dr1819

Over the hill (40+), but in the best shape since I've been since I was 26.

I guess I did not underscore the word "Theoretically" with enough emphasis. The "biologically inert" idea comes from the manufacturers of silicones and they seem to have backed off from it since the breast implant lawsuits. Your links illustrate quite graphically that the theory does not hold. This stuff is dangerous.

I'm really sorry to have come across so abruptly, JMC. Please accept my apology. My main concern was to rapidly nip this idea in the bud, as it's acceptance has lead to countless disfigurements and many deaths.

I appreciate you being so understanding, as well as your continued support - a definative testamony to your maturity - believe it when I say your presence here is both much appreciated and much admired!

For the rest, yes, sometimes we moderators do not agree. We're as diverse as you are. But somewhere along the way we've learned to work together. I've logged in many times to find egg on my face. Ooops... We learn, we grow, and we move on, usually in more productive directions.

Just an aside...

Krapsparov You are looking very comfortable in that outfit and I admire how you uphold your fashion integrity despite being more vulnerable and visible to the public eye. BRAVO.

NewfieGuyInHeels You are looking GOOD! You are rocking outfits 2 and 3. Great color coordination, great coats...great shoes. You could go out with confidence in those outfits no doubt!

I'll second that, particularly with outfit 3. Then again, I'm into darker colors. Two looks fine, as well.

Jim - I appreciate your openness! JeffB - I appreciate your compliments! Kudos to you both!

Ahhh rebuilding the collection eh? Had to do that a few times myself before I just said oh well. Thats a nice shoe to start rebuilding your collection with.

Me, too, about three times. For the first few years after I began wearing heels, I'd thought the wife was ok with it (heck, she even recommended it, initially, and would often say things like, "Why don't you wear your heels tonight, dear?"). Then, over a period of about three years, she'd leave for about a week, saying she wanted a divorce over my heeling, but return. Each time I'd throw out my collection, but each time she'd tell me that she was ok with my wearing heels. Almost three years ago and after the third time, I got a clue and didn't rebuild my stock.

Sadly, she discovered her problem was that she was allergic to marriage and left anyway. About a month later, I purchased a couple pair and it's grown to about 20, today.

I don't care for bows or lace, either, but I've a few pairs which would only look appropriate on a truly feminine figure, preferably wearing an evening gown. I dunno - they're just sexy, that's all.

But amongst others I'm almost always wearing ankle or knee-high boots with either a block or tapered heel (about 1 square inch where the rubber meets the road).

Like these (the heel is not noticeable beneath long jeans):

Or these:

Both arrived this week, and while the first pair are sexier, the second pair are terrific on many accounts, mostly due to the very high level of comfort (no scrunched toes, great fit, no riding up and down in the heel). In fact, since they arrived Monday, I've been out in them exactly three times, compared to once in the others.

I even went grocery shopping for them in broad daylight, today! No one seemed to notice or care, particularly as I wore long, dark, nice slacks, a decent shirt, and my black leather jacket.

Just a good, solid, well-made heel all around.

Thank you, Franco Sarto.

It's good to hear things are coming along, Thighbootguy! :academic:

We are all the same height laying down.

Well, wouldn't that depend on one's relative state of, shall we say, hmmm... Let's say whom one is with and why?

I personally discovered a bright "Back off NOW or I'll SHOOT!" sign in my rear window works well.

Just kidding...

One night around 12:30 am along a very dark and secluded stretch of Montana Interstate my wife woke me in a frenzy to tell me a truck was following us. She was doing about 80 and was in a frenzy. I told her to simply speed up as we were in a sports car and there was no way the trucker would be able to keep up, but she was afraid of having an accident. I'd had the car up to 133 mph, and it was stable as a rock, so I knew that wouldn't be an issue, but she wouldn't listen.

So, I turned around to look at the "truck" and discovered it was an 18 wheeler without any lights on about 5 feet from our bumper.

So, I reached into the back seat, pulled out my 1,000,000 candle power handheld searchlight that she she weekly used to bitch about my spending $30 too much for (it only cost $30), and told her to open the sun roof.

She refused, thinking we were going too fast, so I told her, "You have three choices: Prepare to die if this idiot runs us over, speed up, or open the dang sunroof!"

She opened the sunroof, I popped up, and "fired" the searchlight directly into his eys for about 1/4 second. He hit the brakes but started to speed up, so I fired and held the trigger.

That worked and after the idiot backed up at least 100 yards, I turned it off.

He started to speed up again so I told my wife, "Switch!" She put the gas on cruise and we switched seats (we did that often to save from having to pull over - I know, not very safe...).

I dropped it into third and floored it just as he was nearing our tail at a fast clip. I honestly though he was intended on ramming us, such was the closure rate.

Fortunately, he never got closer than about 50 feet as we left him in the dust.

I pulled off at the next exit and called 911...

with the idiot's license plate!

I know he was caught because I later received a letter in the mail asking us to fill out and sign an avadavit for reckless driving and reckless endangerment against him. We did, but we never heard if he was fined, jailed, or what.

To continue my ranting...........

Why do people drive around with their fog lights on when it's not foggy or snowy?

...........and those middle lane 'hoggers' on the motorway!

I'm not a middle lane hogger, but my foglights cast a considerable amount of light to the right and left of the road - perfect for spotting and avoiding deer while driving the backroads at night.

I always turn them off for oncoming traffic, though.

Statistics is a strange science, but it's by no means guesswork. There are very clear mathmatical rules for determining the appropriate sample size based upon the type of data being sought and the variability of that data. Since I'm not quite sure what the "researchers" were after, here are some ballpark figures for a 95% confidence interval: Total subjects: 120, broken down into 4 equal categories of both and women who have and have not worn heels. A former girlfriend once told me I walk more gracefully in heels than most women and more gracefully than when I'm wearing any sort of flat shoe. Sometimes, of course, I catch myself stomping in heels, like most guys tend to walk in heels. When I do that, I simply hold my head high, pull my chest back a touch, my hips moving forward, arching the small of my back slightly and the grace returns. I'm not effeminate by any means, but a lot of how one appears in heels has to do with how they carry themselves, male or female.

Welcome, Pussyinboots!

Terrific! I hope you have long legs, as they look mighty tall!

I dont have afraid to go out with my heels, i feel ashamed cause everybody looks to me. I feel a bit afraid when some men see me walking. I usually wear my heels with a friend who like that and we go in places where i cant find anyone known...

Instead of going with some ultra-feminine look, you might want to tone things down to simply wearing a pair of nondescript, but nevertheless high-heeled shoes.

It's what I do on a regular basis, and as a result, I get along well with my co-workers, my subordinates, and those I hang out with after hours.

Just think how a woman would have faired shopping on the local economy wearing Madonna's cone-shaped bra during her mid-80's version of Vogue.

Of course it wouldn't have flown - that woman would have been looked upon like she was an idiot or violating local ordinances.

Gradualism is the key to acceptance. Slow and easy does it. I've got lots of shoes and boots with 3" to 4" heels that escape notice because they're non-descript. If I were to show up in a 2-1/2" spagetti-strap sandel, however, I would certainly attract notice.

The only alternative I can offer you is that you stop caring about what others think about you and wear whatever you want to wear. If you have more than several friends who'll support you through this, then you're good to go. If you don't, I'd recommend you reconsider both your support base and your plan of action, as both are very important to a successful transition from one modus operandi to another.

Having seen this throughout several posts, I think we're on the verge of moving beyond a forum of obsession with heels to a forum that supports fashion freedom without obsession overtones. That's the good news, as the rest of society is keen on detecting and rejecting obsessive tendancies. If we can, en masse, move beyond this phas (some are far more ahead than others, but I think nearly all of us on this board have made progress along these lines over the years), I believe our calm steady presence will win the case for heels on men throughout society. Indeed, when I stride into a pub downtown wearing my new pair of Vanelli 3-1/2" boots as I did earlier today, take a stool, which affords all onlookers a glance at my heels, and order a beer while receiving nothing more than a smile from the staff (who know I wear heels, but who also know me as just another one of the normal Americans), then I'd like to think I've arrived. That's what happened earlier this afternoon, and one of them even asked, "new shoes?" to which I replied, "yes, I got them in the mail today." Her comment was, "those are nice - I like them." When that same staff asks you to accompany them to another pub, or a nightclub after they get off work (around 1am) knowing that they're very sober and you're wearing heels, it really underscores the fact that one's personal underlying character with respect to how they view themselves carries more weight than what they're wearing. I think that's why Prince sold so many albums despite the fact that everyone knew he was wearing heels, and Boy George did so well despite the fact that he wore makeup and appeared effiminate. It's not just because they were celebrities. Long before Ru Paul because a celebrity, he was doing much the same thing. It's because of the way he carried himself that he because a celebrity - not because of the fact that he dressed like a girl. Thousands, if not millions, have done that. But Ru Paul carried himself in a way that sold. Whether it's in the entertainment industry (Vin Diesel, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Daniel Craig, or Cameron Diaz), how a person carries themselves speaks far more about who they are, underneath, than their choice of clothing. People, Vogue, and Cosmo might not want you to believe this, but do not forget that most of their income comes from the fashion merchandisers - they have a vested interest in ensuring that you swallow their tripe and start following the fashion tips that just all too coincidentally happen to jibe with what's being offered by their major contributors. Duh. Have we become so stupid we can't see through this fallacious tripe? One of the things that most people aren't aware of is precisely how little influence the fashion designers have on the fashions adopted by the public. Less than 7% of the designs presented on the runways actually find their way into maintream retailing, and that's because the mainstream retailers aren't fooled by glamour shots of runway models wearing the whims of their designers. They know what will sell and what won't. Strangely enough, that's also one of the reasons why more stores than ever, including Nordstroms, Zappos, and many others are offering heeled shoes in sizes from 12 to 15 - because they know men are buying them, and they really don't care about who buys their products. All they're interested in is how many shoes they sell.

Well, at least you're one of the members here who can use Zappos!

Here's another outstanding resource: http://www.tallwoman.org. Check out their Shoes USA link on the left - about 30 resources are available.

For those who're outside the US, the Shoes link on the left points to your own resources throughout the UK, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and many other countries.

It's an unbelievable resource!

Always one to ponder, here's my latest...

There are three types of people: Men, women, and those who look good in heels! IMO, wearing heels (and skirts in my case) has always been a men vs women thing. Common opinion is that I can't do it because I'm a man. Well, I've been looking and watching and I think skirts and heels are like anything else. There are those that look good in them and those who don't. There are plenty of women who, IMO, shouldn't be in heels. Likewise, there are a lot of men that look good in skirt and heels just like they would in a nicely tailored suit.

I think there's a pair of heels and a style of skirt for every man, just as I think that some heels and some skirts will never look good on some women.

That's the thing about fashion - what looks good on Meg Ryan will never look good on Rosie O'Donnel - and vice versa. Too much depends on body type.

I can't argue with a Fender fan! Although Fruity Loops' Slayer can slay a Fender...

That's easy - divide your measurements by your height and multiply by hers. Then, compare the results to her measurements. There's definately more to it than mere proportionality. I've dated several girls who were the same height as I was and even one who was much taller (by 4 inches), yet all had the same size foot as I did (the one who towered over me) or smaller (all the rest). All had smaller heads, including the one who towered over me, even though she had longer forearms. It's the difference between testosterone and estrogen and what each do to the bone structure of the individual.

Just for fun...

This remains my favorite of the vids you have on Photobucket. I rather enjoy parodying objectors by saying, "Didn't you notice how many women picked up their children, running and screaming in the opposite direction, or how many guys brutally attacked him for wearing heels?"

Throughout the video, perhaps one guy, about halfway through, turned his head for about a second before moving on. I noticed the larger couple towards the end, in matching gray sweatshirts seemed oblivious, as did the other 100+ people you passed (many were out of the field of view, walking on the right side of the middle lane of vendors).

Absolutely stellar, Johnieheel!

When I've gone out lately wearing my long black skirt, things have been chilly, so I've taken to wearing a pair of black Duofold thermal underwear beneath the skirt. Well, it's LIKE footless pantyhose, even though they're made for a guy... I don't usually mix skirts and heels, though.

I don't think there's much that you can do about the forum being over run by either males or females - not that there's much chance of the latter.

I am wondering where the other concerns come into the rules? I don't think it says anything about transvestic fetishism or narcism. Or is that just a personal view, which is fair enough. What I'd like to know is where is the dividing line between the personal view and moderatorial authority. And obviously I'm saying this knowing my post could be deleted if any one of the moderators thinks it's a breach of the rules.

No breach at all, Fog - we do our best to encourage freedom of speech/expression, here, as it's rather fundamental to everyone's choice of fashion. However, since the board is open to minors to as young as 13, we have legal responsibilities to set and enforce rules which protect them from undue influences of a sexual nature. Discussions about transvestism aren't prohibited, as cross-dressing and other forms of transgenderism is considered common knowledge throughout modern society. Even the substitute teacher who shocked a local community by returning in the fall as a woman simply applied to work at a different school in the county, and no eyebrows were raised at all - she's substituting. Since the Internet is full of information on the subject, discussions about transvestic fetishism are also allowed, provided the content simply talks about the phenomenon itself, and doesn't cross the line into a report from any point of view (first, second, or third) of any actual or imagined event. That is not appropriate because of it's sexual nature.

Narcism was one of the topics discussed in my 10th grade psychology class, so I think we're safe there...

I would have to agree that most women accept or at lest tolerate men in heels out side virtual reality. Only a few on this board who been absolute against men in heels have proved to be unwilling to apply common and intellectual brain power to look beyond the cover of a book. But then again the older the person the less accepting they are to new ideas and change. Or others are down right bigots, and brain washed religious fanatics. I see no reason why men should be involved in the Girls section any more and should be left to the Girls. Those who have been against men in heels have clearly, acutely sunk their own ship with out us have to point it out. Let them seek freely, here unless it violates the rules and let the mods post links to the guys section if we have something to say about it. As what I have seen on other boards the majority of women are not agents men in heels, just steer those to those board and let the women discuss it

Wow. I get the gist of Hoverfly's message, and have to endorse that it's dead on. Guys, if you enjoy wearing heels, terrific - please stay out of the girls' section. There are plenty of sections for you, here.

As I've said elsewhere, EURO46 = M/13;F/15 USA. There are several sizing systems and it is very easy to get them confused. For example, most longer term posters will recall when 6" Heels came on line. Their Chinese system created a lot of confusion on these boards.

It took me app. 20 email to find out I couldn't get anything I wanted from them because of my size. That didn't stop them from trying to sell me those crappy hiphop things they USED to carry!

Living in Europe, I can always fit into a Euro 45, and I'm an 11.5 US Male and a 13 US Female. Sizing charts vary widly, but I've never found that I've been able to fit into anything differently.

I don't know either. I simply feel more at home in a pair of heels than in a pair of thick, ugly, spread-heel men's shoes. Yuck!

19 1:22, JSPikeheels. Definately a winner.