe, so it's best to do the opposite--toe first. I demonstrated this to my 16 year old. He said do what you got to do. A reheeling with Vibram would probably solve this issue.

I have always worn shorts in the summer, as did my father before me. However, neither of my two sons ever wore shorts after the age of about 10, and they don't show any sign of ever changing. Oddly enough, both of them have legs that are like tree trunks, and yet they have different mothers. They certainly didn't get that from me! I also know plenty of women who never wear shorts or an above the knee skirt. I don't want to say I never do it, but it is easier to wear my beloved wooden heeled sandals with shorts rather than stilettos. Probably absolutely no one outside a certain group thinks about it this way, but to me chunky wooden heeled sandals with shorts is far less radical looking than stilettos with shorts. There is probably almost no one in the general populace who makes such a distinction. @higherheels I always thought the only proper footwear with a Dirndlkleid is none at all, meiner Meinung nach. Certainly much better than sneakers.

Like @mlroseplant, when I started to wear women's shoes in (aka stopped wearing men's shoes), I hide them under longer pants. And those were at most 6.4 cm heels. Then when I had to raise my heel 4 inches I hide them at first. But it was a hot summer, over 100 F (38 C) daily, so I wore shorts and exposed my heels and got thicker skin. Now I wear my tall boots on the outside; yesterday I had my Jessica Simpson black knee highs on and got "that's a fierce fashion statement" from a waiter when I went to the restroom. I have about a dozen stilettos but I have to consider the surfaces I will be walking on. As a result there are only a few days I can wear stilettos. The places I go to now are NOT stiletto friendly, so I rarely wear them. But I will wear my suede JS knee high stilettos with short shorts in the summer. Now "that's a fierce fashion statement."😁

I can understand your issues with stilettos as men, being too girly and so. For me as a girl, this was exactly what got me into them. Only later I started to like block heels too. Although stilettos are more dressy than block heels, I don't feel wrong also using them for more casual occasions. Only for walking on soft or very uneven ground like grass I find them unappropriate. Indeed, I was a bit disappointed yesterday. Fatigue and the pressure on the balls of my feet are my limiting factors. I'm sure I could also walk 300 meters in them, but that would just be painful. After my walk yesterday It was not painful, only uncomfortable. I'm over the days of going over my limits and putting up with pain and rather have a good time and take it slower. I'm also not planning on wearing these boots or the Hot Chicks for extended walks. But being able to wear them for a few hundred meters comfortably would be a very nice achievement and open many opportunities for me to wear them 🙂

I was fascinated by stilettos - aesthetically and for the allure of the forbidden, to say nothing of the intriguing physical challenge of wearing them. Just how easy or hard was it to stride briskly along a city sidewalk or waltz across a ballroom floor in lofty stilettos. The thought that I was never meant to know only heightened the appeal. And yet at the same time it was chunky heeled boots that most caught my fancy. Stilettos appealed because they were the Ultima Thule of boundary breaking, which chunky heel knee or ankle boots I could see myself aspiring to wear every day. i know what you mean about feeling funny wearing stilettos in more casual situations. They are inherently dressy. It’s one of the things I like about wearing stilettos in my home office - when you’re a freelance and work from home it’s a good idea to make at least a bit of an effort to dress as though you are going to work as a reminder to yourself that this is an office, not just your kitchen table, and a place for work. Wearing stilettos is great for that. Nobody just lounges around in stilettos! since we started doing this challenge I have really begun to feel at home in stilettos. They are starting to feel as much my natural style as chunky heel boots. I feel quite proud of my ability to get around briskly in my 10cm boots, even if I struggle with 12cm. I can admire your abilities to walk long distances @mlroseplant and @higherheels remarkable abilities to wear Hot Chicks and her even high new boots. You’ve boot been great influences and examples

Here is a picture of me at church, wearing 11 cm heels, playing the alto horn (or tenor horn, if you are British). On Christmas Eve, no less, in blatant violation of the rule. The other flat-heeled guy playing the trumpet is my son. It wasn't my best outfit choice ever. What's up with those pants?

Couple of days ago, I had to go to Home Depot to get a tube of concrete adhesive. I decided that I would wear my Buffalo Bills sweatshirt dress by Erin Rogers. It was a bit cold outside so I added a royal blue puffer vest. With that I wore my white knee boots with a 4" stacked heel and carried my Buffalo Bills cross body bag. As I approached the entrance, a woman on her way out said to me " I love those boots you're wearing". I replied so do I, thank-you for your compliment. Another great comment for a guy in heels! Happy Heeling, bluejay

I recently had occasion to compare Home Depot and Lowes: we were looking to install a backup generator on our house and contacted both stores through their websites for a quote. Home Depot got back to me within an hour and got all the information they needed to generate the quote, we signed the contract, scheduled the installation for later that week, and the installation went without a hitch. Lowes finally contacted me about 5 weeks later...