SleekHeels

That's a shame about the fit of the JS pumps, they do look very stylish. I used to squeeze into shoes that fit too small but I refuse to do that now. Enjoy your other pairs.

I also noticed a woman customer looking down her nose at my boots.

Congratulations! We're always saying how we want to be treated just like any woman wearing heels would be.

I have a faux fur bear trapper hat something like this:

It's nice and warm and I think it looks good with any heeled boots I'm likely to wear in the cold weather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFoROD-sKQU 

Tenor

Super boots, what a great find!

The quiz scored me 35% boots and 3% heels. If I'm honest I think that does reflect my mostly "sturdy and dependable" character, but it does overlook the fact that people who enjoy wearing heels aren't all completely outrageous extrovert party-animals caught in a hedonistic whirlwind of moral abandon! A lot of people wear heels to add a spark of excitement, glamour and style to an otherwise more moderate lifetyle.

I totally agree with Shafted and mtnsofheels, stilettos would add a fantastic edge, not just taller boots but also a nice pair of ankle-boots or even shoe-boots too. Certainly black though perhaps with some metallic detailing to make a feature of the heels without detracting from the jacket. The jacket's also smart enough to be worn over a collared shirt and with formal trousers, striaght-leg or maybe bootcut. Whatever you choose to wear would certaimly be deserving of any compliments you get.

What are you wearing with your boots? jeans most ever thing i wear with jeans

With ankle boots usually bootcut jeans, the simpler styles of boots also look good with formal trousers, the boots with more detailing like buckles/straps also deserve to be shown off with skinny jeans or leggings.

With knee-high boots I like to wear skinny jeans or leggings, or skirts anything from 3/4 length up to mini (mid-thigh) usually with tights and usually (but not always) a bodycon or pencil-skirt shape.

Do you want to wear something other than jeans with your boots? If you feel comfortable just wearing jeans that's fine, you shouldn't feel any pressure to wear other stuff if that's not your thing.

I like the red shoes but the turquoise boots look fun too. The thing is I tend to wear a bright colour like turquoise as an accent with a dark-coloured outfit, but I think the light colour of the soles of those boots would look odd with dark clothes, and they'd look better with a light sandstone coloured skirt or jeans/leggings and a denim jacket over a white top, with maybe some turquoise accessory to coordinate with the boots. What are you wearing with your boots?

To improve the fit you could try inserting some insoles (furry fleece insoles would be great for winter), and if you still get slipping at the back try some heel grips although inserting them into tall boots might be harder than with shoes (maybe someone can suggest some tricks for doing that?)

Bay

I've seen some very well-dressed older people, I think it's great that despite being surrounded by disapproval they still enjoy fashion and expressing feeling young at heart. However, if I had a favourite pair of heels I'd definitely get the heel tips replaced, but then I'm usually quite precious about keeping my heels in good condition. I guess I did have one pair of heels that were a little bit trashed and there was something fun about wearing them and not caring if they sustained more damage, but I'd never entirely liked that pair, they were a bit too low-cut, tight-fitting and unflattering and I always intended to replace them with a better pair. I can't imagine wanting to trash an absolute favourite pair of heels.

I don't always wear heels but I'm almost always freestyling when I go shoe shopping. I agree, it makes for a more positive experience both for myself and the sales assistants, and I think other customers seem more relaxed about it too.

If I have a particular pair of shoes or boots in mind I'll try to wear something suitable for trying them on, both in terms of a style/colours that might work with the shoes and in practical terms too (choice of hosiery, bootcut/skinny jeans or a skirt). Of course that's sometimes not possible, you end up walking into a shoe store on impulse and trying on some unlikely style combinations, which is not that big a deal, it's common to see customers in smart office wear trying on casual shoes or vice-versa.

The last time I went into a shoe store recently I was wearing my black patent court heels with black opaque tights, a tartan bodycon mini skirt and a black turtleneck under a denim jacket. I had in mind to try on some just-over-the-knee black suede boots which would've been impossible to try on with bootcut jeans.

Nice photography MisterHH, and those heels look fantastic and a lot of fun to wear.

That's funny, I did something similar in 2012 (not having seen yours TBG):

I'd say "great minds think alike" though clearly I'm 14 years behind !

I must admit there is something very exciting about seeing (and making) heel footprints in the snow. I always think of a line from the song "Kayleigh" by Marillion: "Do you remember, dancing in stilettos in the snow".

If I feel that a heel is the slightest bit loose I'll stop wearing that pair until I can get it repaired. I figure that even wearing a good pair of heels can put a lot of strain on parts of the foot, and risking the injury from a loose heel just isn't worth it.

I can't imagine that the young lady you saw at the airport keeps wearing those boots repeatedly while knowing that one of the heels is broken, I can only presume that the heel had just broken but she didn't have an alternative to change into. Maybe there's a fashion aspect to wearing torn tights or distressed denim, and maybe even heavily worn shoes, but I just can't imagine that extending to a broken heel.

Equinox

They're a fun experiment I suppose, but the proportions are not exactly the most flattering.

In a better light... WOW those are really nice!

I have to agree, and it's also great that you're making a positive impression with the sales staff Rockpup.

A couple of weeks ago I had a birthday coupon for 25% off at Payless and I saw a pair of heeled knee boots in black that I liked, their "Mara" boots....

Very smart, elegant and stylish Steve. I hope they won't always be hiding under bootcut jeans !

I've never worn elevator shoes, maybe they extend the ankle a little but the similarity ends there. I imagine they may well have some kind of raised arch support in the insole, and their heel shape and toe-box must be wider than most pairs of real heels. Perhaps most significantly, I can't imagine elevator shoes ever being described as "glamorous", and that's a huge part of the fun of wearing heels.

Glad to hear your friend is doing well TBG, and good on you for supporting them.

Thanks for your thoughts Bikergoth, interesting reading. None of my heels take anywhere near that long to put on but I can imagine that does sustain the long-term appeal.

does anyone get extremely upset when a favourite pair of boots/shoes/heels finally become too knackered to wear?

For me that depends on how replaceable they are. I tend to be quite careful wearing my absolute favourite styles, but own some everyday heels that I'll wear more out and about and not be so upset when they wear out beyond repair. Sometimes it's a fit thing too, if I really like the style of a pair of heels but their fit isn't quite right then I won't miss them so much when the time comes to let them go.

Some styles seem to be easier to replace than others, but even with something like a pair of standard black patent courts there can be a lot of variety in the shape of the toe and vamp and the contour of the heel, it's hard to find an exact replacement. I usually find it ridiculous when magazines suggest one pair of heels and an alternative substitute that hardly bears any resemblance to the first pair. Maybe as heel enthusiasts we're caught up on the finest details that other people simply aren't attuned to,

Both very smart and relaxed looking outfits Jeff

I agree that your pink jumper looks better untucked than it would do tucked in. However, because your jacket falls lower than the belt line of the skirt, you probably would've also looked fine with the jumper tucked in.

You could maybe consider a long-line jumper that comes down to the widest point of your hips (and below the jacket) as that would create a nice layered effect. I think that'd work with the denim skirt you wore with the pink jumper, but not so much with the black skirt that has more of an A-line shape that I'm not sure would work so well with a long-line top.

As always, it's fantastic to know there are other fashion freestylers out there striving to look good and make a positive impression.

That's great boots747, not just that everyone you encountered was comfortable with you, but that you felt comfortable with yourself too. It sounds like you looked very stylish, especially to get a compliment on your first time out. Well done for taking that first step.

Flutter

I'm a UK7 and I find their fit accurate. I've had maybe one pair of stiletto courts that fit a bit too small so I gave them to a charity shop, and one pair of high wedge suedette courts that felt a little loose after walking a quarter of a mile, but I put some gel inserts in the toe area and they fit fine now. Also one pair of flat boots that I can only squeeze into with thin socks (which is a shame because they're nice winter boots), and one pair of high-heeled shoe-boots is the same but I only wear thin socks with those anyway so it's not a problem. Considering I have around 12 pairs of their boots and 40-50 pairs of their shoes, that's pretty consistent.

I am a slightly wide 7 so I do find their wide range a little more "like a glove", but I only have one pair of those, I mostly prefer the styles from their regular range and they fit well. For comparison, other brands that I've found fit well in the past include River Island, and also Faith and Ravel when they were around. Some other brands, most notably Aldo, Dune, Dorothy Perkins (and to a lesser extent Office) I tend to find fit too narrow for me, and having to go up to a size 8 rarely works out well because they're too long.

Do show us what shoes you get !!!