mlroseplant

No desire to wear skirts here, either, even as my shoes become gradually more feminine as the years go by. What I do love, however, is shorts. Short shorts.

I think that perhaps there is a slight misunderstanding of the lawyer's request. My friend is going through a very nasty child custody battle with his ex-wife. My friend's lawyer wants me to testify on his behalf. Right or wrong, the lawyer wants no distractions from the actual evidence. I can understand that. That's why I'm not even hesitating to make sure my choice of footwear does not negatively affect my friend's case. I mean it might, or it might not, you never know. So why take the chance?

I live in a small town. Well, it used to be small, back in the day. Without getting into details, which would be unethical, a local attorney called me the other day, and asked me if I would be a character witness for a certain colleague of mine (not a criminal case). I said sure, and the very next thing the attorney said was, "Please don't wear high heels to the hearing."

Fine. I understand. It makes me sad, but I understand.

I was not wearing heels when I got divorced, but if I had been, it would have been an issue. If I were to get divorced again, shoes would be <5% of the reason.

Back on topic, I rather like kitten heels. I like SF's heeled sandals. I like jet heels (although I never heard the term either until jetheelsfan came along). I like taller stilettos, thicker heels, block heels, tapered heels, stacked heels, clog heels, cuban heels, and (this is scary) I'm starting to like some wedges! Did I say that?

Steve

It sounds as though you are polyamorous. As far as shoes are concerned. Haha.

Tech,

You could have offered a critique without being critical and demeaning. Perhaps saying, ".. I would have dressed up those shoes with...." and describe the outfit would have been more helpful and beneficial, and not as demeaning.

JMHO

BTW, am I blocked now? (just kidding)

Oh no, no, no, no! We need ratings here. If Tech gave an answer such as you suggest, who would ever read this thread?

Thanks for the replies, all. The opinions I state here are not necessarily the views of my sponsor. Just having fun! Maybe more clever thoughts will come to me soon. I wouldn't hold my breath, though.

I don't however quite understand your point about thong sandals. Yes, they often have kitten heels and don't look very appealing. But those with a 'proper' stiletto heel (at least 3") are by no means rare, and they are quite often teamed with a wedge heel of a fair height, again at least 3". Your BCBG wedges are a case in point - and I wish I could find and wear some sandals like those too - a neat style which oought to be unisex!

True, they are not rare, but they are also not that easy to find. It took a fair bit of searching to find my BCBG wedges, and I wear a normal women's size (9 U.S., 7 U.K.).

I hate kitten heels! I'm still trying to figure out what this thread is all about. I don't have any new shoes (or clothes) to show off this week, so a random thought will have to do.

Why do I hate kitten heels so much? What did they ever do to me? I was just corresponding with another member some time ago, and he lamented the fact that it's very difficult to find a mid-heeled thong sandal that does not have a stiletto heel. In other words, a kitten heel. And that's right--most heeled thong sandals have a kitten heel for some reason. Well, there are the giant rubber platformed flip flops that would technically fall into that category, but I am choosing to ignore those for the moment. Actually, forever.

This conversation got me to thinking about kitten heels in general, often touted by the fashion magazines as the Ideal Compromise between real heels and frumpy flats. I'm calling BS on that one. Kitten heels, far from being the Ideal Compromise, are in fact the Worst of Both Worlds. Too short to have much of a visual effect, yet impractical in the way that all stiletto heels are--for example, you still can't walk on the grass with impunity in kitten heels, no matter how short.

I think I've felt this way about kitten heels since I was very young, but the feeling didn't solidify until I was in college. I know, I'm a late bloomer. I remember this girl who never wore heels unless she was in a situation where she was required to dress up. I believe at that time she had exactly one pair of dress shoes, and they were kitten heels. I bet they weren't as much as 2 inches high. She walked terribly in them, wobbling and shaking with every step. I never knew this girl well enough to talk with her about it, but I don't think the shoes were necessarily uncomfortable in a foot-pinching sense, but her choice of "conservative" footwear ruined her whole look and presence. She'd have been much better off with either a higher thin heel, or a broader heel of the same height. Then again, what do I know about presence? Today, she's a successful patent attorney, and I'm slogging around in the mud for a living. She MUST have changed her shoes! That's gotta be it.

Who hates kitten heels? Who misguidedly loves them? We would all love to hear your thoughts, I am sure.

I don't see much wrong with your overall appearance, but then who am I to judge as I would be comfortable in something similar.   What shoes did you wear to the optometrist?   (It occurs to me that he might have thought your eyesight was so bad that you had put your wife's shoes on by mistake!)

I wore these BCBG wedges with skinny jeans and a bright orange close-fitting t-shirt. Sorry, no pictures of the outfit. It's not even an "outfit," really.

I give up... Its as if he is being given these shirts for free by somebody who really doesn't like him....

Those glasses too, have you had the same specs forever? Get some modern smart frames man... Not "pokey old git" frames...

 

Why do so many guys put 99% of their effort into 1% of their "appearance"?

 

Wow, these shoes look great, I'll just wear them with any old crap...

 

Seriously, any shirts you have that are striped like that, bury them, or use them to start a barbecue.

 

Your feet say "Summer" but the rest of you says "Early spring"

NO MORE STRIPES!!!!

Well, you know, you can't please everyone, just 6 out of 7, evidently. This thread has become far more interesting than I had imagined. A few thoughts here: First of all, I want to thank everyone for their input, even Tech. Second, I admit I still struggle with smart casual. Actually, I really like those pants, and I'm not going to get rid of them. I am not sure what to do about my tops/shirts. This will not be the summer where I experiment too much, as I am working 64 hours a week--I just don't have time to go shopping for myself and just try on a bunch of stuff. Third, about the glasses, the timing is quite odd--I just had an eye exam today, and am in the market for some new specs. Three pair, actually. Normal, everyday glasses, safety glasses for work, and sunglasses. Here's the thing: TO A PERSON, everyone I've asked has said to get something very similar to what I have right now, because they are very suitable with my face. And these are not pokey old gits saying this, either. These are mostly young attractive ladies saying this. I am very reluctant to go against this advice, because frankly although the big plastic frames may be in style right now, most people don't look very good in them.

I did get asked today by the optometrist (a man) about my shoes. I felt very comfortable in telling him that I wear them just because I like them. Not the best, most eloquent answer I could have come up with, but an acceptable and truthful one. He then had some questions about why I like them when, according to his wife, they are uncomfortable. I told him that perhaps my desire to wear them comes in part because they are difficult to walk in, and I consider it an athletic challenge to be able to wear heels, and make it seem as easy as flats. He seemed satisfied with that answer, if slightly puzzled.

I have another photo to show, but it's not an evolution of the last photo, as I had originally contemplated. I would reckon that if you didn't like the last one, you probably ain't gonna like this one either. I seized another opportunity to debut another pair of new shoes at church, and another pair of sandals.

First, the shoes: Charles David, model name unknown, 5 1/4 inch heels, 3/4 platforms. They are my one and only pair of slingbacks. Surprisingly comfortable. However, the manufacturer seems to have chinced out on the quality of the soles, probably figuring that nobody would ever actually walk any distance in them. The soles are ridiculously thin leather, and will probably not last another 5 miles. I will have to visit the cobbler soon. The heel tips are actually faring better than the soles, believe it or not. The pants are women's Faded Glory (Walmart brand) bootcut chinos. The shirt is a men's button down, some Vietnamese export brand, probably purchased in Vietnam, where they make men's clothes that actually fit me.

As usual, nobody really reacted to my outfit. I thought that a couple of teenaged girls were giggling at me at one point, but after several minutes of careful but discreet observation, I don't think so. Phones were out, but they never pointed my direction at all, not even for a second. If they did notice me, I guess I wasn't that interesting. The old folks have long ago quit reacting in any overt way. Many of these people have known me for 40+ years, and they're way more interested in other things than what I'm wearing.

I do still find it almost awkward being so tall. I've never suffered from Short Man's Syndrome, and it seems kind of unnatural to me to look waaaaay down to the 5-foot-nothing old ladies. Here are the photos:

On edit: I have my 6 year old son take my photos, and he does a reasonably good job, but somehow the photo quality suffers between my phone and uploading it to this site. I wonder why?

It just so happens that I have a pair of black pants which are pretty much identical to the gray pants I am wearing in the photo. I'm also sure I have a solid color polo hanging around somewhere. Perhaps I'll try another photo sometime, and we'll see how it looks.

The reason I chose the gray pants (other than the fact that they were already ironed and the black ones weren't) is that I was going for a sort of monochromatic look. Evidently, some like it all right, and some don't. No biggie.

Thanks, Steve. Your comments carry a great deal of weight with me, because I know they are sincere.

In other news, I made a video of myself this morning, walking in heels. When I first started wearing high heels in public, some three years ago, I used to film myself quite a bit, in order to see what I really looked like. These videos turned out to be quite useful for adjusting the way in which I walked, which at first was quite awful.

I haven't taken a video of myself in a couple of years, but this morning, instead of doing my back exercises (I've suffered from work related back pain in the past), I made a video of myself walking in the garage. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I am WAY better at walking in heels than I imagined. I have studied many videos of women walking, as well as a couple of men, and I know what I like, and what I don't.

I am unfortunately handicapped with bowlegs, but I have largely learned over the past three years to compensate for it. I prefer an athletic walk, with longer strides than many take in heels. I need to get from Point A to Point B in a reasonable amount of time. Ideally, I would like to have the heel of my trailing foot come off the ground before the heel of my leading foot hits the ground. I am not quite there yet, but I am very close. I am probably over-analyzing, but that is in my nature.

Overall, I am pleased with what I see, and I will likely continue to wear pants that show off my heels more often.

I tried something new this morning. After chickening out last week at Bike Night, I wanted to try a little bit of a different look to regain my confidence. I usually wear a suit and tie to church (with heels, of course), but during the summer months, I often dress a bit more casually, as does almost everyone.

What made today different was 1), I went for a monochromatic look, complete with shoes I never thought I could wear in public, and 2), I wore straight-cut pants hemmed just below the ankle, so that the entire shoe was visible at all times. Not quite "skinny" cut, but definitely not a boot cut. I received no comment whatever, but it's not so much different from what I usually wear, so that's not a big surprise.

The sandals are Ralph Lauren "Safara." They have a 4 1/2 inch heel with a 1 inch platform. They are very easy to wear all day, anywhere. I have another pair of Safaras in tan that I've worn just about everywhere. I didn't think I could wear the natural snakeskin print, but they really seemed to go with this outfit.

I welcome your comments and criticism about this outfit.

I have bought a couple of new pairs of sandals, one pair because they were just really hot, and the other pair for practicality.

The first pair are Charles David, model unknown. They have a full 5 inch heel, and a 5/8" platform. This is the only pair of slingbacks that I own, or will probably ever own. They were just so nice looking, I couldn't resist them. The only problem I've had is that they're size 8, and I really needed an 8 1/2. Steve helped me solve this problem by suggesting that I soak them in water while wearing them. That seemed to do the trick, and the straps stretched enough to be comfortable, and luckily, there is no "overhang" on either end. I just love these sandals. They are nice and high, and the curvature of the heel is just what I like.

The second pair I bought because this is the season for outdoor barbecues, and I wanted a pair of wedgies so that my heels would not sink into the soft earth. We've had quite a bit of rain here this summer. They are BCBGenerations. Again, I don't know the model name. I'm not a big fan of wedgies, but these looked very cute in the pictures, and they did not disappoint. The downside is that they're not real leather, and they're a bit heavy. Still, they're easy to walk in, and they're much better on the grass than my other pair of wedgies, which are higher, and have a much thicker platform. The heel on these is right at 4 inches, with a 1/2" platform. A little on the low side for me, but I still love them, and they serve their intended purpose. I've worn them a lot already.

I completely agree with Steve and jdmonto. It's your choice, not mine. We all have different tastes. It's what makes life interesting!

I am not sure exactly what you mean by "meanings," but if you want my opinion, I am happy to give it. Don't take this personally--people like what they like, and that's perfectly ok--but I hate them. To me, it looks like someone took a perfectly good work boot, and stuck a whole bunch of building material underneath it. From the side view, it gives the illusion of a very short, thick foot. Not very attractive.

Take this opinion with a grain of salt. I tend to dislike wedgies in general (even though my latest purchase was a pair of wedgie sandals), and I don't like platforms that huge. So, given that, it's difficult for me to like these boots. However, if you have actually "fallen in love" with them, however misguidedly, haha, by all means buy them! Wear them! Love them! That's what it's all about.

I hate to admit it, but I chickened out last night. Once a month, there is a fairly sizable motorcycle rally in our town. A male friend and I decided to go on the spur of the moment, to drink some beer and see the sights.

I had been working all day outside in oppressive heat, and I decided I didn't have the energy to be the recipient of any unwanted attention, so I chose my leather flip flops instead of heels. The flip flops are thin strapped and thin soled, and are slightly girly anyway. Paired with skinny jeans and a deep royal purple t-shirt, I was not exactly "normal" for that lot, but I didn't get any stares that I noticed. Of course, I was walking around with a big muscle bound guy wearing a tank top with pink flamingos on it, so that's to be expected. He got all the attention.

I did notice that I really don't feel all that comfortable in flats any more, and I kind of wish I had worn heels after all, but oh well. There were quite a few gals in heels out there to look at. Some of them even looked tasteful. Not all, however. Consider the venue.

How ironic. Now that I've started my own thread, I find myself unable to post much, due to working an insane number of hours, which also means little time for wearing heels.

I can tell you that all of the new, higher heels I've bought recently feel very awkward after just a few weeks of not being able to wear them a lot. I still feel very comfortable in shoes with a rise of 4 inches or less, but my newer shoes, which are steeper than that, well, I'll have to start over again with them when I get time. Two steps forward and three steps back.

I attended a 4th of July picnic (American Independence Day) this evening. The host was one of my union brothers, an electrician who is not working with me currently, and whom I haven't really seen in a number of years. I decided to wear skinny jeans with a men's polo shirt and my Söfft Belicia sandals with a 3 3/4 inch thicker heel. Maybe some would call it a block heel. Very little platform on these shoes. It's basically like really thick padding.

This was a blue collar, working class party, so I was a little nervous about how I would be received. My host, whom I had roomed with when we were on the road several years ago, asked immediately about my shoes, and I replied in a joking manner. It was ok after that. My host's wife mentioned that she has a pair of sandals almost exactly like the ones I was wearing. She kind of fished around in her questioning to see if I were a cross dresser, but I told her that what she saw there was pretty much as far as it went, except that the heels I'd chosen were pretty low for me. She looked at my wife and said, "Those are low? Is that right?" My wife nodded and said, "Yaaa, that's right." Nothing more was said for the remainder of the evening, except for a little girl about 8 years old came up to me and told me that she liked my shoes.

Speaking of being pretty low, I'm glad that I did not choose higher or thinner heels to wear, because I wound up playing baseball. Luckily, the ground was hard enough to where it didn't slow me down too much. However, I'm considering the purchase of a pair of low-ish wedges just for an occasion like this. I already own 2 pairs of wedges, but they are pretty high and platform-y and really girly and not all that stable on uneven ground and. . . well, I just didn't want to wear them.

Here are a couple of pictures, one of the shoes, and the other of me playing catcher.

Hi Preston, wow, you're not messing around about this heel thing! Those are some pretty ambitious shoes! I guess my question is, what type of image do you wish to project? I'm not one to criticize another person's style too much, but to me, these look like enormous bricks strapped to the model's admittedly rather attractive feet.

I am only vaguely aware of your situation, but perhaps it would be wise to go with something slightly less radical. Also, maybe you're a natural, but it's taken me three years and literally hundreds of miles and hours of wearing lower heels to be able to function normally in heels that high. Will you be able to walk in them? If so, I tip my hat to you.

As far as expanding your collection, I say go for it, if you've got the discretionary income, which you seem to have. You might do a search for Sbicca shoes on Amazon. They have some nice wedges which are not that expensive, if you find a model that is not current. Plus, they are real leather (or textile in some cases), they're durable, and they're made in the USA. They're very comfortable, also. In any case, good luck to you in your search.

I have had the same experience, but in my case, I think my feet have actually gotten smaller in some way, though probably not shorter.

One of the things that was pretty cool about being married to my ex-wife was that we could share shoes. Ok, actually it wasn't that cool because it was basically one way sharing--she would never allow me to wear her heels, but on the other hand, she got me wearing clogs, having spent some time in Sweden, so clogs were ok with her. Later, after we got divorced, this led to mid-heeled clogs, and later unquestionably feminine high-heeled clogs, and then to where I am today. So I guess I can sort of thank her for something--having biggish feet!

ANYWAY, back on point, I always thought I was a 9 1/2, just like my ex-wife. So that's what I bought at first. 9 1/2 worked for a while, but there was always something a little bit funny about them. They were perfect in the toes, but almost always loose around the heel. I figured I just had narrow heels, and could never wear a slip-on shoe, such as a pump. Even with those heel gripper things, I could not make it work. So I tried size 9 instead.

The first pair of size 9 I bought were a kind of loafer style pump, with enormous heels, and only slightly less enormous platforms. I could barely squeeze into them, and no matter what I tried, I could not make them stretch out enough to be at all comfortable. So, I went back to 9 1/2, but only bought lace-up Oxford styles or boots to solve my heel slippage problem.

As an aside, I am only talking about full coverage shoes or boots. Sandal fitment is a whole different ball of wax!

So I went on somewhat unhappily with 9 1/2, until one day I found some very plain, cap toe oxfords on eBay, which is exactly what I had been looking for to wear with my men's suits (I was not a full-time public heeler at the time). These oxfords had 4 1/4 inch stiletto heels with no platform. I always wanted to see if I could be comfortable wearing stilettos. These shoes were so plain looking and conservative other than the heels, I just had to have them! Size 40. Perfect! Except for one thing--they were Aldos. I did not know at the time that older Aldos run quite small. I could barely cram my foot into my new (to me) shoes. And once I did get them on, oh, they were SO high! Significantly steeper than anything I had worn before. I could walk about half a mile in them, maybe, before I needed to rest. I was afraid that I had made a mistake buying them, but they didn't actually hurt my feet, as in give me blisters or squashed toes or anything. They were just a bitch to get on and off. Especially on. So I didn't give up on them, I just kept wearing them occasionally in the house, very occasionally venturing outside to practice late at night. Eventually, it was easier to get them on, and eventually they passed my 2 mile walking test. After that, I wore them to church, and they are a staple shoe for me. I will be sad when they eventually become unrepairable.

The point of this whole very much longer than I intended story is that after I mastered the Aldos, that's when I started realizing I am size 9, not 9 1/2. I mean, taking into account variations in sizing. Of course, I don't wear a 9 in everything. But, my feet are in fact smaller than I thought. I proved this when I was looking at a pair of Tahari oxfords in patent leather (to wear with my orchestra performing tuxedo). Am I size 9 now or not? I was feeding my ex-wife's cats while she was out of town for a week on business (we still get along just fine when we don't have to live with each other), and I spied a brand new pair of shoes in the shoe cabinet near the front door when I came in. Hmmmm, what has she bought? Ahhhhhh, some Tahari pumps. Size 9 1/2. Help me out here, K, I need to see if I'm a 9 now. Suuuure, Melrose! No problem! Try these on to see if they fit! With a somewhat guilty conscience, I did try them on and walked a few steps. Yep, just a little bit too big. Thank you K, you've been a big help. I promise I'll never do this again without telling you first. Which means I'll never do it again. I won my Tahari patent leather oxfords on EBay, and size 9 fit perfectly.

Size 9 is now reasonably reliable for me in shoes. So how did I go from a size 9 1/2 to a 9? It seems impossible that my foot has actually gotten smaller. I have a theory. I think it's my toes that have gotten more flexible. I think I've always been size 9, but when I got into the higher/steeper heels, my toes weren't flexible enough to accommodate the bend in the shoes, so I thought I needed a bigger size. Now they are. I also can now wear slip-on type shoes without walking out of them. Plus, I'm much happier being a size 9, because everything you ever wanted comes in size 9. Not so much true with 9 1/2.

It seems that indeed some shoes weren't made for walking. I have several pairs of shoes which have not held up very well under the rigors of actual walking, and none of them are terribly cheap shoes. All of them are shoes which most people (ok, most women) would not consider walking 3 or 4 blocks in, much less miles. I guess the manufacturers never figured anyone could actually wear them like normal shoes.

They appear to have survived. I took a couple mile walk in them last night, and they're fine. If they stretched out at all, it wasn't very much.