mlroseplant

I am just getting to the point this year where I might be able to turn a negative reaction into a positive. Up to now, I have just ignored stares, or done something to make the starer feel slightly embarrassed. I think Cali's approach may be suitable for me as well, now that I'm more comfortable. 

11 hours ago, jeremy1986 said:

I found @hhboots's suggestions to be spot on! This is what I did with my wife (after 13 or so years of marriage...) - she does not completely understand. but she somewhat accepts.

That's pretty much my situation also. No real understanding, but acceptance most of the time. I'm thankful for that.

19 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

If the picture you posted in May is your friend, she appears to be a little shorter than you and she is wearing shorts with her blouse hem covering the waist.

Different friend! It's our choir director. The friend you are referencing is my long-time Vietnamese friend, shoe buddy, and lover of wearing shorts with high heels! And yes, she is substantially shorter than me, unlike the choir director, who is about my height.

Yeah, I had thought that part of it was camera angle, and part of it was my friend's and my physiological differences. Her legs are longer than mine, and her neck is shorter, although we're about the same height. So although I wanted to be a little bit dressier than a t-shirt, I tried again, same angle, same shorts, different shirt, not tucked in. I think it's a noticeable improvement. In addition to hiding where my true waist is, the t-shirt is closer fitting and doesn't look as bulky up top.

In addition to the before and after pictures, my 8 year old son got involved and wanted me to wear different shoes of his choosing. The pictures he took are from a more normal, natural angle, even though he's still very short! I rarely.  .  . OK, I have never until now.  .  . photobombed this forum, but I'm going to make an exception to show my more whimsical side. He was trying to get me to ham it up a little bit. Perhaps I look a little less severe when I am trying to be funny. One thing I discovered is that, although I am loathe to wear closed toed shoes with shorts, I think the pumps actually look the best with this outfit!

I was doing some experimenting this morning. I wanted to try something a little different, so I took inspiration from me and my wife's young-ish Korean friend.  The outfit pictured here is loosely based on what she was wearing last night when we met her for dinner. I'm not totally unhappy with the look, but I think it could be better. Something is not quite right, and I hope that the something is not that I'm a guy. 

1 hour ago, Thighbootguy said:

I had a pair of sandals similar to those a long time ago and the flapping drove me nuts.  I'll suggest the Red Green solution.

For folks unfamiliar with the Red Green TV show, he had "Handyman's Corner" segment where he would fix anything/everything(broken or not) with the "Handyman's secret weapon" - Duct Tape.

Those sandals do look good on you.

Although your "solution" to the problem is quite humorous, I actually like that sound. In fact, to me, the flap/click, flap/click, flap/click sound that shoes like this produce when walking on a hard surface is one of the happiest sounds on earth! 

And thank you for the compliment!

On 5/14/2017 at 7:58 PM, Cali said:

And If you ever break a nail, get an acrylic nail.

Nah. I don't do acrylics. If my nails break, they break. Part of my secret is moisturizing several times a day and wearing gloves a lot. Besides, I just had to cut my nails anyway. I'm playing bass this Sunday at church. The nails that provide sufficient volume and proper timbre on guitar produce an objectionable clicking sound on electric bass. It's a trick to get just the right compromise. 

I am happy to announce that I am celebrating 5 years of heeling in public! It was on this day (actually, I'm not 100% sure of the actual date, but looking at a 2012 calendar, it logics out to this date) in 2012 that I first went to an event wearing what were obviously shoes with elevated, separate heels on them. An event where people would know me. The shoes I wore were nothing compared to what I wear regularly today, but they were different enough to make me terrified. Still, nobody said a word, and I think most people didn't even notice. I was wearing black leather clogs with a composite bottom and a 3 1/2" chunky heel under long boot cut jeans. 1" platform, so the rise was very modest. Oh, they seemed so high back then!

Today, I wear heels daily, and have over 50 pairs. I really don't like to buy anything lower than 5" these days (with some sort of platform), anything lower just doesn't look right to me. However, I will admit to having bought several pairs of open toed mules that are slightly lower recently. Well, they were just too darn cute, even though they don't technically meet my height requirements. Still, they're all over 4 1/2", close enough. One of my new pair is pictured below, Jessica Simpson mules, 4 5/8" heels.  Please excuse the background--I've had a lot going on inside and outside the garage lately, as many of you are aware. They are the perfect color, and after a few wearings, the fit is amazing! I haven't yet certified them for a full 2 miles yet (my keep/toss rule generally), but I'm sure they'll pass easily. I've walked 1.3 miles in them all at once so far with nothing but delight. I like the unique swirly color on the heels. I like how they flap when you walk, but they don't feel like they're going to fall off your feet. The only thing that would make them any better is if the heel were 1/2" taller, but now I'm just complaining over nothing, right?

Anyway, happy anniversary to me, and good wishes to everyone else out there in the community!

6 hours ago, Cali said:

I'm missing bones in my hand and shoulders now, so working on cars is left for someone else. Besides, why mess up a perfectly good manicure with gel polish, let along a nice pair of heels.

1,500 bucks, that's why! That's a lot of manicures! Some things you can't do in gloves. Still, I didn't break any guitar playing nails, and whatever damage I did can be cleaned up with a nail file and buffer. All is well! I will finish up tomorrow, and have my car back again. 

8 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

When working on a car I have never been able to keep anything clean.  How are you managing to keep those shoes that clean, or was this the before picture?

 

 It was not a particularly dirty job. Just frustrating. 

Day 2, intake manifold replacement. I watched a YouTube video this morning, and the dude, unedited, disassembled everything I need to in less than 20 minutes. I struggled yesterday for 3 hours, and accomplished very little. Today, it is very clear how I should proceed. This should be a piece of cake. 

Which begs the question, why is this a $1500+ repair at a shop? I guess you pay them for what they know, not what they do, same as my trade. Thank you YouTube! I wish I had seen this video yesterday morning, I'd probably be almost done by now. 

With my favorite BCBG wedge thongs, model Sarong. I consider them to be mid-heels, but they're still fun!

14 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

No doubt in my mind.

You son got a good shot of your shoes.

As with any mechanical repair... protect your hands.

10 hours ago, Steve63130 said:

And your eyes!

Good photos!

Steve

Dont worry, fellas! I always wear gloves and safety glasses, and my son does too. I might fall a little short in the foot protection department, however! 

What? Youse don't recognize those legs? 

Workin' on the car. I HATE working on the car, but I can't see paying $1,500 in labor costs, when I'm perfectly qualified to do it myself. If I were a rich man....photos by my 8 year old son, who is a pretty good mechanic already. He still loves it. 

I recently joined Instagram, and by complete chance, I happened to become interested in watching videos of pole dancers (the super athletic competition kind, not the strip club kind). It seems if you click on one type of video, Instagram pushes more of the same at you, so of course, I clicked on more. 

Most of the women who are into serious pole dancing dance barefoot nowadays, which is just fine by me, but many of the athletes also do routines in heels sometimes. What I have noticed is that every single one of them wears shoes with high platforms, at least 2 inches, and sometimes up to 4 inches! Out of idle curiosity, I am wondering why. I can see where high heels would add just that little bit extra to some of these impossibly difficult (to me) routines,  but why the huge platforms? Doesn't anybody dance in sort of normal, streetgoing shoes? Doesn't this just perpetuate the stereotype of pole dancing being for strip clubs? These women show amazing strength, grace, and hard work, no different than gymnastics.

I am wondering if anybody has some insight into this "uniform."

3 hours ago, maninpumps said:

 I have been told by many women my mother included , when you buy heels they are only good for about a year then they go out of style . So, never put to much money into a pair cause you may only wear them a few times .  

That's true, but only if you buy super trendy shoes. Certainly a classic pump or knee high boot will never go out of style. I can't think of any of my shoes that I anticipate not wearing over the next several years. Some I have just gotten tired of, or they've just worn out beyond repair, but nothing in my collection screams "last year!" Or "next year," for that matter!

Yes, it has been a very strange year here also. Just a few days ago, I was wearing a heavy coat to work, at least first thing in the morning. Yesterday, I need no coat at all! We look forward to your next story!

Of course I buy shoes even if I do not need them! I haven't made a recent exact count, but I'm going to guess that a fellow doesn't need 50+ pairs of shoes! I wear almost all of them, too. The few exceptions are too high for me at this time. Workin' on it.

I kind of addressed this question in my personal thread, "The High Heeled Ruminations of Melrose Plant," but did not give the details presented here. The question is, "How high a heel can you wear?" The answer is, not very, compared to some. The steepest rise I can really deal with all day long, without thinking about it, is 4 1/4". I tried a pair two days ago foolishly that had a 4 3/4" rise, and it was not good. They didn't hurt that much, but I did not walk well in them after 2 or 3 hours, due to muscular fatigue.

My favorite style of shoe is open toed mules--well over half of my 50-60 pairs are of this style. However, the question didn't ask this, so I'm going to put down my Nine West Plantera platform loafer style pumps, which largely sat on the shelf for over a year while I worked my way up to them. Today, I can wear them easily wherever I like, for as long as I like. I have two pair, in fact, one black and one tan. So here are the stats:

Style: High cut platform pump (loafer style)

Platform ht.:  1 1/4"

Heel ht.:   5 1/2"

Net rise:  4 1/4"

Shoe size:  US women 8.5-9, Euro 39-40

3 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

Those are nice looking shoes, but your statement is not a ringing endorsement.  Just be glad that your performance was only standing and not part of a marching band.

Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with the shoes, it's just that I can't walk in them for sustained periods of time as gracefully (or as quickly) as I am wont to do in less ambitious shoes. I just don't have the ankle flexibility and endurance to wear these heels for more than an hour or two. 

At the end of the last service, my trumpet case was locked in the choir room, and I had to get our new choir director, who was wearing mid-heeled sandals, to let me in to retrieve it. I felt relatively clumsy walking next to her and her smooth natural gait, especially when we had to go down a long flight of stairs. 

I'll get there eventually, but I just wanted to admit and share that maybe I have gotten a bit too cocky. Lesson learned. At least nothing bad happened. 

I had one of those rare experiences yesterday where I wish I would have worn lower heels. That hardly ever happens. Usually I've worn flats and wish I had worn heels, but in this case, I pushed the envelope a little too much. For some reason, I have the urge to go steeper lately.  Not higher, but steeper. I thought I was happy where I'm at, but suddenly I want to overcome another physical challenge. Right now, the steepest I can comfortably wear for long periods is in the neighborhood of 4.25 - 4.5" heel/toe height difference. This is usually expressed with a 5.5" heel, 1" platform. However, I have a couple of shoes with steeper angles, and I'd like to be able to wear them.

I selected the Vera Wang loafers shown at the bottom, can't  remember the model name at the moment. I love the look of them. Alas, they have a 5.25" heel, and not much of a platform, 1/2" at the most. I can sort of walk in them, if I'm not in a big hurry. Unfortunately for me, my duties at church yesterday lasted for about 5 hours. I was filling in for musicians who are on vacation, so I had to attend 3 different services, standing much of the time. I don't mind telling you that I should have picked different shoes. By the time it was over, I felt super clumsy, and I was ready to get out of those shoes! I need more gradual practice.

On the other hand, I had a similar experience with some giant (to me) platform pumps from Nine West. I couldn't wear them for more than a couple hours before. Now they are about my favorite closed-toe shoe. I can wear them however long I need to now. So I just need to be patient. My goal is to be able to wear 5 inch, no platform easily. On US women size 9.

I feel for ya brother. I haven't had a negative reaction like that for a long time, but I sure do remember when I did. Don't let it get you down. 

3 hours ago, SF said:

It's good to have a shoe buddy !!!!   I like the sandals too....    have fun, sf

BTW Mlroseplant, I was driving thru Iowa last week - heading for MN from Council Bluffs - did not see you, but I was looking !!!!! ha ha take care..

Being as I'm the Des Moines area, I'm not at all surprised that you didn't see me! About 125 miles too far to the west. Catch you next time!

My best friend (strictly platonic for more than 7 years, believe it or don't) and shoe buddy was very impressed with my new Aldo slides last night. This picture disguises the fact that she's 3 sizes smaller than me. Happy 42nd birthday to her tomorrow!

Like @CAT said, construction and heels don't mix, so I couldn't wear heels to work, even were I female. But pretty much every place else. Well, except for Vietnam, but that's another story.

On 4/15/2017 at 10:24 PM, alphax said:

The concept of stretching high heels is new to me.  It seems that it would only work with natural leathers and non patent leathers.  Is that true?

What can you do with synthetic leather shoes and boots?

Do blow driers work on those?

It depends on how much you want to stretch it. Synthetic material will stretch a little bit if you're patient, but not much. It would be a situation like, "These shoes already fit pretty well, but they would be even better with just a tad more room."

Don't know about using a blow dryer.