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Several interesting events happen this week. On Wednesday I stopped at the Post Office on the way into work. As I past a woman getting to her door she stopped and told "I just love those boots" (Impo boots with 3.8+" skinny heels) "I wish I could walk as well as you in them." That's just normal for me. It's what happen on the way out that makes this an event. When I was about 11 meters from my car, I felt something wrong...looked down and the platform had separated from the top of the shoe. Got to my car, took off the boot and drove home. Lucky, I was only 4 miles from home. Went home and changed into my Jessica Simpson faux suede knee highs. I have since glued the shoe together. I wonder how many miles I have logged in those shoes over the last 6 + years; 50?, 100?, 200? Today, was a meetings day, again had the JS knee highs (rainy/windy day). After one meeting, a woman told me she always likes walking behind me because she likes the heels I wear. We discussed shoes for a few minutes, she and another woman were fans of JS shoes. Sheepishly she confessed that she owned over 50 heels, I told her "that's ALL, I have around 100." We laughed.

I also wear my knee boots and OTK boots outside my jeans. As you say, it’s noticeable. Even so, a lot of people don’t notice. And those that do seldom give it much more than a passing glance.

I realize that folks "notice" when I wear stiletto boots/booties, can almost feel the gaze/stare behind me. But that's OK, hoping they are intrigued. Getting on/off an elevator is another place where I realize my boots will be noticed... Often wish I had a way to hear what was said after I got off the elevator, or perhaps better off not knowing. Oh well.. I can truly count the actual negative responses on one hand... Like "shyheels" says, you just have to "own it", be confident, never let em see you sweat....

Yes, heels are definitely in a downswing. I suppose I am fortunate in that my tastes run to chunky heeled boots in the 3-4” range for which there still seems to be a reasonable market - albeit not in my size range. it still surprises me though they there are not more active members here. This is a friendly and welcoming forum and I’m certain there is a latent desire out there to at least try high heels and see what all the fuss is - was? - about.

I wear knee high boots on the outside of my pants. People notice them (a mile away).

I did actually wear stilettos in public just yesterday, to my kid's jazz band concert. And even then, I seem to have attracted very little notice, despite there being hundreds of people there. And yet, at the same time, I was a unicorn. I was not the only one I saw who was wearing heels, but I was the only one in high stilettos. It hasn't always been this way. I've certainly been challenged and even heckled in the past.

Very well said indeed. Our self consciousness at stepping outside the norms magnifies everything in our minds. the truth is that unless you are wearing something absolutely riveting - say, Barbie- pink thigh-high stilettos - a good percentage of passers by won't even notice, and those that =give a double take probably will have forgotten you ten minutes later, as they re-focus on their own lives. I don't wear my stilettos in public - mainlybeause I am not skilled enough to feel totally confident in them - but I wear feminine styled block-heeled knee and OTK boots regularly over skinny jeans and while I occasionally sense that I've attracted notice, it's never been a big deal. I think owning the look, being confident, makes all the difference. If you accept who you are, others will follow that lead.

That’s a mighty long work week. Especially if you’re also commuting any distance. I hope you’re being well compensated. I should think a lot of things in one’s personal life would go by the wayside under such a regime.

Not actually seen out and about, but rather a cautionary tale that was related to me by a friend of mine - a rather chic French woman who is an expert in high heels. She was seated on a bar stool at a nice cocktail bar and had, thoughtlessly, hooked her stilettos over the crossbar between the stool legs - and even more thoughtlessly forgot to un-hook them when she went to stand up. Apparently she did a full body-length face plant in the bar, an otherwise very elegant woman about six feet tall. I’ve no idea what expletives she came out with at the time, but she could see the humour of it hours later when she mentioned it to me in an email.

Yeah, I know that I don't have a lot to say that hasn't already been said. That's why I have to invent stuff like statistics, and even that only goes so far. I am wondering how my new job is going to affect my walk schedule. It's 58 hours a week, so that means that many hours plus commuting time will be spent in flatties. Will I be able to average a mile a day in heels or not? I'm hoping that I can, but I can also see it going by the wayside.

I think it is that there are very few first for each of us. I plan to fly this coming week for the first time with knee high boots. Expected no issues. Another reason is there are very few high heels in the market place. I have been looking for many months and so far had to return 5 pairs and the 6th one sold out before they send it. DSW is now devoted at most 20% of the floor space to shoes with heels.

Impressive statistics! It certainly has been quiet here lately. Not much high heels news from my part of England.

There isn't much going on here lately, so I decided to spend a few minutes and compile some personal high heel statistics. As I told about 2 1/2 months ago, I managed to walk approximately 350 documented miles in heels in 2024. I know that over the last 12 years of this adventure, my heels have gotten incrementally higher, so I was curious about what percentage of those 350 miles I walked in "high" heels vs. "mid" heels. My definition of a "high" heel is 4" or greater difference between heel and toe, subtracting out the thickness of the platform, where applicable. A "mid" heel to me is 3 - 3 7/8", using the same metric. So here are the numbers: 56.9% of the mileage was in "high" heels, and 43.1% was in "mid" heels. 0% for anything less than 3". I was able to get this information because I keep track of how many miles I walk in specific shoes, in addition to keeping a running total. I do this to keep track of how many miles I get out of heel tips, and ultimately the shoes themselves. For anybody who is curious, my most durable shoes to date are my True Religion mules, at 243 miles and still going strong. They are barely "high" heels with a 5" heel and 1" platform. In second place are my Nine West Sizzle oxfords at 196 miles. Those, unfortunately, are no longer with us. In other non-high heel news, I'm going back to work Monday. I really didn't want to take this job, but given what's happened in the last seven weeks, I figured it would behoove me to have a job, while there is still one available. At least I'll have friends there--it's not like I'll be a total stranger. I met a brother at orientation yesterday whom I hadn't seen in years. I hope we manage to get tooled up together.

I'm glad it didn't break at a more inopportune time. I don't think I've ever had a shoe failure right in front of someone, but I've sure had some inconvenient ones over the years. As far as knowing how many miles you have walked in the boots, a good indicator would be how many times you've had them reheeled. I typically get about 10 miles out of stiletto heel tips, but increase the diameter to 3/4" (still a slim heel, but definitely chunkier), and that average mileage increases to 50, easily. This is strictly outside walking, of course.

Nice stories! Very positive.

That’s certainly true - living along the canals I am very unlikely to encounter anyone in high heels, let alone stilettos.

Here in northern England boots with mid heels (2-3”) are quite common, even 3.5”. Not stilettos, no, but they are heels. Funnily enough twice in the past week I’ve encountered women wearing boots with chunky heels on the towpath. Fairly lowish heels - about 2.5” - but heels nonetheless. And you woukd not wear anything higher or slenderer on a towpath!

Any kind of heels for that matter. Women are dressing for comfort these days, even their clothes. All you see around here is usually leggings paired with boots or shoes without a heel, or something along those lines in the winter. And in the spring and summer, all you usually see is shorts and flip flops.

I saw several pair, much to my surprise, the other day in the Manchester train station. The last time I saw any was at London Bridge train station on Grand National Day (horse racing)

I guess we often talk about heels being a rarity, but I hadn't actually considered the type of heel in my occasional sightings. Come to think of it, I can't think of the last time I saw somebody wearing stilettos in person, i.e., not on social media. I'll have to make a note of it the next time I see it.

Stilettos are a rarity everywhere these days.

Well said!