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Yes, winter can be a tough time for the higher heels. In snowy or icy conditions I also prefer something lower and a block heel, such conditions can even be difficult in flats. But boots with a low block heel can be just as good. It's been like 15 years ago that I last wore any flat boots for winter, and I never had any problems since. This reminds me of a funny story a few years ago. We were (once again 😉) out at a christmas market with friends. Because snow was everywhere I wore a pair of boots with a block heel, something around 8 cm. While at the christmas market, we saw that on a nearby mountain there was also a christmas market which looked nice, so we decided to visit this one too. It was only a small mountain, something like 150 meters of altitude from the bottom and only accessible via a footpath. My husband and friends asked me "are you sure you can handle this path in your heels?", but I had no doubt because they had a good sole, block heel and weren't that high. And I wasn't wrong, it was really easy. Uphill was pretty much the same as with flats, and downhill I even had a bit of an advantage when walking on the side of the footpath where the snow was a bit softer. Because my heels could grip into it. I sure got some funny looks when other people obviously struggled more in their Uggs and such than me in my heels 😀 So this is my proof that heels can be as good as flats or even better in snow.

Here’s a view of me in wedges with cuffed skinny jeans a look perhaps some of us have tried. It’s the no hiding style. These have a 5.7”/15.5 cm heel. Here’s me in short shorts with my Soda wedges which I got on clearance at Shoe Carnival some 12 years ago. They have been very durable and have a full 6”/15 cm heel. Here’s a third view of wedges and a dress. I like the look even it’s not for most of you. If we are to wear alternative footwear we should have fun with it.

No point in ruining nice heels in mud and puddles. That’s pretty much all I have when I step off my boat - a rough and muddy towpath for a good mile into town. It does cut down on heel wearing… Your story about the spilled beer reminded me of some advice John Wayne once gave an up and coming actor: never wear suede shoes. His reason - and it sounds like it came from experience - was that when your famous and you go into a men’s room, someone is going to recognise you when your standing beside them at the urinal, and turn suddenly in their excitement, forgetting where they are, and exclaim “my gosh you’re John Wayne!” And pee all over your shoes

@mlroseplant I only know strip clubs from movies or tv series, and am probably even too young to have recognized that "normal" heels were used in the 90s. Interesting indeed, I only have huge platforms in my mind when I think about stripper heels. It makes sense for manufacturers to use the same heel height for a few sizes to save costs. There probably will be many models out there which are manufactured that way. Wow, as if the height challenge is not enough you're also making a distance challenge! 60 miles in a month sounds a lot. I wonder how much I would make in a normal month. For the christmas market on the weekend I chose a pair of 11 cm boots. Up to now I've always chosen some lower heels like 7-10 cm for christmas markets, so it was really nice to wear something different this time. We were there for about 3 hours, so with all the standing it was not as comfortable as with lower heels, but it was OK. I now definitely want to wear 12 cm boots to a christmas market too, but therefor I will pick a smaller one where we won't stay as long.

So I decided to wear heels to Jury Duty. The pants mostly covered things but security noticed that I had heels on and asked me to send them through the scanner. Nothing major to say, as I wore mary jane flats the next time.

I had promise to do several stories from my early November trip. On the first day of the convention, there was not my heels worn, only me and a few others. However the current leader, was in tall stiletto pumps, her normal ware. Although, many women talked to me about heels. However, on the second day there was many 3 inch heels and a number of 4 inch heels. And the third day a lot of heels. I also saw heels (high stilettos) at the up scale restaurants I had dinner at. === I just returned from a Thanksgiving trot. Only saw a few heels at each airport, BUT, and @pebblesf might be extra interested in this, I saw a flight attendant is 3 inch heels coming off a plane. Today at another airport I saw a flight attendant crew from Southwest where 2 women had at least 3 inch heels, one had a 2 inch heel, while the 4th had flats. Very unusual for a non-Asian airline flight attendant crew. I have stayed at hotels where about 90% of the female flight attendants from an Asian airline were in heels; that's where there are 24+ flight attendants (for the 16+ hour trip).

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."

You guys must have or have had interesting jobs, I can't even really follow from the descriptions 🫢 How come that you would long to, but still wouldn't wear them? Good categorization, I also go with that! Is there actually a definition of stripper heels, or do you have a personal one? For me, the only type that comes to my mind are the ones with huge platforms and rather low heels (if you subtract the platform). Of course, join us if you want! I can also recommend trying something higher if you like the style. And yes, it really helps with lower heels too. I can feel the difference especially in something like a 11-12 cm heel, they became more comfortable for longer walks. Now that all the christmas markets and events are starting, I might as well try some higher ones for that and see how it goes. Not my new 13+ cm boots though, that would be too much. But I wear them everyday at home and it's getting better. I'm close to wearing them out for the first time.

One thing I have been so pleased about as a result of this high heel challenge is the ease with which I now get about in my 10cm stilettos. While I am slowly getting better in my 12cm ones, the improvement at the 10cm height is really gratifying and noticeable - so much so that I find myself tempted simply to wear my 10cm boots for the sheer joy of it, at the expense of practicing with my 12cm ones. The past two days I’ve been wearing them 12 hours a day - admittedly not walking much, just puttering about, making meals and coffee and writing at my desk, but being in 10cm stilettos is starting to feel natural and intuitive. I like it

It just so happens that Halloween is my wedding anniversary and this year, I wore a pair of faux suede, just OTK boots with a leather skirt to dinner.

I agree, just walking around a bit inside your boat is probably not going to help much. You really need to get out where you can take a decent walk, develop a stride, and adapt to the heels. It seem like your only choice here is to place your boots in a back pack until you get somewhere that is suitable for a decent walk. The other issue is what to do with the back pack once you find a decent spot. I have wrestled with a similar dilemma with some of my more challenging boots/heel heights. Sure, I can walk around the carpeted hotel room fairly well, but hitting the open sidewalks was another story. I would quickly tire and get soar, and I'm sure all this was showing in my strides/steps, which ultimately attracted just the type of attention I did not want. One way I have realized when I am comfortable/confident with a particular pair is when I almost forget I'm wearing them while out and about. One of my biggest issues is self confidence, so once I am proficient enough to almost forget I'm wearing them, I stop "overthinking it".

@mlroseplant that's a good description of what I meant with fluid heel to toe motion. As I thought about it more, I think I also have this issue a little bit in my new boots. In my case while walking it feels like they flex my ankles to an angle they can hardly achieve, so the muscles have to work harder to make them achieve this angle. I had the same issue when I first started with my Hot Chicks, but it got away with practice. I'll try some additional stretching this time, maybe this helps to gain flexibility quicker and makes the start easier. Your mules in this height must be even more of a challenge! I definitely want to master my boots this winter, at least so far that I can wear them to a restaurant or so. @Shyheels You can definitely compare it to some sports. You say you're on the beginner's slope but that's always relative. Now with my new boots I also feel like on the beginner's slope again 😉

There are a couple of different things to reply to: @Shyheels, I would like to put forth a hypothesis, and perhaps check on this myself when I get a chance. When we are saying, "fluid heel-to-toe motion" (or lack thereof), what springs to my mind from my own experience is lack of controlled heel-to-toe motion. Or not very much control, anyway. So that what you get, as best as I can put it without video or sound, is a ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk. Does this seem familiar? I have another separate issue when I get up that steep, which I will save for later, as I have to work again this Saturday. @higherheels Thank you for the measurements on the heels. I have actually seen a tape measure put to Hot Chicks in my size 40, and they are 13,7 cm. So I guess your boots in size 40 would be something on the order of 14,6 cm, which happens to be the exact height of my Pleaser mules, which I can barely make it across the room in. If you manage to master the boots before winter's end, mad props to you! This month, incidentally, I'm going more for mileage than height, while the weather is still relatively nice. But I'm trying not to wear less than 10 cm on my walks.

Exactly! And when I do stand up the angle feels familiar. Those boots of yours will be really good practice for the Hot Chicks. Aside from looking quite smart in their own

I measured them now. The Hot Chicks have a 12,7 cm heel and the boots 13,3 cm. So if you upscale this to a standard size, they'd be probably like a 13,6 cm heel. @Shyheels I also feel that sitting helps, it's like stretching

I love sweater dresses as a whole. My favorite dress of my wife's is one. You would have to know us, but we banter back and forth a lot and often make these silly bets. Well, we were at the local mall and eating at the food court and beside us was a small woman's boutique. Way up high they had this sweater and so it began. I said it was a sweaterdress, and the wife said it was way too short to be a dress and was just a long sweater. So after eating we asked the clerk and sure enough I was right, it was a sweaterdress. A good clerk, her next words were, "would you like to buy it?" Sure enough, one in her size went home with us. I actually see it in several pictures now. We buy and sell a lot of property and on one such purchase, we are pictured with her wearing it. She likes it because she can tame its truncated hemline with leggings for a demure look, or go sassy and leave it short pairing it with pantyhose/tights.

Good luck to you, I have many pairs of Steve Madden, from traditional looking pumps to platform sandals. I have found them to be pretty good for what they are. Like every other affordable shoe manufacturer, they've gotten away from using leather like they used to. At least their synthetic pumps, of which I have quite a few, are actually decent.

I think you might be right. I shall work on that. I really, really want to master these!

@Shyheels Which issues do you have with walking heel to toe? My new boots arrived yesterday! Already wore them a bit, so far I can say they fit perfect and look great. Walking was difficult on the first try, I could feel the extra height to the Hot Chicks. I'll definitely keep them, but it will probably take a while until I can actually wear them out. First have to wear them at home a lot to break them in and also get used to the height. My goal is still to use them as a Hot Chick replacement for winter, so I have to hurry up to be ready soon for wearing them out 🙂

They should be if they’re following company policy and socially Quebec is the most liberal area of Canada. The positive is you should be most welcome and Quebeckers are the longest-lived and the happiest of provinces. The negative is they have the least disposable income and general taxation is onerous. Your individual experience has most to do with the quality of employee you first meet. Remember the first rule of retail: move the merchandise. That’s most effective when positive employees meet positive customers. HinH

Well I finally got back into my 12cm heels - oh dear, it’s back to beginners. I was very glad neither of you guys were there to see me. In my defence, my boat has a slight list and so the floor slants sidewise - not a lot but enough so you can notice it, especially when you are trying to walk gracefully in lofty stilettos. it really is tough trying to learn the art of walking in 12cm heels when you live in a narrowboat out in the countryside and the muddy towpath is just not a viable walking option for heels - or nice shoes or boots in general.

There was a young lady in church who wore 8 cm black pumps yesterday, with slim, near-stiletto heels. She was one of several new members of our church who were welcomed in. I did mention to her that I was glad to see someone else wearing heels besides me. She reacted in a friendly manner, but in a rather noncommittal way. In other words, it was not a conversation starter.

Couple of days ago, I had to go to Home Depot to get a tube of concrete adhesive. I decided that I would wear my Buffalo Bills sweatshirt dress by Erin Rogers. It was a bit cold outside so I added a royal blue puffer vest. With that I wore my white knee boots with a 4" stacked heel and carried my Buffalo Bills cross body bag. As I approached the entrance, a woman on her way out said to me " I love those boots you're wearing". I replied so do I, thank-you for your compliment. Another great comment for a guy in heels! Happy Heeling, bluejay

Ok, here it goes again, after years and years of failed attempts and different partners. Lol. My current wife would not be very happy with me wearing high heels so it has been on the back burner. The last attempt when I got a new job it was snowing almost daily. So new job and new attempt. I should be traveling to Montreal in the following weeks for a couple of weeks for training. So my mind immediately started wandering towards shoeeeees, lol. And planning on trying personally before purchasing. I found Aldo and Steve Madden, and I will also try other stores and malls. First check them them out and go with my gut feeling to try and buy. I am scouting ahead on Google maps possible stores to check out and maybe try on. My must have parameters would be: 1. Must be an stilleto heel, the thinner the better 2. 3.5" to 4" heel 3. Closed shoe (one step at a time sandals not brave enough yet) Then colorwise most likely black, patent or leather, but open to other low key not flashy colors, although I loooove pinks, florals, pastels, the "girlier" colors if you will, but once again not brave enough yet, probably later on. Shoe style I am thinking a classic pointy toe pump, could be d'orsay style or with an ankle strap or slings, whichever looks and most importantly feels best when trying on. It seems snow is on the forecast then maybe some ankle booties, and I know stilletos would be ill advised but that is fave, there are very few block and wedge styles I like, but we will see once I get there, and hopefully finally I can fulfill this fantasy. Just as a comment I am so loving the new Larina ballerina pumps from Steve Madden , https://www.stevemadden.com/products/larina-black-satin I can just picture these in black with a dark suit, would look amazing. As usual any comments, tips words of encouragement are highly appreciated.

Hey All, Read recently that wedge heels may come back big time in 2026. Recent sitings at fashion shows suggest this. Has always been one of my absolute favorites. Enclosed are two different looks with high wedge heels, 5.5”/16 cm or more, with a dress and skinny jeans. I’ll try to post more as I love this style and not many post about them though I do remember our favorite Iowan, Mlroseplant, talking about them. HinH

I, too, love wedges. To me, however, they seem to be more of a summer shoe but I do have a pair of wedge knee-high boots that I love. I tend to think that when worn "properly" wedges can be just as alluring as a pair of stilettos, as illustrated by my photo.

I had a similar experience with a pair of boots I’d not worn in ages. The fit felt awkward for no obvious reason.

Very impressive to walk in those! I think I’d be lucky to stand upright! im back to my block heeled OTK boots as the cold weather has settled in here. Down to -4°C at night. Getting up in the morning it’s very nice to be able to put on heavy suede OTK boots. My stilettos are thinner and not so warm!

That’s my plan come spring. The nearest spot for that is a town about 15 locks east of here. At the moment that would be too chancy a journey. The canal I’m on has been closed to navigation for much of the year because of a water shortage and reopened only about a month ago - mainly to allow people who were stranded in awkward places for months to move somewhere better for the winter. Nobody expects the canal to remain open for long, despite our rainy weather lately. I’m in a really good spot at the moment. I’d be nuts to move

Yes you’re right. I definitely need real world walking experience and longer, more open walking areas. Putting my boots in a backpack and hiking off to a park in town - about a mile and a half away - is the best bet. The trouble then becomes time and commitment - finding the hour and a half minimum it will take to walk to the park and back and put in a bit of practice time. To say nothing of short days up here and foul weather. It becomes so easy to decide to practice in my boat

What I really need is to find a place where I can go for meaningful walks in my boots. I know I could improve quickly. I’m pretty good at sports. But honestly you guys should see the towpath - chalky muddy clays, puddles, rocks etc. very frustrating.

Yes that seems very familiar. I think you put it well - a lack of controlled heel to toe motion, which leads to this sense of clomping around. So much of learning to walk well in heels reminds me of learning to ski or skate, acquired skills that are deeply enviable to those who are just learning. @higherheels mentions walking easily in her 12cm heels and even going out in her Hot Chicks and it just seems like a huge hill to climb as I clomp around on the beginners slope

Doing 20k steps on a day like today would be hard work - at least if your weather was anything like what we’ve had in the Pennines today. A thoroughly miserable day with single digit temperatures, winds and cold hard rain. I wore heels today - my 12cm stilettos, sitting at my desk with a nice wood fire going! Like you, when I’ve been out and about I’ve noticed quite a strong bias towards blocky heeled boots

I can certainly feel it in my calves when I walk in my 12cm heels. Like you I’ve been wearing them mainly while sitting or puttering about making lunch. I have found that even just wearing them while seated at my desk is helpful in getting myself used to the height and assertive angle of wearing 12cm stilettos

I hope so. My clog situation this year is kind of strange. Due to some shoe failures that occurred last winter, every clog I have left save two pairs is effectively a 4 1/4 inch heel, which is pretty steep for things like snow and ice. It's not really the height that bothers me so much, it's the general fit. It seems like my toes don't automatic slide in to the correct position or something. It's very strange that I can't really explain it well. Perhaps you are right, and they just need some (re) break-in time. After all, I did ride them hard and put them up wet, and they have remained on the shelf for the last 7-8 months.

I just feel really awkward in them, clomping around. Some of it is the subtle sideways tilt in the floor but a lot of it feels like simple unfamiliarity - as though I’ve never work heels.i know I’m not walking heel to toe and that’s bound to be a major impact. i will try again tomorrow and see if i can analyse my technique snd what exactly I am doing wrong, and why the hesitancy.

I would really love to be able to walk effortlessly in these. I just have to find the space and time to practice

Consider it good experience for walking on uneven and unlevel pavements! I know there are many times when I am glad nobody can see me. That's kind of why I chose the method I did--late at night or early in the morning. This against the advice of many members on here at the time.

I am really trying to get up the motivation to go out for my walk. It's the first day that it's been really cold here (below 0). The temperature wouldn't be that bad, but of course it is very windy, and it has just rained yesterday, and whatever is left over is ice, I'm sure. My deck is probably a death trap, especially in heels. I gotta go. Bye for now! Wish me luck!

Concrete adhesive and cold weather are not the best of friends, I hope your repair/project goes well. I actually have a couple of sweater dresses hanging in my closet. I've worn one of them outside exactly once. Maybe it's time to break them out again, and at least try them on!

That’s nice. I have long fancied a pair of white boots but have never summoned up the nerve to buy some

I can attest to that. Even the summer can be that way to. I was in Bath in June and it was cold, wet, and windy And then Scotland ... I was also at the Edinburgh Castle in the same trip in June and the cold-wet-wind made me think I was at the top of a double black run when its -5F (-20.5C) and howling. I was so glad I took my heavy duty ski jacket for that summer time trip. Can you return them if you don't fit or if you don't like them in reality? Then it a (as we Yanks like to say) NO Brainer.

Yes! There is quite an art to this. I think that’s one of the things I find so appealing about it. Heels not only have a mystique and are aesthetically pleasing - especially 12cm stilettos - but require skill to wear well. It makes them special. I want to acquire this skill!

Sounds like an interesting evening. I'm surprised there were some in 120mm heels - that's a very elegant, and challenging, height and not often seen, at least not worn around and about town. I suppose an event is different. As someone who is trying to master the art of walking fluidly in 120mm stilettos, I'm wondering how well the people you saw wearing them were able to walk? Straight knees? Bent? Gliding or tottering? I can definitely see why having to climb and later descend 6 flights of stairs would be a disincentive to wearing heels. Did these others go up and down all those stairs to the venue? If so they must have been very dedicated.

Well, night one was interesting. Lots of heels in the generations to millennials. Generation Z isn’t really interested. There was lots of high heeled boots and ankle boots, all in the 85-120mm range. It’s true that the appearance of the men to women is stark. One woman clearly had put at least two hours into getting ready and into 105mm sparkly pumps her man clearly had spent the grand total of 20 minutes getting ready. Probably about 20% of women were in heels in the above 85mm-120mm range. There, I’d recon was another 20% in low heels in the up to 55mm range, this includes Chelsea and Cowboy boots. There was enough in Stilettos too. Probably about half of the heeled women were in a stiletto heel. I didn’t partake last night because of many reasons, such as the car park being up on the 6th floor and only being accessible via stairs. Tonight, it’s a different story. The car park and venue are only 400m away. The only daunting thing is walking up to the counter to pay for my parking. The counter is manned. Now, do I go with a chunky heeled Onlymaker cowboy boot or my stiletto heeled Missy Rockz?

Thanks @mlroseplant for your detailed analysis! The Hot Chicks also make make about a 90 degree angle of the foot, that's a good indicator. I also recognized the sligthly bent knee on the photos. I'm sure that I'd be able to straighten my knees in them, only walking flawlessly might be a different thing... Regarding the calves, I apparently have a very standard size, because I almost always had a good fit in any pair of boots. @Shyheels 12 cm definitely is also the sweet spot for me! I'm surprised how much I like these boots the more I look at them and think about them. Probably I should just buy them and see how it goes. Maybe sleep over it another night, we'll see. That would be awesome!

They are very nice looking, which is unusual for something this steep. If the photo accurately depicts the product, they are not fetish-y looking at all. But yeah, they sure look steeper than 13 cm. The front of the model's foot is pretty much the same as 90º with the floor--that's always a good indicator that you're approaching Very Difficult Territory. The other thing that scares me a bit is that the model's knee is not 100% straight. If you do wind up getting them, I hope the shafts fit your calves similar to what the photo shows. Perhaps hat is one of the reasons why I don't care for boots all that much. I have yet to find a pair that truly fit my calves well. Evidently I have skinnier legs than the average person who wears size 40. I've often said the same thing about Hanoi winters. Theoretically, at 10 or 15 degrees, I should certainly be comfortable without a jacket. But Hanoi is so damp, even I am cold at that temperature. I don't blame people for wearing winter coats inside the house. I imagine England is the same. Someday I hope to find out for myself.

@HappyinHeels the Aldo store downtown Montreal is friendly to me trying on shoes? I might be traveling there in a month or so.

I agree on that 🙂 I keep thinking about the height on my boots candidate, could you guys give me your opinion? I don't believe the advertised heights and rather go by the visual appearance. I'd guess them to about 13,5 cm. What are your guesses? They might be tolerable, but also might be a bit too far away from the Hot Chicks, I'm really unsure...

Agree with Mlroseplant and others. Was a frequent Aldo customer and made a friend who worked there 6 years. Around 2011 Aldo included half sizes and that brought about a closer correlation to other retailers and their sizes. Typically they would stock only to US11/EU42. Bigger sizes needed to be ordered online or in store. Lots of great styles and most made in China. Some styles have been produced in Brazil recently. My best advice is you should try on the heels you want in person to be satisfied. Buying a brand you have no experience with can prove a fool’s errand as sizing can vary by brand, style of vamp /toe box, and country of manufacture. Aldo is headquartered in Montreal and I’ve been in that store when visiting family members in Quebec. Keep searching and don’t give up. HinH