ilikekicks

Hmm.. Might have to get some pics and contribute.

Good to hear others are out there having fun! Hope a good time like that happens again for you!

-ILK

Seem a little tighter in the toes then my usual picks, but snug, not painful. Trying to see if they break in before there are signs of wear. The straps will remove my issue of walking out of pumps. The jeans I wore with the 3.5" Ash pumps keep me from stepping out of them too

I checked out the NineWest store tosay. Didnt have my size so they ordered a pair for me. Have to wait till friday for them. T3h Sux0rz!

Megan : Nope, not even close

Stopped by the Nine West shop on Miami' South Beach. Tried on the Coherent pump in black. The helpful sales girl made zero fuss after I said they were for me, and saw that I was wearing 3.5" pumps already. She said they were one of her favorite new models

I got them in 9.5, and with a 4.5" heel I am hoping they work out well.

Man.. Im gonna have to get to the NineWest store in the city and snag a pair of those!

Hows the fit?

I like the VAT tax, wish we had it here….  sf

Why is that? 

An Imperial gallon (UK) is 4.546 litres, unlike your 3.8 litre gallon in the US.

One imperial gallon is approximately equal to 1.201 U.S. gallons OR 1 US gallon = 0.833 Imperial gallons. Considering currency exchanges, your paying more per unit by any measure.

Dr. Shoe :

"it's not true that we pay about $10 a gallon for petrol and it is an imperial gallon of 8 pints instead of 6 pints like in the US. The average is currently 125.9p a litre which when multiplied by 3.54609 comes to £4.46 a gallon "

3.8 liters in a gallon. . We bought some used equipment from the Canuckistanians up north and its all in Canadian measurements er.. metrics. Had to do up conversions for all the instrumentation/conversions. As shafted stated, 8 pints to a gallon here.

"Moreover, we don't do the mileage that Americans do. ".

I could believe such to be true. Your island is like 250 miles wide and 400 miles tall ( including scotland ).. something of that nature. Not really a large area by any means. Theres congregations of cities that have ' public transportation thats relied heavily upon. Theres a decent percentage of English whom dont own a car ( many dont even have a need for one ).

"How much do you pay in the US? "

Thats a question that has too many answers and is a HUGE problem IMO.

In " The peoples republik ", theres a 71 cent a gallon tax. Add to it 18 cents from the federal level and theres close to a dollar a gallon in tax. The State below us ( P.A. ) is much cheaper.

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/web_gas_taxes.php

Toss in Ethanol or going to an indian reservation and buying their fuel ( 2.80$/gal USD ).. 

We used about 35,000 gallons of diesel last year for the Quarry and farm. At 75cents a gallon tax to the ' peoples republik ', we went elsewhere and had a tanker type trailer imported from out of state. We also made quite a bit of our own fuel ( ethanol ) on the over-run of crops ( corn ).

I dont know if any of that is legal or feasible in the U.K. . We don have the means to be self sufficient if the effort is there ( for now ) until the present Administration appoints another Czar to hammer us even more.

Well, you live in New York state do you not? And every time you go up to a till with something which says it costs, say, $1.99 you can't plop down two one-dollar bills in chance and expect a penny back. 

Yes I live in New York ( Unfortunately ). Hopefully not for too much longer. I need to ask what a ' till ' is. Do you mean a checkout or a cashier? 

Presently, sales tax in my county ( not country, county ) is at 8%. NOT 20%. Guns would come out if ANY politician even mentioned robbing us that bad!

As to whoms government robs whom more? I would beg to differ. You pay 10$+ USD for a single gallon of gasoline. 20% tax on other items ( like the one mentioned ) and a ' Carbon footprint ' tax on all kinds of things.

Usually, after all is said and done, the average working person looses about 10-15% of their total yearly income to governmental thievery where I live.

From digging through HM Treasury and HM Revenues and ' Customs ', you have 3 basic taxation rates and some variances amongst those 3 groups between : Dividend Income, Savings and Employment income. The BASIC rates for people on the bottom of the earnings pole was 20%. Whatever they put into savings for retirement or for a rainy day was taxed at 20% as well. If someone has any kind of stocks or earnings from outside ones job, that gets nailed for 10%. There *IS* a waiver for those 2 though for the ' basic ' group of people. The rest though.. NOPE!

Those are taxes for the ' common man '. Not Corporations or Businesses. Just running figures through my head, Im guessing about 35-40% of anyones income in the UK is just ' gone '. Im no ' Pro ' at taxation in your country, but from what I looked through on those websites, if someone sneezes in England, they will tax the expelled air, tax the enzymes released, tax per milli-meter the distance the booger traveled and then take a carbon-footprint on said booger to level a carbon tax on it of somekind.

On a more serious note, the above doesnt even consider your National Medical insurance charges ( tax ), fuel for ones car, Residence or ' Domicile ' taxation, ' Counsel Taxation '. Theres even a ' London Congestion Charge '( Tax of some 15-20$USD a day! ).

We have ' toll booths ' in my area. If you use a road, it can cost from 15 cents to 7$ to travel across the whole state.

Its not cheap to live in the UK either! A relative visited your nation recently and was absolutely SHOCKED at the basic costs for foods, fuel, a car rental, hotel costs. She did state that the UK was better then most of the other countries ' over there '.

http://www.ford.co.uk/ConfigureyourCar/Fiesta/Titanium 22,500$ USD equivillent ( before adding taxes and such.. )

Same car in the US :

http://www.ford.com/cars/fiesta/trim/titaniumsedan/ 17,800. Add 8% to its cost..

I havent tried to look up or even ponder what a Sports Car, Luxury car or a truck would cost in the U.K.

I *DID* look into livestock however ( I know Dr. Shoe is into her horses and such.. )..

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-70115-animals-and-animal-food/vat-notice-70115-animals-and-animal-food

They had to go as far as explaining VAT for pets and livestock? That picky? Even the food they consume is in a category of VAT! Its defined down to the differing breeds of foul! REALLY?!?! Seriously?!?!?

You stated the U.S. Governments Thievery was worse then the U.K.'s. I would beg to differ. NEITHER are what I would call ' moral ' or even effective/efficient, both are great examples of piss-poor management at all levels.

To stay with the topic of the thread though, I think its unfair that I can buy something from your country cheaper then you can. Its wrong.

Cheers!

-ILK

I cant remember where I left off ( what ' # ' I was on ) so.. Im hoping its 10?

I've decides to toss a ' twist ' on this one as its a song were going to cover for the Halloween Hash for Charity myself and a few others are getting together to perform at on the 31'st.

Theres 2 ( yes 2! ) versions of the song out there ( Sort of.. ). NEITHER are the ORIGINAL recording being used here. The song was never recorded in English ( when it came out ).

First clue/song/cut/whatever : All music, no vocals. Its not at the very beginning of the song, but a good chunk of it is present. 

http://vid233.photobucket.com/albums/ee231/fridgidwench/ntt10_zps9rvwd0cz.mp4

Do you guys actually think what you're saying is funny? Because those jokes are like Paula Poundstone level.

You even laughed at one response.

LOL!

ROFL LMAO

We all need to laugh at something once in a while. Its not just the SHOES themselves, its some of the TRUTH behind what everyone is saying.

YES, those shoes worked as a Jackstand and YES I do use them as such when working on a golfcart, a riding mower and some of the smaller equipment around the farm. They DO IN FACT make a rather practical jackstand. They dont rust, mud hoses off of them rather nicely and they are a lot lighter then what a metal jackstand weighs. 

They didnt work as a ' boat anchor ' as they DID float. I tied one onto a 3/8th nylon line and cast it out of the 10foot tin rowboat we have on our lake.. it just bobbed up and down till the water around it leveled. I didnt start a new thread about doing it because there will always be someone whom is such a whiny little twit that will complain.

*I* understand you like those kinds of shoes and might be ' offended ' or mad that there are some of us whom have found other uses for them ( those kinds of shoes ). Maybe we find humor where you dont? Im sure there are things YOU might find funny that others dont. Were all different.

If I possessed a pair of shoes that you had in your old avatar, I would definitely try to make a pair of fishbowls out of them. Maybe even find a small 2-3inch LCD tv and install that on the platform part.

I catch the blunt of jokes as I own and wear ' UGG ' type boots. I KNOW Im going to catch flak but I understand that people dont like them and WHY they dont care for them ( I honestly thing they are fUGGly but warm/practicle.. not fashionable at all IMO, too trendy ). I wear them anyway and laugh right along with everyone else.

Its all in good fun. Nobody is being convicted, ridiculed or laughed at. Theres a difference between laughing at a pair of shoes or letting them be the brunt of the laughs and saying someone wearing a pair of shoes ( being person specific ) looks cheap or like they should be on a street corner doing 2$ tricks.

Cheers!

-ILK

That means excluding Value Added Tax in the UK. i.e. If it is sold to a UK/EU resident the VAT is charged and the total cost is £160, but if shipped outside UK/EU then only £133.33 is charged. To ship to the USA would then attract whatever import duty/tax is levied by US Customs. Hope this helps.

Helps greatly! Its kinda sad that I can buy something from your country, that wasnt even made there, cheaper then you can.

VAT is currently 20% in Britain, so that's about right.

' Value Added Tax '.. 20%? Thats not ' right ', its wrong on sooo many levels.. Thievery at its finest.

I was looking at a link from the site and saw something.. Is this an ' export tax '?

http://www.fabulouslyfetish.co.uk/Lace-up-courts-Fetish-5.25-6-inch-stiletto-heel-Mona

But we can still discuss flip-flops, right? I would so enjoy wearing these.

 

ToePostMules.jpg

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-LADIES-TOE-POST-SUMMER-HOLIDAY-DIAMANTE-WEDGE-FLIP-FLOP-SANDALS-UK-3-8-/191284732299?pt=UK_Women_s_Shoes&var=490402264245&hash=item2c8975618b

Those arent bad looking. Kind of like a wedge and mule crossover.

There you have it! Good on you! 

It was stated a while ago by MANY people whom do go out on a regular basis that the biggest problem is out own fears/concerns. Our worries about someone saying something and how to deal with it. All you have to do is STRUT away ( why walk? ).

Its all in our heads.

-ILK

 And a guy who uses a stripper shoe as a jackstand does not share my interests at all.

I dunno. I believe in freedom for all. Choose whom you want to be, whom you wish to love, whom you choose to associate with. Live your life in the ways that YOU enjoy so long as you harm nobody else. Be as prosperous as your desires would have of you. 

If you read the thread in regards to that picture, you would understand the JOKE behind it that actually became a reality. FAct is, that jackstand shoe REALLY CAN work as a jackstand. It was an experiment in Physics with some laughs behind it.

I have a couple of questions/thoughts as we ( those on the farm ) have a HUGE barn full of our famalies ' summer cars ' and we also store a LOT of cars/trucks/trailors/equipment when they go south for the winter.

You stated :

"Then he brings up the porsche. I really get upset and start telling him he stole money from me when he went and bought that car behind my back. I found the car and he new I wanted to buy it and that he stole it from me. Then I get an F U from him and he hangs up."

What did YOU pay for that porsche? You banked 2 grand when it was sold and you didnt do much of anything outside of pointing out it existed. *I* dont believe he stole anything from you as you never owned it nor possessed it. It was never yours.

HOWEVER!

Your brother is storing vehicles on YOUR property and has been for a while. Heres what you should do :

Advise him your charging him 1$ a month storage per vehicle. You will also keep the batteries of those vehicles on a trickler so they will maintain their charge and not go bad.

Added to the ' charge ' for storage is a surcharge/tax due to the stored goods contain contaminents/controlled substances ( Gas/Oil/Electrolytes in the battery/anti-freeze ). There is a handeling fee for such as hazardous materials come with a LOT of penalties from the EPA if theres any contaminates spilled. The charges YOU would incur for ' proper cleanup ' in accordance with your State and Federal Regulations could be quite substantial. The ' Surcharged amount ' is 300% per vehicle per billing cycle ( every month ). Offer no ' group discount ' of any kind.

I wouldnt know how to legally word such as Im not one of those bloodsuckers whom chase ambulances, but I do know you should write something up that at MINIMUM releases you of ANY liabilities of his cars while on your property. Once signed, trash the cars. Get a sawzall and make them convertibles OR turn one into a track car. Those old Lincolns make awesome Smash-up-derby cars as they weigh 4000-4500lbs and had a full steel frame.

I should have run for Town Ombudsman instead of a counsel seat.

Thats a good look for you. Take it out on the town and have fun!

-ILK

Guess I botched that one, sorry for my reaction and the terminology I used, I just felt for the guy posting his pics.

There are often many pictures posted of shoes that I laugh at or say to myself " What the... is that? ". I dont bother to comment as its not needed nor wanted/warranted. 

The time for ' truth ' has come. For far too long, people have been able to ' shout down ' others. Calling people ' Intolerant ', ' racist ', ' homophobic ', ' Closed minded ' .. Those doing such will start finding themselves stood up to now and in the very near future.

The times for using such terms and causing division and hate need to end. I dont think people even realize what they are doing when they toss out the terms they do. They just know it will cause a reaction of somekind that is favorable to their viewpoint OR cause others to retreat. Thus its not a good situation for anyone involved.

A conversation with only one viewpoint is always boring, why chase the other away?

Cheers!

-ILK

I won't fault you for the practical aspect and leave it at that. lol

Make no mistake, they are both bland and UGGly ( pun intended ). They are practical and warm though, thus they do have a somewhat Utility aspect to them.

Sadly, that also means Ugg boots will soon be out in force. BLECH!

Already have them out. Wore them last night as it was COLD!

I like these. I might actually get a pair. " Besame " by Brian Atwood. I like the second pic of the Black/Charcoal ones the most. Theres something about the sculpted side thats really eye catching.

I actually like those wedge sandals. Im not a fan of platforms nor open toed shoes, but for some odd reason, those sandals seem to strike me as something I might consider wearing.

Kudos Loveit !

The very thought that "intolerance" is being shown here is sad and very ironic. Good grief I would have thought that this forum if any would embrace and encourage another man out there who enjoys wearing footwear that doesn't fall into the typical boring realm of male footwear.  I don't even own a pair of platform flip flops and have a fair collection of "real" heels, but come on, let's be supportive here.  Maybe I'm just too accepting, supportive and open minded to contribute to this forum.  I rarely "speak my mind" but this warrants it.

Solestripper,  you've done a great job with the toe polish and making your feet look great.  Carry on and enjoy your favorite styles. 

Define " Intolerance " if you would please. I feel you have been mislead.

I think you might have a confused definition of the word as " Intolerance " means something isnt tolerated at all. I could see the use of a word such as disdain or dislike or even calling something very opinionated, but the use of the term " Intolerance " is overused and in most events its used wrongly to bring about a ' trump card ' type of setting.

Being honest, I think flip flops are horrible and make people look cheap. Add to it a ' jackstand ', it becomes something *I* would never wear. MIND YOU, others can wear them as they choose, its not my feet nor my footware, thus its not my concern at all. How is THAT being ' intolerant ' in any means?

There are some that dont like the shoes I wear. So what? I wear them and I wear them wherever I feel like wearing them. Does that make those whom say " Its all about the platform " intolerant of my choice of footware? *I* dont believe it does. Just varying tastes from different people in their choice of clothing.

Nobody stated anyone couldnt wear a certain type of footware or that they shouldnt wear such.

Come to think of it, I remember the imagery from viewing this yesterday, but I don't remember the music. 

Exactly. People will remember the guys wearing the outfits.. What was the song about again? 

KneeHighs is onto something though but there are problems with the notion of it.

Kneehighs is quite to the point on the messaging of music but that message is lost very quickly. The 60's and 70's had a very strong political point to it. ' Rocking in the free world ', ' Signs ', Even the Beatles ' Revolution ' are songs remembered ( along with their messages ) when no MTV or video catalogue ( Youtube ) was even considered to have a chance of existing. The message of the video above will go as far as the whole ' Seattle Grunge ' scene did in the 90s and its dead and gone before it ever really gets started.

Thats how culture just ' is '. People will see ' Men in heels ' as a fad and nothing more even *IF* half the male population started to wear heels regularly in the next decade. Why? because its not wanted by anyone outside of those of us whom do in fact wear them. 

Do you guys think or believe that wearing heels or doing anything for that matter or the opposite sex have taken away your masculinity in any way?

 

I was told that people don't understand why I wear heels because they feminize me and why would I want to do that. My take on the situation is I don't put labels on things and I normally ask the girls that have questioned me why do they wear what they wear and why aren't they questioned about it normally I can't get a direct answer from them on why they wear what they wear but it's okay to take away my masculinity because of something that I wear or put on my body.

 

I know that for a long time things were said to be a certain way and it's still believed to be that way today I get that. I'm kind of getting off of topic because my initial question is do you feel like you are less masculine because of what you wear??

 

USUAL DISCLAIMER : To the ' P.C. ' type, please read no further. you might experience a high level of blood pressure, an annurism or have a display of ' Developmental Disabilities ' if you respond.

I held off on this topic but as of a gig I played tonight, odd as it might be, what your asking was part of the topic of discussion. Just out of nowhere with a pair of guys whom I never seen/spoke with in my life that were patrons where we played.

What started the conversation was the new wedge boots I was wearing. With the stage monitors out front and sharing the stage with a vocalist whom is 6foot5 and a bass player whom is 6foot3 and my being 5foot10, nobody really saw that I was normally shorter then the other guys. Its not why I wear what I do, but it kind-of hides it without intentionally trying to.

After our first set, I spoke with a couple of the local patrons whom asked me about the boots. It seemed weird to them at first but they werent hostile at all, more or less  " curious " would be how I would describe them. Maybe even ' intrigued '.

( Lemme quote you here as its relevant : "I was told that people don't understand why I wear heels because they feminize me and why would I want to do that. " )

Lets do a small ' twist ' on this for a second: "I know that for a long time things were said to be a certain way and it's still believed to be that way today I get that "

Picture the ' women ' of ' today '. Im stating the obvious here people so dont get your panties in a bunch and scream how offended you are. If need be, the thread could be flooded by pictures of exactly what Im going to say. Truth is quite viewable. facts are facts!

- How many have fake breasts? Its not uncommon.

- How many women actually wear a dress outside of formal occasions?

- How many look BUTCH with shaved heads, all kinds of metal sticking out of their skin everywhere and tattoos all over their bodies?

- How many women are so ' Feminine ' with the language they use?

- How many would even wear heels outside of a formal event or if they are not " out on the prowl "?

If one is to look at the women of today, MANY are really starting to resemble men! There are some ' hold outs ' whom havent taken the plunge and ' gone butch '/ fully bra-burned yet. Im betting the majority of the members on this forum ( if they gave it a thought ) know someone of those 5 descriptions above. I bet the majority of us SEE women described above almost daily through where we work, the coffee shop or even just driving down the street.

So I would ask *you* how ' wearing heels ' feminizes you when most women DONT wear heels. I say this from *my* experiences of ALL the women I know. This includes family members ( In the city, not where I presently live ). To see a woman in heels becoming a rare instance. A nice looking skirt is even a stretch.

I grew up with the babes of my time wearing mini skirts, stilettos, long ' big hair '. They took baths and actually SMELLED good. They didnt have 5 kids with 4 different guys! They seemed to have had more self respect or self control ' back then '.

Knowing the above add this to the equation :

There are MEN out there whom saw the boots I was wearing and didnt even know they were ( supposedly ) ' womens ' boots. Shouldnt someone whos " masculine " know what mens boots should look like? The 2 guys I spoke with didnt know until I told them.

Another question you asked : "My take on the situation is I don't put labels on things and I normally ask the girls that have questioned me why do they wear what they wear and why aren't they questioned about it normally I can't get a direct answer from them on why they wear what they wear but it's okay to take away my masculinity because of something that I wear or put on my body ".

Its called " Political Correctness ". MANY people believe and will recite all this history about how women were once slaves to men or theres a war against them.. they were and still are today considered " lower then men "..  They are ALLOWED to ' take away your masculinity ' and you are not permitted to state anything different else you'll be the bad person in the conversation ( as many are going to probably complain to Dr. Shoe and Shafted about this message being ' offensive ' to them ) because the truth boils down to one and only one thing :

YOU wear as *you* choose. It doesnt matter why you do. You are a man. What you wear does NOT change what you ' are '. You have a penis, a ' Y ' chromosome, facial hair and an urge to go through life while trying to enjoy it. Its the same ( urge/stance ) everyone else wishes and would DEMAND such be ' accepted and respected '.. even though they state they are for ' equality ', they really arent and they dont even realize the delusion they suffer from. 

Another question of yours : " I'm kind of getting off of topic because my initial question is do you feel like you are less masculine because of what you wear?? ".

Im going to be quite blunt here and go over a self imposed questionnaire out loud instead of in my head:

Does anything *I* wear..

- Take away my ' Y ' chromosome ? Nope.

- Take away my penis? Nope.

- Take away my facial hair? Nope.

- Take away my enjoyment in life? Nope.

- Make my wife feel Im not a man or any less of a man? Nope.

I guess I cant be shamed by those ' correct type ' of people into feeling my ' masculinity ' is jeopardized. You shouldnt be either.

Peace to you!

-ILK .