mlroseplant

4 hours ago, swedeheeler said:

Cowhide boots

Thank you for good advices  I'm actually checking out for those cow hair boots in black and white and ordering a 4 inch heel. If i can get'em as in image 9 they can be subtle as I having a pair bootcut jeans over the shafts. Or am I totally lost?

Should i go for knee high or higher as well? I love wearing tigh high at home

It may be that this thread has taken a left hand turn (changed subjects suddenly). That happens sometimes. I am not sure if this is one of those times. 

I think the boots you are considering are just fine and dandy, but if you're looking for a pair of boots to wear out in public that nobody will notice, these ain't it! 

If you want to be low profile, much as I hate to say it at this time of year, your options are pretty much boots, boots, or boots. You could go with an oxford, but for better or for worse, I think boots are considered more "manly," and you can get away with a much higher heel than you could with any other style without it even registering with people. 

Yes, I can understand TBG's point, but not all of us feel like being noticed, and certainly not all of the time. I don't always have the energy to wear exactly what I want every time I want. I do wear heels every time I go out (with some special exceptions), but much of the time, I still wear the same boot-cut jeans I started with 4 years ago. Only the heels have gotten higher and more feminine.

This past year, I have put more narrowly cut pants and even shorts into the mix, but I find I am definitely noticed more when I wear these, particularly the shorts. I think the pants make more difference than the shoes. As you become more confident in your heels, you can get more daring with showing them off. 

One photo is "stealth mode," and the other is "Look at me, yes I am dressed like a Vietnamese girl going to the movies with her boyfriend, and I like it!"

On May 29, 2016 at 2:37 PM, heelsrus2000 said:

I have to invest in some slides like that, but I fear not tanning my feet properly and having strap lines of lighter skin crisscrossing my feet  

I am "working" on this Memorial Day weekend (U.S. holiday) to prevent this very problem!

On April 29, 2016 at 1:54 AM, freestyle75 said:

@MackyHeels I am a US size 8.5 (men) and I normally wear US size 11 for women. Very few shoes in US size 10 also fit me (sneakers from New Balance and heels from Michael Kors), with some designers (Louboutin) I have to go up to a US 11.5 or even a 12 (women).

So... I would assume that your women's size is a US 12, with very few 11 fitting you and probably some designers where you even would have to go up to a 13. Sorry to say: you are out of luck. I know hardly any designer brand that produces a size 12 or even 13 in their heels.

To add further confusion, I am a pretty solid, reliable size 9 (U.S. Women's) for enclosed shoes or boots. For sandals, I must usually go down to 8.5 U.S. Women's. This translates into 7 or 7.5 U.S. Men's for me. Definitely U.K. 7. This seems to be in contradiction to FS75's size translation experience. But then, I have a relatively narrow foot for a man. That may be the difference. 

I had a somewhat similar experience a few months ago at the church I attend. I grew up in this church, so pretty much everybody there knows me, and has for a long time, in many cases since I was very young. I sing in the church choir. As is the way with so many activities associated with traditional liturgical Christian worship, I am the youngest member of the choir at the moment (I'm 48). I'm at the church twice a week--Wednesdays for choir rehearsal, and Sundays for worship. Four years ago, I nervously showed up at choir rehearsal in heels for the first time. Nobody said anything. Over the past four years, I have evolved from nervously wearing a little bit of a heel under long pants to wearing seriously high heels pretty much all the time, and certainly every time I go to church. And for much of those four years, nobody said anything. Not one word. Occasionally, I would feel like I got looks (even a female would get looks if she showed up to choir rehearsal in skinny jeans and five inch heels), but even those were only fleeting.

Not one word was said until a few months ago, when I sat down at a table with some older ladies during coffee/social time in between services. By "older," I mean in their 80s or even in some cases 90s. Suddenly, but not awkwardly, one of them said something to the effect of, "You know, we are always excited to see what shoes you are wearing this week!" (It's true, I try to rotate, so that I wear the same shoes at most once a month). I reacted in a measured manner, politely allowing them a closer look at my shoes, but inside I was floored. So they do notice! And perhaps anticipate!

You never know, Steve. It may be that people are more excited about you than you think!

I am celebrating my 4th anniversary of heeling in public this week. It's been an interesting journey being a trailblazer. Here is a photo of me, taken by my friend and fellow high heeled shoe addict. I don't often dress quite this radically in public, but my friend likes it!

I had a special opportunity to measure the gradient heel height of a different size of this model, because my friend has the same model shoe I have. On the left is a size 6.5 (hers), and on the right is my size 9. As you can see, there is a significant difference. On the size 6.5, the heel height is 4 7/8 inches, versus 5 1/2 inches on the size 9. Now I can better understand how you size 13 guys are able to wear a 5 inch single sole in relative comfort!

Hello all, I have just purchased some new sandals, Michael Kors Oksana in what they call "luggage," and what I call "tan." Some months ago, I bought an identical pair in black, and I liked them so much, I wanted a pair in tan as well. The retail price for these sandals is well over $100, and I'm not willing to pay anywhere near that, so I usually shop on ebay or some other online outlet to get a deeply discounted price. I picked these up for under $50, shipping included. I usually take size 8.5 in sandals, but all I could find in my price range was a 9. Since I know this brand, I knew that 9 would be fine, and it is.

Here's where the story gets a little bit strange. When the sandals arrived, I noticed immediately that there was something different about them compared to my black pair. It didn't take too much investigation to find out what. The heel height is a full 3/8" (1 cm) higher than the black pair. I have experience with this phenomenon, that is, of heel heights being slightly higher as the size gets bigger, but I've never seen such a drastic difference in 1/2 a size before. I have several other shoes where I bought more than one pair of the same model 1/2 size different, I even have a different Michael Kors sandal model in both 8 1/2 and 9, and the difference in heel height is less than 1/8" between these sizes.

In a way I feel lucky, because the steeper tan heels are way cooler looking, incrementally of course, than their less-inclined black siblings, but the thing is, the difference is enough to noticeably affect the whole feel of the shoe, and it's right at the limit of what I can wear gracefully. I guess I'll have to work on my ankle flexibility some more.

Has anyone else ever seen such a big difference in heel height within the same model of shoe? I am curious.

Oh, I forgot to include important information for those of you who are interested. The height of the taller heels is 5 1/2", and the shorter heels measure a mere 5 1/8". The platforms on both are identical at 1". 

I just inventoried my shoes for the first time in quite a while, and I have 49 pairs, up from 33 pairs a year and a half ago, which was the last time I carefully inventoried my shoes Jeff B style. 

The increase is not simply additive, I have purged about 10 pairs, mainly due to fit issues that I could not resolve. 

The main thing I noticed about my collection is that the average height of my heels has risen slowly but surely, and the number  of stiletto heels in my collection has increased dramatically. Pictured below is my collection. I don't feel it's too many, as I wear them all regularly as the season dictates, save two pairs of sandals, which I feel are too radical, even for me, to wear in public, and one pair of oxfords, which are too high for me to walk in gracefully. I'm workin' on it.

Coincidentally, a good friend of mine played this piece six months ago at her faculty recital. Sometimes, it's easy to take greatness for granted when you're that close to it. One huge difference between my friend and this gal, however (other than my friend being twice the age) is that my friend may be the world's frumpiest dresser, shoes included. 

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

The weather has been nice here of late, good conditions for sandals, something I never thought I'd say just a couple of years ago. I've come to appreciate the appeal of such shoes during spring and summer, and I now love wearing them.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the appeal for you? What made you do a 180? For me, it was my changing attitude toward gender-segregated styles. When I was growing up in the 1980s, you rarely saw men or boys wearing sandals, because they were considered rather feminine. So of course I always secretly wished I could wear sandals. 

Of course, times changed, and men began to wear sandals all summer. It then became an issue of refusing to put something that ugly (99% of men's sandals) on my feet. I am very particular about my feet. Funny, I know. I had to go all the way to Vietnam before I found some men's sandals that were not hideous. That was about 8 years ago. 3 years ago, I bought my first pair of women's sandals, and of course I haven't had a bit of trouble finding awesome looking sandals since. 

I believe, Steve, that if you search your email with me from last summer, I may have provided more information than what I can now. I don't know the model name of these BCBGenerations sandals, but I can almost guarantee that they are not a very current style, as I purchased them on ebay for cheap. I had problems with them being loose, which I fixed with not just one, but two fitting aids. Now they're acceptable. I still don't necessarily like to wear them out (maybe to the grocery store or Wal-Mart), but they're great for home! No problem with the thong irritating between my toes.

I am in heels most of the time on the lower floor of the house (shoes must be removed to go upstairs). However, I don't usually wear shoes that I would go out in. I have a few pairs of "house slippers" which are somewhat lower than I'd normally wear, and most importantly, they're easy to slip on and off. Here is an example of what I'm talking about:

I have only yesterday gotten my feet in good shape for wearing sandals. I have also recently purchased several new pairs. I'm ready!

I have read several responses which essentially say "I don't wear heels in front of my kids." I do not really understand this. Well, unless you started wearing heels when they were teenagers, then in many circumstances I could see it. But for younger children, I'm going on the assumption that the anticipated problem is not the kids themselves, but rather the friends/classmates, and maybe more importantly, the parents of those friends/classmates.

If I may play devil's advocate for a minute, isn't hiding your shoes from your kids a tacit admission that what you're doing is somehow wrong? I can absolutely see not wanting it to get out into the general public in some circumstances, but I don't understand the hiding it from your kids.

I look forward to hearing people's further thoughts on the subject.

I know this is not my thread, but I'm thinking maybe we should redirect our focus about say, one meter lower. So I'll ask this question to you W6ish: Which is it that you find most exciting? The jeans or the shoes? Would you still wear the shoes with easier-to-pull-on jeans? Would you wear the tight jeans with flats? Would the thrill be completely gone if you didn't put yourself in situations where you have to talk yourself into getting out of the car? I'm not trying to be difficult, I'm just truly curious.

4 hours ago, Heelster said:

I can relate completely.

My wife is OK with heels around the house, and even some higher than usual boots in certain areas (not locally) but she doesn't like the idea of me wearing anything unusual, or should I say not typical for a guy locally. My kids are college or older now, and they have seen me in some of my block heeled boots, but no stiletto heels. They don't say much, and it doesn't affect them either. It's usually when we are at their locations/cities and not at our home location.

The local community in general would not be accepting of a guy in heels. We know that. The locals tend to enthusiastically despise the gays that go camping at a local camp ground - - to the point where they have attempted numerous times to get the place shut down. They found ways to eliminate a local school administrator and a teacher when it was discovered they were lesbians.

A married guy wearing skinny jeans and high heeled sandals - - locally - - Oh hell no. We would both most likely lose our jobs sooner or later.

You need to review what may be at stake within your family. What affect it will have on your kids in regards to the community, and how they would react. Our passions may not be worth the price paid by ourselves and those around us.

I can only say I feel very lucky that the people in my community, though some may disapprove of my fashion choices, accept me as I am. Keep the faith, brother.

My experience with MK is limited to sandals, of which I have several pair. They seem to run true to size, but are on the narrow side. It may be that the boots are completely different. 

15 hours ago, petey86 said:

I too have the Clemency boots but in black! Super comfy and great for everyday wear.

I have them in black also, and they're all I've worn to work for about two years. I'm known on the jobsite for having the shiniest boots (they still clean up well). A few people comment on the heel height, but most people simply don't notice.

Both pairs failed in the same way, the sole split across the ball of my foot. This happened to both pairs at about the same time, after about a year and a half of trouble-free service, and I'm sure it has to do with extreme cold and abuse with a shovel. I really should have apprentices do that kind of work, haha. I've attempted repair them with some silicone caulk, and I continue to wear them. I would buy a new pair, but unfortunately our job site now requires steel toed boots. Haven't had any luck finding steel toes with any sort of heel at all, so I guess it's back to regular boots for me!

10 hours ago, BootBoy42 said:

glad to know these can put up with the terrain.

This is what they look like after a couple years in the field. 

1 hour ago, BootBoy42 said:

Thanks all, I also bought these Dr Martens at the time of the black boots yesterday. I've bought a few pairs of boots as of late so my confidence level has gone up with ringing up the purchase. I just got done wearing these for a few hours at a local dice bar. Was a little nervous wearing a brighter than normal boot with a taller than normal heel out. Only my close lady friend commented that the boots were looked awesome. 

Hey! Those are my work boots! Seriously. They have actually stood up to the rigors of a construction site fairly well, so they ought to last you.....well, just about forever. 

Tonight, I decided to push the envelope, and go out to a semi-redneck bar wearing 5 inch stilettos, my recently purchased Aldo booties, mentioned in the "New Boots" forum. The occasion for doing such was that some friends of mine were in the band that was featured there. It was an experience.

At first, it was the same as anywhere else, no one seemed to notice, but as the night wore on, people wanted to talk with me, as the guy who was wearing these impossibly high heeled shoes. Both men and women responded positively to my choice of footwear, but mostly it was the women, who wondered how I could wear such high heels. The defining moment of the night was when one woman commented, "You are so overdressed! (I was wearing a button-down shirt with a blazer and jeans) And those heels! Are you gay?" My buddy (a friend and coworker) piped up, "No, not at all. I know him too well." After that, her interest was piqued, and she and several other women marveled at how I could walk in high heels, and asked me many questions about my choice of footwear.

I felt awkward talking with these women, who all claimed that they couldn't wear heels, but I did the best explaining that I could. Hopefully, I furthered the cause. I certainly know that the cat is out of the bag among my coworkers, and they seem cool with it. I will keep you posted about that.

On March 18, 2016 at 4:57 AM, Puffer said:

Impressive, Melrose!    If you were dressed at the zoo as in the 'striding' pic, with your boots in plain view, you must have been observed, despite your suggestion that 'no one seemed to notice'.   Did you really detect no reaction at all from others?   And what is your father's opinion of your heel-wearing?

Yeah, it was the exact same clothing as in the "striding" picture, so it would seem that someone must have noticed. However, when walking more slowly, as one might do at a zoo, you can see that the pants drop down considerably. It may be that no-one that day cared, or it may be that I didn't care, who knows?

My father has been ok with my choice of footwear from the outset. My mother somewhat less so, but she's also come to accept that it's just the way I am. 

I just got these Chelsea style booties a couple of weeks ago, and they are turning out to be my "go-to" shoes, at least until warmer weather is here to stay. 

The brand is Aldo, model name is unknown. They have a 5 1/4 inch heel with a 7/8 inch platform. The stiletto heel is quite thin, but they are pretty easy to walk in. 

I think Aldo has changed their sizing at some point, because I have another pair of older Aldos in size 40 which are quite snug. These size 40 booties are roomy, allowing me to wear thicker socks. 

I just returned from a visit to Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE. As it is Spring Break for the kids, my father decided to take my two sons there, and at the last minute, I decided to take the day off work and come along as well. I had been waiting for an opportunity to see if I could hack an all-day walking tourist attraction in some serious heels, and it was awesome!

I wore my Simply Vera Wang Velma boots, the same ones I had previously walked 5.3 continuous miles in. There was really no other serious contender for the outing. I did bring my Nike Sky High wedge sneakers just in case I chickened out at the last moment, or in case my feet hurt so badly at the end of the day that I needed something else to wear on the way home. Luckily, neither scenario happened. I decided to go ahead and risk it and wear the boots, being inspired to some degree by the fact that when I had recently visited a Vietnamese theme park, something like their version of Disneyland, at least 5% of the adult female visitors there were wearing some kind of high heel. If they can do it, I can do it. Admittedly, I didn't see anybody wearing shoes quite as ambitious as mine to the park, but I saw several examples of what you could definitely consider "high" heels. 

As it turns out, I was not the only one in heels that day! During the course of our wanderings, I spotted a woman wearing what looked to be about 4 inch, single-soled pumps. Of course, it seems rather unlikely that she was just a zoo visitor like us, because she was dressed in a sort of pantsuit, and was carrying what appeared to be a thick file folder. I felt disinclined to change the whole course of our group to investigate further, though I did point her out to my father, who grunted some form of acknowledgement. 

The facility itself is very professional and impressive. We learned quite a bit during the course of the day as well as having fun. I did not have any mishaps, and in fact, no one seemed to notice I was wearing 5 inch heels to a zoo, which would be unusual enough for a female. If they did (I'm sure somebody did), they kept it discreet. My feet were getting pretty tired by the end of the day, but they weren't screaming at me. The 2 hour drive home was more than sufficient full recovery time, and I walked to church choir rehearsal (in heels, of course) immediately upon arriving back home. No ill effects whatsoever the next day. 

Attached are pictures of the boots and my outfit (if you can call it an "outfit"). I didn't get any pictures of me at the zoo which really show my boots, so I had to do a sort of "selfie" in the driveway when I got home, mainly for the benefit of this online community.  I'm glad I had this adventure, and I also got to spend time with my family as well.