Pumps

Most won't give a damn what you are wearing. Some will take a second look and carry on their own busines. Some might point you finger and call you gay. In rare occasions there might by someone coming to you and compliment your courage.

Just balance your foorwear with your overall look and style and you will go unnoticed just like any other people around.

So basically the same as here. Great.

btw, prepare for snow and wet weather... we just got winter started after 2 months delay. Match your footwear to weather conditions and you'll be just fine.

I was affraid of that. I'm going to Seinäjoki and I guess the chance that there won't be snow, when I'll walk around in my suede pumps will by small.

I voted "As much as I can but not in public". I like to help out with the housework around the house and then go into my shed to tinker with old car. Heels are perfect to help with leaning over into the engine bay.

I'm also realistic and in my town, the day has yet to come where men wearing high in public is not frowned upon.

I have yet to work up the courage to wear heels out in public. My wife has asked me to. We are from a town that would surely frown upon my passion. Maybe one day soon!

Why not drive to another town where nobody knows you ? It's a great kick to heel in public.

I'm going to Finland next month. How do Finnish people react to men in heels ?

I wish I could afford it. I would love to go. Any reason this is the North American heel meet and not the World heel meet ?

Very well put, Kneehighs

Great outfit and pretty lady. Girlfriend ? I haven't been to a NYE party in 20 years, so thats a no for me.

I don't really make new years resolutions, but I recently took the decision to not hide anymore, so I guess you can call it my new years resolution. I allready started by wearing what i want around the building and trying on clothes and shoes in local shops without being affraid of being busted. In fact I think I allready am busted and I don't care. It feels great right now but let's see if it continues to feel that way.

Ah... another great outing and outfit.

I've never known quite how to respond to the "keep working them" comments about my boots but I take it as a complement. I'm not sure which is worse, the roving band of male marauders exclaiming WTF, or the notorious gaggle of giggling girls. It sounds like you handled it appropriately.

It weird. I never once had any harrasment from men, only women. I wonder why that is.

Denmark can be quite shortminded especialy if your from the minor parts of the country. But i never had any events so far.

I can imagine. I only heeled once in Jylland and that was ok. I've been thinking hard and I can't remember a single negative experience in Denmark.

Seems nothing has changed in the last 10-15 years then....

Honestly, nobody give a crap... I saw a guy in Brixton high street a week ago in a pink tu-tu, shiny silver leggings, silly spandex top etc, gong about his business, and absolutely nobody was pointing at him, he didnt get arrested, there was no "Freeze frame" as time stood still... He was clearly enjoying himself, and the rest of the world were so wrapped up in their own little worlds, I'm not even sure that many people even noticed him...

And here you are panicking over just your footwear... DOH! lol

Not really panicking, but in the past I have been mocked, yelled at, pointed at and laughed at, which is why I'm surprised that so much healing drew so little attention. Of course this all happened in other countries. Especially London have been bad.

I haven't really been heeling around here, since I moved back to Denmark, but since nobody seems to raise an eyebrow over my preferred outfit of womens jeans and either womens ankleboots or ballerinas, I thought I'd try a pair of ancle boots with a block heel. I been wearing them everywhere and I haven't had a single bad experience. Not even that many double takes. Really weird and kinda great. So last night I thought I'd do something I never dared: Taking the train to the city and going into a bar and get a drink all by myself, wearing pumps. As i prepared for it I kinda lost the nerve and didn't really think I was gonna do it.One of the problems was that I had to wait about an hour before the train went back, so I was kinda stuck, but after a couple of drinks my courage was back and I went out of the door with no hessitation. I was so weird. Not only did I go into the city, but also into the most well known bar there. I was pretty drunk so I wasn't aware of everyones reaction, but I certainly didn't have any negative experiences. How weird is that? So much healing and nothing negative.

I just bought these as my new "coming out" boots. I havent been heeling much since I moved back, but I have been wearing womens jeans, ballet flats and ancle boots with a small wedge hell, so I decided that people wouldn't be to shocked over these. Even with the heel they actually look less feminine than my ancleboots. Normally I don't dare to try them on where I live, but inspired by the many expiriences around here, I decided to be a little bolder and tried them on. Unfortunately the sales clerk was too embarresed to acknowledge that the boots were for me, even though she must have seen me trying it on and I was wearing my ancleboots. She gave me advise on how "she" should care for "her" boots. I guess I wasn' bold enough to correct her and she would probably just get more embarrased.

So for now, I opt out...and check into my female friend in Vilnius, my friends in Riga, my friends in Tallinn, and my super sexy but objective friend in London. Can't wait to explore and experience!

I would think twice before heeling in eastern Europe. I don't think they will take it well. I never dared to do it.

The cascade effect of this NYT article is STAGGERING.

Jezebel, another well known site, wrote on the same topic as a result if the times piece http://m.jezebel.com/5850320/fashionable-men-are-stepping-out-in-womens-high-heels and if you do a search for men in heels on twitter, the stream of results that feeds back as a result if the Times piece is mesmerizing (long). This is a real boon to "the community"

Apparently Cosmopolitan is also following up with a story.

1. Swedish women. I think it's their culture of equality. Rich and poor. class distinctions are less pronounced than in the States, let alone NYC. Gender equality is more readily accepted. Sex equality is more pronounced in Sweden than in the States. Again, this is my personal experience, so I can't speak for others here. Of all the Swedish women I've ever met, they've all been supportive of my wearing heels.

While you are correct about swedish society being more equal that most other places on earth, I don't find swedish women very accepting of men in heels. And that's after 9 years in Sweden. Of course I can't compare with women in NY, since I have not been heeling there. And also Stockholm and the rest of Sweden are like 2 different countries, so perhaps it should be "women from Stockholm" ?

When I moved, I chose to have carpets in my new appartment just so I could wear heels without making noise and I just lost my job, so now I'm wearing heels ALL the time :-)

I might be interested, but I can't afford to travel too far.

When you were out in public, did other people notice?

I would think so, but I really didn't catch any weird looks or laughter at all and neight did my mom. At breakfast the next day, my mom walked behind me and said that a woman looked quite shocked when I walked by.

Went back to Oxford Street again yesterday morning with the intention of trying some heels on, but again I chickened out!

Evans (nr. Marble Arch) has a young male assistant in there on shoes and I'm really not comfortable asking a bloke, even though I did browse for a little while.

I once saw a shopassistant help an older bloke try on shoes there, so I'm guessing their used to it, but I know how you feel. I've tried on shoes at the other Evans on Oxford street a couple of times. It's not a big thing when you get used to it.

Pumps,

That was a great story. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad it was a good evening for you and it's great that your mother was supportive in the end.

I've noticed that you haven't posted here lately. Why not? Your posts are always inspiring.

Thanks. I don't post much anywhere anymore. Somehow I always end up in arguments and I guess I just don't like the idea of it lying around the internet for all eternity.

Nice! What was your outfit?

I recreated the outfit, allthogh I did iron the pants then. Also the outit with the snakeprints which I wore to a Jazz concert a couple of months ago.

I don't post here anymore, but I thought you'd find this story interesting. I've been following a certain musical around Europe and some times I've been wearing heels to the theater. It just seems like a good place for it. The last time my mom wanted to come so I didn't, which was a downer. This time she also came along so what should I do ? She'd actually seen me in a skirt and also girly flats ones, but heels ? Did I dare ? She herself suffers from wide feet like me and always complaints that she can't find shoes, so I told her about Evans, not mentioning that they only have womens shoes and going to the UK I thought I'd show her an Evans store. When we finally found one she didn't want to buy shoes. I don't know exactly why but she didn't. I then started to look for shoes for myself for the theater, with a pulse skyhigh, not exactly knowing how she would react. I could only find boring flats. Then all of a sudden i found one pair of suede black pumps with a 3" sabrina heel at only £5.Size 9 ! Mom was shocked. "You wanna wear those ?? Do you want a dress too ?". I stood my ground and acted casual, but I said that I wouldn't buy them if she'd be to embarrassed. She told me that she thought it was silly of me to wear those, but if I really wanted to she wouldn't mind.I bought them. When we came back to the hotel I tried them on with my outfit, while mom was shaking her head. I told her again that I wouldn't wear them if she was not comfortable. She said I should wear what I wanted so we went on to the theater. It was pretty cool. No laughter or anything. We went to a restaurant afterwards. I was trying to convince her, by using all our ususal arguments like "If a women can wear whatever she want...". By the end of the evening she admitted that she thought it was cool that I had the guts to wear what I wanted and that I walked really well in them.At least a bit of acceptance.

Does that mean you wont hear the result ? Sometimes I have the desire to go out in heels, but once out in public I just feel strange and want to go home. I figured doing something extreme like driving 900 km and only bringing my heels, would multiply that feeling and would turn me off the heels. That is not what happened. Instead I accepted that I would spend the next 3 days in heels and just enjoyed it. That was not what I expected. Even my engine overheating and me standing in the emergency lane in my heels, didn't made me panick. I had bought some comfortable 6,5 cm strappy heels for driving. So I did some sightseeing, shopping and went to the theater (the reason for going) in heels. For the theater I changed into my 4" t-bars pumps. The hotel staff were a sharp contrast to the horrible people in London. Very friendly, even though I was ALWAYS in heels. I'm sure they were snickering in the back, but did let on at all, unlike in London. The reaction from other people were the same as always. Shock and laughter. So, the experiment was a bust, but the trip was nice.

Interesting question, as I'm in doubt myself of which look is best. Normally I sport the unshaved look, as I think I have a femine face, but I'm not sure if this creates too big a contrast to the heels. Tonight I'm going to the theater and I will shave for this. Let me ask you: which look do you, as a woman, think goes best with heels ?

As the consensus seems to be, there is no illness so there's no need for a cure. I have never ever seen anything wrong with wearing high heels and I lived through a period of time when both men and women wore high heels openly and publicly. No matter what type of fashion a person wears, someone will have a negative opinion about it. I wear 5" stiletto high heels in public and I don't see anything wrong with enjoying doing that. If someone sees me and doesn't approve, that's there problem and it doesn't mean that I am sick. It is simply self-expression. If you want to wear high heels, wear high heels. If you want to take a break from wearing them, then do so. Don't put undo pressure on yourself for a problem that is not really a problem.

I never said there was anything wrong with it. I will always support and advocate for fashion freedom, but heeling in public is not for everyone and for various reasons. I just decided a while ago in my "quitting the heels" post that it wasn't for me and as such it would be a lot easier if I wasn't so obsessed with heels. And just as everyone here has the rights to wear heels, I should have the right not to, right ? Anyway, I'm trying this and will let you know afterwards.