mlroseplant

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.

I definitely don't get the first heel height formula. It seems like a bunch of random numbers that sound like they mean something, but in fact have nothing to do with anything. I also find it amusing that the number they come up with for this model is 5.2 cm, but she is depicted wearing shoes likely twice that tall, even if you discount for the platform. The second formula, on the other hand, I have actually tried myself, and the last time I did it, probably two years ago, I came up with 4 inches or 10 cm, which seems about right to me. It would be interesting to try it on somebody who says they can't wear heels, and see if there's any actual science in it. It would also be interesting to go back in time and try this test before I ever started wearing heels vs. what it is now to see if the resting angle of my feet to my ankles has changed because of wearing heels rather than any natural tendency I might have.

They were not really a big deal, other than I was super slow, or I felt like I was super slow. It took me about a third of the way before I got into my rhythm. Normally, it takes me approximately 20 minutes to walk a mile in 10 cm heels. I should have timed myself, but I didn't instead. It didn't take me as much as 25 minutes to walk the mile, but it sure felt like it. The heel tip wear is not uncommon for stock plastic heel tips. Rubber tips will last at least 10 times as long.

One thing I hadn't noticed at first, but somebody else did. If you look way in the back, you can see my son practicing his bass, patiently waiting for me to quit talking and go home.

Trying to wick it up this morning, can I walk a mile (1.6 km) in these pumps? Evidently, I can. They are the size 38 equivalent of 11.3 cm. However, I won't be able to walk a second mile in them until and unless I get them reheeled. Look at the wear after only one mile!

Here is my high heeled (actually mid-heeled) buddy from church. Our children almost, but not quite, overlap in age.

It. . . actually. . . kinda does. I mean, it's not sidesplittingly funny, but it's worth a groan, at least.

I have several pairs of heels which would be no problem for 5.5 miles. I also have several pairs that would be an absolute disaster in that distance! What I would very much not like to do is carry a sousaphone that far. I used to think 2 mile parades were hell, much less three times that distance.

What you have said is absolutely correct, but the "context" of my original statement has a much simpler explanation: It was supposed to be, you know, funny. Or at least mildly amusing. Tongue-in-cheek, that sort of thing. I am hanging my head in despair, knowing that I have failed miserably in my attempt at humor. Wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last. What adds interest to this story is that you're not wrong! I rarely miss an opportunity to wear heels. Put another way, and perhaps closer to the way I actually feel, you will rarely catch me wearing flats unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I don't always wear high heels in the sense of our definition, but it's always in the back of my mind that I would love to be able to wear the highest heels well, and that definitely requires practice, preferably daily practice. In my case, the limitation doesn't really involve pain or lack of endurance, it is lack of ankle flexibility. Therefore, I do not have the effortless walk that is required to really pull of 12+ cm shoes.

I guess 2026 is starting off ok! I just got this message from my favorite cousin in Vietnam (she is in her late 30s). High heels is not a subject we usually talk about.

@higherheels, I'm glad you picked up the humor about the Keds. It was actually meant to be funny. It's very difficult to convey humor in just printed words, and there is one person on this forum who absolutely does NOT get my sense of humor. That in and of itself is kind of funny. I do not believe I will do any super high heels today, but I should at least walk some, as the weather is not too bad for January 1st. I don't want to get completely out of condition, as I haven't walked since Sunday, the day that the storm came in. All that's melted now. Happy New Year!

Those are very nice looking boots, indeed! I wouldn't feel weird about wearing them to more places. When you described them as "fancy," I rather expected them to be heavily ornamented, a bright color, or patent leather, something like that. The picture rather surprised me. They look as though they could complement almost anything. I second what higherheels said. Once you get above a certain height, and for me personally it's 4 inches, 1/4" is a big difference. I say once you get above 4 1/2 inches, 1/8" is a big difference. Although you haven't explicitly said so, I get the idea that you're not necessarily into heel height as an aesthetic absolute in the way that I am. In other words, at least in my interpretation of your description, you thought the boots were attractive as a whole, and they just happened to have very tall heels, and maybe taller than you expected. Is that correct?

My thoughts, @Shyheels Perhaps it would be good to set defined goals, such as "we're going to wear our 12 cm (which I don't technically own, by the way) three times a week for x minutes, or y meters. Something like that. Maybe you will have the opportunity to move your boat to a better spot for getting off of it without safety concerns or ruining nice shoe concerns. But, if you're already having to carry your art supplies to someplace, why not a different pair of boots? As for me, I need to get over feeling a little self conscious about "walking over my head." @higherheels evidently does not have a problem walking around her neighborhood in insanely high heels, so perhaps it's time to take a page out of that book. Happy New Year everyone!

It makes sense that a washer/dryer combination would take forever and a day to dry clothes, at least in the western hemisphere. The handicap of 120V. With a normal cord-and-plug connected appliance, you're just not going to get all that much wattage out of the dryer portion. Even with the heat pump setup, you're never going to get the blast of heat that you'll get with a traditional 240V dryer. Even one with one broken heat element, like mine has. I suppose I'll fix it someday, buy why? It actually works just fine if you turn it up to high!

In other news, as it is the last day of the year, and I know I won't go out walkin' until AFTER midnight, I can report that I walked a record breaking 460 high heeled miles this year, or 740.6 km, whichever you prefer. I do not at this time have the statistics about how many were walked in mid heels vs. high heels, and in any case my definitions have changed this year, thanks to standardization brought about by the high heel challenge documented elsewhere. How did I break my previous record by more than 100 miles? I didn't intend to. A little history: I had 312.7 miles in 2023, which barely broke the previous record of 310.1 miles way back in 2014, which was my second year of public heeling and I was way enthusiastic. I followed that up in 2024 by exceeding 350 miles. At the beginning of 2025, I had this idea that if I were to average 30 miles a month, I could get 360. Then I thought, let's shoot for 365, or one mile per day. Then, due to a combination of good weather and being laid off for the first part of the year, by the end of April I was WAY ahead of a mile a day. I decided to up the goal to 420 miles, or 35 miles a month. It was then that I ran into a problem. I had a job again, but it was more hours than I really wanted to work, and six days a week. How was I going to keep up that walking schedule, especially when I often got in over 20,000 steps at work, depending on the day? My solution came by accident, as oftentimes I would crash right after supper, sometimes as early as 7:30, being exhausted from work. I started waking up naturally at 3:30 in the morning, way earlier than I needed to. I used this time to get things done around the house that I didn't get done the previous night, like mop the kitchen floor, and I set aside a couple of days a week to walk. It was in this way that I was able to get the total annual mileage up, little by little, often one mile at a time. By the time I got to October, I knew I was going to blast past the 420 mile goal, so I again upped it to 455 miles, or one mile per cubic inch of displacement in the engine of my son's 1973 Oldsmobile. And I did it, having only walked 16 miles this month. I purposefully told myself I was going to take it easy in December. I do not know whether I will take the trouble to figure out some interesting statistics about this year or not. Since I do not have any kind of spreadsheet, I have to go through and figure it out manually from what I have written down. As for next year? It would be crazy to plan to walk that much again. I think I'll dial it back to a one mile a day average, or 365 miles for the year, and then see what happens.

The main problem with Keds is, while wearing them, a person is not going to get any better at wearing 12 or 13 cm heels. To be fair, this is probably not a wise endeavor when one is 8 months pregnant. To answer the question, and yes this is my bias, everybody already knows it: If it had been me, I would have worn some cute leather sandals with the sundress, same as I would with a Dirndlkleid for that matter. But that is a matter for somebody else's life, as I am destined to wear bifurcated lower body clothing for the remainder of my days.

I'm surprised you didn't get clocked on the head with a frying pan!

Even though this is supposed to be a thread about durable heels, it seems like a good place to put shoe failures as well. I just had Shoe Failure No. 4 in 2025 last night. I really thought I was going to make it with just 3 failures this year. My BCBGeneration Queenie wedges yielded up the ghost. Funny thing is, I never really wore them all that seriously. They were pretty much just house shoes. I'm sure I wore them to the grocery store or other errands quite a few times, but I do not have any record of them having been part of my walking routine. I do not know whether I will attempt to replace them, since I have other mid heeled wedges that are less clunky looking.

OK, so I felt guilty about slacking, so I pulled out my highest regular heels for church yesterday morning. I actually had the morning off from musical duties, so I could sit with my family in the congregation like a normal person. These particular pumps are some off brand called Elisabet Tang. There is another brand called GenShuo that is exactly the same. They are inexpensive shoes, but appear to be well made for what they are. They are slightly higher than the similar Steve Madden shoes of that ilk like the Daisie, but still clock in at a mere 11.3 cm when translated to size 38. I thought I did ok in them. I didn't have to walk more than 30 meters at a time, though, so I can't give a real assessment. At the time this photo was taken, the wind had picked up to about 40 km/h, and everything was starting to ice over. Therefore, I switched to boots to after that to run errands.

I understand that foot size often changes during or after pregnancy. My mom said she used to wear size 5 back in the 60s and before. By the time I came along, all I can remember in her closet is 6 1/2 or better. And yes, I did try on her shoes when she wasn't around. My ex-wife's feet swelled up something terrible when she was pregnant with my older son. Luckily, it was summer, and she bought a pair of single band leather slides, and that's all she could wear for a couple of months. Amazingly, only a few short hours after giving birth, her feet shrank back down to normal size, and that's where they've stayed ever since, as far as I know. My current wife's feet increased a whole size after giving birth to my younger son. This was kind of disappointing to me, because we had gone to the great trouble of bringing about 50 pairs of shoes from Vietnam, most of them heels, and none of which fit her within months of coming to the U.S.