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You all know I go everywhere to heel, Its Monday night and its time to go out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is the OOTN!

Ok, I've got some time, I might as well tell the story again. I should probably tell this story more often to people who ask me how I manage in heels so well, rather than just saying that I practice a lot. I officially "came out," so to speak, in May of 2012, when I wore my first pair of obviously elevated heeled shoes to a public function. Those shoes were effectively 3 inch, or 7.5 cm tall. All of the shoes I had at the time were platforms, so I am subtracting out the platform in order to give you a better idea of the steepness challenges involved. Later that month, I took my first real walk in these 7.5 cm heels, which was an eye-opener, because I had no idea how tired I was going to get before I got back home. Later on in that year, I moved up to effective 3 1/4 inch, or just over 8 cm heels. By about New Year's of 2013, I had bought some 4 inch, or 10 cm heels, and I thought I was doing pretty well at them. Until I made the decision to actually go somewhere in them. My wife and I needed to go to a large shopping mall, something to do with our mobile phones. I don't remember the exact reason, but it doesn't matter to the story. I proudly wore my new 4 inch ankle boots which I had just purchased the week before, and we headed off to the mobile phone store, which was probably 300 m away from our car. No problem, right? For whatever reason, the store was really busy that day, and we wound up standing and waiting to be served for the better part of an hour. After standing that long in heels, what seemed like a reasonably easy walk into the mall was incredibly painful on the way out. I literally thought I wasn't going to make it back to the car, my feet hurt so bad. I thought I was going to die. Now, 12 years later, it's hard to remember the intensity of that pain, but I remember thinking to myself, "This high heel thing is just a fantasy. Nobody can wear these things all the time!" I became very discouraged. I do not remember how I got the idea to actually start walking in heels for actual exercise, but it took root shortly after that incident, and I went back down to 3 inch heels and started walking the neighborhood, short distances at first. I didn't really try anything much taller than 3 or 3 1/4" for a long time, but eventually, the 4 inch boots which nearly killed me have become not only doable, but easy. I still have that same model of ankle boot to this day, and I really wouldn't hesitate to wear them to Disney World. They've become that natural, and I guess I've managed to train my feet and ankles to deal with them all day, every day without really thinking about it. I should remember this story more clearly whenever I hear somebody tell me that she can't wear heels for more than 30 minutes without great pain. I was at that place myself at one time. What motivated me to try again is still a mystery. In all reality, my life would have been much easier if I had given up back then and figured that all those women who wore heels every day were in constant misery, and that it wasn't worth it. Instead, here I am more than 4,000 km and dozens of heel tip replacements later, and now I'm the freak who can hack the tall heels like they were carpet slippers!

Hi, I've been following this forum for more than 8 years, but only now have I decided to also share my life story in high heels. Heels have fascinated me since childhood. I remember taking my grandmother's heels and playing in them. Then, at the beginning of puberty, I would take my mom's wedding heels and secretly walk in them when no one was at home. A little later, I even started making them myself out of wood (wedges), leather, etc. After that, I would secretly wear them at home—until my mom found out, and she didn't like it at all. She was afraid I might be gay, but I tried to explain to her that even though I liked wearing heels, it had nothing to do with my sexuality. When I was about 18, I finally gathered the courage to buy my first pair of heels. I remember telling the saleswoman they were for a graduation ball, as a kind of joke—but in reality, they were for me. Later, when I got my own payment card, I started ordering shoes online. My mom knew about my interest (although she didn't really approve), but no one else did. At that time, I started going for walks in heels in a nearby forest. I was always unbelievably embarrassed whenever I happened to meet someone. At 21, I met my girlfriend. Just three months into our relationship, I confessed my love for heels to her. I knew she needed to know as early as possible, because if she wanted to stay with me, it would inevitably become part of her life too. At first, she didn't understand the importance of heels in my life. Once she started to realize it, it shook our relationship a bit. But she decided to accept me as I am and try to get used to it. Around that time, I also decided to take my passion public. I started wearing high ankle boots with heels every day to university, and I told my extended family and friends as well. Nobody had a problem with it—on the contrary, it was mostly met with admiration (except my mother, who even after all these years still doesn't like it). Gradually, I replaced all my winter footwear with high-heeled ankle boots (I find pumps too extravagant for summer). My girlfriend eventually got used to it too, and even discovered some other advantages of heels in our sex life. Now I'm 27, I work as a hardware developer, and I go to work every day in heels. At home, I usually wear my Pleaser Sultry boots, and as far as heels are concerned, I'm living the life I've always dreamed of. That's my story in heels. Thanks for your attention.

I didn't wind up wearing my steepest heels to the recital, but I did wear some pretty impressive looking ones. Yes, they are a full 15 cm, but you have to discount for the 3.5 cm platform. Not super impressive, but enough of a workout over 600 m x 2. The brand is Onlymaker, and they are actually pretty decent quality for being an inexpensive shoe.

When I started to wear knee high, I would hide them under my jeans. Now it skinny jeans and the knee highs on the outside. When you wear with confidence, embarrassment is not an option. And when you wear those boots with leather pants, your confidence is off the chart.

I can recommend to try out these styles, that's what I love so much about heels - the variety! I think it's best if you start with pumps as they're generally easier than sandals. In difficulty I'd say they're close to boots, the only downside is the missing ankle support. The biggest difference is in comfort. Pumps must have a very tight fit, which isn't necessary to the same degree in boots. But don't worry, pumps can still be comfortable once they're worn in. Many of my everyday shoes are pumps, so no big deal 🙂

Ah, so you basically grew up in boots 🙂 How du you deal with summer temperatures and boots (or don't you have hot summers at all?) Please don't feel dispirited! You're doing fine by even wearing your 12 cm heels at home this often. It's just easier for me because I'm used to this height for more than a decade already. One day you'll be wearing them and they'll feel like your 10 or 11 cm boots do now 🙂

I think many of us just want to skip the slower progression of heeling progress and jump right into 4-5" stilettos! I surely did, and suffered all the usual pains and emotional set backs. Right now, I spend alot of time in my 3" block heeled ankle boots, which I feel keeps my muscles somewhat stretched in the right fashion....So, when I am lucky enough to be able to wear my stiletto boots, there is little or no pain/discomfort/lack of skill. I hear ya for sure, wearing my boots is a bit of a "double edge sword". I don't want to be to "over the top" drawing too much attention (perhaps negative attention). But, at the same time, I really do want others to notice, and approve. Sure, one of the benefits of my advanced age is not caring about what others think, to some degree. But, there is still a part of me that wants other to approve, perhaps be a bit envious..

I made a definite choice this morning to train towards my goal, I walked 3 km in these 11.75 cm heels. By the time you adjust the steepness for my size 40, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 cm, or slightly less. I can't be troubled to do the math at the moment. I will post more about this on another thread soon, but I rarely take purposeful walks in stilettos. These are an exception, because I wanted to test the durability of heel tips on stiletto heels, and these are the shoes I designated for the purpose. For whatever reason, these mules are super easy to walk in, but I will not tell a lie, after 3 km, I am one tired puppy. It was one of those deals where I got into the walk, and decided that I was feeling pretty good, why not go a little farther than I had planned? I don't regret it, but it definitely wore me out.

I think high heels make a poignant point by themselves, with a lady, but even more so upon a man. But that being said, I think when an outfit matches the heels not only in color, but also style, it often becomes not a match that can be easily stated, but someone just knows, together that works. Your post on 08/18 kind of proves what I am saying. You just look put together in that photo, but it is the totality of it @mlroseplant

Great storys from both of you! The unexpected situations when you have to stand for a long time are something that's unavoidable if you're wearing heels often. I also could tell so many stories about that... It's funny how we're all so different, but the general paths and ups and downs can be seen in all of our journeys. You definitely took me down memory lane and since we're at it, I might as well tell you about my beginnings: I bought my first pair of heels when I was 16. It was the time me and my friends started going to clubs and parties, and since we felt like we're the big girls now, we also wanted to dress like them. Needless to say we weren't nearly as grown up and smart as we thought we were. So my first pair were cheap stiletto pumps with a plateau and much bling-bling 😂 I don't remember the exact model but wouldn't find anything about them anyways because they were no-name. They must have had something like a 12 cm heel with a 3 cm plateau. I wore them the first time for going to a club. It started pretty good but after an hour or so they already hurt really bad. Nevertheless I (and also my friends) didn't want to show any weakness so we just kept on going for a few more hours until we couldn't take it anymore and walked home barefoot. I had blisters all over the place, but that didn't stop me. I always wore them out again when I had the chance to. Looking back I really don't know how I was able to stand the pain. Probably also a part of being young and dumb. And over time it really got better, and I also bought some better fitting heels. But the big breaktrough came when I was 20 and found me a pair of ankle boots with a block heel (around 8 cm). They weren't the type of high heels I wore until then, but I wanted something different for more casual everyday wear. I couldn't believe how comfortable they were, and started wearing them for every occasion where I wore flats before. This was the moment when I properly started wearing heels - looking for a good fit and quality, choosing an appropriate heel height which is comfortable, etc. It was like a reset where I started from scratch and then worked my way back up again to higher heels and different styles. And it's basically where I'm still at now, wearing my heels daily and sometimes trying something new 🙂

That's a great story @mlroseplant. I can picture the scene and imagine the circumstances - and the discomfort. I have a standing in heels story too - a couple of them actually. Like yours mine occurred when I was first trying out high heels. I'd always fancied heels and wished it were open to me to give them a try without it being turned into some big deal. When at last I summoned the nerve, I bought myself a pair of very elegant knee boots with 10cm heels - fashion classics, the very sort of boots I'd secretly always wanted and wished I dared to by. All well and good. They arrived and they were perfect. Nicely made, soft leather, perfect fit. I'd gone with boots as my f=gateway into heels mainly because I like boots but also because they seemed the sensible choice - if sensible is ever a word you can use to describe stilettos. In all the how-to-walk-in-heels articles and blog posts I'd read ahead of time, beginners were advised to start low and chunky and work their way up. Somehow I thought that didn't include me, but to be on the safe side I figured to get something at offered decent support. I wanted to succeed at this not end up in A&E with a twisted ankle and a dumb backstory. So boots it was. By all accounts they were easier to walk in. After sitting for a few thoughtful moments, admiring my new high heels and marvelling at my daring for having bought them, I stood up!. Wow. Aside from the giddy rush of finally being in heels, my calf muscles clenched up like I'd done a thousand toe raises at the gym non-stop. That was a surprise. Until that moment it had never even occurred to me that I might lack the muscle tone to wear heels. How could that be? I'm a cyclist. I ride a couple thousand miles a year and live in a hilly town. But taking up high heels was like taking up a new sport, one that not only requires a new skill set but uses your muscles in a whole new way as well. It was my first proper glimpse into the world of high heels. I didn't quit or give up but I look things more sensibly after that. A couple of days later, I managed to eat my lunch standing by the counter in my stiletto boots and felt quite chuffed at my progress. Outside a neighbour went by walking her dog. She saw me in the window, smiled and waved. I smiled and waved back, blushing a bit and wondering if she'd noticed I was several inches taller. A part of me hoped she had.

I just got these custom made knee high boots from Sanctum! I ordered them in February, and it took until a couple weeks ago to get them. They are absolutely amazing, way too snug, but all leather, so will slowly fit me perfectly. And because they are custom, they go all the way to my knee, not four inches below.

I already did a few walks around the block in the Hot Chicks. This is the best (and hardest) training so far. Yesterday I had a funny experience. I'm doing my walks in the evening, it's mostly already dark outside and not much going on. But yesterday a neighbour was in the garden and she saw me walking by. At first she just greeted me normally, but then she had a wondering second glance and said: "Wow, they're especially high today". We then had a little conversation and it turns out she also has a pair of Louboutins, the Pigalle 100. She said she doesn't really wear them anymore, but I made her curious to get them out again 😉

If piercing your belly button is a pain in the neck you missed the target by a bunch! 😁

Part of it is, I've been working more than I would like, but I still somehow manage to have time to come on here and comment. The other part of it is, like @Cali says, I just haven't really seen anything like I like. Specifically, the stuff I like is not high enough. I see plenty of stuff that looks cool. I see some stuff that looks absolutely beautiful. The problem is, it seems to be all mid-heels (or what is a mid-heel to me). I'm not going to buy yet another pair of shoes anymore unless the heels are 4 1/2"+ (11 cm). There isn't that much out there in that category that is not hundreds of dollars.

I used to go through ebay and Poshmark on a daily basis, looking for the next big thing. I realized this morning that it has been a long, long time since I've bought any new shoes. I looked it up, and it's been over six months. I have several items that I'm watching, but I do not feel the desire that I used to. I suppose that's a good thing in many ways, but it does mark a severe shift in buying habits. It also doesn't hurt that I've had zero shoe failures so far this year, which is nothing short of amazing.

I only get regular polish on my toes, but I see some women that get gel on they toes. Maybe if you going on a tropical vacation with lots of walking in sand. You could start slow with a tint instead of pure color. Or you could go all out with glow-in-the-dark polish for Halloween.

I’m obviously gonna encourage you to at least give color a try. If it’s not your cup of tea, it’s simple enough to undo. And a tip - even wearing openly in the summer, I don’t get gel or acrylic on my toes, and the color holds up nicely through my nominal one month pedi cycles.

I started pedicures about 20 years ago. My wrist/hand was in and out of cast for 6 months followed by surgery. I was complaining to a cosmetologist that I couldn't cut my toe nails and she suggest I get a pedicure. The first year I only got clear., then tints. I started colors around 2011, first simple. Now almost anything but pink or red. Since I am diabetic, foot care is important. My fingernails started in 2015 when my thumb nail started to split from the tip to the bed. Tried everything, but nothing worked. Finally someone suggest getting it covered with acrylic and they put a layer of gel over that. A year later I tried to see what would happen if I stopped doing the acrylic nail. It split in 3 days...back to acrylic. Then another nail had issues, so it got acrylic too. But my hand looked funny with two differently shaped nails. .... Anyway I get a complete set of acrylics every month and a pedi at the same time. The place I go to has only three independent nail techs. They each have their on set of clients and they can't take any new clients. I have interactions with the other customers. A few of the women customers sent their husbands in. Most don't get color. My fingernails have had almost very type of technique, chrome, metalic/magnetica - fish eyes, to plain color, to ombres, to art... My tech love do my nails because I allow her to be more creative. The place was once called Nails to Envy As far as complements, many women have told me my nails are fantastic, they wish theirs were so nice. I get complement from men as well, and I said before I here the "I wish I could do it too".

I don’t at all mind telling the story, in fact, I kinda enjoy doing so. As mentioned, I got started something over 10 years ago. the genesis was when I went to a podiatrist for a chronically ingrown toenail. The doc happened to be a woman (middle age, but very attractive, not that that matters.) She examined the errant digit, then told me that as a result of the “surgery”, I would loose the toenail. I said go ahead. After the procedure, she suggested that she examine the other foot, I gave her the go-ahead. She noted my Morton’s toes (2nd toe longer than the big toe, in my case more than 1/4 inch) and told me that due to that condition, I should wear sandals or open-toe shoes whenever practical. And she also told me that I should get regular pedicures, citing essentially the same condition. She noted that a nail tech could fashion an artificial nail on the injured toe, and noted that would be esthetically desirable in sandals. Then, to my GREAT surprise, she noted, and best I recall, a direct quote, “And - you can paint them. Men do that now, that’s a thing.” I can only presume she was a fan of the practice. So, I set out to start getting regular pedis, and decided to throw in manis to help protect my easily damaged fingernails, I do a lot of “manual labor” type things in my shop. I first went to several different “Asian” (no offense intended) places, but quickly discovered that I simply did not hear well enough to understand the techs, so I finally tracked down a place where the owner was a native english speaker. My first few visits were simple pedis without polish of any kind, but curiosity was lurking and on the fourth (or so) visit, I asked about men getting color. Her response was enthusiastic, “YES! Let’s do this!” In short - I was instantly hooked, and pretty much haven’t looked back. Long story a bit shorter. That tech closed her business and moved away to marry an out-of-town boyfriend. I’m now on my third tech. I’ve been seeing her since the post-Covid reawakening. She is a VERY enthusiastic supporter of men wearing color, to that point that I finally asked her if her enthusiasm was because it meant more clients, she replied very succinctly that no, not just that, she likes the look, feels that it’s an indicator of a man taking better care of himself, and also shows a willingness to set aside “men’s stereotypes”. In the time I’ve been wearing openly, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of women who have noted, complemented, and occasionally engaged in conversation about my colored digits. And, aside from that, I’m pretty much a nondescript ol’ fart. Humor intended on this topic. As noted, I’m an OF, and some years ago, my hair began to abandon me. I soon noted that in apparent solidarity with the hair on my head, my leg hair also started to depart. Today I’m naturally bald, and save a few stragglers, hairless on my legs. The aforementioned practice of wearing sandals, along with shorts in the warmer months, has prompted a number of folks, often women, to straightforward ask me if I shaved my legs. I always answer no, I don’t need to, and share the quip I mentioned above, most always to the other party’s amusement. As I mentioned to CrushedVamp, I’m another regular color-wearer on my toes. My nail tech has a small “salon” area with one other tech in a place also used for her other businesses (selling refurbished and repurposed furniture, and permanent cosmetics.) I have learned that I was her first male client in this location, and as mentioned, she is enthusiastic about men wearing color, and has apparently cited me as an example to help “convert” several other male basic pedi clients to wearing color. Also, during the time I’ve been seeing her, I’ve encountered a number of other woman clients, either coming or going, who have taken time to engage with me, ask questions, and 100% make supportive conversation about men wearing color on nails. (I’m so far sticking to clear gel on hands, but my tech occasionally, pleasantly, suggests that I “indulge” in color there as well.)

At the salon that I go to my nail tech tells me that she has over 20 male customers that get pedicures. Most get a clear gel but like myself there are 9 other men customers that get color on their toes, some red like me, some pink, one in purple and two in black. I remember several years ago when there was three other men that hand colored toes. We were shopping in a Walmart. One of the women with one of the men took a picture of all four of us showing off our colored pedi's. She said she was going to post it online but I never saw it. So Crushed Vamp you can wear a color on your toes. There are a lot of men doing it. Happy Heeling, bluejay

Another thing that is difficult, but not impossible to do in heels is ride a motorbike. It seems exciting at first, but as a practical matter it is somewhat less than exciting, and very possibly rather unsafe. This is one of the reasons I switched to a scooter, with automatic transmission and no foot controls. Those things were made for heels!

Bringing us gently back on point, I managed to snag a photo of my friend in her bootcut jeans while I was tearing down my musical equipment on Sunday. I'm not entirely sure what this group of women was doing, but I think they were learning American Sign Language. Anyway, I took a picture of the whole group, then cropped it to show the relevant part, and to protect the identity(ies) of those involved. My friend doesn't wear super high heels, but she does wear heels almost every Sunday, and this style, though on the casual side for me, seems to suit her.

Funnily enough only yesterday I bought a pair of boot cut jeans - to wear with my ankle boots with 8cm chunky heels, and because they also look better with hiking boots. Yes, the boot cut partially obscures the heels on my ankle boots, but then I don’t wear them to show off or make a point, and actually the boots looks really good with these jeans.

I decided a long time ago that I look better in slimmer cut jeans/pants. I can pull off skinny jeans, and I like them, but they sure can be a pain in the neck to get on and off. I used to wear boot cut pants all the time for the reason that @Puffer mentioned, as an attempt to minimize attention to my heels, but I guess I got over that some time ago. Because I like to wear mules, I was glad to get rid of boot cut jeans, as the two don't live together in perfect harmony. Perhaps I am mistaken in my self-assessment, because my 40-something woman friend, mentioned several times elsewhere, wears boot cut jeans all the time with 3 inch heels, and she looks awesome. She's a very tiny woman, as well. The downside is, you can't really see the shoes. That was definitely the style in the early 2000s, when she would have come of age. I can remember working at the Iowa State Capitol building in 2004 and watching for heels, which were very common at the time. It was sometimes frustrating, because all you could see was just a sliver of a stiletto sticking out the bottom of a pair of pants that were very nearly dragging the floor. It was against this backdrop that I started my high heel journey, thinking I could do the same.

Coming in at No. 4 are my BCBGirls Bonny beaded wooden mules (pair No. 2). I often say that these are my favorite pair of shoes ever. I don't know in my heart of hearts if that's really true, but at least in a certain category, it is true. The downside to loving these shoes is that they're not super durable. I've owned six pairs of this exact model and color (I don't know if it came in any other color), and so far I've been through four, with two in reserve. What happens is that after about 100 miles or so, the shanks break. I managed to coax 115.6 miles (186 km) out of pair No. 2 before that happened. Ironically, I was feeling energetic one evening back in 2022, and I decided to take the Bonnys out for a 5 mile spin, which I'd never done before. The route I chose was largely on a bicycle path, so the plan was to walk 2.5 miles linearly, then simply about face, and come back home. Unfortunately, about 1.5 miles into the journey, something began to feel quite mushy and strange. Yes, the right shank had snapped in half, allowing the heel to flex radically. I had to limp home very slowly, and that was the end of Bonny No. 2. I posted about it if you want to scroll back in my "Ruminations" thread far enough. I love wooden heeled mules, and I have quite a number in my collection. Why this should be my favorite, I don't know. They aren't super tall, effective steepness being less than 4 inches (10 cm), and they tend to get worn looking fairly rapidly if you wear them like I do, but they've always had a appeal for me.

In such a climate I can also imagine wearing boots all year. In Germany the summers mostly aren't that hot, so it would somehow also be possible to wear boots all year - but when should I wear my sandals, wedges etc. then? 😉 Yes, 12 cm stilettos definitely are timeless classics, I love them so much. Doesn't matter if boots or pumps. I realize that even though I'm actually practicing in the 13 cm Hot Chicks, I'm also really looking forward to the benefits I can get in 12 cm heels. It would be so nice to wear them for some shorter trips maybe.

I can definitely see that trend in my environment. Almost everybody is choosing flats, even for dressier occasions. I don't mind. I'm old enough to know what I want and will do that regardless of current trends.

I present my Church OOTW for October 5. I was going to wear these giant Michael Kors Oksana sandals with bootcut khaki pants, but I had forgotten that I bought these sort of camel colored jeans, and I thought, "why not show off my big high heels for a change?" The only one who remarked was my mother, who also thought they were giant. At 5 1/2" (14 cm) with a 1" (2.5 cm) platform, they're pretty steep, too, for a non-designer shoe. I had a little chat with the woman who occasionally sends me shoe/foot pictures (mentioned above, somewhere). She was wearing cute little red wedges with a pencil skirt. She only shook her head and said, "I can't compete with that!" I said that I didn't know it was a competition. I'll probably see her tonight at my book club, and I'll be wearing heels. She won't. Different Shoe Worldviews entirely.

I’m still plugging away in my challenge heels, although only in the boat - I’ve counted the steps. I can do about 20 each way - steps being somewhat shorter in 12cm stilettos than in hiking boots! It’s good practice. The towpath is a quagmire - definitely not suitable for heels! That said it’s quite cosy inside, listening to the fierce autumn storm raging outside, torrential rain lashing the windows and 50mph gusts. Snug in here, in my heels and jeans and jumper …

I am sure this topic has been discussed ad nauseum and "resolved" long before it was known that the moon was not made of green cheese. A situation regarding my wearing of heels has surfaced within my family and I came to the realization that the confidence I have gained from doing so has spilled into other areas of my life. Allow me to explain. I have younger brother who is deeply conservative on all matters and he informed me (indirectly) that his eldest daughter (20.5 YOA) had tickets to hear Charlie Kirk speak when he was scheduled to on her university campus. He was murdered, however, before the event at my niece's campus occurred. Needless to say, I sent a carefully worded response about the true nature of Kirk's rhetoric towards the transgender community to my brother and noted that I strongly disagreed with Kirk's positions. The response I received was a profanity filled diatribe about how the transgender community is trying to force their agenda on everyone...blah, blah, blah. Also, it was apparent from his choice of words, that, in general, men wearing heels was somehow wrong because it is not in line with his worldly view. I did not dignify his response with my own response, but not to be arrogant and respect for the fact that my brother is in poor health, both mentally and physically, as an investigator for 20+ years, I could have driven a truck through the holes in his response. My line of belief on this, couple with other recent posts I have offered, made me realize that the confidence I have gained from wearing heels has spilled into other areas of my life. I am much more confident about my work, my decisions, and, just wearing tall heels (4"+) in public and not giving a da(r)n about what anyone thinks or feels about it. For the most part, I have received so many compliments from (mostly) women in my office who love my style and color choices. Most of the men do not care but I still have great conversations with them even if I am wearing a mini skirt. This made me realize that if I can tell a family member "I do not give a (long string of expletives not included) about whether a man wearing heels fits in with your narrow minded worldly view" then what is to stop my confidence from continuing on an upward climb? I realize that over confidence can easily become arrogance and want to avoid going down that road. I guess what I am trying to say is that, I will be more than happy to tell my brother that if he can not accept the fact that I wear heels, then that's too bad. I am going to do so because I like and encourage every man I see to do so the same.

Well they finally came. Great heel, loved the color, BUT they were slightly too tight at the toe box. The problem is that they are pointed toe heels and my feet aren't. I could get my my foot in, but it was just too tight and since they are synthetic I didn't think it would stretch. I had got these for many reason. I love the color. I now have several in this color range. I want a boot that I could wear when it rained. I have no desire to damage my leather or suede heels, so being synthetic was a plus. I wanted a slouch style bootie, and I have been looking for some time. This also had a feature, a full length zipper, that I wanted. And the heel was decent as well. The search goes on .........................

Cat, I love that royal blue ensemble. That's a favorite color of mine. Last Sunday I wore a white short skort with a royal blue sequin top and my royal blue, patent knee boots. Got several compliments on my ensemble. Even two ladies complimented me on my boots. Happy Heeling, bluejay

If you could magically transport yourself back in time 10 or 15 years, and you were to cross the same street, wearing the same outfit, you'd have had a lot more people video-ing you. The best we can hope for is that we walked well.

Oh mama! That's it! We're having a best dressed of 2026 competition! You in?

I also had a demanding week, but may break out my highest presentable heels today. I am to attend a music recital this afternoon, which will involve about a 600 m walk each way. The key for me is warming up a little bit first. Once I get to that height, I can't just put on my shoes and go. There has to be preflight.

It really is! The more I read about fashion as a culture and the history of fashion the more I want to know. Heels are especially fascinating. They are such a paradox. On the one hand they are denounced as tools of the patriarchy, designed to hobble and objectify women for the pleasure of men, yet at the same time they are born with panache by many of the most powerful women in the world, leaders in business, politics, arts and entertain,ent who view their heels as symbols of empowered femininity, spend small fortunes on designer help and speak of the emotional lift and sense of empowerment that comes with putting on a pair of stilettos and string into a meeting. Men are expected to admire - lustily - high heels on women but are told from birth they mustn't ever even think about trying on a pair themselves. Who can't help but e fascinated by all this furore and taboo?

Epically hideous

I remember in the 1980's there was a segment on 60 Minutes about women... gasp... changing into sneakers to commute to work in the bigger cities then changing to their high heels. 60 Minutes was and still is a news show that featured longer running stories, about 20 minutes long instead of 2 minutes like most news shows. Anyway, I remember it because it was a huge deal back then. The women were like, "you wear high heels on city streets and in subways and on busses then and see how you like it", while the men they interviewed hated the new trend. Those men would really hate the trend now... women just wearing sneakers all day, even in the office. My wife lives in her heels, but it is actually other WOMEN who curtail her efforts far more than men. They tend to have snide words about her wearing them, going as far as to call her a "slut" for wearing them. I think it is just jealousy myself that they feel guilty for dressing like a slob, or insecure that her husband might look at my wife. I am not really sure, but by far other women make wearing high heels for my wife more of an issue than it really should be.

Those are lovely boots. Well worth the investment

Nice boots.

Impressively high for what amounts to a 1.2km - ¾ mile - walk! But to borrow a phrase from a dong near to my heart, those heels look made for walking. You should see the towpath here - most unsuited for walking, even in Vibram soled hiking boots. Fortunately I have some very nice knee high boots with sturdy soles and low heels so I can keep up my style for tall boots. And on the cold mornings, such as today - down to freezing with thick ice firming on the boat - I have my heavy suede OTK boots with 8cm heels. Love these!

That’s impressive - a 600m walk in week in your challenge height heels. I’d love to go for such a stroll in mine, but I’m really struggling to find a place. We had two inches of rain last night and now the towpath is unpleasant even in heavy Vibram soled hiking books.

As a writer myself I know what you mean, but have found some limited uses for it. I have a fairly big printer (Plotter) so AI does a really nice job of taking a smaller sized photo and then scaling it up without any distortion even in poster sized pictures. It's kind of nice now to be able to take a thumbnail image and print it out at 3 feet by 5 feet and have it look good. The other thing I like is that in the United States anyway, the Supreme Court ruled AI Images are not able to be copyrighted, so I can use AI pictures for book covers and not have to worry about models, model releases, etc, and later being sued. Like @Mr. X but a little different, we just bought another house and wanted to see what the place would look like differently. Since we were swapping rooms, as in the kitchen being the living room and vice versa, it was nice to take pictures of the rooms then just make it a kitchen based on different kitchen styles of architecture. It was just Mr X did, but with rooms, and it was nice to see what we ultimately envisioned.

I’ve been lured away into mid-heels. Very heavy rains and temperatures down to 4°C have prompted me to dig out my heavy suede OTK boots with chunky 8cm heels. They are lovely and warm and very appealing on nippy mornings in the boat. We’re at that tricky transitional point in the year when it’s nippy enough in the mornings to want warm boots but not quite nippy enough for me to want to start the coal fire - yet. The daytime temperatures are a pleasant 15°C or so. i can change into my stilettos in the afternoon

For sure you're not that far off. I'd also guess this translates to 11,3 cm or so. I think the challenge isn't that much about absolute numbers anyways but more about the personal goals from each of us 🙂 Don't restrict yourself because of the price tag, the heels you already have are absolutely fine. I wouldn't buy the Hot Chicks for practicing either, it's more of an coincidence that I can use them now because I already have them. When I bought them I didn't even really think about wearing them, I just bought them for the looks. And for that it was hell a lot of money!

I stand corrected - at least one of my group wears heels apparently. And when I think about it she was the one most likely, a southern lady. I didn’t see her heels but she referenced them in a conversation we had while attempting to do a walk around one of the lakes only to find it was flooded. She was not happy about getting her hiking boots wet as they are going back to America tomorrow and she’d planned to wear them in the plane, saying that she didn’t want to wear her heels in the airport and on the plane. From which I deduced she had brought heels and presumably wore them after hours. And now that I think of it she was also the only one in the group that was familiar with the story about men in heels back in the 17th century …

I reposted this because I am still wear the worn out pair to run errand around town. I estimate at least 500 miles in that pair. 7+ years old and have worn them estimated 800 times. Have them on this morning, going to the open air market. And even this pair still gets the "I love those heels".

Yesterday, I did my longest loop, which involves some hills. I was wearing 10 cm heels (not stilettos). It occurred to me that instead of being slightly irritated at having to walk downhill in heels as I usually am, I should look at it as good training for steeper heels. It's a slightly different physical dynamic, but the effect is basically the same.