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This is a spin-off of my last post entitled, "Sadly, That Will Not Be Happening Again!" because part of this story is a related to that thread and part of it is not. Part One: My swearing off of 4"+ heels only lasted for a week as today, I wore a pair of beautiful 4.75" block-heeled, western styled boots to the office. At either the end of 2023 or the start of 2024, I purchased a pair of beautiful boots (Brand - Raye/Model - Inferno, an appropriate name as they are hot!) via Revolve.com. I have only worn them out once because they always seemed a bit too fancy for wearing wearing to the office. They seem (and are) to be very appropriate for a fancy event or other "dressy" occasion. In fact, I wore these boots to a fancy dinner with a former work colleague about two years ago. Since then, they have sat in my closet waiting to be worn again when the opportunity presented itself. Since that first wearing, however, I have never really had the opportunity to wear them out as fancy dinners or other similar events are few and are between. Given such and my belief that any item I own should be worn out at some point, I have long contemplated selling them in some way, shape, or form. Today is New Year's Eve and I was in the mood to dress up a bit for the office to celebrate the last day of 2025/coming of 2026. I have a lovely burgundy dress that I had yet to wear which, like the boots, is a bit on the fancier side. So, I decided to pair them for the day and what a pairing it was! I generally gravitate towards dresses with a waist tie but as this dress did not have one, I took a black neck scarf and used that as I waist belt. I had thought the boots were a 4.25" heel but when I measured them upon arriving at the office, only then did I realize that they were 4.75." I realized they were taller than I had believed as they just had a certain feel to them, in terms of heel height. Regardless, they were very comfortable and after my work day was done, I ran a quick errand to pick-up a few items for my New Year's Eve dinner. No problems in wearing them all day on any front - no pain in the hips, back, knees, and/or ankles. I just have to wonder if slightly lower heel (0.25") really makes a difference or if they are just of better quality that the once I recently wore. Regardless, I am glad I kept them. Part Two: Some time ago, I happened to view a picture of a female reporter wearing a pair of gorgeous black leather boots while interviewing an individual on the air at her Texas television station. Sadly, there was no information about her boots although when seeing them, I remember thinking to myself that they were "killer" and I would give my left eye to have a pair. I bookmarked the photo as a reference/reminder to look for a similar pair as that would probably be the best I could do. Shortly after I received that boots that are the topic of this post, I went back to that photo to see how my boots compared to those which the reporter was wearing. After carefully examining the boots in the photo with mine, low and behold I realized that, quite by chance/luck, I had purchased the same pair the reporter was wearing! Needless to say, I was quite surprised for a few reasons but more so than not, in a state of disbelief of my find. The manner in which the reporter was wearing them for that interview was very much an inspiration for my New Year's Eve outfit. What's interesting about these boots is that when I first wore then out, the height of the heel was challenging for me but today, not problem what so ever!

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

What you have said is absolutely correct, but the "context" of my original statement has a much simpler explanation: It was supposed to be, you know, funny. Or at least mildly amusing. Tongue-in-cheek, that sort of thing. I am hanging my head in despair, knowing that I have failed miserably in my attempt at humor. Wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last. What adds interest to this story is that you're not wrong! I rarely miss an opportunity to wear heels. Put another way, and perhaps closer to the way I actually feel, you will rarely catch me wearing flats unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I don't always wear high heels in the sense of our definition, but it's always in the back of my mind that I would love to be able to wear the highest heels well, and that definitely requires practice, preferably daily practice. In my case, the limitation doesn't really involve pain or lack of endurance, it is lack of ankle flexibility. Therefore, I do not have the effortless walk that is required to really pull of 12+ cm shoes.

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!

Men's fashions tend to be puritanical - sombre tones in office wear, plain blocky colours in anything else, and absolutely devoid of any sort of personal theatre. Conformity is the overriding theme, not self expression. And certainly not 'fun'. And as far as footwear goes, sensible shoes only. We're supposed to admire heels on the feet of women while scorning such frippery for ourselves as somehow beneath our masculine dignity. There is so much wrong with that thinking I scarcely know where to begin ...

I might have taken @mlroseplant out of context too, at least in terms of motivation. I know he tracks his kilometers walking in heels and it is only natural when you do that, to want to increase the number. In that context, when looking at choosing between flats and high heels, it is only natural to see wearing flats as a missed opportunity to increase your overall kilometers in high heels per year. For others... like my wife... shoes are part of the outfit, and having the ability to make it formal, or informal, is part of the fun. I side with her in some sense on that because as a traditional man that dresses as such, as we talked about on another part of this forum about jazzing up the male wardrobe, I am a bit jealous of her because I think my choices of fashion and footwear are a little lackluster.

OK, so I felt guilty about slacking, so I pulled out my highest regular heels for church yesterday morning. I actually had the morning off from musical duties, so I could sit with my family in the congregation like a normal person. These particular pumps are some off brand called Elisabet Tang. There is another brand called GenShuo that is exactly the same. They are inexpensive shoes, but appear to be well made for what they are. They are slightly higher than the similar Steve Madden shoes of that ilk like the Daisie, but still clock in at a mere 11.3 cm when translated to size 38. I thought I did ok in them. I didn't have to walk more than 30 meters at a time, though, so I can't give a real assessment. At the time this photo was taken, the wind had picked up to about 40 km/h, and everything was starting to ice over. Therefore, I switched to boots to after that to run errands.

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.

As a child I was a huge fan of go-go boots! I wished I could have a pair of those shiny white boots - it’s what set me on the course to liking women’s boots snd heels! I still fancy a pair of go-go boots if only I could find nice ones …

I’m quite certain one’s ideal heel height can be increased - I think we are all proof of that! While I’ve not mastered 12cm stilettos, practicing in them has made walking in 10cm stilettos feel easy and natural. The difference is noticeable. Likewise @higherheels is now able to get around in her Hot Chicks and her new 13+cm boots through practice. Speaking of practice my walk into town for groceries was an adventure - one I took in low/standard heel knee boots because of all the ice. The towpath and sidewalks were like skating rinks. And so I tottered feebly in my low heeled knee boots and pretended to myself I was in 12cm stilettos. I’m not so sure it’s going to help in terms of actual practice in them, but it made the mental journey into town more fun and engaging

Yes, I agree. The more and more I look at it, I'm not convinced about the second method, either. At least not as exactly stated in this chart. First of all, you about need an assistant to really do it correctly. I think I used a Stanley tape measure extended out and just kind of eyeballed it from afar. But secondly, I'm looking at the marks on the diagram of the foot, and it doesn't make any sense to me. I think the first measurement is too far up on the toes and the second is too far back on the heel, giving an artificially high number. Thirdly, it doesn't take into account toe flexibility, which is kind of important once you reach towering heights. I'm hoping, as are the rest of the participants in this thread, that your actual ideal heel height can be increased with practice and the force of will.

That's how you know when a pair of boots fits well, and are engineered for actually walking in...Best feeling ever

My best effort for walking in heels is just under 20k steps while I was wearing a pair of grey suede OTK boots with 7 to 8cm heels. The boots are very well made, fit beautifully and logging that number of steps was easy. I pretty much forgot I was in heels

I found the same with the first equation. Kind of nonsensical. For the second I can see some logic. I have very flexible ankles and so my ideal heel height for that formula was something over 12cm, but I won’t be ordering any Hot Chicks anytime soon. I would love to master 12cm heels and hopefully will eventually do so, but I would have to say my ideal heel height in terms of intuitive use and ease would be nearer 10cms - even if I prefer the aesthetics of a 12cm stiletto

I am not off to a great start with the walking, distance-wise, but I'm glad I did not attempt a second mile in those high pumps. I think I probably would have ruined them. It's very early days, though. As long as I don't make laziness a habit. And now for something completely different. . . I was attempting to clean up a portion of my basement yesterday, and I ran across some photos from my university, specifically a couple different graduating classes. Flipping through, I noticed that more than half of the girls were wearing heels, which is kind of what I remember for dressy occasions, but exactly zero of them were what we would consider "high" heels. The one girl I knew who might have been wearing shoes that approached four inch, well naturally you can't see her shoes in my old photo. Another girl that I remember who wore heels a lot (several times a week, and even for more casual dressing) was dressed smartly in black patent pumps which had a whopping heel height of maybe 2 1/2 inches. What I used to think was excitingly attractive is a big yawn now. I'm ruined for life.

I definitely don't get the first heel height formula. It seems like a bunch of random numbers that sound like they mean something, but in fact have nothing to do with anything. I also find it amusing that the number they come up with for this model is 5.2 cm, but she is depicted wearing shoes likely twice that tall, even if you discount for the platform. The second formula, on the other hand, I have actually tried myself, and the last time I did it, probably two years ago, I came up with 4 inches or 10 cm, which seems about right to me. It would be interesting to try it on somebody who says they can't wear heels, and see if there's any actual science in it. It would also be interesting to go back in time and try this test before I ever started wearing heels vs. what it is now to see if the resting angle of my feet to my ankles has changed because of wearing heels rather than any natural tendency I might have.

The tips on my stiletto booths - both 10cm and 12cm are plastic. The tips on my 9cm black suede OTK boots (beautiful custom made boots) - are much better, rubber I think. They are beautiful to walk in.

It really sums up! 8-10 km everyday is also quite a lot. I really have to track one week with my phone to get an idea of hos much I walk. But nowhere close to you, that's for sure 😀

They were not really a big deal, other than I was super slow, or I felt like I was super slow. It took me about a third of the way before I got into my rhythm. Normally, it takes me approximately 20 minutes to walk a mile in 10 cm heels. I should have timed myself, but I didn't instead. It didn't take me as much as 25 minutes to walk the mile, but it sure felt like it. The heel tip wear is not uncommon for stock plastic heel tips. Rubber tips will last at least 10 times as long.

It will probably shock you! This is in no way doing so in high heels, but I walk for exercise. I typically walk 5-7 (8 to 10 km) miles per day. Well my phone tracks me and since deciding to walk daily no matter the weather, my mileage shot right up. Sure, it is only 35-40 (56-60 km) miles per week, but that equates to a 160 (257 km) miles a month, or around 2000 (3200) miles a year. It does not sound far, but for me that is like walking from Maine to Colorado. For you that is like walking from Berlin to Kuwait. And all by just by walking a few miles a day. So it really adds up more than you would think.

They look very nice! And well done for walking a mile in them! But I think that’s the drawback with lofty stilettos - the quick wear! Bitter cold and snow has been making my suede chunky heeled OTK boots a much more attractive option than my 12cm stilettos these days. Getting up in the cold and dark - sunrise here is at 8:30 - and building a fire with frost on the inside of the windows calls for warm boots rather than lofty ones!

That’s really nice. Fun to have a friend with whom you can chat about heels

It. . . actually. . . kinda does. I mean, it's not sidesplittingly funny, but it's worth a groan, at least.

Yes, that's absolutely true for me 🙂

After trying to jazz up my wardrobe and falling flat on my face for many reasons. From some weight gain unfortunately, to stains on my shirts, to just wanting a simpler life, I have decided to take a new direction with my male wardrobe. It is not one I am proud to do but just feel compelled to proceed with. It sounds boring because it is, but I got so many decisions to make in a day that I am sick of overthinking what I wear. I no longer want to even think about it. Like many other men today, I am just buying a set of the same pants, shirt, undershirt, etc and wearing the same thing every day. An array of work clothes, and an array of dress clothes, but each set being the same. Sure, the people at church will begin to notice I wear the same clothes to church every Sunday, but so be it. I am so tired of coordinating a nice outfit, only to notice I got a coffee stain on a shirt and practically have to strip naked and start all over with another coordinated outfit. Nope a set of dress clothes and a set of work clothes from now on.

Great Heels and Outfit….

I have several pairs of heels which would be no problem for 5.5 miles. I also have several pairs that would be an absolute disaster in that distance! What I would very much not like to do is carry a sousaphone that far. I used to think 2 mile parades were hell, much less three times that distance.

That would be a tough day! I remember being at a local fair with the kids and as we were leaving I saw a young couple, 18-20 years old and she was wearing high heels. It was apparent she was already regretting her shoe choice. She had a grimace on her face and had not even made it out of the parking lot area yet. It is hard to describe, but I am sure everyone on here has seen the look, that grimace with every step with dread at making the next because she knew it was going to be painful. I felt bad for her because I knew she was probably wearing them for her boyfriend, and that is truly commendable. Not that someone should be in pain on account of someone else, but that she wanted to please her date. But considering how far she had to go, then the walking required at a fair over asphalt and grass grounds, it probably meant a trip back to the car early for her.

I’ll third the motion. I love knee boots, with or without heels and those are very nice

Giege , I would wear those flat heel boots as I did wear a pair of mine on New Year's Eve on a shopping trip with my wife. We were having heavy snow falling at the time so my heeled boots were definitely out of the question. Mine were just a plain riding boot with 1" heels and no ornamentation like yours, however I would wear a pair like yours in a heartbeat! Happy New Year Happy Heeling, bluejay

No, not at all. Wearing heels, at least for me, and I think for @mlroseplant and @higherheels as well, it’s a matter of style and fashion and I think it’s fair to say that we like stiletto heels in the 10 to 13cm range. And to be able to walk well in lofty stilettos you need a lot of practice. In my case I had a pair of 12cm stiletto knee boots I bought for their aesthetics but had never learned to walk well in them. @higherheels has a pair of imperious Louboutin Hot Chicks with 13cm heels which very few people can wear with panache, while @mlroseplant walks marathon distances in lower heels but also likes the aesthetics of higher ones. But other people will have entirely different aesthetics and personal styles. It’s by no means a given that everybody wants to move up into ever higher heels.

Thank you! I felt pretty chuffed! And yes, 10cm is like a magic border! 8cm chunky heels are fun but proper high heels start at 10cm - and (for me) the perfect aesthetic is 12cm stiletto boots

Deep freeze along the canal - the frozen lumpy towpaths not at all inviting for anyone in heels, but a good day to be puttering about inside, putting extra lumps of coal on the fire and click-click-clicking about the galley making coffee and a hot breakfast! So the year seems off to a good start

@mlroseplant Thanks for the compliment! Indeed, the boots are fabulous and for the most part, rather comfortable in both wearing and walking. I was recently doing some "experimenting" with different looks with these boots and realized that they can be "dressed up," as seen in the photo, or "dressed down" with a pair of skinny jeans. The "issue" I face is that I have very little real life reference as to the current state of contemporary fashion. As I have noted, probably ad nauseum, my employer has no dress code of which to speak other than "jeans are permissible." Beyond that, just about "anything goes" provided that one could make a case that the item covering one's body is somehow clothing. The only mandate that has been expressed is that when I or some of my colleagues are out in the field for a meeting, we present ourselves in a professional capacity. For some (mostly my male counterparts) it means simply changing from a t-shirt to a polo style shirt and that is as far as it goes. Likewise, with the exception of the "Goth Chic," I could count the number of times I have seen any woman in my building wearing a skirt on two fingers, and I have never observed a man wearing a necktie or so much as a dress shirt. This, sadly, pertains to all individuals within my building across all five floors of it. Thus, trying to determine what is/is not appropriate office fashion is really left to my own discretion. So, with no real point of reference as to what others are wearing, I tend to lean towards conservative pieces so as to be safe. Some time ago, I purchased a pair of black, flat heeled riding boots that, for me, were more embellished than I would normally wear (with exactly what, however, is hard to describe - see the photo). Perhaps interesting to some degree, I am much more comfortable wearing these that a pair of towering heels. I guess that I am stuck on the notion that the taller the heel, the closer it is to being unacceptable for office attire. With respect to the second point, I find it to be interesting that above 4," each measurable increment (e.g. 1/2," 1/4," etc.) truly make a difference in how easy it may be to walk in whatever heels are being worn. Thinking about the boots that are the topic of this point, I recall that the first time I wore them they felt incredibly tall and perhaps, even "too tall" for me at the time. Without a doubt, I needed to practice walking in them prior to first wearing them out. Now, however, they are very manageable but probably at the maximum limit of what I realistic can wear. Sure, I can walk in 5" heels, but not for very long or very far. At 5," however, I can feel that my stride is much shorter and my cadence feels choppy as if I am taking half-steps. I just do not feel that I have the grace in 5" heels that is needed to make them a normal item to wear as much as I would love to do so.

On your last post I somehow already had the feeling that this won't be the end of 4"+ heels for you 😉 I know that feeling. Even if i was sometimes demotivated with a pair that was higher than what I usually wear, it never let me go! The higher it gets, the more small increasements in heel height will already make a big difference. I'm sure you felt that.

First, Happy new year to all 🙂 Haha I had to laugh so hard on this, but it's true! Everytime I think that I almost live in heels, you guys come along and prove me wrong 😀 Whenever I have some manual work to do, I'm always in sneakers. Impressive that you wear heels for that! For me the only thing that makes me feel a bit awkward about it is that I'm only out for practice, and not going anywhere. It's a different feeling than if I'm actually doing something or going somewhere. Other than that, I have the impression that people don't really care. I mean, some people seem to generally have a look as soon as they hear or see heels, no matter how high or low. But wether it's a 11, 12 or 13 cm heel all seems to be in the "insanely high" category and draw the same attention. @Shyheels and @mlroseplant you have some great New Year's resolutions already! I'll take it a bit easier without a strict time/distance plan, but I'll definitely proceed with wearing out my 13+ cm boots and the Hot Chicks regularly. Despite the predictable standing time I chose my 13+ cm boots for New Year's Eve, so I already started high into 2026 🙂

Even though this is supposed to be a thread about durable heels, it seems like a good place to put shoe failures as well. I just had Shoe Failure No. 4 in 2025 last night. I really thought I was going to make it with just 3 failures this year. My BCBGeneration Queenie wedges yielded up the ghost. Funny thing is, I never really wore them all that seriously. They were pretty much just house shoes. I'm sure I wore them to the grocery store or other errands quite a few times, but I do not have any record of them having been part of my walking routine. I do not know whether I will attempt to replace them, since I have other mid heeled wedges that are less clunky looking.

Same for me. I wore my 13 cm boots at home a few times, but only out once. There was a lot going on before Christmas, so I didn't have quite the time to practice a lot. Naturally there were also many partys and events where I wore some 12 cm boots, so I'm not totally out of routine 🙂

It has still not been a great month for practicing in super tall heels. Part of the reason is the weather, but part of it is that I'm taking a bit of a break from walking in heels just for the sake of walking in them. I've had the last four days off due to the Christmas holiday, and I've actually gone out walking on three out of the four. I purposefully wore mid heels for two of those days, because I figured I would be a little out of condition, and didn't want to overdo it. Nothing bad happened, so I switched to actual high heels yesterday. I did my 2.1 mile (3.4 km) route in the equivalent adjusted steepness of 10.5 cm, and wow, the difference between 9 cm and 10 1/2 is remarkable, or so my calves thought! And it's not like I gave up wearing heels altogether, I just haven't been pounding the pavement like I usually do.

The last time I was in such an establishment was 1991, and the definition of "stripper heels" was quite different back then. Leave it to me to be more interested in the shoes than the other bits. What dancers wore at that time was what we would consider quite normal, almost boring shoes. Pretty much pumps with four inch heels. Platforms were not a thing at the time, at least not around here. Sometime between 1991 and now heel heights that seem normal increased dramatically, and platforms for exotic dancers got ridiculously thick. To me, "stripper heels" have never really been all that steep, because after all, one has to be able to at least pretend to dance in them, and for the better part of the entire night at that! I can give a very good example of where "the formula" doesn't work quite right. I have over the years owned a few different pairs of a Michael Kors shoe called Oksana. If you buy them in USW 8 1/2, you get 5 1/8" heels (with 1" platform). If you go up to size 9, the heels suddenly become 5 1/2". That's a full centimeter difference in half a size bigger. Because they are Kors less expensive line, they obviously didn't make a different heel for every single size. I'm guessing 8 1/2 was the cutoff for one length of heel, and 9 was the beginning of the next. ________________________ In other news, most of the reason that I have not been practicing toward the goal of 12 cm heels recently is because I have been working toward the goal of walking 60 high heeled miles in a single calendar month. I have come really close a couple of times, but I've never actually exceeded 60 until now. Here is a picture of me (wearing boots, no less) right after I finished walking the last high heeled mile. Although with the new system of proportional measurement, I'd technically have to call these mid-heels, as they are 1/8" (3 mm) short of being actually "high."

l am loving these Fernando Berlin boots.