mlroseplant

Oh, wow. This is a subject I've considered at length. While I would never wear bell-bottoms, I have about six pairs of jeans cut at various lengths (thanks to Mom) for various heel heights. I would like tighter, more close-fitting jeans, however, and I may have to take pumpcat's advice and try girls' jeans to see if they fit me better. Oh, and I can't stand my pants dragging the ground. In fact, that's one of my lines. "Well, the reason I wear heels is because I can't find pants that fit me right, because my legs are so short. These were the only shoes I could find to fix this problem." One of my Vietnamese friends took me seriously. She is a seamstress. She told me, with a quite serious face, "anh James, I can help you fix your pants so you don't have to wear the high heel anymore." HA!

For a tux, it's not even a question. You've got to go with the patent leather. Suede with a tux? Are you serious?

Unbelievably, it happened again today. I was with my almost 4 year old son in a home improvement store. I was wearing my black patent leather oxfords (my favorite shoes at the moment), and a Mexican lady yelled at me across the way, "Hey, I love your heels!" I nearly blushed, and answered, "Thanks! Thank you very much!" Smiles all around. I could get used to this.

I crossed another, different sort of boundary today. Now, I can truly empathize with the ladies. I went to the mall with my family, wore my Nine West oxfords with 4 3/4" heels. We did a lot more walking than I anticipated. Wished I had chosen a less ambitious heel height. I guess I need to do some more training. At least I looked fabulous. Winked at a cute girl whose eyes dropped down to my feet as I walked by.

I guess I just crossed another boundary. I wore heels to church with a suit and tie. I'm hymn leader, so I'm front and center. Nothing was said, and I felt very comfortable.

It is the same the world over. My wife is from Vietnam, and I have spent a lot of time there. The Vietnamese girls look fabulous (and most of the city girls wear heels every day), and the boys look like crap. It's exactly the same as all the prom/homecoming pictures I see from my relatives here in the USA. The girls look great, and the boys look like crap. Well, I shouldn't speak too loudly. Until I started wearing heels, I looked like crap most of the time also. But how can you wear heels with pride and look like crap? I think it's the one reason my wife accepts my heel wearing. She likes me to be "overdressed," and I refuse to wear heels with dirty jeans and an ill-fitting t-shirt.

I've been wearing heels publicly for about 6 months, and in that time, exactly one person has said anything to me or even appeared to notice. The one person who has said anything to me at all is a foreign-exchange college student from Malaysia who plays violin in the community orchestra I play in, and who is half my age. That all changed today. I went to Kohl's (a discount department store in the U.S.) to return 2 pairs of skinny jeans that just weren't going to work out--another subject I won't comment on at this time). I was enjoying myself, clicking around the store in my 4.75" (12cm) Nine West oxfords, when I came upon the shoe department (uh, oh, there goes all the money I just got back from returning the jeans). I tried on several pairs of boots, since I don't have any heeled boots yet, and I found a pair that I liked, pictured below. When I went to the front to pay for them, the clerk saw me coming, and asked me if they fit. She was looking at the Nine West oxfords I had worn into the store. I opened the shoebox, showing the boots I intended to purchase, and said that yes, they fit. She looked at me in confusion. I told her that the shoes I had on my feet were already mine, and that I wanted to buy some boots because of the depth of the snow outside. She replied, "Do you wear heels all the time? We don't often see gentlemen wearing heels." I said, "Not often? I'll bet I'm the only one." She sheepishly admitted that yes, I was the first heel-wearing guy she had encountered who was not in drag. She rung me up, and overall, it was a pleasant experience. Never thought of myself as a trailblazer. Next stop was the mall to go to the Apple store to rectify some promblems with my iphone. As I was approaching the entrance of the mall, a woman was outside having a quick ciggy before opening the jewery store where she worked. As I approached, she looked at me and my new ankle boots and said, "How can you even possibly walk in those?" I smiled broadly and replied, "Lots and lots of practice." She said, "I could NEVER walk in those." Curious, I engaged her with, "Really? I mean, I've had to practice a lot (which is true). I'm sure you could walk in these shoes if you wanted to." "No way! Look how skinny those heels are! I've got to have heels about this thick." She put her thumb and index finger about an inch an a half apart. My new boots have a 5 inch heel about 1/2 an inch thick. Not quite a stiletto, but close. I stopped and had a coversation with her for a few minutes. We talked about other things, like how hard it is to stop smoking (I stopped a little over 3 years ago), but mostly we talked about my wearing heels. It was her opinion that it's quite acceptable nowadays for men to wear heels, she'd just never seen it before. Then her co-worker approached, and she called out, "Hey, look at this guy's shoes! You'll never believe it!" The co-worker said that wow, those were really cute, and asked me to pull up my pantleg so that she could see. She asked me where I got them. I told her, and she commented that they were really cute again. Then it was time for them to open the store, so we said goodbye. I went about my business, and got my problem resolved. During my stroll through the mall, I felt some eyes upon me. I don't know if it's because I wore jeans which were intended for much shorter heels (I had intended to wear much shorter heels when I chose my pants), or whether it was because of the thinness of the heels, or none of the above, but this is the first day that I really felt like people were looking at me. I only wish I felt like I was gliding better today. And at least I didn't slip on the ice and fall on my backside. Phew! I know someday that some jackass is going to make some rude comment to me, but for today, all of you can be happy that even here in relative hicktown Iowa, people are ready to accept men in heels. Really big ones.

Haha, I was faced with that very same thought today while buying my very first pair of heeled boots. I tried on 3 different pairs of knee high boots thinking that I'd really like to wear them on the outside of jeans, but then thinking, "Nah, I ain't ready for that yet." I really love that look on women, though. I ultimately wound up purchasing ankle boots. I am very happy with my purchase.

I've had quite a bit of opportunity to walk on snow and/or ice as of late, as we got a foot of wet, heavy snow here a week and a half ago. I can say that the trickiest part is when you come out of the snow, and into a store with an asphalt tile floor. Or walking into your garage with a smooth concrete surface. Watch out! You will wind up on your backside before you even know what is happening. I'm not embarrassed to wear heels in public, but I think I might well die of embarrassment if I fell down while wearing heels. After all, that's the first thing one does in such a situation, right? To look around to see if anyone saw? HA! I really jinxed myself, I think. Just after I wrote the last reply, I walked into a Kohl's, and just as soon as I hit the polished tile, I darn near landed on my backside. I had to back up and do a second wipe of the feet on the entrance mat. I really jinxed myself, I think. Just after I wrote the last reply, I walked into a Kohl's, and just as soon as I hit the polished tile, I darn near landed on my backside. I had to back up and do a second wipe of the feet on the entrance mat.

I realize this thread is pretty old, but I feel I must comment because of my own experience. My oldest son, who is now 13 (gasp, when did that happen?), loved to wear very girly clothes when he was little. My mom, who was by profession a theater costume designer, made him a very flashy red sequined skirt, and bought him silver sequined ballet slippers. He loved to wear this outfit, and did so often. His mother (now, unfortunately, my ex-wife), approved of his choice of clothing, but my dad hated it, though he tolerated it. I remember he often fussed at my mom for making those clothes. This went on for long enough that Mom made more "girly" clothes for my son in bigger sizes, because he grew. Eventually, as my son entered elementary school, he decided on his own accord to give up the skirts and the sequins, and is today my harshest critic about my choice to wear heels. So, you just never know. Why traumatize kids over silly things? They are what they are. I am proud to say that my teenaged son is one of the kindest, most empathetic kids I know (even if he thinks his Old Man is a nutter).

I just received a sort of compliment from my wife today. We went out Christmas shopping, and I wore my new Nine West oxfords with a 4.75" heel. After we got back home, she actually admitted that she didn't think she could hack wearing such high heels on such an excursion (she was wearing 3 inch heels). She is not thrilled with my heel wearing, but she accepts it, and I actually caught her trying on my heels when she thought I wasn't looking. Unfortunately, I'm about a size and a half bigger than her, so we can't share. Don't know what to think about that. I'll hope for a positive spin on it.

On the left, my two pairs of Sofft Avianos (my start in public heeling). 3.5 inch heel with platform. Got them in black and brown, and I wouldn't hesitate to visit Disney World in these shoes. They are so comfortable. I have worn the heels out on both these pairs, and need to visit the cobbler. Next, we have the Sofft Willa. It's a shootie, 3.5 inch heel without platform. I had a period of adjustment getting used to these. They're not that high, but for some reason, I didn't take to them naturally. I put in gel pads under the ball of the foot, and also heel liners. With practice and conditioning, I can wear them well now. I love the look of them. Not too feminine, but still pretty high. One slot further to the right, we have the Eurosofft Sacha. Eurorsofft is the lower level brand of Sofft. These shoes haven't got quite the quality of the regular Sofft brand, but they're pretty nice. I bought them in 9.5 women's US size. In retrospect, I should have bought size 9. I use ball-of-foot padding, plus I stuff Kleenex or something else into the toe of the shoe to make it fit right. With these modifications, I can wear this shoe just about anywhere. Not quite as comfortable as the Avianos, but close, and makes a much nicer clacking sound. The next pair to the right are Sbicco Huttons in dark brown. These are a clog type shoe with a 4.5 inch heel. I have yet to wear these out. No, I'm a liar, actually I wore these to a rehearsal with my church choir director one Friday afternoon. These are made in the USA, but they are not really high quality. Also, they are silent when you walk. I don't really like that so much. I like to make a little noise when I walk. Next are the Nine West Oxfords I just purchased last week. They have a 4.75" heel with a .75" platform. They are patent leather and quite flashy. I've become enamoured of these heels, and have worn them quite a bit in the last few days. Last, on the far right, we have the Calvin Klein Briah. Don't know whether to call it a pump or a "shootie," but they are the highest heels I own, at 5. 25". Maybe I should have gotten a size bigger than the 9 I got, but I've managed to stretch it with a ziplock bag filled with water and a freezer, and now they don't make my toes go all numb. Love the height, but the Nine West oxfords are so much more attractive and impressive. Happy heeling, everyone!

I've already crossed some boundaries that I didn't think I'd cross, and one of them is wearing some 5 inch heels with a pretty thin heel (but certainly not a stiletto). A month ago, I could not have imagined wearing such shoes out. It would be very difficult for an ordinary person off the street to find these very masculine, but maybe I'm going a little nuts right now, since I've gotten either no reaction or positive reaction so far to my choice of footwear. For right now, I really can't imagine wearing high heeled sandals. I prefer going barefoot in the summer. Maybe that's why people don't say much about my heels. I'm already an oddity with the bare feet. Maybe they just figure, "Hey, that's just James." My line that will never be crossed? Wearing short shorts with Candie's type mules. Would love to do it. Ain't never gonna happen. Ever. I don't want people to look at me at say, "Ewwwwww!" LOL

Pumpcat and ilikekicks, I'm a former skinny like you guys, and I want to get back there again. Ever since I married a Vietnamese gal, I've gotten a bit of a belly on me (I really shouldn't blame my wife, it's probably just age and laziness). I have the same problem as you: I cannot find clothes (or shoes) that fit me in the men's section. Luckily, my mom is an expert seamstress, so I can deal with most things. Mom has learned to deal with my choice of footwear, hehe. Sorry to drag this thread a bit off topic. I will reiterate that I would love to be able to wear tiny shorts in the summer. Ain't gonna happen. Haha.

My evidence is merely anecdotal, and therefore has no real scientific value, but I cannot deny the evidence in my own life. I started heeling publicly about 6 months ago. OK, I started wearing heels at all about six months ago. I'd flirted with the idea since I was a teenager, but I couldn't come to grips with my desire to wear heels until this year. Now that I have, I've found that my health and fitness have improved markedly. I'm not that much lighter, but I am thinner. I'm more fit than I used to be. I find myself doing weird things like taking a parking spot much further away from the store just to be able to walk that extra little bit further in heels. Am I the only one? Does anyone else like walking in heels so much that they actually go out of their way to be able to walk further than necessary?

@ dbert: http://www.amazon.co...p/dp/B0083RX8DS

I'm actually seriously considering ordering them in flat black also. I absolute love these shoes! I would encourage you to order them if you like the look.

By the way, I don't know what size they measured the heels on, but on my size 9s, the heel is 4 3/4 inches, not 4 1/4 inches like the information says. I am really happy about that. I showed them to my sister this evening, and said, "Aren't these the hugest heels you've ever seen in your life?" She wondered how I could walk in them, but it's really not a big problem with practice and experience. These shoes really don't hurt your feet if you're used to heels.

I wore them with light colored jeans, which I had my mom hem to my exact desired length (I thank my mom for many things, the least of which is her acceptance of my heel-wearing). In the winter, I usually wear a dress (collared) shirt. In the future, I might also wear a jacket, since I have many to choose from. I don't have a really good fashion sense, so I'm still experimenting. My wife doesn't really love my heel-wearing, but I think she does like the fact that now I make an extra effort to look good compared to the past. I am not yet ready to wear my heels with my suit and tie that I normally wear to chruch. I do wear heels to choir rehearsal on Wednesday nights, and have received no comments as of yet. I would totally love to wear these patent leather oxfords to church someday, but I am the songleader, and front and center. We'll wait and see. My church family is an accepting bunch. They haven't ex-communicated me yet, haha.

I've only been wearing heels publicly for half a year, but yeah, my tendency is to go to a stiletto. I'm not at all there yet, as I don't think I look good in stilettos. I have bought some thinner heels recently, but nothing that you could call a stiletto. Other than shoes, I don't have a desire to wear anything "feminine." I do have a desire to look good, though. ^^

Name: James Age: 44 Gender: Male Location: Iowa, USA Occupation: Industrial Electrician (among other things) Height: 5'6" (167 cm) Weight: 150 lbs, 68 kg, 10 stone, 10 lbs. (would like to be an even 10 stone) Shoe size: US women's 9, Euro 39 (or so) What's your favourite heel style: stiletto, though as a man, I don't wear stilettos What's your favourite shoe style: Mules Do you wear your heels outside: Yes, daily. What is: (a) Your favourite heel height: 5 inch. ( Your highest heel height: 5.25 inches How often do you wear: (a) Your favourite heel height: Not often. I mostly wear 3.5 inch heels outside. ( Your highest heel height: Too soon to tell. I just got my super-tall heels. I don't yet know how often I'll wear them out. Do you wear socks, hose, stockings or bare feet with your shoes: I would prefer to wear everything barefoot. However, as a practical matter, I'm wearing the shooties with thin socks. The mules I wear barefoot. Anything else you wish to add: I've loved high heels from a very young age, and love to see women wear heels. It's been only this year that I've decided I'm going to wear them myself publicly. Maybe someday I'll wear stilettos, but I don't think they look good on me. I'm short, but very masculine. I also love going barefoot, and I'm a barefoot runner. A man of extremes?

I just got these Nine West oxfords via Amazon. They are the hugest heels I've ever worn in my life. They measure every bit of 4.75 inches, or 12 cm. As luck would have it, the very day they came to my house, we had a really bad snowstorm, and I wasn't able to try them out outside of the house for several days. It's still very sloppy out, but I decided to wear them to the mall to go Christmas shopping. I brought my 3.5 inch "comfort" heels as a backup, just in case. I didn't need them. I came away from the excursion with no blisters and only a wonderful achy, tired feeling in my feet when I got back home. I'm seriously considering getting these same shoes in flat, plain black in addition to the patent. It's funny, I'm pretty comfortable wearing heels in public, but I'm not ready to choose a color other than black or very dark brown.

Yeah, I guess that just means I need some boots, doesn't it?

--at least in heels. We just got a foot of snow, and I don't want to ruin my shoes. Bummer! I did make it to Wal-Mart in heels last night. I didn't buy anything, but I did a few laps around the store. It's not the same.

Several of my Vietnamese FB friends seem to be into cosplay. They generally post attractive pictures. Some of them even wear heels! Vietnamese girls tend to wear heels more than American girls anyway.

All my heels except one pair are mules. I wear them barefoot, always. The one pair of shooties that I have, I wear with very thin dress socks.

Ha! Thanks guys! I really appreciate the support. However, I have fooled you also (completely unintentional). They are actually mules, which I love. All my heels are mules except for one pair. The first place I wore this particular pair out was to church choir rehearsal. My friend complimented me on my "cool boots," until I pulled up my pantleg to show her their true nature. Then she thought they were crap. No! Just kidding. They really do look like boots, don't they? Now that I am much more comfortable wearing heels out, I may have to have at least one pair of jeans hemmed a little shorter.