Leaderboard

Part of the privilege of participating in this forum is getting the chance to enjoy some linguistic bliss from our United Kingdom members. A word like censorious just isn't used among ordinary people and the only place one might encounter it would be in print perhaps in an opinion piece or an online review of a particular venue. Nevertheless such words quench my thirst for more such descriptive morsels. A tip,of the hat, or the Stetson, to those who still speak the language as it was probably always intended. Remain calm and carry on. HJinH

I stopped by my local boutique shoe store. Wet day, no customers, so, I was able to have a long talk with the manager. She knows what I like and will order shoes that are in my size. I told her what happened to the heel on my Soda booties and she will bring it up with the rep. Also, she remember that I had purchased several colors of a heel called Agenda and I was lucky since the company only makes that style in black now.

I just spent a week travelling around by Britain, mainly by rail, and nearly every day wearing a pair of brown suede OTK boots over skinny jeans. They were standard heels admittedly, not high heels, but still very definitely OTK boots, with ornamental lacing down the sides and straps and buckles over the instep - styling that would very definitely be regarded as feminine by society at large. Over the course of the week I passed through several big cities, several main train stations and had meals in working class pubs - some of which were busy, others of which were quiet and where patrons were more likely to notice newcomers. And not once did my choice of footwear evoke so much as a second glance. No compliments, but no censorious looks either. In fact, my footwear choice did not seem to register with anybody at all, not the lest little bit, which is just as it should be. I'm not out trying to attract attention or push an agenda but simply wearing a style of boot I liked, which looked nice and was suitable for where I was going and what I was doing. I make the point not for the regular posters here, to whom this would be preaching to the choir, but for those hesitating on the sidelines, wondering what the reactions might be if oe steps out in more theatrical footwear. The answer: none.

Ah yes, I'm a writer, which is an art of sorts, and words are my palette. I love the richness of the English language. Thank you!

I bet most, my ears are tuned to heels. I hear them I'm looking. It's a side effect of the high heel gene. I'm ultra attracted to great legs and heels do make a difference. The most beautiful woman, dressed to kill in flats simply not working in my book. Shoes not jewelry make every outfit, formal, dressy or even casual.

Yes, I believe you would - and do. Indeed it was your comment about noticing a couple of guys in heels at the hospital that prompted my thought. I tend to notice these sorts of things too, but how many other heel wearers are wrapped in their bubbles, so preoccupied with looking at the eyes of others that they noticing nothing else about the people around them?

Interesting comment, skyheels. For years I’ve had the practice of noticing the shoes people wear, especially women. When encountering a person that has attracted my notice, I usually glance from head to toe at the way they are dressed. I am quite sure that I would notice any man wearing women’s shoes, as it was in this case.

When visiting a friend in a local hospital last week, I encountered a male nurse as he was exiting my friend’s room. Even though he was wearing his hospital scrubs I noticed that he was wearing female nurses shoes with about 2 1\2 “ wedge heels. Later, when I was leaving, I noticed a well dressed man coming into the hospital wearing a pair of black patent ballerina flats with little black bows on the vamp. I wonder if he noticed that I was wearing a pair of black penny loafers with 4” heels?

Very interesting, and encouraging - but a picture of the boots would be very helpful. As an outsider, I would regard the US as the land of extremes: very strait-laced in many respects but surprisingly liberal and relaxed in others. Just look at 'People of Walmart' to see some examples of conduct or appearance that would almost never be seen in the UK. I'm not judging either country, just expressing an impression gained from my life in the UK and my visits to the US.

It will be soon once again time to visit the family in Vietnam. It has been 5 years for me, thanks to the pandemic. Could I get away with wearing heels in Vietnam, at least in the city? Probably. Will I wear heels? Absolutely not. Although the time is long past when my wife has even bothered saying anything anymore, it goes without saying that she is there for the purpose of visiting her mother, not for answering stupid questions about her silly husband.