Leaderboard

@mlroseplant Sometimes it's hard to believe that what is the most normal thing for us, is something that other people don't know anything about. The one thing most people know (or think to know) about heels is: They're painful! I get looks of disbelief everytime I tell someone that they're not painful if you do some things right. Believe it or not, I'm actually also the type to who heel height (the number) doesn't matter that much 😉 For me it's just about the look and aesthetic, but over time with wearing, shopping and looking for heels you simply get an idea of the look a certain heel height has. And of course here on hhplace you need some numbers to make clear what you're speaking of as it's all about heels, but a 5 cm heel just isn't the same as a 13 cm heel 😉 @Shyheels A little bit of movement really helps. It's funny how long standing time affects us differently: I feel it in the balls of my feet. I feel it in my calves when walking in my 13+ cm boots. It's great to share the experiences with others who are just as "crazy" 😀

Exactly! I don’t think in terms of numbers but in the aesthetic. What I see as stylish and wearable heels are probably going to be around 10cm and what I see as imperious and elegant are probably going to be around 12cm. Specific measurements don’t come into it. I want to learn to walk gracefully in 12cm boots because they’re imperious and elegant, not because they’re 12cm

I like to cook too and tend to do it in my 12cm boots. I’m up and standing and moving around the galley so it feels more productive than simply pacing back and forth. Standing for an hour though, while working at my laptop, was challenging. I could really feel it in my calves. I felt like I’d been hill walking all afternoon! I think of it like taking up ice skating - new athletic challenges. As to why, well we all wear something in our feet and high heels are elegant. I love the aesthetics of a 12cm stiletto boot and would like to be able to wear them with the kind of panache one needs to carry off heels that high. It’s one thing to admire the aesthetics but if you can’t walk in them well you might as well stay in the sidelines. To walk in them well requires a lot of practice and dedication - and if you’re as lucky as we are, friends to help and encourage you along the way. I feel very fortunate to be sharing this challenge with such experienced heel wearers as you and @higherheels

Yeah, the "life hacks" have gotten out of hand, but it seems that we are more about clicks than substance these days. The thing is, there are so many "heel hack" videos out there, I'm just wondering who is watching them? I certainly don't see anybody attempting to wear heels much these days. I know that we are in a kind of bubble, and even amongst people who like high heels, and maybe even wear them occasionally, we are a tiny minority. This point was driven home just a few days ago when I told one of my female friends that we had a challenge in our little group to work on wearing higher heels. I told her my personal goal was 5 inch (or the scaled equivalent of 12 cm). Her first reaction was "Oh my God, why?" The only thing that made any sense to her was an analogy to dance, and the athletic challenges that go along with that. The other thing that surprised me is that nobody really thinks about heel height as specifically as we do. If it looks cute or aesthetically pleasing to them, exact heel height doesn't matter all that much. And then let's get into steepness--forget it! It took me a while to explain to my friend that I, a size 9, had to have a taller heel to maintain the same shape compared to a size 7, the standard. It is not something that had ever crossed her mind in 57 years. I didn't even dare bring up the fact that 4 inch heels don't actually make you 4 inches taller! @Shyheels Standing for a whole hour in 12 cm! That is quite an accomplishment. I'm not sure I could do it. Maybe I'll have to try. I have a whole pile of shirts to iron.

Looking closer at the second method I can also see the imperfections with the measurement points. I measured (to be fair my husband did, because as mlroseplant also said it's difficult without assistance) as if I worn heels - from the sole to the end of the imaginary heel. That's the only way it makes sense to me. I too am convinced that you can increase your perfect heel height with practice. Nobody was born in heels, and some might be more familiar with heels from the beginning than others. But if I think back of my days when I started wearing heels regularly (where I actually already had experience in some higher heels, but didn't wear them all the time), I went with lower ones like 6 or 7 cm for everyday wear. Now I'm as comfortable for everyday wear in 9 or 10 cm heels. And I'm also sure that if my first heels had a 13 cm heel, I would've not been able to properly walk in them 😉 It would be interesting to see if the resting angle as measured in the formula improved with wearing heels more and higher. I think it did. @mlroseplant I understand your decision, I also don't like low stiletto heels that much, the proportions look off. All my lowest heels are block heels, a much more balanced look in my eyes. @Shyheels That's great! Standing is a hard discipline. If I practice at home it's also often while standing and cooking, there I can always feel how the kitchen is too low. @CrushedVamp I also think there's too much of these "hacks", which in my mind shouldn't be even called so. It feels like sometimes they're just made up for getting attention. I can generally see that many people need the easiest way everywhere. They're probably the target of such things. I already seen people asking AI for such simple things that any kid could answer within seconds. Maybe the fact alone that we like heels is what differs us from that. Because heels aren't the easiest way. But they're certainly more fun, and sometimes also challenging 😉

After a little thought, I think these sorts of informative signs are part of the overall larger disturbing picture of society today. Not just in the wearing of high heels, but in almost everything, and that is there is some sort of secret handshake, some sort of “hack” where all things difficult to do suddenly becomes easy if you just have the right information. These signs or “hacks” like the images I posted about determining ideal high heel height, lets a person know the easy, secret, missing information that enables people to do something hard… like wearing high heels… become suddenly easy. And it is just with high heels. Goodness knows there is a video on Youtube somewhere stating I have been hand-washing my stemware wrong for the last forty years. And wiping my own bottom, yeah there are six videos on how to do that properly. Yes... look it up. Now that is something I have been doing fine since I was a toddler, but yep... there is a video telling how we are all doing that wrong. After reflection I don't think it is not some sort of magical measurement… wait for it… it is in the practicing of wearing high heels that makes a pair of shoes more comfortable. I am not saying adding in heel cushions, or heel grips, or having larger blocky heels cannot help. Of course they can, as those are tools available, but its this overall thought that some magic physical measurement is going to lead to the Holy Grail of High Heels that is misunderstood, but also what so many people want. (Not members on here)

I reckon that you're probably right. In fact, as part of my basement cleaning out exercise, mentioned elsewhere, I made the decision to let some old favorites go--my Sofft Calvados sandals--because they are too low. I had already gotten rid of a silver pair last year because of deterioration, but these two pair were perfectly wearable. It's just that I never wear them anymore, and I can't foresee a time when I will wear them again. It's hard to tell from this photograph, but they are covered in a fairly thick layer of dust, and that influenced my decision to donate them. They are effectively less than 3 inch heels, or 7 cm, and that is just too low for my taste these days, at least in that style of heel. The combination of narrow heels with less than towering height makes them pretty much the last choice for everything. I used to wear them to things like farmer's markets where I was afraid that anything taller might result in my discomfort or worse. Now I don't worry about that, so I guess one can increase one's ideal heel height eventually.

@mlroseplant Good job, 1,6 km in these pumps is great! @CrushedVamp That's interesting, I immediately had to try this out. With the first formula my heel height is 4,3 cm. With the second one it's around 11,7 cm. I don't really get how the first formula could make sense, it's all about the proportions between body length and feet length. The second one makes more sense to me. If I convert my result of 11,7 cm to standard size that would be like 11,9 cm or so. That's a height that I can walk perfectly fine in, but a lower heel is definitely more comfortable. If you interpret your perfect heel height as what you can wear well, but not for everyday and 5 km walks, this formula could give you an idea I think.

Trying to wick it up this morning, can I walk a mile (1.6 km) in these pumps? Evidently, I can. They are the size 38 equivalent of 11.3 cm. However, I won't be able to walk a second mile in them until and unless I get them reheeled. Look at the wear after only one mile!

Here is my high heeled (actually mid-heeled) buddy from church. Our children almost, but not quite, overlap in age.

Your getting bolder in your shopping. Next time go straight in look and ask. Don't wait until there are less customers. I wear heels all the time so when I go into a shop they know I'm looking for myself. Many times I get better service because they view me as a higher chance of a 'sale' than women just looking.

Yes, that's absolutely true for me 🙂

OK guys for a overdue update. When I arrived there, the day before it snowed and as I was told by the locals it was an unusually heavy snow for December and a lot colder, and then the second day an even more unusual snow storm was predicted for Wednesday. So any heeling was off the books, I barely saw any heels on the street if any and all were blocks and fairly low which makes sense. However it was not a total loss, I was close to 2 malls downtown and I walked there and started stalking the stores waiting until there were no people or few people inside, went straight for the high heels that I liked and started browsing, not the usual go to the men's side and side eye the beautiful shoes while holding the ugly, heavy, uninspired bricks we are supposed to wear as shoes , lol. After a few asks if they could help I gathered my courage and asked for one in my size. I was at a store for a brand I did not know before I was in Canada, l'Intervalle. I was holding the most gorgeous, sexy and amazing pumps, specially the stilleto heel was shaped so beautifully and sexy, and was the thinnest stilleto I had ever seen which I adore. I am not exaggerating when I say they were about 2.5X2.5 mm (in between 1/16" and 1/8") at the heel tip, so freaking cool and amazing. I fell in love instantly. So I saw a a beautiful pair in 9 camel patent and asked for back patent, they checked and had none, let me clarify they had none on clearance but hey had it regular price I was not going to spend 90$ for a pair of pumps just to wear at the hotel, but hoped maybe a pair on clearance +40% off was ok. So asked for the other shoe for the camel patent in a 9 and they did not fit, these run very small, I am usually 8.5 and sometimes 9 but these were tiny. There as just a guy and a girl tending to the store, tried to get the girl to help me but she was on other things (I know I know, but I felt safer asking to try to a girl not a guy bit the bullet and asked anyway), I asked to try and he did not flinch just brought them and tried a 9 and they did not fit, then asked for a 10 to try on the size and he brought normal black leather and I tried them on in the store in public. I put them on, the girl was looking casually at me and it seemed to me she was surprised I was able to put them on sitting down easily then getting up and walking around. They were a tiny bit higher than expected but I still managed to walk gracefully, check myself in the mirror. The guy was completely unfazed. I said hold in one sec and removed my heavy coat, my sweater so I was dressed business casual straight from the office dark pant suit formal striped light blue and white shirt and black heels, looked amazing (I was so in the moment that I did not think about taking pictures). I removed the shoes and asked what else they had on sale and my size on that model (Teeva for those curious), he told me none on that store and they we closing soon, but I could go to another store site 5 minutes away or if I came back tomorrow they could have them sent to try and see them. I thanked him and told him I might or try to go to the other store. They girl went a little out of her way to help me out s and say good bye since they closed the gate, I had not noticed. So the next day I went to the next mall, there were more stores, Aldo, Steve Madden, call it spring and the other l'Intervalle. These stores closed much later than the other so they were busier at that time, and once again I stalked the stores. I walked in to Steve madden, started browsing the high heel pumps, holding them looking at them, and a sales girl approached, looked at me my feet and asked if I were a 9, she knew, caught off guard just said yes, she then said that they had very few I that size on the models I was looking at, she showed me others with a lower heel and she noticed it was not what I was looking for, she the said let me check what we have on your size, she came back and told me they had 8.5 and 10 and if I wanted to try, I agreed she brought patent black pumps hey we're too small and too big, while I was trying them on she brought lower heeled patent black pumps in 9to try and they fit like a glove amazingly comfortable but lowish for what I like I guess around 3" and also too expensive for this trip if I was not able to wear them. I did walk around with them a little after removing all the warm clothes I was dressed similarly to the day before, she complimented me on my look and walking skills, but also admited that higher heels would look much much better and if I wanted she could call me when they had more stock in a week or 2, black Friday had emptied their stock. I declined since I was leaving in a few days and thanked her a lot. In the store a woman trying on kitten heel boots just smiled and nodded I did not notice anyone else noticing me, maybe they did but I was on cloud nine on an amazing high. I then went to Aldo, same story walked straight into the high heel pumps, asked what was on sale and nothing I liked then walked out, 2 pumps were beautiful but not on sale and the store was busy so clerks were all around the place and did not want bother if I was not purchasing anything. Next stop was call it spring they had a beautiful pair of d'Orsay pumps, asked for black patent in size 9 the girl checked and told me they only had a dark brown which I did not like at all although they were cheap and would have bought them for the hotel, too bad, she tried selling them to me that the color was beautiful. I argued the shoe was beautiful but did not like the color. Tried looking at other styles and nothing caught my attention. Maybe a pair stiletto booties until I looked at them closer and I saw the had the stitches all trough the point and middle of the show which I hate but common on boots but that is a rant for another time. Finally the last store again L'intervalle but a different store from the previous day. I saw this one had 40% off for the whole store, and I darted straight to the heels I loved, they were right next to the cashier, a young girl, I stated asking if they the 40% also applied to on sale items, she said yes and asked what they on sale on that model size 10, she looked on the computer and said only off white patent and then showed me other choices with lower heels and told me that women often found these more comfortable I just agreed but said I wanted the other one because they were prettier, and asked to try them, she looked puzzled at first and told her they were for me, and proceeded to look for them came back and told me they were at the other store, and she could run to get them. I said maybe to try any other color first to make sure they fit so as to not make her run for them. For patent usually is a lot stiffer than regular leather so I wanted to try them as well like I dkde yesterday, she looked and said she had none on that size, I asked what else was on that size on the other store and if the discount also applied, she said yes, checked and called, however they were starting to close I did not notice the time. I just said I might come back tomorrow. She let me check everything we have on your size so if you come back tomorrow you have a better idea, just being a good sales person. Not much just 2 more choices. I thanked her and she kinda eagerly said she said her shift starts at 4pm and she would gladly run to the other store to get me those. I smiled back and left. The next two days were a lot colder and did not want to leave the hotel room after work so there ends my adventure, not what I hoped for but still great. I have to admit that I used all of my almost non existent literary talents to recount as accurately as possible while making it fun. Now to be wait for my next trip in a few months to try again. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.