mlroseplant

Although I've had a fascination with heels since childhood, I did not actually start wearing heels for real until age 44, in 2012. I started with clogs before that, but the first time I wore shoes with an obviously elevated heel was in May of 2012. They were also clogs, but with about a three inch heel. I stuck with clogs for quite a long time before I tried some other styles, and today I will wear just about anything that I find attractive.

Yes Taylor Swift DOES wear high heels for shows all the time. Hasn't seemed to make any difference with young girls adopting heels. Many of my younger relatives are Swifties, so I know a little something about her. Although she writes a good deal of her own material, much of it is.  .  . less than awesome, especially by the time the arrangers and producers get hold of it. Not to put too fine a point on it, I've always thought she was kind of a hack, and that's even before she switched from country to pop. I tried to like her music, I really did. Some of it from 10 years ago wasn't all that bad.

Yeah, it's a little strange, because it doesn't really hurt, per se, it's just a little achy when I walk in high heels for more than a mile, and it's a little funny when I'm walking uphill in flats (such as mowing a hilly lawn). I'm just worried about it actually causing me a problem if I'm not careful with it. I do and have done calf/tendon stretches every day (among other foot/ankle exercises), but lately I need to do them gingerly on the right side.

This week is the week of non-mules sandals, it would seem. My choice of the Söfft Ivory sandals this week is partially because they are among the lower shoes I have, and I'm trying to take it easy lately, so as not to injure myself. As I said elsewhere, my Achilles tendon is bothering me a bit, and I think it's because I overdid it on the heel training a couple of weeks ago, and then I overdid it on the walking the last two weeks of August, trying to catch up and make my monthly goal. Which I somehow managed to do, but that was not smart.

Back to the original question, but in a completely different way, "Does height matter?" Yeah, I guess it does, because I have done the unthinkable to myself now. I have injured myself, and I'm having to take it easy for a while. I think I know how this happened, but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is that I made it worse by pounding the pavement incessantly for the past two weeks, trying to make up for my laziness in the first two weeks of August.

I have overtaxed my Achilles tendon in some way, and I can tell that for me, there is a HUGE difference between a three inch heel and a four inch heel. Actually, there is a pretty big difference between a three-and-a-half inch heel and a four. It's not that I can't wear a four inch heel at the moment, but it seems inadvisable to do so. Hopefully taking it easy for a week or so will solve the problem. I hate to even entertain the idea of giving up high heels altogether.

If we could but make heel wearing into a challenge, a sporting event of some sort, I bet it would come back pretty quickly.

I get the fact that heels are not as popular as they once were, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that women aren't expected or required to wear heels anymore. This, coupled with the fact that everyone, and I mean everyone, even those who supposedly love and live in heels, sets people up with the caveat, "Well, you just have to push through the pain. It's the cost of beauty." Even the author of this article said that, despite her professed fondness for heels, her feet and ankles were messed up from years of wearing heels at the law firm. My first question is, "Why did you let this happen?" There is no need for any of that. We know this. Why doesn't anybody else know it?

I work with three guys who are at least semi-serious runners. I think all of them have done at least one marathon, and they do shorter long races on a regular basis. Get all three of them together, and the talk soon turns to this running shoe vs. that running shoe, what do you use for heart monitor/GPS, etc., etc. The reason I bring this up is because somehow they got talking about leg shaving one day. Evidently, some runners shave their legs. All three of them think it's ridiculous. One of the guys said, "C'mon, you're not a swimmer! You can't tell me that a little bit of hair is going to create that much drag at speeds we can run."

Then they got into talking about how some guys will show up at a race with  stubble on their legs, like they forgot to shave for a few days. I, not being a part of that conversation at all, quipped dryly, "Yeah, I hate it when that happens." They laughed, but had no idea why I thought that was a humorous thing to say. Don't get me wrong, even though this particular group of guys doesn't know me outside of work, I never got the impression that they were ridiculing a guy for shaving his legs. They were ridiculing any perceived performance gains, much like Shyheels feels about guys who remove decals off their bicycles.

In order to tie this all back together, I'll repeat what I said before--It's perfectly acceptable for any guy to wear tall boots if there's some perceived practical reason for it. I think we got off into this leg shaving business because the attitude is pretty much the same. Of course, it's all ridiculous and subjective. Why do body builders shave pretty much their entire body, and that's just fine, but if I did it, I'd be really strange.

I had to take the day off work yesterday because my younger son had to have his wisdom teeth extracted, and I wanted to personally make sure he was ok after the procedure, having been through it myself, albeit nearly 40 years ago. Dentistry has come a long way in that time, but it is not always pain free. My son was a trooper, and did just fine. It will take a few days before he's back to doing his normal thing, though.

I made the conscious decision to wear my normal clothes to the dentist office, which is not the same dentist I go to, so they've never had the pleasure of viewing my footwear up in the chair. I sat in the waiting room for over an hour, and I only got a bit of a sideways glance from an older couple during this time. I even saw my neighbor while I was in there, but he is already indoctrinated into the life of Melrose.

I pulled out a pair of sandals I hadn't worn in a while, my BCBGeneration Poland. I've had these for quite a while, but I don't wear them often, and I'm not really sure why. Probably because I gravitate toward mules when I'm picking out something, and these obviously are not.

The weather has been brutal here as well, until yesterday, when it was less brutal. All this talk about "doing my part" has got me to thinking that I better check out my collection to make sure I don't need to replace or augment anything. I put quite a few miles on my black, block-heeled Vince Camuto knee-highs last year, and I was beginning to detect signs of possible failure. I can remember thinking that those boots were just for showing, not for walking. I really hope I'm wrong about that.

23 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Yes, if you’re not riding a horse or a motorcycle - in short, have some accepted practical use for tall boots - you shouldn’t be wearing them, according to the uptight rules governing men’s fashion.

I have run into the same phenomenon with shaving legs. It's perfectly acceptable IF you "have" to do it for some kind of sport, but otherwise.  .  . you a little weird.

It's kind of a curious thing, isn't it? Here in Middle America, it has become way more acceptable for men to wear a wider variety of colors, and pink has become a favorite on the construction site. Maybe it's the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign that did it, but nobody even bothers to mention anything anymore if a guy shows up in a pink shirt, even if it's not Friday.

However, outside of equestrian circles, I do not see tall boots on men around here. With one exception: Latino laborers. Maybe not knee high, but they often wear their boots on the outsides of their pants. Plenty of men still wear cowboy boots around here, but always on the inside, and I doubt we've got any secret knee-high Luccheeses underneath there.

I went pretty casual (for me) to church yesterday. Part of the impetus for this was the fact that I thought I had overtaxed my right Achilles tendon last week, and I wanted to wear something a little bit lower, so as not to injure myself further. However, I have neglected these cute BCBGeneration wedges since I bought them, I think this is only the second time I've ever worn them, so it was about time anyhow. Despite the fact that we hadn't practiced nearly enough, Mickey and I were "on" yesterday. Sometimes, you get lucky and have those days.

He does seem to have sequentially year'd Hondas: '81, '82, '83, '84. Then a '72 Suzi, and then my two bikes, which are super contemporary by comparison: '06 Kawasaki, and my '09 Yamaha scooter. We'll get rid of the '81 Honda and the '06 Kawi, which won't screw with the sequential numbers.

We wound up buying the bike in question, which is nearly identical to the bike I had in my early to mid 20s, and which I rode through 2/3 of this country on. I think I probably had more miles on that bike than all the other bikes I've owned combined. The example we bought is basically a good solid machine, but there are a bunch of little things about it, the main one being that the brakes really suck. That's probably the reason I was able to offer substantially lower than what the guy was asking, and he went for it.

The plan is to sell the 'old' bike to my older son, and I've finally got my own old bike sold, so we'll be down to five motorbikes again. Two around town scooters, one serious road bike, one fun bike, and my big scooter. Let's see.  .  . that's four for him, and one for me. The kid doesn't even have his real motorcycle license yet. What is wrong with this picture?

I definitely went through the thong learning curve late in life. Come to think of it, I don't think I even owned a pair of sandals of any type until I was 40. Which is odd, considering that I'm Mr. Sandal today. I'm probably making up for lost time.

I had occasion to visit my bank again yesterday. I sheepishly admit that we're headed out tomorrow to probably buy yet another motorbike (but hopefully divest ourselves of two), so I needed greater quantities of cash than I normally keep on hand. The bank lady was there again, and I guess she must be for real, because all four times in my life I've ever seen her, she's been wearing heels, and actual high heels at that. On this day, she was wearing what I would call loafer pumps with slim heels. Thicker than stiletto, but definitely not block. Given my vast experience, I would peg them at 4 1/4" high, no platform. There were a ton of people around, so I didn't say anything, once again.

I had trouble with that also, but it's something that I forced myself to get used to for the sake of style. Part of it is psychological, part of it is physical. Kind of like learning to play the guitar. Yeah, your fingers are going to hurt for a while.

It's been a while since I've snapped a picture, and I've got some new sandals to show off, Calvin Klein Fia. Our church choir had a little get together at a restaurant last night, and during the dinner, it was announced that we have at last found a new music director. That is very good news, because I'm not taking over the job, I just don't have the time or the energy.

I have never had much luck with thong sandals lasting very long, so I went nuts and bought four pairs, hoping that among four of them, I would have something for at least a couple of years. This is the first pair to arrive. Shorts are by Talbots, and are called "Perfect Shorts." They're made of a very nice, dressier material, and would in fact be perfect were they a couple of inches shorter.

See, it wasn't that hard, was it? Free the toes!

Wow, I've often thought about CLs, but I don't care if somehow my crypto currency investments actually hit like some people claim they might, I couldn't bring myself to pay $800 for a pair of shoes. However, I might be able to be convinced under the right circumstances.

The only question remaining is what the heck is that thing on your other foot? 😜

Hello, and welcome. I can't answer your question, but perhaps @Jkrenzer can. Although he doesn't wear ballets, he has a lot of experience with the not-so-well known Chinese brands. Some are ok, some are junk.

I believe there is something to that because for me, it's never really been about the walking--it's the standing. I believe the walking ultimately helps my standing endurance, but the two are definitely different animals.

When my wife started this egg roll business in earnest, I went on a mid- and low-heel buying spree, because I wanted to wear heels to the events, but I didn't figure I could hack the 5+ hours of standing in high heels. Over the past three years, I find myself wearing those less and less, to now practically never.

What I cannot figure out is how the burning sensation in the balls of my feet has gradually left. I know women often complain about that particular pain as being the worst, and I do remember it, but I just don't seem to have that problem anymore. Maybe I willfully ignore it now. I'll have to pay better attention.

It is time for another trip to the cobbler. I have actually worn through a sole on my most durable pair of shoes, my True Religion mules, after 207 miles. I'm on my third set of heels with this pair, which have lasted an average of 80-90 miles each, a figure which is nothing short of remarkable, considering I was lucky to get 40 miles out of a set back in the day.

What is also amazing is that I wore 4 1/2" stiletto mules to church today, and then later to the grocery store, and I realized as I was getting ready for bed last night, I didn't even really think about it all day. It's been a long while since the day I wore 4 inch boots to the mall (in retrospect, WAY too high for me at the time), and didn't think I was physically going to make it back to the car.

I do not believe that I can credit only the years of walking in heels that has enabled me be able to wear quite high heels all day. I believe it is in combination of my foot exercises that I do to increase the strength and flexibility of my feet. I say this because I used to have foot pain from wearing flat work boots, and those days are also long in the past.

The job is beginning to gel a little bit. We are getting used to the equipment, getting used to the people we are working for (the customer), and we are getting used to pumping a lot of water! Not necessarily due to the new job, I can tell you I'm not going to make my walking quota this month. I'm not going to beat myself up about it either.

Two of the guys on my crew run marathons, and there's a third guy who is there occasionally who also runs marathons. They spend a lot of time talking about running shoes. I mean, more than I thought was possible. Perhaps now I understand how other people feel about me, talking about shoes.

That's a very good point about it being evolutionary. Part of it is merely style evolution and part of it is simply getting better at walking in heels over the years. As many of you know, I have walked over 2000 documented miles in heels over a number of years. Although it's not recorded in any sort of organized, accessible way, I can guarantee you that most of the first 1,000 miles was done in what I would consider mid-heels, which for me is 3 - 3 7/8 height difference. The second thousand miles was done primarily in high heels, 4 inches or higher, and especially the last 500 miles. I am pretty sure I never counted anything less than 3 inches, which is the point where a heel begins to feel a little bit like a heel for me, and really I like to be at least 3 1/2" regardless.

Someday I would like to master 5 inchers, but probably not with the idea of wearing them every day, just as a personal challenge. That will require a level of commitment that I don't currently have. I should concentrate more on becoming better in the shoes that I already have.