adorn

I got some new shoes! (I got the Coffee Bean color.)

http://www.soleas.com/shoes/Naturalizer_Womens_Tack_Clog_szp.html?p_prodid=534&p_jump=21441&p_jump=21440

Question: For those of you would wear this kind of shoe, if you were wearing these with jeans, would you wear socks? I've just been slipping them on my bare feet.

BTW these are COMFY.

have a close eye on exactly how these are going to turn out. they offer three heel height options, check whether the highest of the these comes at the expense of thicker platforms before committing.

Indeed -- in the Clearance section they have a pair made on the same base with the 4 1/2 inch heels, so you can get an idea what those would look like:

http://www.shoesusa.com/product_detail.php?category_id=8&prod_id=776

Looks like the platform might be just a tad thinner. I'm guessing the ones in the original pic are the 5 1/2. I wouldn't be surprised if the 6"-ers had an even thicker platform.

What does everyone think of these shoes?

http://www.shoesusa.com/product_detail.php?prod_id=494

http://www.shoesusa.com/product_detail.php?prod_id=719

I'm usually not crazy about anything with a platform, but I think these are really cute. I think the mules (2nd link) would look good with jeans.

They're awfully pricy, but it's rare for me to find something like this that comes in my size. And they look very well-made. Seems they build them to order here in the U.S.

Oh, and now I just saw these:

http://www.shoesusa.com/productWithPrefilledOptions.php?prod_id=444&img_name=JULIE205N_hozoevc7.jpg

Not so much of a platform. Maybe with brown suede and the bottom color in "natural"?

I have used the Nails for Males polish -- it's not glossy, but it's not a perfectly "matte" finish, either -- it's somewhere in between. High-luster without looking glassy. It's worth trying if you want some shine but don't want to attract a lot of attention. If you get an American manicure (like a French, but with more natural-looking off-white tips) with the Nails for Males as a top coat it creates a very natural, clean look.

Those are nice! I like the tapered shape of the heel. Are the heels pretty sturdy? Or do they flex a lot? (I weigh about 200 lbs, so flimsy ones really give me trouble.) -Adorn

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome and all the helpful links.

Bubba, you mentioned penny loafer styles -- I bought a pair of these, which are fun:

http://www.womenshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html

The heels are fairly hard and make a clack-clack-clack sound on hard floors, though -- I find that noise is often more important than looks when it comes to determining how much attention shoes will attract. Of course that sound is part of what makes heels so much fun. I do have one or two other pairs of similar shoes with more rubbery heels, and as you have said, I find that they hardly attract any attention at all (provided one knows how to walk in them).

Shafted -- about the gender line: I wasn't referring to actually being read as a woman, if that's what you meant. (If so, agreed -- I have yet to be called "ma'am" just because of my shoes.)

I can easily pass as a female, so long as we're talking about a female sasquatch.

I have a real interest in gender, btw -- it's something I've done a lot of reading and thinking about, so it'll be fun to talk about that when the subject comes up.

-Adorn

Hi everyone, I've lurked for a while but finally decided to register. It's great to see other guys interested in wearing heels. Like a few others here, I'm mostly interested in shoes that blur gender lines without crossing over into looking like too much of a novelty. In other words, I never want to look like my shoes are wearing me. So personally, I'm less interested in stillettos, pumps, etc. (shoes that might make people say, "Golly, those shoes are a bit much" even when women are wearing them) and more interested in things you see most women wearing day-to-day. To be clear, though, please know that I will fearlessly fight to the death for your right to wear red 5" pumps with your Dockers. I'm happy to see people expressing themselves however they like. And not that I haven't met guys who could pull off pumps beautifully, but personally I don't have the persona for them. And not that I haven't worn such things around the house for fun. I'm partial to women's sandals and flip-flops, clogs, and more ordinary-looking heeled sandals, shoes and boots. During the summer I usually have my toes painted a conservative, neutral color or done in a French manicure. Sadly I have big feet (45 or 46 euro) so most of what I find in my size is either fetish wear or horribly unfashionable. It's a real treat when I find something I like in my size. If my avatar shows up you'll see the wildest thing I've ever worn out -- I adore those boots! (Not for summer, though.) I've gone shopping in them a couple of times (in another town, not far from here, but where I'm not likely to run into clients, co-workers, etc.) Those are a bit wilder than what I'll typically wear around my wife, friends, to work, etc., but they're great boots. The heel isn't too thin and they're very comfy and easy to walk in. My wife is fine with all this in general but will get a bit freaked out if I push it too far. This is more out of concern that I'll look silly or get made fun of. She's a real fashion queen and she's much more worried about whether I'll look bad than whether I'm breaking some gender taboo. So I only reveal what I think she'll be comfortable with. (In this sense, the limit is of her creation, not mine.) Ok, I've rattled on enough. It's nice to be here! -Adorn