mlroseplant

Before I get to the winner, I should go through a few honorable mentions, and maybe some up-and-comers. One pair that deserves a mention is my Prada wooden mules. I call them my "rain shoes" because of the big 4 cm platform--they keep my feet out of the puddles. I must have walked on enough rainy days that somehow I've accumulated 62 miles on them (100 km). Although they truly work for their intended purpose--they do, in fact, keep my feet out of the puddles--the drawback is that they are susceptible to the usual platform weakness. Every imperfection in the pavement, every small, hard object that you might step on, such as a pebble or twig, causes an amplified lateral reaction compared to a single sole shoe that threatens the integrity of your ankles. It might also cause you to look foolish in front of others.

PSA to those who live near oak trees and who are at a latitude where it is now autumn: Platform heels and acorns do not mix well.

I finally bit the bullet and took the ugly shoes in to be reheeled. Yes, it will cost me about the same as what I paid for the shoes, but I do think they make good training shoes. I also took in three other pairs to be refreshed in the heel department. Two pair are pumps that I basically haven't worn since last spring, but had enough "incidental" mileage on them that I didn't think they would make it through the winter, or at least not in presentable condition. In the meantime, I'll have to practice on something a little lower, or risk my one pair of stilettos that is in that height range.

This week was a bit of a change from the normal for a Sunday morning. Once a year, we move our entire church service to the local college chapel and have a combined service with the students and faculty for their Homecoming weekend. Among other things that are different, I don't have to play for the service, but I do have to sing with the choir, which is a combined choir of the college choir and my church choir. When I showed up in my gold Nine West Wilia3 mules, I immediately got some compliments from the college kids, and also from the college choir director, who was singing in the tenor section with me (our church choir director was leading the whole group). He said, "Those are some great back row shoes!" I had never thought of it that way, but it's true. At 5'5", or 165 cm, I need the extra height to be able to see over the taller sopranos. The tall ones always wind up standing right in front of me. That's just how it works. I was very surprised at how many people commented on my shoes in the course of two hours or so. I would say that it's because I'm presenting myself to a new set of people, but that's not completely true. We do this every year. The student body completely changes every four years I realize, but the adults more or less remain the same. Anyway, it was a pretty good Sunday.

Several months ago, I bought these rather clunky shoes for a mere 18 USD. The price point was the motivator, but the real reason I bought them is because they are steep. They are very nearly the equivalent of 12 cm on size 38. I am not sure just exactly how ugly they are, but they are serving the purpose. After walking a mile in these babies, I can really feel it! In real life, they are not the greatest. I have to wear bandaids with these shoes, or they eat holes in the tops of my feet. The liner is deteriorating, so when I take them off, my feet come out all blackened. I need to get them reheeled, but I'm reluctant to spend money on them. I guess I need to look at them as a tool, rather than something I actually find attractive. The silver part is actually kind of cool, but that's about it. Sundays are often my best training days, because I can often spend the entire day in heels. I did not wear these the entire day, by the way, only for a one mile walk. The rest of the day I spent in 10 cm.

When I first started heeling, I said the one thing I would not do is ride a bicycle in heels, because even women don't do it here. You have to go to Asia (or Europe) to see that. Now that women rarely wear heels at all anymore, riding a bicycle in them doesn't seem like such a radical idea.

Sorry folks, I have been slacking for the last several days. Yesterday, I eased back into it with some 9 cm. No sense in trying to push it and getting myself hurt, eh? I actually have both Saturday and Sunday off this weekend (sort of), so maybe I can get some training in soon.

Oh, I think you can ABSOLUTELY assume that the quality of direct Chinese shoe imports is going to be low, because that assumption is usually correct. If it turns out to be incorrect, that's a pleasant surprise and a bonus! Here is one example of such a surprise below, and I can also catch up on church outfits at the same time, as I'm a couple of weeks behind. I had forgotten that I have actually had one good experience with stuff ordered directly from China, and that is my Onlymaker platform sandals. At least I think they're Onlymaker--the shoes themselves are unlabeled and unbranded, except for the size. The only reason I got them is because I thought they would be steep. I was promised a 15 cm heel with a 3 cm platform. Cool! 12 cm! At least they'd be good for practice. When the shoes arrived in a rather miniature shoebox, they looked pretty much like the picture, but had 3.5 cm platforms, so the total steepness is a mere 11.5 cm. I already have plenty of shoes with that gradient. Oh, well. However, despite being on the clunky looking side, I've become a little obsessed with these shoes lately, and I've worn them out several times. They are very shiny. Pictured here is from October 12th. The second photo is from last Sunday the 19th, featuring my BCBGenerations neutral colored strappy sandals. One thing about the Aiming High challenge is that these thin heeled but not quite stiletto sandals are a doddle to walk in, with their steepness being barely over 10 cm. I shall be interested to try my steeper pumps soon (up to now they have been put away for the summer), just to see if I have in fact made any progress.

Guys are not allowed to post in the girls forum, but there is no rule against girls posting in the guys forum, and there never has been. There is no rule because such a rule is not necessary--women evidently know how to behave themselves better than men do. I am done buying shoes that are shipped directly from China. I've had a 0% success rate with them. @Jkrenzer swore by Hey Si Mey brand, which is shipped directly from China, but is not super cheap. However, both of the pairs I bought have a toe-length-to-foot-length ratio that does not match my feet. If a Steve Madden or an Aldo or a Nine West would make a 130 mm shoe, I would buy it. Or heck, if they'd even make a true 120 mm shoe, I'd buy it.

I found a clip that didn't have absolutely terrible music. I still recommend turning the sound down.

It is true, sometimes we do not know the secret influence we have on others. There is a woman who goes to our church who has a greater than the usual interest in my shoes. I have mentioned her elsewhere. Last Sunday was her birthday, so I wanted to catch her after church to wish her a good one. She was talking to several other women when I approached her, so I just yelled out, "Happy Birthday!" as I passed by. Before I got three steps past, she interrupted her conversation with the ladies to tell me that some guy last week asked her if she knew that there was a man who walks around this town in high heels. Evidently, to his great surprise, she answered, "Oh yes, that's my friend." I kind of wanted to know more, but I also didn't want to interrupt whatever conversation was going on already. I do not know if the comment was meant to be derisive, curious, or complimentary. In any case, I guess I at least have the potential to inspire.

I get what you're saying, and believe me, there is no apology necessary. I did want to make the distinction of wanting to get a belly button ring vs. promising to quit smoking or finish Large Project X. I think there is a big difference between those two categories of promises to oneself.

My go-to brand for "high" heels has typically been Steve Madden. I have quite a number in my collection, and there are several models that exceed 11 cm, but do not quite approach 12 cm. It is obvious that Steve Madden was influenced by Louboutin, and specifically the So Kate model. Many of the shoes look like carbon copies of the So Kate to the average observer, minus the red sole, and a slightly lower heel. To the more careful observer, they aren't quite copies, but you can definitely see the style influence. What I am looking to purchase never really existed in the first place, as far as I can tell. There is a carbon copy So Kate (with 11 cm heel), but there is no carbon copy Hot Chick. In fact, there isn't even a real Hot Chick anymore. They quit making the 13 cm version a few years ago. I am not complaining, I'm just saying that I have plenty enough heels from the 7 - 11 cm range, and I just don't feel like buying more right now. Which is absolutely a good thing for a guy who's about to be laid off, most probably.

I realize that everybody is having a bit of fun at my expense, and that's fine with me. The "pain in the neck" I was referring to was all of the maintenance that would be required to have a navel piercing. Like Cali intimated, having a belly ring buried somewhere in a shag carpet is not a good look, and it's certainly nothing I'd want to look at. So if I'm not going to show it off to the public, that's a LOT of time to spend twice a week keeping everything beaten down for the privilege of being a navel-gazer. And that's if the silly thing heals up right, and there's no guarantee of that, especially at my age. This is not about a solemn promise to myself broken, it's about separating fantasy from reality. When actually forced to make a decision, the cost-benefit ratio did not look good. And let's not forget about the fact that I wouldn't be around anymore after that, because my wife would kill me!

It's circus stuff, and who doesn't love a circus? I'm always a sucker for watching stuff like this. I also like the videos, and there are many out there, where a woman walks on wine bottles in pointe shoes. And I don't even like pointe shoes all that much.

Don't get me wrong--I have several pairs of mid heels that I wear fairly regularly, but I am not consumed by the desire to expand the collection. I wear them around the house, I wear them to work the farmer's market, and yes, I have even occasionally worn them to choir rehearsal. I also have several pairs of mid heels that I never wear, and at the moment I can't think of why I would ever wear them again. Do I wish I had a more neutral color of mid heeled sandal? Yes, but I'm not going to go to a great deal of trouble to find some. I expect to be laid off any week now, but no one knows the day or the hour when the thief will come. I suppose the office people do, but they ain't sayin'.

Funny, even though I have said elsewhere that I get no thrill from it, I just drove in heels yesterday--twice! I don't even really think about it, unless I have a long way to go. It did occur to me that I gained my dislike of driving in heels during the time I owned a particular car, which I no longer have. For some reason, that car had your feet at such an angle that I really did notice if I was wearing heels. With my present car, I really don't think about it much.

Part of it is, I've been working more than I would like, but I still somehow manage to have time to come on here and comment. The other part of it is, like @Cali says, I just haven't really seen anything like I like. Specifically, the stuff I like is not high enough. I see plenty of stuff that looks cool. I see some stuff that looks absolutely beautiful. The problem is, it seems to be all mid-heels (or what is a mid-heel to me). I'm not going to buy yet another pair of shoes anymore unless the heels are 4 1/2"+ (11 cm). There isn't that much out there in that category that is not hundreds of dollars.

As long as we're off the subject (and I don't think anybody objects), in my boring adulthood, I've pretty much given up on the secret stuff, and it's why I'm not keeping a promise I made to myself several years ago. I told myself that as soon as I got my flat stomach back, I was going to get my belly button pierced. For a number of years, I felt very certain I was not going to ever have to worry about making that decision. Within the last several months, for reasons I don't fully understand, that time is now. However, I'm not going to do it for three reasons: 1) My wife would kill me. 2)I'm already tired of shaving as much as I do, and don't really want to add in another large region of my body. 3) What am I, at age 57, (make that age 58--winter is almost here) going to start wearing crop tops all the time? If I didn't show it off, what would the point be? I understand having secrets, but I don't understand having that sort of secret. It seems like it would be a pain in the neck for nothing.

I used to go through ebay and Poshmark on a daily basis, looking for the next big thing. I realized this morning that it has been a long, long time since I've bought any new shoes. I looked it up, and it's been over six months. I have several items that I'm watching, but I do not feel the desire that I used to. I suppose that's a good thing in many ways, but it does mark a severe shift in buying habits. It also doesn't hurt that I've had zero shoe failures so far this year, which is nothing short of amazing.

As time progresses, the chances of a lawsuit based on driving in high heels or bare feet continues to decline. Why? Because nobody wears heels anymore, and nobody goes barefoot anymore.

I happen to know somebody who's got a combined boot/trouser setup. I'll have to ask him whether he's actually worn it anywhere.

In the days before vacuum assisted brakes, I could see an argument for requiring footwear while driving, but even that is a bit of a thin argument. Unless there was something actually wrong with the brakes, they didn't require that much pedal effort. @Shyheels, I look forward to reports of your 12 cm adventures outside the boat.

I think we agree that walking on pillows is not the way to go, probably for anybody. Beyond that, yes, I also agree that each person has his own physiology, and therefore has a different solution to each issue. Not unlike the crafts and the trades. Each person has her own way of building something or fixing something. As far as the barefoot thing goes, I enjoy wearing heels too much to worry about going barefoot so much. I have had to walk home barefoot a couple of times when I experienced catastrophic shoe failure. I can remember wishing for a sign I could carry, saying "My shoe broke." I wouldn't feel that awkward if I were carrying tennis shoes or something, but carrying heels has a stigma to it.

No idea who that is, and I can't really empathize. I don't sweat much compared to most people. If I'm dripping in sweat, it means it's actually hot, not "Britain Sizzles in the 70s" hot.