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Hi! I have no clue where the days/months/years are flying by. Have been heeling pretty regularly (usually weekly, sometimes twice), and have gotten comfortable, in both the emotional and physical sense. Emotionally I get much less worked up, or none at all, when wearing heels, no more anxiety and just get to enjoy it. Yes, it takes mental effort to plan out which cloths I will wear so things match, but otherwise I'm good. Physically am getting better at wearing 5" stiletto pumps for 2-3 hours walking around. 5" boots no problem. Recently saw this boot (in the picture below) and I reeeeally wanted it, they were gorgeous, and I loved the color. $180, and given the number of shoes I have, it's not something that made any sense, so I talked myself out of it. However, a week back, I noticed they were on sale for $70, and upon impulse, walked into the store and asked if they have it in my size. I was doubtful, but the lady brought it out. Took off my 5" boots, and tried these on. They fit perfectly, loved the whole thing, and couldn't resist. YOLO and all that. Few days ago, had a chance to go shopping, and wanted to show off the boots a bit. A bit of chat with AI helped me figure out some color combinations that would style the red well (AI hopefully gave good tips, my style sense sucks, so it can only get better). Ended up with what is in the photo, with a white TV shirt and grey hoodie on top. Obvious I'm a guy, have good facial hair. Felt comfortable. Went to a diner for food, then spent about 3h shopping, book stores and such. Two ladies complimented the boots. I'm sure others looked, but it was comfortable. Guess my unhiding is progressing. Wish family was supportive, but this still is a lone exercise.

Some great news here 🙂 @mlroseplant Great new heels! I'm sure you will manage them soon after a bit of practice. I'm totally with you that it's not that much about the shoe itself but the ability to walk properly. Here we all have our standards of how much skill we want to have before wearing them out. What I don't really have is that there are better and worse days, at least not for the heels up to 12 cm. Maybe that would happen if I'd take a few days or even weeks off. For the 13 cm heels however I could feel the difference when I was wearing them more or less. I wore my 13+ cm boots out 3 more times and can say that I'm finally done with practicing at home 🙂 It's really fun to wear them out and I'm glad I have some winter time left to do so. Afterwards I'm also looking forward for the Hot Chicks again, I wonder how easy they might feel then 😄

All, A few more pics of me in wedge sandals. Top is a hybrid look of a man’s polo shirt with cuffed skinny jeans a nice shopping outfit or just going out in the evening. The second is shorts with a regular tee shirt. I did wear this to a picnic where I was invited and encouraged to wear my heels. The point is to enjoy what you’ve bought. They’re not tree ornaments. HinH Here’s I am in cuffed skinny jeans with my 9W “Leggy” sling back wedges which have 5.5”/16cm heels. I have worn these wedges many times with skinny jeans and bootcut jeans as well as with shorts and dresses. Have also taken them on trips more often than not.

That's a very detailed inventory you did! I never actually did an inventory of my heels. If I find that a pair is worn out or I don't like it anymore (which never really happens...) it has to go. And new pairs come by themselves anyways 😀

Here are my latest acquisition. I got these for less than $20 in a thrift store. The brand is Fashion Nova, And they go up to just above the knee. They are an almost half black, and half grey, suede like material. and they have a 4" block heel.

I finally got a chance to walk around in a photograph my new shoes from Highest Heel. The weather actually approaced 0º yesterday, so I didn't feel like I was totally freezing every time I stepped out the door. The verdict is, I think they're quite attractive, and they seem to fit well. I cannot say that with 100% confidence because I never actually left my driveway, nor do I think this will happen anytime soon. Let's put it this way: No one but the across the street neighbor can watch me walk in them just yet, I won't allow it. Over the last couple of days, I've spent several hours each day in 11 cm shoes, but these 12.5 cm are a whole different level. To be fair, I didn't feel like I had it together anyway yesterday. I was not walking well in the 11 cm, much less the higher ones. I guess it was just one of those days. I was walking just fine at the jazz festival on Saturday in the same shoe (same model, different color), and I walked just fine at the grocery store on Friday in the same exact 11 cm shoes, but I could not seem to find my feet yesterday. Here's the specs: Model name of this shoe is Hottie (I wonder if it's a nod to the Hot Chicks), they are not real leather, but appear to be of reasonable quality, with a similar look and feel to my Steve Madden patent pumps. The actual heel height measures 13.3 cm, and when I run it through my 0.94 formula, I get the 12.5 cm equivalent to size 38. These are labeled size 9 USW. The heel width is 8 mm. Pretty narrow, but not super freaky fetish narrow. Here are some photographs: 1) A closeup, 2) the shoes with an outfit, and then for comparison, 3) the 11 cm shoes I actually wore to church with the outfit. Except for the height difference, I think the shoes are almost a dead ringer for the shoes I've already got.

Fashions definitely come and go. Some stick, and some don't. And everything seems to come back at some point. What's old is new again, is what they usually say. I forgot that in the 70's men wore short shorts. When is that coming back?

I have a problem that I didn't have before. On the weeks that I actually get a photo taken of my church outfit, I am wont to post it on my usual thread "Ruminations, etc." Now that we've got this higher heel challenge going, sometimes these subjects overlap. After warming up in my training shoes in the snow, I wore these effectively 11.3 cm pumps to church. I'll post the whole outfit (or at least what you can see with my winter coat) on my other thread. Like we keep saying, take a cm or two off the height of our "training" heels, and it's actually pretty easy! Nobody but you folks believes me, though. Brand of these shoes is GenShuo, and I really cannot complain about the quality, for what they are. They seems every bit as sturdy as my usual Steve Maddens, and they offer just a smidge more height. They obviously are not expensive shoes, but they aren't ridiculously cheap, either.

@mlroseplant You did great! 1,6 km in these heels sure isn't for beginners, and the snow doesn't make it easier. @Shyheels A different approach to practicing in heels, sounds adventurous 😀 I reached a milestone on the weekend - I wore my 13+ cm boots out for the furthest distance so far, to a location where I also wore the Hot Chicks before. It was around 200 m one way, a bit more than my usual walk around the block. The walk there was fine, on the walk back it was a bit more uncomfortable. I feel like I can finally step back on the practice walks and wear them out more for the "real things" 🙂

I finally pulled the trigger and went for a walk in these shoes on this cold Sunday morning. The current temperature is -13º C, which is typical for mid January in Iowa, but I wanted to see if I could do it. I still haven't got a true measurement for the steepness of these shoes, but I am confident that the steepness is equal to or greater than 12 cm, de-rated and temperature corrected. Only electricians will get that last reference, I'm looking at you @CrushedVamp, although maybe you don't have a similar rule on the high voltage side of things, being as you don't try to stuff as many wires in a conduit as you can. Is it early on a Sunday morning here, and I didn't meet a single person on my walk. No dog walkers, no joggers. Only one car passed me in the street. That was my plan, because although in the end, I don't think I did too bad, I didn't want anyone to see me walking in these shoes. It was a vetting process, for sure. As usual, after about 1/4 mile, I began to find my feet. Really, a mile (1.6 km) was not too far. Maybe I'm beginning to get the hang of this. The attached photo shows circumstantial evidence that I actually did this. Also, I almost fell on my backside a couple of times, due to the dusting of snow that we got. It looks like somebody preceding me was wearing Birkenstocks, innit? How mundane.

I can remember very clearly the first time I experienced this phenomenon, albeit on a slightly lower scale. At the time, I was wearing around 9-10 cm pretty much all the time, and got to where I felt pretty good at that height. Then one day I wore those 7 cm sandals that I just got rid of, and I thought, "Man, I can really zoom around in these things!" I almost started running everywhere, because I could. I never much advanced beyond the 9-10 cm range until recently, thanks to this challenge. I don't want to say I can zoom around in 10 cm, but they feel much less like heels than they used to.

Hey all. Got these platform sandals from, of all places, the Walmart website which could be useful for larger sizes. Chose a neutral color for more outfit flexibility. What surprised me was the advertised 5.9”/15 cm heel height, typically measured in size 8/EU 38, actually measured 8.0”/20cm!! That rules out wearing with jeans for day trips or maybe to a picnic. They do however do look fine with a dress or skirt. This is not a brand I was previously familiar with. Just be alert certain brands may be higher than you were led to believe. These sandals appear to be sturdy and well-made.

Shyheels, Saw all the chatter then saw the photo of your knee high boots. They certainly look nice and I would consider something like this. I’ve never worn boots tucked into jeans like this rather have worn knee high boots with dresses. These look great on you. I don’t have flat sole boots like these but the overall look of your boots is classic indeed. HinH

Haha, you are not wrong! We drive everywhere. It's a shame that it's that way, but it is. A car is not a luxury in the U.S., it's an absolute necessity, outside of maybe New York City or Chicago. Having said that, I've never known anybody to actually move their car during a trip to the shopping mall. The more common experience is to forget where you parked. But who goes to a mall anymore? That's so 1990s! I'm only 90% kidding.

I finally got a pair of booties that fit. Nothing special, but they fit. Women’s Fran Bootie by New York and Company Upper: 100% Faux Suede, Outsole: 70% Rubber, 30% Textile, Lining: 100% Faux Suede Shaft height: 5", Shaft circumference: 10" Heel height: 4" Inexpensive, but they fit. Wore them all day at work.

Yes. I suspect that single extra centimetre makes a whopping difference. When I was tottering about in my 12cm boots I tried imagining what that extra centimetre’s height in your Hot Chicks would be like. Definitely too high for me even to attempt. That said, I think when I either fix my present boots or buy some new 12cm heels I will start making decent progress. Seeing the tilt on that left heel when I was examining the boot on the tabletop explained a lot of my difficulties so far. I’m really looking forward now to giving 12cm a proper try. until then I’m getting plenty of time in my 10cm heels

I suppose I should break out my few sweater dresses and try them on while I have some free time. I think I wore one of them one time out in public. That's one of those things which does not really take up a lot of room in my house, but yet, if I'm not going to wear them, why do I keep them around? We'll see.

I wore my 10cm ankle boots for several hours yesterday while rejuvinating the latest outboard I pulled off my buddy's junk pile, felt great, very comfortable

Here for the record are my challenge heels - my 12cm knee boots

Yes, they can’t read a map or tell time on a traditional clock. If we brought those two things back, plus stick shifts on cars and cursive writing we could take down the whole western world

Wow congratulations! Mastering 13cm heels puts you in some pretty rarified company. Even among high heel aficionados very few can rock 13+cm boots or Hot Chicks! Well done!

Yes, doing this with @mlroseplant and @higherheels has really made a huge difference to me. They’ve become virtual colleagues and I think of them fondly whenever I am practicing, even if I am bringing up the rear in terms of my skill level. Their encouragement has been a great help

I broke one of my own rules yesterday--don't wear dressy shoes with a casual outfit. However, I was going through my shoe collection, trying to get it under control. This involved some vetting, or re-vetting, if that's even a thing. As a result, I wound up wearing black patent pumps to the grocery store to purchase some comestibles. They are 11 cm, and definitely keepers. I felt the need to re-vet because I actually had to wipe the dust and cobwebs off of them, so it's possible that I haven't actually worn them since Christmas 2024, the last time I distinctly remember wearing them. But is it too much for a non-dressy outfit?

Almost nobody believes me that any heels can be comfortable, not even speaking of 4 inch heels...

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day who said, "R. doesn't believe me when I say that four inch heels are comfortable." My response: "Yeah, I'm the only one who believes you."

That’s a good age to stop. I’ve never seen a 111 year old who could convincingly carry off short shorts. They try, but there’s just something missing …

I only know them because of their height chart that we already discussed. Of the two I only know Fuss-Schuhe, I have a few heels from them. I can recommend them, they're good quality at a fair price.

I still like to wear short-shorts in the summer with my heels. I feel very comfortable wearing those ensembles. Happy Heeling, bluejay

Bikinis and weight do not correspond so well because women do not wear bikinis just because of what they reveal. Being guys, most of us have never tried to take off a wet, single piece bathing suit while in a rush to go to the bathroom, but watching any lady over 50, or with some weight issues try it, and it will quickly be ascertained why the bikini is so common to see. But drunk people, young children and leggings: those are the three things that always tell the truth! PS: I think my mom made me wear short-shorts during a summer in the late 70's-early 80's when she decided my sister and I should do track. Don't ask me about the year she decided my sister and I should do gymnastics. I am still traumatized by that.

I'll raise my hand on that one. I was too young to do it back then. But I'm making up for lost time now. You think people are too fat in general for that to come back? I challenge you to go to any popular beach in the summer, and check out some of the women that wear bikinis. If we are fat, then they must be morbidly obese. Anything seems possible these days.

If you remember one of our members Steve, from Ohio sold men's panty hose as a business. I have several pairs of his panty hose. I really like them very much with the built in fly. I don't know whatever happened to him as I have not heard from him in over a year. Happy Heeling, bluejay

Always loved go go boots, and remember being mesmorized by them as a kid. Would really love a good quality pair today for sure.

Church OOTW for 01/18/26. I chose red, mainly because I wanted to wear my fire engine red pumps. I suppose it would be interesting to choose black and pair it with red shoes, but I didn't think of it in time. I'm typically ironing my shirt 30 minutes before I have to show up. I got a number of comments on my outfit, but none specifically about my shoes. Like I said in the "Aiming High" thread, what once was the outer limit of my skill now seems almost easy to negotiate.

Algorithms can either be good or bad, but for some reason on youtube I must have touched off one in the wrong way because I am constantly being bombarded by a trend I see starting. Or at least it seems that way. Men in pantyhose, or tights for those in other countries. Talk about changing up a mans typical drab wardrobe. I have no real opinion on the topic. When I first started transmission line work, I was in Montana in the winter of 1998 and it was cold. My foreman’s first words were, “buy pantyhose and wear them as it will keep you warm”. Like me, he was married and a mans-man in every way but openly wore pantyhose when it was cold out. I tried wearing them, and I think they do keep a person warmer, but it was too self-conscious for me. I worried about getting hurt and having to explain to medical professionals why I am wearing pantyhose under my work clothes. I do wear leggings though. They are often called “a base layer” but they are really leggings. My wife hates it, but I am not a front flap kind of guy, just downing the waistband when I need to go to the bathroom, so in order to look like I am wearing pants and not underwear with a flap, I buy the women’s style of base-layer, or leggings really. They are comfortable lounging at home, and keep me warm, although I think pantyhose did a better job of it. Without the flap, they look like black pants and so I can move in and out of the house with some neighbor wondering what I am wearing in semi-public! But it is all over youtube now, a drive to get men to wear pantyhose openly. I have no opinion on the matter except to point it out to people on here for discussion on whether its a new fashion trend they would embrace or detest. https://youtu.be/I1m0yWzI-jI?si=VJKkHfslddHSdGDG

I know you’re right. It’s just that I’ve become quite proud of my new abilities and can’t resist showing off to myself! Tomorrow morning it’s back to the 12cm stilettos! I’ve a goal here!

It can be tempting to stay with the lower ones because they've become so easy 😉 But it really pays off to keep practicing. Shorter walks in my 13+ cm boots already feel like second nature, I only have to gain some more endurance.

It’s quite funny seeing American politicians grumbling about how you never see those big American pick-up trucks being sold over here, or on the continent! As though trade barriers were the reason. Try driving one of those down an English country lane, or through the mediaeval streets of our towns, or finding a parking space almost anywhere and you quickly see the real reason!

Get with it HinH. 😁 I wear my knee highs over my pants all the time too. Today it was my black faux suede Jessica Simpson knee highs over my size 8 jeans. The JS knee highs are black faux suede with 4 inch TH heels. @mlroseplant My new unit of measure, using measuring instruments is TH which is heel height minus platform.

Yes the heel height all seem to be based on a size 38.

Yes, understood. A standardisation that helps comparison - provided we all understand and adopt the same standard, which mlroseplant takes as being the actual height of a Eu38 shoe heel. As good as anything. I expect the shoes I pictured above were sold as being 5", which they probably were in size 38.

Thank you. They are Italian Heels’ Tina model. I have a pair of these with 10cm heels that I am wearing right now. I don’t think it was anything I did which caused the problem - not my walking style or anything - I think it is just a materials failure. A pity because I really like these boots. I was really hoping to master 12cm stilettos - and I have had such good support from @mlroseplant and @higherheels At least I can see that my lack of progress was t just down to ineptitude! For the time being I shall work on becoming very polished and graceful in 10cm heels

There is a shape difference in shoes. Men's shoes are like boxes, very little difference in width between the toes and heels. Women's show have more of a pear shape, wider at the front and narrower at the heel. For me it means in men's I am a 9-9.5 EEE just to get my toes in, but then I have 1/2 inch on both sides of my heel and at the toes, 'clown shoes'. Lead to numerous ankle and knee issues (operations ad sprains). In women's I'm a regular size 10 and size 11 in some narrower heels. I can't get my feet into pumps, but that's alright, there is plenty of others I can.

Been a while. Still kicking

I also went with mid-heel boots - warm suede OTK boots whose 8cm heels are easy to walk in. It was warmth more than heel height that was driving my choice. Our temperatures are not as cold as yours, but we have an insidious dampness that has a serious magnifier effect as far as discomfort goes. Once back in the boat with the fire going I was back into my 12cm boots - and yes, like you, I’m still not very good at them

I read this as if "Person X" is generally a person who's out for confrontation. If he wouldn't have confronted you for your outfit or whatever he probably would have for something else. I can imagine that you get attention for dressing more feminine, but that shouldn't keep you from doing it if it's what you want. I also get attention for my outfits although they're actually normal in my view, but I guess it's the heels that drag the most attention - which is also my intention. I vary my outfits mostly by the shoes. But what seems different is that I don't get confronted. People like your "Person X" are the ones who discretely but noticabely roll their eyes and make comments about me behind my back. I learned to ignore them as I don't want to have anything to do with them anyway.

I know what you mean! I’m tottering in my 12cm boots this morning, feeling very unpracticed. Utterly vile weather outside - horizontal rain, 80kmh (50mph) gusts, a temperature of 1°C (34°F) and a windchill of -13°C (8°F). Just had to go out - not in heels! - for a half mile walk up the flooded towpath with a dolly to a boatyard where I could buy a couple bags of coal. I was getting low and this was no day to run out. Now back aboard by the fire and feeling much more civilised in my heels - even if I totter about the galley as I make my coffee …

The hand warmers were for @pebblesf standing outside at an outboard engines swap. I could see them also useful when ice fishing. Or skiing when it's -10 F, or after surfing in 50 F ocean water.

The only reason that I sort of care is because, well, I'm going to need some higher heels. As you know, I have quite a number of heels in the 11 cm range, but only one pair that is really wearable in public that is 12 cm, and I think that pair is kind of ugly, mainly because of the design of the toe. Also, if I wear anything but skinny jeans, it looks like I have no feet. At any rate, it looks like I have two remaining options: Fuss Schuhe and this outfit called the Highest Heels that keeps showing up on my Instagram feed. Or the designer route, but I don't really want to pay that kind of money. I'm willing to pay a couple hundred bucks for the right shoes, but not a thousand. For that kind of money, I'll buy another obscure musical instrument. Did I ever show you my early 20th century Conn cornet?

I actually have some boots that are sort of like that, maybe not quite as sock-like, but a similar idea. I wore them exactly once, and never again. I do have photographic evidence, submitted for you here. I'm not saying they don't fit, I'm not even saying they don't look ok on me, I'm just saying I don't like them.