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Yes walking 200m gracefully in Hot Chicks is quite an accomplishment. I cannot imagine achieving that myself - I shall be delighted to walk gracefully in my 12cm stiletto boots. Speaking of which I had an amusing episode this morning, when I got up and put in my stiletto boots to start my workday. I get up very early - typically 4am - since that is my most creative time. I’d left my stiletto boots by my kitchen table, ready to put on in the morning. Now, I have three pair of stiletto boots - one is quite a luxurious OTK pair in black Nubuck suede with 9cm heels. The other two are the same style in Italian Heels, their Tina model. One is in black leather with 10cm heels, the other is in very dark brown leather in 12cm heels. I thought I had put in my 12cm ones this morning and was happily congratulating myself in a major breakthrough. To be sure I was only traipsing around my boat, but doing it was an ease I’d never imagined myself managing in 12cm stilettos. I was really quite chuffed - bring on the Hot Chicks! I did a lot of extra walking around, just to enjoy this breakthrough all the more. Had I been moored ina more heel friendly location I’d have gone for a celebratory stroll. Alas, I discovered I had mixed up my boots and was wearing my 10cm stilettos, not the 12s. Back to beginners again ….

I think most scale their heel heights, but I can't tell for sure because I'm close to the standard size anyway. Last week I wore my Hot Chicks twice at home, and yesterday took the chance to wear them out. At home I didn't really feel any difference yet, but yesterday was kind of an success. They felt a little more comfortable and it also was the longest distance I ever walked in them. At the end they got really uncomfortable, but I'm glad I wore them out once again and very motivated to do it again soon 🙂

Releasing pictures of my church OOTW for August 17. I chose to be blue, with my Steve Madden single band ankle strap sandals. Which feel really weird to me. And by weird, I mean they feel weird when I walk in them by their design. I don't know why this should be so, but it's probably because I have so few ankle strap shoes. I tend to stay away from them since my legs are so short, and I've heard that I should stick to mules to have a visually uninterrupted leg. I don't know if I believe that or not, but it's how I justify having so many mules. With the pants I chose, you can't really see the ankle straps anyway, so what's the difference?

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

I haven't posted here in a good while, so I figured an update was in order. I'm still getting out. I just don't feel the need to post every single outing these days. Unless something newsworthy happens, which isn't often, I just go about my day. I am still buying shoes also. So i figured it was time to do another inventory check. It would also give me a chance to go through and pair down my collection by selling shoes that no longer fit or that I'm not too fond of anymore. And donate shoes that are a little worse for wear and not worth selling. I also wanted to see how close I was on how many pairs I actually had. I was guesstimating that between shoes and boots. I probably had around 100 pairs. A bit of my collection is stored in their original boxes. But the majority of my collection is stored in cardboard boxes and tubs. I would love to have proper shelves to display them or a closet of some kind, but that is just not possible. Between boxes and tubs, I currently have about 7 of them. And now the fun begins. It was fun going through everything and trying stuff on. I even discovered stuff I never new I had. And stuff that has never seen the outside world. Because alot of my shoes are a little too fancy to wear out doing everday task and errands. They need a special occasion to wear them. When it was all said and done, I ended up with about a dozen pairs that would be sold or donated. And my guesstimate was actually pretty close. I came in just a shade under the century mark, including the get rid of pile. So here is the numbers of where my collection stands after pairing it down. Shoes 57 pairs Knee boots or higher 5 pairs ankle boots or shoes 14 pairs Wedges 4 pairs Flats 2 pairs For a total of 82 pairs

Holy Cow!! I was so off the mark on my response to this or I have changed so much to render what I wrote meaningless! I wrote that: 1) I was not into open toe sandals; 2) I was not into painting my toe nails, and; 3) I was wearing pointed toe heels. So, just today, I was wearing a pair of open-toe espadrilles sandals but my toe nails were not polished (which I having been doing during the summer to wear with open-toe sandals) and I have started moving away from pointed to heels/points as they usually have a narrower toe-box. Thus, in order to compensate for such, I will usually get a 1/2 to full size large and if needed, attach heel backers. I have also started to pass on very cute pointed toe heels knowing that no matter what size I may purchase, the shoe/boot simply will not ever properly fit my foot/feet. Shoe - LC by Lauren Conrad.

Half a mile, I just looked that up, that's 800 meters. I'd be way out of rhythm in my Hot Chicks after 800 m 😂 On the weekend it was more like 200 m one way and that was enough. Yes, it's way more difficult wearing them outside when you got to get somewhere, but also way more exciting. And it's a good feeling when you know that you you can handle a bit of walking without becoming too uncomfortable. So I actually can use them for a few opportunities. Of course I'll keep you updated!

All hands meeting today. After the meeting I was walking to a breakout session and a friend (unofficial high heel club member) was stopped by two woman and was talking about how she can walk in heels (4 inch stilettos today). As we walked pass the group, my friend pointed out my 4 inch heels and my fingernails and toenails to the two women she was talking to. She also has exquisite nails. This "club member" is the same one that organized the tour in the post above.

Yes, welcome! I would like the 60s too. It was the era of the go-go boot and fun.

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!

It has been a whole year! It doesn't seem like it's been a whole year. I need to go through my collection as well, and see what I really have. It seems like I have been culling a lot lately and not buying new, which is probably a good thing.

Wow - that’s quite a week! I smiled at your experience with low seats in high heels. I had the same but sitting on a low settee in my 12cm heels and spent the whole time trying to figure out how to sit and where to place my heels so I didn’t look like a seated preying mantis with my knees jutting up under my chin. And then how to get up again! Without calling to mind something struggling out of a wallow. I can’t imagine doing that in 13cm Hot Chicks! Standing in a queue in 13cm heels would be a serious challenge too! Definitely an earned rest this week! But well done!!!!

On saturday I took the chance again to wear them out. Not the most appropriate occasion, but I have to ignore that if I want to use them more often 😀 We went out for dinner and to the cinema afterwards. I can tell you that cinema in 13 cm heels isn't the best idea. First we were waiting in the line for a while, and then the comfy cinema seats aren't that comfy anymore if you combine them with Hot Chicks. The steep angle of the shoes doesn't go well with the low seats. All in all I overdone it a bit last week. I wore them twice at home and then out on saturday, with all that standing and sitting in the cinema it was a bit too much. The balls of my feet and my calves are still sore, but hey that's part of the progress. Nevertheless I'll (literally) step down a bit this week 😉

Thanks!! They are just a bit large (sz 10 vs 9.5 which is "normal" for me) so I had a cobbler shorten the rear straps just a bit and they are now very comfortable. I agree that wedges, especially those with a platform, can be a bit much. These, however, seem to have the right balance of wedge and platform. I did receive the nicest compliment from a co-worker on them when I wore them. As we are heading into the autumn, however, I am not sure that I will get to wear them again before open-toe season comes to an end.

I always have color on my toes and fingers. My toes are always in red except for October when they get colored hot pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month, while my fingers are always in pink/clear gel with the little pinkies in a color or design particular to the time of the year. Right now my left pinkie is in silver sparkle and my right pinkie is in gold sparkle. Got compliments this morning on both my mani and pedi both at church and my usual Sunday morning shopping. BTW closed toe red pumps at church, open toe double band, red sandals for my shopping trip. I also was wearing white capris with a red, white and blue top for the Labor Day holiday. I got compliments on my ensemble too!!!! Happy Heeling, bluejay

I can't cut my own toenails or do other similar things due to how my thumb is held in place and the removed bones in my hand. So pedicures is the way to go. After a decade + of pedicures, I now enjoy my painted toes. Decades ago, I damaged the root bed of several fingernails, some split all the way to the root bed while other delaminate, split horizontally. They require acrylic to hold them together. Acrylic then needs to be covered with gel. So why not get color. This month they have a cat's eye look.

I know of that shop, this was sky-scrapers.co.uk, and my last order was 2016.

I would like to get a time machine and go back 60 years. All those beautiful heels. The music and the cars too. No boring nude color but a pretty taupe. I watch Perry Mason and see all the greatest of the 20th century. In the last season Perry is sitting at a table where there is a party for the new newspaper president. Behind him is a woman in the most perfect 4" heels you could ever hope to see.

My wife has refused to wear heels for many years. I told her someone in this family needs to wear heels so I guess I'll have to do it. I have bought her some lace up ankle boots. I seem to be an extremist is some ways. I either like very pretty shoes or the ortho looking shoes/boots. I have several lace up ankle boots. Only nice leather, no suede, snake, ETC. I actually believe that the go-go boots helped to take heels out of style in the later 1960s. The evolution of the low heel. It kills me to see Bewitched episodes with Elizabeth Montgomery in those low heel rounded toe shoes. In the later episodes she had nicer hair but bad fashions.

Absolutely! That will be fun for you! How nice it will be to wear them out to a stylish evening! Splurge! Treat yourself! im really excited now that ive a goal to shoot for. And thanks for the vote of confidence!!!

...but totally worth it!!!! Noe 88 Colors (out of The Netherlands) was having a stock-up sale during the month of August. Buy one pair and receive a 20% discount, two pairs and 30% discount, and three pairs for a 50% discount. Well, as I adore their styles and colors, I got a bit carried away by buying three different pairs in three separate orders. Noe footwear is not necessarily "designer" heels but they are made from genuine Italian leather. As it took about three weeks for each individual package to arrive, the wait for them to arrive was agonizing! It is said that all things come in threes or that the third time is a charm - I guess this is true! Sadly, Noe may not be able to ship to the U.S. for a while as the Dutch Post Office is no longer accepting packages for shipment to this country because of issues that have arisen from the recently impose tariffs. I cannot speak for other companies such as DHL, UPS, or FedEx, so, I guess I will just have to go there to get my next pair which will be in December!

I supposed it's like any other skilled activity--you'll have days where you think, "I think I finally know what I'm doing!" And then there will be days when you think, "I feel like I've never done this before." Not every time, but many times I feel like I don't get into a rhythm until about a half mile down the road. This does seem to be a big step because like I've said for years, one can't learn how to walk by doing dishes and sweeping the floors at home. Eventually, one has to step out in the real world of less-than-perfect walking surfaces. Please do keep us updated on your progress (and/or your setbacks).

Wow! Thats great! And very impressive - as I work at mastering my 12cm stiletto boots, the thought of adding yet another centimetre and without the ankle support offered by boots seems a really serious challenge. Well done for going for a stroll outside in them. Real world walking is also vastly more challenging than pottering around the house. I can imagine you’d be well motivated. its funny how these little successes motivate you to press on and keep trying. I am finding that with my 12cm heels. i also find that after wearing my 12cm heels for a while, my 10cm heels feel so incredibly easy.

The only two pair I got from the original TLSB was a knee high pair of ballet boots, and a pair further modified by Kayser in Australia to be hoof boots. I got both not understanding UK and US used different sizing >.< I do have some ballet boots from Ilias Little Shoe Box, and they seem great. I do need to get back into practice, so have been wearing heels to clean the house today. I think my 6" boots are also from the uk, but from a company SkyScraper heels?

Passing through Leeds train station today. Although the overwhelming majority of people are in trainers, there are a surprising number of heels being worn including stilettos. Nearly all the heels being worn are boots, and generally chunky heels There are sure a lot of ugly boot styles out there …

Another all hands meeting today. While walking to a meeting, a woman stopped me to show me her "fancy" heels. She wanted to take a picture with our heels together. Also had several conversations about heels with women between breaks.

Here is a comparison between the blue sandals I wore a few days ago, which actually measure 111 mm, and some D'Orsay pumps in the same color, which measure 117 mm. Is it just me, or does the shoe on the right appear to be significantly taller than the one on the left, even though there is only 6 mm difference (1/4")? I have no idea what they would be in USW size 7 or 8. I haven't practiced walking in either one this week. Bad for me.

That’s the one! Sitting in front of a tapestry that once belonged to Henry VIII. This image has been brightened up considerably - photoshop? The real one is much more muted. Men in those days were peacocks at court- all silks, laces, bright colours and heels. The along came the Age of Enlightenment in the early/mid 18th century and suddenly science, intellectualism, and philosophy were the fashion. Broadcloth and sensible shoes were in, heels and silk stockings were out

Actually, I was on some years ago but when i decided to get on again it would not accept my user name so I changed one letter. I could not find a way to contact a moderator to fix it. I remember the first times I saw beautiful pointed toes in 1980. Finally, we were coming out of clunky, chunky, funky, ugly. A woman comes of the escalator dressed nicely wearing brand new "real heels". I instantly asked her where she got them. I was with my first wife that day. She had air of confidence and knew she looked good. I'll say one good thing about the '80s. The standard of the world is black kidd leather pumps with points and graceful shaped heels. But, there is something so special about white pumps. They were improved in the '80s by making the soles {(or at least edges) black and black heel tips. The black makes the white stand out even better. Last year I saw two women in one day in white heels. I said to myself:"I love this country."

Blue is my favorite colour @mlroseplant You nailed it!

Mirose, you criticized me for matching my heels to my top color. That's just what you did on Sunday. Happy Heeling, bluejay

I never really felt like any of my heels were the wrong angle, but I also don't always look at which height they're labeled at and then measure them. Which shoe size do you have, Shyheels? That's a great progress! I don't feel any progress so far. Wore them twice last week at home.

I have a whole lot of just shy of 12 cm heels, but very few actual truly 12 cm heels. Here is one pair that measures in at 11.5 cm (or 4 1/2"). Now that we have the challenge going, why do these look slightly stumpy to me? Wish they had another 1-2 cm on the heel.

I always choose my shoes first, then choose the outfit to go along with them. Sometimes, this ends up being the opposite of what I intended. For example, I was looking through my collection yesterday morning, and I thought, "Hmm, I haven't worn my blue suede single band sandals in forever! Although I based the outfit around them, nobody said anything about my shoes. I got a number of comments on my shirt! Go figure.

I don’t have any 11cm heels but it sounds like a great idea to buy some and use them to train for the 12cm height.

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! 😆

I got into higher heels to shorten my calf so that it could heal. A level 3 tear, they should have operated on it, but with a 65 cm circumference it was just too enflamed. I continue in heels for my hip. I will put my heels on at home and go to work, 8 to 16 hours continuously spent in 10 to 12 cm heels everyday I work. More hours in heels equates to less hip pain.

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.

Hi Luvmaryjanez! It appears that this is your first post and if so, I would like to welcome you to this forum! I agree with you that the heels of the 60's were so elegant. They were simple and always had a timeless design to them. Likewise, the simple black pump without any sort of embellishment will always have a timeless elegance to it.

Interesting. I like it! Might just have to add something like that to my want list.

That's great, join us if you want to mlroseplant! I am the same, when I worked my way up in heel height I always started wearing them at home only until I felt confident enough to wear them out (except as a teenager, but that's a different topic 😉) @ShyheelsGreat, how were your calves doing? I also started today, I wore my Hot Chick 130 while cooking. The last time I did that was when I bought them and also started practicing at home. They get uncomfortable pretty quickly, that's why I only used them for short walks with a lot of sitting until now. I hope that will change now.

Got another pair of shoes off of Poshmark. My first "bad" experience there. The two weeks to ship should've been the only red flag I needed. But I loved the look of them and thought it was worth the wait for less than $20. Then they arrived. The tops were flawless. The soles were atrocious. It looked like they had been removed and reattached with a hot glue gun with glue oozing out the sides. None of this was visible from the angles that the half dozen images were taken from. I almost rejected them, but for the price I'll just keep them for around the house. They fit well, and from my perspective while wearing them, it's not visible. Lesson learned... I hope.

Even though our town streets and sidewalks are in more of a state of disrepair than in years past, they are still quite acceptable. However, it's much better if one sticks to routes one knows well when the days grow short and it's dark during the walk. As far as rain, here are my favorite rain shoes. They keep my feet out of the puddles. Not much good for mud, though.

Fernando Berlin makes all kinds of awesome boots in tall sizes too: www.fernandoberlinboots.com Arollo has some of their boots available in big sizes: www.arolloboots.com Nice italian heels are sold by Shoebidoo Shoes: www.shoebidooshoes.com Be advised that Italian shoes and boots tend to run large. Typically you could fit one size smaller than your normal (non-italian) fit. For more customized heels: www.sanctumshoes.com If you like real designer boots (expensive!) then have a look at Jean Gaborit: www.jean-gaborit.com Happy shopping!!

Even though it was a pretty thin month on walking (I managed only 25 miles in July), I realized that pretty much all of my walking shoes needed reheeling. I took half a dozen pairs up to the cobbler all at once. For the next week, I will have to make more careful choices about what to wear on walks. I have definitely changed my tune about wearing and keeping heels in the last 12 years. Before, I always said that if I can't walk two miles in reasonable comfort, I won't keep the shoes. Now, although I will not accept uncomfortable heels, I do not put every pair I own through that particular rigor, particularly if they are really meant for dressier occasions. What I did not take into account at first is the fact that although I may be able to walk in stilettos for two miles at a clip, the shoes might not be up to the challenge for too many cycles of that. Even if they are, it is so easy to put your heel down a crack in the sidewalk, thereby pretty much ruining them. Replacing heel tips every 10 miles or so is irritating as well.

I've got about half a dozen pairs that I wear regularly for each season, so there's about a dozen, or roughly 10%. Of these, there are some that I don't really wear out in public because they're a little beat up looking. It's not that I never wear the others, but the occasions are relatively rare. For example, I have a bunch of Steve Madden pumps that have gotten a lot of picture time here, but very little wear time in the real world. Speaking of wear time, I have been very lazy this month about keeping up on my walking. It's been an incredible year so far up until this month. Hopefully I'll get my act together again next month.