SandalFan

Great pics...

Thanks!

... but I see there are crutches in the corner behind you. Careful not to fall off your heels again! Just kidding.

hehehe...

Actually, those belong to my wife. She used them until she became bedridden a few years ago.

Keep up the good progress!

Definitely!

Good on you and a great look over all.

Thank you.

Congtatulations on your first street heel.

Thanks!

Mine was a few years back, but I have been to uneasy to do it lately, as I have lost intrest in the complete femme look.

Understandable. I would imagine going total femme would feel rather awkward. I've never had any interest in it myself. Just the heels for me, thank you.

My issue now is getting the nerve to wear my heels, similar to the ones in my avatar, with my mens clothing.

Good luck with that. Unless you wear Khaki, I can't imagine any kind of men's fashion being able to match those shoes.

Congtats again, and good luck to you in your future heeling adventures.

Thank you.

Great look. I have the same heels if those are the Payless ankle boots.

Thanks. If your's are the Raven Platforms, then they are the same boots.

Love your hair too (what I can see of it in the pictures).

Thank you. I find it a bit ironic that I have no qualms wearing heels in public anymore, but I'm somehow reluctant to post pictures of my wearing them with my face showing.

2. I love this feeling! Anyone who has worn a 4" heeled shoe instead of a 2" one knows the difference. You KNOW you are in a heel! It was a bit surreal knowing I was walking out in public in legitimate high heels.

Grats, and very well done!

Now you understand why I don't wear anything shorter than 4". I just don't feel right otherwise.

You may as well embrace the noise they make. There's no preventing it, especially on hard floors. Personally, it's music to my ears.

It's been a month since I started street-heeling, and it gets easier and more exciting every time I do it. I'm expressing myself in a way I often fantasized about, but always refrained from for fear of public reaction. I've made several outings since starting this thread - though I haven't bothered documenting them all - and I couldn't be happier to discover, time and time again, that my fears were completely unfounded. I'd like to share with you a couple of pictures I took tonight, of the outfit I wore to the theater this afternoon, to see Max Payne. The jeans and T-shirt are my day-to-day attire. The coat is an 1800's style Rifle Coat by Wahmaker. As for the nail polish, I'm a Goth Metalhead, and have worn black nail polish as part of my overall look, since my early 20's. The movie was pretty run-of-the-mill for an action flick, but I loved the video game it was based on, and was really impressed by how accurately they depicted some of the locations from the game. As with all of my other outings, if anyone at the theater noticed my heels, they didn't say or do anything.

Rats, this was my first poll creation. Might have been nice to let people see who voted for what, but alas, I suppose this will work anyway.

The software displays the current tally to board members after they vote.

Until last month, I was at Privacy, and had been in that category since my early 20's, when I bought my first pair of heels. As of last month, I would definitely categorize myself as Neutral.

Pumplover,

There aren't a lot of men on this board who can't empathize you. I've been more of a lurker here since joining the board, myself, and only recently started street-heeling last month. My shoes of choice are Raven Platform Lace Up ankle boots that I bought at Payless, specifically for street-heeling. I wear them with my typical clothes, which includes over-the-calf tube socks, black regular-fit jeans, and a black T-shirt. My heels are quite visible when I walk, they make a lot of noise, and I absolutely love them.

That first step out in public is scary as hell, but once you take it, you'll be amazed at how incredibly easy it really is, and you'll discover how intoxicating that kind of freedom of expression actually feels. Just remember, the key to successful street-heeling is being yourself. Don't act any differently than you do wearing men's shoes, and you'll have an absolute blast.

But don't push yourself into doing something you're uncomfortable with, either. If you wind up never wearing heels in public, that's entirely ok. A lot of guys here don't. As I said above, I didn't start street-heeling until 3 years after finding this place. It was the inspirational experiences of the people on this board that finally moved me to try it myself, and, personally, I couldn't be happier.

Well, THAT didn't last long. It's Monday night, I've returned home from work, and I'm already back in my ankle boots. I've really caught the heeling bug!

LOL!

I expressed my concerns to my wife. She offered that the damage outlined in the article, while certainly possible, only poses a high risk to people who tend to constantly wear high heels, especially to a point where all they wear are heels. Since I only wear mine on errands, or to the movies, the risk of injury to myself is minimal, and I can take extra precautions to further negate any damage - like putting jel inserts, specifically designed for heels, inside my boots.

... with proper exercise, stretching, message, and physical therapy, and I mean every-day routine procedures, some of these injuries, long-term or otherwise, can be prevented or remedied.

The operative word being some...

My decision has already yielded a nice little benefit for me. Save for a white Edwardian poet shirt I bought from International Male about 10 years ago, I don't have a stitch of clothing in my wardrobe that isn't black. It's my single most favorite color (yes, I know, black isn't a color, but the absence of, but that's beside the point), and I don't have to expend any thought on what I'm going to wear from day to day.

Since I started street-heeling three weeks ago, I've felt increasing frustration over the choice between wearing my ankle boots or my biker boots when my wife sends me out on an errand. In fact, it's not uncommon for me to spend a minute or more debating which to wear. Whether to wear my heels at all is no longer an issue. I've already conquered that fear, and proven to myself that I have the confidence to wear my heels in public. Now that I've decided to reserve them for the movies, I've effectively eliminated the frustration of choosing between my ankle and biker boots, and I've created an occasion that I can look forward to wearing my ankle boots on.

Now I can enjoy the rest of my weekend, stress-free, while I look forward to seeing Max Payne on Wednesday.

Hopefully this link will work...

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article5007247.ece

Interesting article - and scary facts at the end, about what heels can do to you. Wow. I had no idea... I'm definitely not going to try and get to a point where I'm wearing them on a daily basis. I love them, but they're not worth risking that level of damage. Ouch.

My street-heeling shoes of choice are a pair of ankle boots with 4" stilettos. I usually see at least one movie a month. I may just reserve my street-heeling for those occasions, and stick to my biker boots the rest of the time.

I once considered wearing my heels to work for Halloween, but I walk so well in them that all of my co-workers would instantly know that I've already had lots of practice, and I don't imagine I'll ever be comfortable with even the idea of any of them knowing that I like to wear heels more than once a year.

"Enjoyment" is what I feel by simply wearing them.

"Fun" is what what I feel when someone is looking at me while wearing heels...

So the "taboo" part of it makes it funnier.

Ah. I gotcha. My own fun factor isn't driven by how much attention I attract. Just finally being out and about in heels is fun for me.

My answer was #2.

I like wearing heels a lot but I am wondering if the "fun" part of it

would decrease since it would not be considered "taboo" anymore...

Personally, I don't wear them because they're "taboo". I wear them because I enjoy them too much to restrict myself to the inside of my house anymore.

Old thread, and VERY old links. All but a couple no longer work. I'm sorry I missed them.

If guys wearing heels was completely accepted, and it was perfectly normal for guys to be in heels, no matter how feminine they looked, would you still wear them for the heck of it?

Hell yeah!

Thanks for all the comments so far. I'm sure fulltime heelers don't think twice about any of these issues. Us newbies appreciate any info you can provide.

As a reminder, I just started street-heeling a couple of weeks ago. Once I got over my initial fear of that first step, I was fine. No amount of measuring or analysis could have made that first step any easier. Trust me, street-heeling is nothing more than one massive head game in which the grand prize is the overwhelmingly exhilarating feeling of complete and total liberation from your own fears about wearing heels in public.

Now, to answer just a few of your questions...

...what is a better measurement of showing improvement in heeling: higher distances, or more time?

If you're new to wearing heels, period, the last thing you want to do is practice in public. Spend plenty of time practicing in your home, first. Then, when you feel you're ready, step out.

I've spent years wearing heels in the privacy of my house, so I was quite comfortable with stepping out for the first time. The only thing I had to overcome was my fear of public reaction.

...how you handle ramps, steps, escalators; flooring changes (carpet to tile)

You have to learn how to adapt on-the-fly while maintaining a casual stride. The less you look like you're learning how to walk for the first time, the better.

...standing in heels: waiting in line, or looking at some merchandise.

I like to shift my weight a lot. Doing so gives me wonderful opportunities to use whichever leg is relaxed to tap my foot and enjoy the experience of touching the ground with nothing but the heel. I also like to cross my legs like a closed scissor and just stand motionless until I decide to shift again or move on.

can you walk by a group of teenagers without drawing attention to yourself, and having them comment about you.

The more important question is how much credence do you want to give those teenagers, even if they do say anything.

Yeah, don't wear them for our sake. Wear them because you enjoy them. I'd like to get in some street-heeling myself, this weekend, but I'm certainly not going to push myself.

To the OP, you are definitely not alone. Welcome to the board!

I'm straight, and been married for the last 14 years now. The only woman who's opinion I care about is my wife's, and she thinks I look great in heels.

SandalFan, don't know if you saw my post in the Payless thread, but I finally got my Raven Platform Lace Up's.

Just read it. Grats!

I definitely need some practice walking in them, for me they're a lot different than walking in pumps.

Yeah, I love the ankle support they provide, though I can understand how awkward they might feel to someone not akin to wearing boots.

I really don't know how you guys do it. I really would love to go out in heels, but I just don't have the guts to do it

You're not alone. I think most everyone here felt the same way. I know I did.

My own first outing was just a couple of weeks ago, and I had the worst case of butterflies I can remember feeling in years. I was wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a brand new pair of black, 4" stiletto ankle boots. It was a Saturday afternoon, and I sat in the parking lot of a grocery store for several minutes before I finally managed to summon the courage to take the first step out of my car.

You can read about the rest of my first experience here.

Suffice it to say, it proved to be incredibly exciting, and a helluva a lot of fun. But you have to experience it, first-hand, to truly understand just how incredibly easy it really is. People just don't care.

There is, however, at least one aspect of street-heeling you should be aware of - the moment you walk in someplace where you're known as a frequent customer, anyone who knows you there is going to learn that you like to wear women's shoes. The only question you have to ask yourself is how comfortable you are with people you know, knowing that about you.

Where I live, it is so completely uncommon for me to see women wearing heels of any height that, now that I'm finally street-heeling myself, I feel like I'm filling what I perceive is a gigantic gap in fashion - never mind the fact that I happen to be a man. The likelyhood of my spotting any women wearing anything remotely close to the ankle boots that I bought a week ago is so incredibly slim that I've got a better chance of bearing witness to the second coming of Christ.

Curious to what length pants you wore this time (how much of the heel was exposed).

Same length I've always worn - 30in - and most of the heel is exposed.

Also, how are you finding the fit of the boots?

They fit wonderfully - just like gloves. The pain that I felt the first day I wore them stemmed more from my never having walked that much in heels than the newness of the boots.

Hello, everyone! I just returned from the movie. Hilarious flick, by the way! It's so incredibly refreshing to see a comedy that's devoid of toilet humor. I much prefer subtle humor in the form of well-written, cleverly-delivered dialogue, sight gags, terrific acting... and Ghost Town has it all in spades! I've got a friend I've known since High School. He's my best friend, he's gay, he was my Best Man at my wedding, and he's known about my shoe fetish for years now. Earlier this week, I told him about my first outing in heels, and showed him this thread. It's the first time he's even seen me in heels himself, as I've never worn them around him. Seeing movies has been our favorite past time since we first met. The other day, I asked him if he'd feel comfortable being around me in public if I wore my new boots to the theater today. He said he was completely cool with it. Before going to the theater, my wife had us run to the store for a quick errand. Once done with that, we were off to the theater. For two hours, we laughed our asses off while I sat with one foot propped up against the empty chair in front of me and one foot resting on the floor, occasionally alternating positions between the two, and it felt absolutely wonderful! On the way home, we got to talking about the experience. I told him how amazed I continue to be that, if anyone does notice, they don't say anything, at all. They simply don't care, and that's just fine by me. He commented that he actually didn't notice anyone looking at me, either at the grocery story or the theater. Overall, it was a terrific afternoon capped by an absolutely fantastic movie!

Try not be so self conscious.

Indeed.

Last night, I wore my new ankle boots to the video store, to pick up a copy of Iron Man. If anyone noticed, they didn't say anything. I can't be sure, but I think I got my first negative reaction on my way back out. As I was exiting the store, I walked past a couple who immediately snickered amongst themselves. I didn't turn to face them, choosing instead to just continue minding my own business and enjoy the stroll back to my car, but I'm fairly certain their reaction was directed at me. I'm going to see Ghost Town, tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to wear my heels to the theater, and will post about my experience when I return.