mlroseplant

I solved the dilemma yesterday by choosing my big and ugly (but steep) chunky heeled mules (pictured somewhere above), but we are in the midst of a January thaw, and within a few days, if not hours, those open toed shoes will not be an option, even for me. @CrushedVamp, very nice photo that turned out well from a mere snapshot! I also like candid photos, but generally of OTHER PEOPLE, haha.

Haha, I never said that you were. I thought your intent was very clear--to present an interesting snippet of googledom for our consideration. My consideration was I thought it funny that this particular snippet said the opposite of other snippets I'd seen in the past, when in fact I'm not sure any of it makes any difference whatsoever. But, somebody evidently went to at least some trouble to create a diagram saying. . . well, I'm not sure what.

I agree 100%, we live in a very noisy world. I am laughing with you @Shyheels. I always turn the sound off whenever I browse social media, 'cause it's bloody awful if you don't! As you all know, playing music is a big part of my life, but I am also a lover of silence. @CrushedVamp, believe it or don't, I don't play the radio in my car, either. I might listen to the BBC sometimes, but I rarely have any music blaring while going down the road. I don't have background music while I'm folding laundry or doing the dishes. The reason? It can't be background music for me. I will stop what I'm doing and actively listen. Sometimes, I'll analyze certain aspects of whatever happens to be playing. I can't count the number of times that I've commented on some piece of background music in a store to somebody, and most of the time, they haven't been listening and have no idea what I'm talking about. Even in moments of silence, my brain is not silent. In fact, as I'm writing this, a Chopin piano piece that I attempted to learn as a kid is going through my head. Why? I have no idea. I haven't really thought of it in years. There is no other sound beside the ticking of the clock, the hum of the furnace, and perhaps a slight clacking of computer keyboard keys. And yet, there is Chopin. How did he get there?

That was a true snapshot--no planning, took all of 10 seconds. In fact, I think we set down the grocery bags right there in the garage in order to take this. Typically, I set the camera, which in my case is a phone, on a tripod and use a remote activator to do my "selfies." Since they are shoe-centric, I go even one more than @Shyheels suggests, and set it up about belt height or so. And I don't know, I often pose in a rather stilted manner, so that a person can better see the contour of various angle of the shoes. But then again, these photos are targeted at a very specific audience! So, back on point, I need to decide if I'm going to start breaking my own rule with this higher heels challenge. My rule is that I don't take walks in stilettos. The problem is, all my highest heels are stilettos. You see my dilemma?

Have you tried a dump truck, perchance? 😆

That is very interesting, in that this informational placard (I'm choosing to call it that, anyway) says the exact opposite of what I've heard others say in the past, and that is to say the setback heel is actually better and more comfortable. It seems everybody has got an opinion. I reiterate, I've worn both styles for years, and I cannot really tell any difference between the two, comfort-wise or walkability-wise. I do believe it seems easier to catch your heel on things unintentionally with setback heels, but maybe I just need to learn to pick up my feet when I walk!

I think I can say that I'm making progress toward getting to 12 cm. Although I am not there yet, I have decided to take a different tack towards getting there. Instead of going for long distance in lower shoes, I have found that wearing higher shoes for shorter distances has gotten me somewhere. I put on a pair of 10.5 cm pumps yesterday morning and walked a mere 1.6 km, same as I did last week. After about 400 m, I found that I got into a rhythm and they felt much more natural. After that, I put on these mauve patent 10.5 cm pumps for church, and I wound up wearing them the entire day with no problems. I didn't get a chance to snap my usual picture with the tripod and the remote, so I had my son take this photo in the garage after we came back from grocery shopping. Now I know why I keep the tripod about half a meter tall for taking these shoe photos. You can't really see my shoes when he's standing up full height, can you?

I got the chance to play with the high school pep band at a basketball game Friday night. I elected to play tuba, because they didn't have any tuba players--I was the only one. So I had to drag out the tuba and play it a little bit every day all last week to regain my chops. Yes, I know the thing is huge--it's probably more of a three-ba than a tuba. At any rate, I elected to wear much flatter shoes than I would normally wear, just because I had visions of falling down the stairs at the high school gym while carrying that monster. My friend from church was at the game for some reason, and sneaked up behind me while I was carrying the tuba back to the band room just to tell me that she noticed I had lost a few inches of heel for this gig. You cannot actually see me in this band picture, but you can see my bell!

Ok, let's talk about more pleasant things, then. I ran across a picture I took over four years ago depicting a "setback" heel vs. one that curves to the front somewhat. Shown in the front of this photo is a true setback heel, which comes straight down to the floor from the back of the shoe. At the back of the photo is a curved, traditional shaped heel. I don't know if it has a special name. This is the style that I believe @luvmaryjanez likes the most. In the middle of the photo is something in between, which is what 90% of the stilettos I own are. Some say that setback heel is simply there to make the heel appear taller than it actually is, and I suppose it's true. Our favorite Christian Louboutin certainly took advantage of this illusion, to his great success. CL makes very few shoes where the heel doesn't come straight down from the back of the shoe, and most makers have followed suit. I prefer a little curvature, but do not necessarily prefer the 1960s style of more extreme curvature. Steve Madden lets you have it either way. My favorite Daisie pumps have a slight curve to the heel, whereas the Vala model has a straight, setback heel. Otherwise, the two models are identical. There are those who claim that the setback heel is much harder to walk in, and that you should always choose a heel that comes down more toward the center of your heel. I have personally never found this to be a factor at all, but then again, I've never had a lower heeled shoe with a setback heel. Perhaps it really does make a difference in the 2-3" range, but once you get above 4" I cannot tell the difference, other than looks. I will say it is somewhat easier to accidentally catch your heel walking down the stairs in setback heels, particularly if the stairs have those plastic edge protectors on them. Those are the worst!

Yes, those are exactly what I was thinking of. That and some of the Japanese inspired stuff. No thank you.

Yeah, the "life hacks" have gotten out of hand, but it seems that we are more about clicks than substance these days. The thing is, there are so many "heel hack" videos out there, I'm just wondering who is watching them? I certainly don't see anybody attempting to wear heels much these days. I know that we are in a kind of bubble, and even amongst people who like high heels, and maybe even wear them occasionally, we are a tiny minority. This point was driven home just a few days ago when I told one of my female friends that we had a challenge in our little group to work on wearing higher heels. I told her my personal goal was 5 inch (or the scaled equivalent of 12 cm). Her first reaction was "Oh my God, why?" The only thing that made any sense to her was an analogy to dance, and the athletic challenges that go along with that. The other thing that surprised me is that nobody really thinks about heel height as specifically as we do. If it looks cute or aesthetically pleasing to them, exact heel height doesn't matter all that much. And then let's get into steepness--forget it! It took me a while to explain to my friend that I, a size 9, had to have a taller heel to maintain the same shape compared to a size 7, the standard. It is not something that had ever crossed her mind in 57 years. I didn't even dare bring up the fact that 4 inch heels don't actually make you 4 inches taller! @Shyheels Standing for a whole hour in 12 cm! That is quite an accomplishment. I'm not sure I could do it. Maybe I'll have to try. I have a whole pile of shirts to iron.

I think I know which Nine West pumps you are talking about. It wouldn't happen to be the Tatiana model, would it? The setback stiletto heel is still better than the giant, clunky block heels that seem to be in style now. Never mind one's fashion preferences, it amazes me that it once made financial sense to take your old shoes to the cobbler and have them majorly modified like that. Nowadays, we'd just throw them away and buy something new.

I reckon that you're probably right. In fact, as part of my basement cleaning out exercise, mentioned elsewhere, I made the decision to let some old favorites go--my Sofft Calvados sandals--because they are too low. I had already gotten rid of a silver pair last year because of deterioration, but these two pair were perfectly wearable. It's just that I never wear them anymore, and I can't foresee a time when I will wear them again. It's hard to tell from this photograph, but they are covered in a fairly thick layer of dust, and that influenced my decision to donate them. They are effectively less than 3 inch heels, or 7 cm, and that is just too low for my taste these days, at least in that style of heel. The combination of narrow heels with less than towering height makes them pretty much the last choice for everything. I used to wear them to things like farmer's markets where I was afraid that anything taller might result in my discomfort or worse. Now I don't worry about that, so I guess one can increase one's ideal heel height eventually.

Yes, I agree. The more and more I look at it, I'm not convinced about the second method, either. At least not as exactly stated in this chart. First of all, you about need an assistant to really do it correctly. I think I used a Stanley tape measure extended out and just kind of eyeballed it from afar. But secondly, I'm looking at the marks on the diagram of the foot, and it doesn't make any sense to me. I think the first measurement is too far up on the toes and the second is too far back on the heel, giving an artificially high number. Thirdly, it doesn't take into account toe flexibility, which is kind of important once you reach towering heights. I'm hoping, as are the rest of the participants in this thread, that your actual ideal heel height can be increased with practice and the force of will.

I am not off to a great start with the walking, distance-wise, but I'm glad I did not attempt a second mile in those high pumps. I think I probably would have ruined them. It's very early days, though. As long as I don't make laziness a habit. And now for something completely different. . . I was attempting to clean up a portion of my basement yesterday, and I ran across some photos from my university, specifically a couple different graduating classes. Flipping through, I noticed that more than half of the girls were wearing heels, which is kind of what I remember for dressy occasions, but exactly zero of them were what we would consider "high" heels. The one girl I knew who might have been wearing shoes that approached four inch, well naturally you can't see her shoes in my old photo. Another girl that I remember who wore heels a lot (several times a week, and even for more casual dressing) was dressed smartly in black patent pumps which had a whopping heel height of maybe 2 1/2 inches. What I used to think was excitingly attractive is a big yawn now. I'm ruined for life.