mlroseplant

Thanks for your comments, SF. I will not pretend that I didn't have heels before 2012 that I wore in private, but I really didn't do it too much. My attraction to heels began long before puberty, but I didn't really seriously consider wearing them myself until I was in my 40s.

Funny you should mention it, I just posted in my own thread/blog a picture of some shoes I will probably never get rid of for sentimental reasons. They were my first pair of truly high (more than 4") heels I bought and wore publicly. I suppose I could wear them as beaters for doing work on cars or construction or something, but I've gotten to the point where I've quit doing that, opting for more practical tennis shoes or work boots for such projects. Still, I'll probably keep them, and my children will have to dispose of them when I'm gone.

I found them in the same place I get 99% of my shoes: On eBay. Although I have no problem walking into a shoe store and trying on shoes, I just prefer to get things from eBay. The first reason is price--I can get shoes slightly used for a fraction of the price, and that's ok with me. The second reason is that there is no season to be missed as @Cali alluded to. All of my clogs are non-current models, and are most probably several years old, as I am having that problem with the inner liner deteriorating. I have certain searches that I do almost on a daily basis, and sometimes I get lucky and find something really nice like these clogs. I would estimate that I have a 75-80% success rate with eBay, the great disadvantage being that you can't try stuff on. So 20-25% of the time, I wind up rejecting new purchases for one reason or another. It's kind of a game with me. The Sam Edelman clogs fit me so well, and the BCBG clogs are fantastic, too. Sometimes you get lucky!

It looks as though it's going to be a good winter season. I have not one, not two, but five pairs of clogs that I'm very happy with this winter. I have to ruminate about clogs now, because clogs are where I came from in my heeling journey, and it feels like I've come full circle. I mark two events every year in my heeling experience. The first happened sometime in May of 2012, which is when I wore my first pair of obviously not regular men's shoes in public, and the second occurred right before Thanksgiving of 2012, which is when I got my first pair of proper "high" heels (meaning 4 inches/10cm or more). There was a time when I thought I was over clogs, but they have come back into my life this year in a big way. I have worn nothing but clogs outside the house for several weeks now, since the temperature has dropped. This new crop of clogs is high heeled enough to where I may be able to avoid boots until we get more than 2 or 3 inches of snow! The first picture shows my five pairs of clogs, along with a number of sandals which I already miss from summer. If I lived in a warm climate, I would wear sandals 99% of the time. Clogs seem like a good compromise for the reality of winter here in the Midwest U.S.A. The second and third pictures are a memorial to my first pair of real high heeled clogs, which are Sbicca Huttons, and are now pretty much beat to death. I really only keep them for sentimental reasons.

Perhaps it's just an illusion, but it looks as though you have lost weight in the last year! In any case, your "costume" seems like it could be an actual, serious outfit.

I have bought my first pair of what could really be called "designer" shoes. I saw this pair of Jimmy Choo pumps on ebay, and something in me just had to have them. They weren't TOO too expensive, but they were enough that I would have felt bad had they not fit, which thankfully they do. I'll have to experiment with some heel grippers because these have the same problem that most pumps have for me--it's very easy to walk right out of them. However, despite the high heel height (5 3/4" with 1 1/4" platform), they're not bad at all to walk in. They already have a rubber protector on the soles, which I would get eventually with any platform shoe. They are beautifully made, at any rate. However, I'm not going to be looking for any more designer shoes in the future for the sake of owning designer shoes. They ain't all that. . .

Mr. X, your heels are higher, and your blouse is shorter than Taylor Swift's. Good job! Maybe I can now forgive her for adopting and promoting the ridiculousness of high-waisted shorts. I think that trend is largely over, thank goodness! One question though, if I may. with a blouse that short and leggings, how do you deal with modesty issues in the groin area, or do you just not care? That's sort of what prevents me from trying this sort of look.

I own several Michael Kors shoes, and I don't know the model name of any of them. It seems he (they) only put the model name on the box and nowhere on the shoe. If you buy used like me, you'll never know. As an aside, I'm not particularly thrilled with the durability of Kors shoes in general. I've had more of those things break on me than any other brand, and in different ways. I liked the style of several models from several years ago (not paying attention lately), but I am just frustrated when they break in ways that can't be fixed.

WELL! That's always just a very pleasant experience! I've had it happen to me a couple of times with young kids, but in both cases, the parents had nothing to do with it. The worst is with large groups of teenaged boys, though I think times are changing, and I haven't had to endure actual heckling for several years. The latest incident wasn't really harassment in the true sense, but rather, I think, disbelief on the part of a young kid who happened to see me. It happened at church a couple of years ago. I was picking up my then 7 year old son from Sunday school, and I heard some little girl say something loudly about a guy "wearing girl's shoes." I guess the girl was about 4 or 5 years old. After she said it several times (to her parents), and I had to pass her on the way back upstairs, I felt compelled to stop and talk to her. I don't really remember exactly what was said, but I do remember questioning her about why she thought my shoes were girl's shoes, and why I shouldn't wear them. Of course she couldn't tell me anything better than "just because," and by this time her parents were obviously mortified that their daughter had caused a bit of a commotion, and told her that I could wear whatever I wanted as long as I felt comfortable about it. As I left her, I told her to go home and think about what I had said, and to have a great day, honey. It wasn't an unpleasant exchange (though somewhat awkward), and I tried to be as kind as I could.

My latest acquisition is yet another pair of clogs (surprise, surprise). In the back of my mind, I think I'm going to avoid wearing boots this winter. This delusion will last exactly until the first deep snow. These are BCBGeneration, model name unknown. They have 5 inch heels with 1 inch platforms. They were incredibly comfortable right out of the box, and there WAS a box, as these have never been worn, but are not factory fresh. See my comments about that in my thread elsewhere on this forum.

To be filed under "Things That Do Not Happen To My Peers." Multiple shoe failures this summer! I lost several pairs of sandals this summer, for one reason or another. In some cases, the strap(s) broke, in another case, the molded unit bottom platform just cracked in half (just as @Jkrenzer promised me it would), and in another case, the steel shank of the sandal just gave way, causing the heel to wobble about sloppily, and making the sandals unwearable. I guess it all comes of wearing shoes which are not really designed to be worn. Or at least they're not really designed to be walked in. Another problem I have run into lately is buying "New Old Stock" shoes. In other words, shoes that have never been worn, but might have been manufactured several years ago. The shoes I often like tend to have been in style in the early 2010s, and there are still quite a number of those floating around out there, some that are New In Box. However, as it turns out, I've had a problem on several occasions with the skin of a man-made lining peeling off all over my feet, even though the shoes have never been worn. Shoes in my usual price range may have leather uppers, but they often have a man-made sock lining, and whatever they're made of disintegrates and peels off after several years of exposure to air. Not a huge deal, but it's messy and irritating. See photo below for one example of a "brand new" pair of shoes that are disintegrating from Day One.

I haven't done much ruminating lately, so I thought I would check in. I haven't had anything exciting to say since we visited Chicago back in August, but I will say that I have slipped a little bit as of late in my high-heeled conditioning. It is definitely true that when wearing the really high stuff, continuing training is necessary. I wore one of my favorite pairs of loafer-pumps last Sunday, which are on the steep side for me, (5 1/2" heel with 1" platform), and my feet were pretty tired after a couple of hours. Previously, these were good for all day without much trouble. The difference is that I have quit walking much in heels the way I used to. This is particularly troubling since only two months ago I managed a whole weekend in Chicago with a lot of walking, and finished strong with no issues. I still wear heels every day, but I don't actually walk any distance every day like I used to. Time to step up and regain my endurance!

My wife knows about HHP, but she hasn't the least bit of interest or curiosity about it. In fact, I'll bet she could not name this website.

Whoops! Perhaps you misread. I wasn't responding to you at all, but rather to p1ng74's open-ended question. But I don't disagree with your point, and I try to exploit this cycle as best I can, buying sandals in the fall and buying boots in the spring. It doesn't always work out as I'd planned, but how many time in life do things work out the same as we've planned?

I picked up a couple new pairs recently, and they are both a departure for me in that they both have significantly higher platforms than I would normally wear. I think I was sucked in by the price and the sheer heel height. First up is a pair of Sam Edelman clogs in black, model "Flair." Colder weather is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, and I'm always looking for the perfect pair of clogs to wear during the winter season. I didn't go horribly wrong here, though I wish the platform weren't quite so thick, it's disguised enough that it doesn't offend my eye. They have 5 1/2" heels, and 1 3/8" platforms, giving me just the right amount of lift at this point in my heeling journey. I have worn these out a couple of times, and I can't tell you whether I love them or not yet. I got my normal size of 8 1/2, and they were a little bit on the big side. The addition of some ball-of-foot pads made them fit just right. The pads are not really necessary for comfort, as there seems to be plenty of padding, but they do make the clogs fit me much better. They are pretty easy to walk in, but not the most stable platforms I have ever known in my life. Luckily, I have strong ankles, so this doesn't discourage me. Next up is a pair of Stella McCartney platform open toed mules, model name unknown. Frankly, I have no idea why I bought these. They are not really my style, and they are so chunky and funky for my small frame, I'm not sure what they would look good with. Furthermore, I did not realize they are not leather, despite being a high-priced designer brand (more about that in a minute). Like the Edelmans, they also have 5 1/2" heels, but with an even thicker, totally exposed platform of 1 1/2". I will give them one thing: They are ridiculously easy to walk in. We will see what happens next summer. Maybe I'll warm up to them. As a footnote, I paid about 50 USD for these sandals, used, not perfect, but in very good condition, just a few minor scuffs. As is usual when one makes purchases online, I got more ads and auctions for the same thing, and one of these auctions wanted 300 bucks for these! What?!?