mlroseplant

17 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’m so envious of your skill level when 12cm boots are the easy ones to retreat to when you can’t find 13cm boots. They’re still quite a challenge for me. I’m getting a load of wood this weekend so I can heat the boat and go back to practicing in my 12cm boots on my boat! 

Is that because the diesel heater is still on the fritz, or is it actually time to kick on the real heat? We are supposed to get our first killing frost this weekend, which is a little on the late side for us.

1 hour ago, higherheels said:

@mlroseplant Yes I also think I'd be fine continuing in 12 for winter, but I'm still interested in continuing with some higher boots.

I finally found a pair of boots online which might be around 13,5 cm I guess. Still thinking if I should buy them.

Is there a reason why your boots are lower than your other heels?

@Shyheels 

All just a matter of practice, and I think your skill level is very good 🙂

I could make this answer a lot longer than it needs to be. The reason my boots are not on the higher end of the spectrum is because I typically do not wear boots unless it is absolutely necessary to wear boots, such as when it's snowing. Therefore, for practical reasons, the heel height does not exceed 10 cm, and is typically more like 8. I'm still wearing sandals in November! I will need to change that this weekend, as temperatures in my area are expected to dip below 0º for the first time this season.

This Sunday it was back to our regularly scheduled program, and as usual, I picked out my outfit at the last minute based upon what was clean and what was ironed, then checking to make sure I hadn't worn the same exact thing in recent times.

The only thing of note this week is that I got many comments on my shirt, and zero comments on my heels. The shirt came from Vietnam, and I have worn it occasionally for many years. One of these days, it will become unpresentable. It has already lost some of the sheen it once had, but somebody always comments on it every time I wear it.

The shoes, on the other hand, have never really attracted that much attention. I mean compared to others, not on an absolute scale. They are Michael Kors, and their main claim to fame is that they are both black and tan, so theoretically they go with everything. Or, you can do what I did, and wear tan pants with a black belt. They're not quite stilettos, and they're not super high (to our eyes, anyway). Evidently, I wore them about two months ago. I did not realize this when I selected them for the morning. I'm of two minds about that--one the one hand, I hate to repeat stuff, but on the other hand, I'm always saying that there are some things in my collection that do not get enough love. I guess I can't have it both ways.

At least with 12 cm boots, you won't lose too much ground over the winter. Whether I continue to progress over the winter depends entirely upon the weather and my motivation. My high heeled boots are much lower than what I would typically wear for shoes or sandals.

I do like wedges, with reservations. The wedge has to be on the thinner side at the heel, left to right, like these Bruno Magli wedges. I suppose a resurgence of heels of any type is welcome at this point. I'm not holding my breath.

I wouldn't want to wear Louboutins in the snow, either! But what will you replace them with over the winter? It seems that a lot of makers do not make 13 cm--they go directly from 12 cm to 15 cm. I'm guessing if you could somehow find some 13 cm boots, that would be ideal. But who makes such a thing?

That sounds like what you'd see attending our contemporary style church service.

It occurred to me that back in the mid-to-late '90s, which was a dark time for nice looking shoes (not unlike today), the popular heel was a black ankle bootie, typically with a very chunky heel and a lugged platform sole. These came in various heights, with the mildest being probably two inches and the wildest exceeding four inches. Subtracting for the platform, it was probably a three inch heel.

Germane to this topic, you used to regularly see young women doing service jobs wearing such shoes. Waitresses, department store clerks, fast food workers, et al. In particular, I can remember going to the grocery store, and you'd nearly always see at least one girl at a cash register wearing chunky heels that were sometimes quite high. Evidently, they must have been comfortable standing for several hours in these, because they certainly weren't required. In fact, in the end, they were apparently banned. This was a trend for the better part of a year, but something happened. I almost guarantee you somebody got hurt somewhere, because suddenly they were gone from this particular store. And I mean suddenly. Like overnight. I would love to know the story behind that.

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Speaking for myself, I find that walking around for a few minutes in my 10cm heels is a good warm up for wearing my 12cm ones - although if I do I have a way of becoming distracted and forgetting to change boots.

20 hours ago, higherheels said:

@mlroseplant No, I don't do any warm-up before going outside. But I put them on first before the rest of the clothes, so there's already a bit of standing in them before walking.

What makes a difference is weither I been at home barefeet all day or already been out in heels all day. Even if I only wore lower heels like 8 cm all day, the transition is easier.

I don't normally warm up before wearing "regular" heels, but I often think that maybe I should. There comes a point, however, at which I can't walk properly. This begins to occur somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 cm. I haven't really looked in a mirror or filmed myself, but I feel 95% of it is that I can't straighten my knees all the way. Many times, 10 or 15 minutes of pacing around will correct that problem.

16 hours ago, Cali said:

Once my nail bed on some fingers started to have issues, I had to get the nails covered with acrylic to hold them together; then you need to cover the acrylic with gel.  That was 10 years ago.  It took awhile to get use to having colored nails.  I get compliments from both men and women, and may people will compare my nails to their....really no comparison

You could start with a translucent gel with a very little color.  Or you could ask your nail tech to do a magnet gel on your baby fingers.  I think she would be excited to do it.  The polish is sometimes called 'cat eye' when you use a different magnet to get the total cat eye effect.

Cat eye nail polish works by using special formulas with metallic or iron particles that are pulled into patterns by a strong magnet. Google it and see all the effects you can get.  It very similar to the special effects of some car paint jobs in the 70's

Just make sure you're not wearing your vintage watch while doing this. Magnets cause old mechanical watches to do some very strange things.

I have sighted two pairs of stiletto heels last week. The first was part of a Halloween costume, which almost doesn't count, but I think it counts considering the circumstances. One week ago was the last football game of the season at the high school, and therefore was also the last marching band show. The band kids did not wear regular uniforms for this last show, but instead wore Halloween costumes. There was one girl who dressed as a witch, and her costume included stiletto heels. To be sure, she wasn't marching in those heels, she was in the frontline percussion section, playing a xylophone. Nevertheless, she pushed her own instrument on to the field, and then pushed it back off and down the running track, a distance of approximately 150 m each way.

The second sighting was at our joint church/college service last week. There was a communion server, age 20 or so, who was wearing stiletto heeled booties and a skirt. I sort of wanted to interview her a bit on the subject, but as an old man, I can't really get by with that. It was fairly obvious to me that she wasn't really used to wearing heels all that often. It was also obvious that she hadn't acquainted herself with an iron in quite some time, if ever.

@higherheels, do you find with your Hot Chicks that you need to warm up extensively before actually walking anywhere? I find that with my higher heels that I have to sort of pace around the house or the garage for about 10 minutes before my ankles limber up enough to take on the real world. I failed to do any of this preliminary warmup (preflight? 😆) the other day when I tried out the Bakers oxfords. I think I might give it another go this weekend.

Being as my "training" shoes are in the shop, I was looking for alternatives, and I settled upon a pair of Bakers oxfords, model name Reissa, that I've had for a very long time. I won't say that I forgot about them, but I haven't worn them in years because I don't love the way they look, and I've always had trouble walking in them. I've always thought of them as having 13.5 cm heels with 2 cm platform, but they somehow feel steeper than those numbers would suggest. Now that I've kicked it up a notch (aiming high), I decided to put them on for a short walk. Much to my shagrin, I still have trouble walking in them, and I decided to cancel my walk, for fear of somebody seeing me struggling in these ridiculous shoes. Why are they so hard to walk in?

I went back to the basement, took the shoes off, and pulled out a tape measure. Surely there had to be more to the story. There was. The platform, as you can see, is hidden, and there's no way to determine its thickness except to feel where the footbed is on the inside of the shoe, then transfer that mark to the outside. When I first measured them, I failed to do this at the heel as well, which in this case turns out to be significant.  On this particular shoe, the footbed maintains its thickness all the way up to the top of the heel. In fact, the wearer's heel rests a good 1/2 inch higher than the point where the top of the shoe's heel is attached on the outside. Effectively, the shoe's steepness slightly exceeds 13 cm. That accounts for a good deal. No wonder.

I don't feel like stilettos are any harder to walk in than other heels. The only thing that makes them harder is that out in the real world, you have to be more careful where you step.

Come to think of it, pretty much any tree can shed hazards to platforms. I just happened to walk through some freshly downed acorns the other day.

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.

On 10/19/2025 at 6:37 AM, Shyheels said:

I’ve never done it, never intend to do it and don’t even own a car but it seems like driving in heels is a topic of interest so I decided I’d start a thread.

i wouldn’t mind trying cycling in heels though. I’ve seen it done quite stylishly by women in London and on the Continent.

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.

2 hours ago, higherheels said:

I see that this topic is in the "for the guys" forum, I'm sneaking in because I got marked by @Shyheels

I hope it's OK for you all if I post here?

 

The availability of good quality heels with a 11+ cm heel at a reasonable price is very bad in my opinion. Every pair of this height I own is more on the expensive side.

It's really sad. I don't want expensive designer brands for everyone of my pairs, anything with a good quality is fine for me, but this only really exists in the mid-heels range.

It's also sad that even Louboutin doesn't make the Hot Chick 130 anymore. I definitely wouldn't go for a cheap knock-off one. The 13 cm heel itself is enough of a challenge, I wouldn't wanna have an extra struggle with bad quality 😉

 

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.

5 minutes ago, Puffer said:

It was not clear from mlr's comment if he was referring specifically to 13cm Hot Chicks, but there are Chinese clones of these available too, along with many other styles of 13cm (and higher) heels.   And it is purely speculative to say that wearing any of them must be dangerous, although no doubt some are poorly made or poorly fitting and pose a hazard - but only someone who has tried a particular pair could comment on that.   And, as I understand the many online comments by genuine Hot Chick owners, the real thing is not easy to wear, comfortably and safely, either.   I have also read that, although they are discontinued, Louboutin will still make the 13cm Hot Chick as a 'special order' - at a hefty price, of course.

 

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.

2 hours ago, higherheels said:

Don't say that, maybe you'll inspire some men who always wanted to do it but were afraid to.

 

The story about the woman is crazy!

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.