mlroseplant

15 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I was at college during the 70s (76-80) and I don’t remember anybody wearing heels, now that I think of it. I do recall a huge trend for these Swedish clogs with wooden soles - otherwise it was mainly Topsiders, trainers or hiking boots

Yup, I remember the clogs for sure, but I was just in elementary school at the time. Hiking boots were a thing for a while. I remember there was this one skinny kid in junior high school who wore size 15 U.S. men's. All you could see were the hiking boots. Don't know where the rest of him disappeared to.

12 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Are you going to sell them?

I used to do that, but with financial stability comes laziness. I donated them all. The last round I went through I actually trashed about half of them because that's where they really belonged.

Boots aren't really my thing, but I like the proportions of the black pair, with the 1" platform vs. the 6" heel.  You don't often find that combination, which I find rather more pleasing than the usual 2" plat with a 6" heel.

I seem to remember, if I reach way back there, you know, where you reach, that my ex-wife had this same conversation with her health care provider. My ex-wife is actually 5'8", or 173 cm. Or at least she used to be. Who knows if she still is, we've all shrunk a bit, haven't we? At any rate, back in the late 1990s, which was a time of few heels, my ex-wife had these loafers with a little bit of a heel on them. They looked like regular loafers, but with an extra thick heel, about 2". She wore them almost every day, everywhere for a time.

One day, she had to visit the doctor, and they wrote her down as 5'10". She corrected whoever it was, and said, "No, I'm only 5'8"." Evidently, the gal started to argue with her. Well, you know where this story is going. Seems I've had to kick off my shoes proactively the last couple of times I've been measured.

This is neither really a repair nor a modification, but just further evidence of what can happen to plastic shoes over time, even if they've never been worn.

I bought these Steve Madden "Daisie" pumps about a month and a half ago from either ebay or Poshmark, I don't remember which. They were advertised as "never worn" or "worn twice," or "new without box," or something like that. In any case, the things looked brand new when I got them, there was no evidence of wear on the soles or the heels. However, the sock liners started to peel from the first time I tried them on, and have gotten progressively worse.

I have actually gotten to the point with them where I feel comfortable wearing them outside (they are at my upper limit of steepness, so I don't take this lightly), and I had them on for probably three hours a couple of days ago, with plenty of standing and walking during that time. I was actually impressed by how comfortable they were, considering their height.

However, as you can see, the insides of them have blown up, almost to the point where it's visible from the outside. I need to go through there with a razor blade and cut off all those little "crumbs" you can see across the tops of the toes. I'm not really that worried about it, as I have several other pairs of shoes with the same issue that I still wear regularly with no problem, but I guess I've never seen it happen this quickly, and to this extent. Luckily, the outside of the shoes looks just fine. I haven't even scuffed up anything yet. Till I put those tiny heels in a hole or a crack somewhere.

I did it. Here are the first 5 pairs to go. You'll notice that three of them are identical except for color. I've finally decided after messing around with these Vera Wang "Talli" shoes for 6 years, yes, that's 6 years, they are never going to straighten up and fly right, so I'm getting rid of them. This despite the fact that they are in possibly my favorite category of closed shoes, namely high heeled loafers. It's not that they're unwearable, but they have just never stretched out like I thought they might. I think the problem lies in the fact that the toe box is not big enough in the vertical dimension, causing my toes to go numb after about half an hour, and I don't know of anything you can do about that.

Michael Kors wedge: Digs a hole in the side of my ankle unless I wear a band-aid. Not a big wedge fan anyway, and with these in particular you have to actually go to the trouble of buckling up every time you put them on, and unbuckling when you take them off, not really my style. Plus, they're kind of clompy when you walk. Gone.

Aldo platform oxfords: Just flat-out too small. Euro 39 does not translate to U.S.W. 9 like many conversion charts proclaim, especially with Aldo. I should know better by now. Besides, they kinda ugly. I have seen videos of myself wearing these. I was a bit taken aback by their lack of charm.

Since this picture was taken, I have culled another pair, unfortunately another loafer style pump. I believe this is Michael Kors also, and it's just too small. This one's a mystery--it's size 9, I've had plenty of other MK shoes over the years in size 9, but this one's too small.

On edit: I guess I should read through some of my previous posts before posting again, as I seem to be repeating myself. At least I did what I said I was going to do, and for the reasons stated. But now you have pictorial evidence!

14 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

I don't know about 6'4" but I am 6 feet tall without heels, and I agree that there are noticeable differences in the look and feeling of the height of wearing 4" heels versus 3".  With 3" heels I'm standing at about 6'2" and the extra height really doesn't change the way I interact with the world around me.  For some reason, once I get into 4" heels, low hanging exit signs and doorways start to feel too close for comfort and I find myself ducking under them.  Also, I have noticed a huge increase in the number of people that comment "you are really tall" when meeting me in 4" heels, versus anything lower, even 3.5".  There must be something about both the height and proportions of being in 4" heels that emphasizes the height.  

In a related experience, I went to the doctor's office the other day wearing my boots with 4" heels.  It has been years since I have had my height measured, long before I started wearing heels, so when the assistant asked me to step on the scale I asked if I needed to take my shoes off.  She said no, we always measure fully clothed.  So I stepped onto it, wondering what kind of reading they were going to get with my heels on.  The scale read 6'3", and she looked at the heels, and said, "3 inches for the boots" and wrote 6'0", which is my true height.  Now that is one person who notices heels, as it is an important part of her job!  

"3 inches for the boots" with 4 inch heels is pretty spot on accurate, unless you're something like size 15, then it's a different sliding scale, but with 3 inch heels, you get something like 2 3/4", not that much different than 4" heels. By the time you go to 5" heels, we're talking a tiny fraction of a inch of height gained compared to 4" heels. Hence, my original point that wearing very tall heels does not really make you that much taller than wearing mid-heels, because you burn up all that vertical motion pretty much within the first three inches.

However, in your usual straightforward and elegant way, you have pointed out what should have been obvious to me, and that is, there is a big difference in perception between a tall person in 3" heels vs. a tall person in 5" heels, even though the actual measured height difference might be all of 1/2". We are of course not including any platforms, which throws the whole calculation off.

Going a step further with this hypothesis, I wonder if the same concept applies to short people like me? Perhaps, but I think less so, because I've certainly never noticed any sort of different reaction when I wear 3" heels vs. 5" heels.

To be fair, I don't think a single female member of my university faculty wore heels over 1 1/2". I say 1 1/2" because I remember hearing this conversation, "I refuse to wear heels over 1 1/2"." I cannot remember the context, but I remember that line out of Dr. Shelley H's mouth. Here at what is now home, where I grew up, I don't remember the local college faculty women wearing heels at all, and I would have noticed.

I got to thinking, and I tried to remember how many girls wore heels back then. I think that perhaps memory is a little rosier than reality, because I came up with half a dozen girls (out of 1,000) who wore heels pretty much every day. There were a bunch more who would heel up for dressier events, but it just wasn't a deal where you'd see heels all the time everywhere.

14 hours ago, Cali said:

It might be weather related. I'm in a temperate locale, so I might see more than someone in a colder area.  Don't the (women) faculty wear boots with heels?

That may or may not have something to do with it. After all, my record (for the modern era) heel sighting the other evening occurred right after it had snowed, and there were certainly a lot of ice patches around.

On the other hand, I can remember when I was a sophomore in college, there was this new girl that moved into our dormitory for the second semester. In other words, it was winter when she moved in. I can't remember how the conversation came up, but I can remember her saying, "There's NO WAY I'm ever wearing heels with all this snow and ice on the ground." And she was true to her word, I never saw her in heels, ever. I figured she just hated heels. To my great surprise, once spring came, she started wearing heels, and not just occasionally, it was almost every day. Platforms were definitely not in style at that time!

I have another report to say that there  is not yet any evidence of platforms taking hold in the midwest U.S. I went to the last jazz band concert of the season for grades 7-12 in my town's school. No platforms whatsoever. What was interesting is that in grade 7 (my son's grade), I saw no less than half a dozen bonafide heels! Block heeled booties in the 2 1/2" to 3" range seem to be all the rage in the 7th grade jazz band, at least among the girls. No boys wearing heels yet. One girl, a tenor saxophonist, was wearing strappy sandals with at least 3 1/2" block heels, possibly approaching 4". It's hard to tell for sure.

What is even more interesting is that the number of girls wearing heels in the 7th grade band alone exceeded the number of of girls wearing heels in both of the high school ensembles that played. If you include the 8th grade, they are certainly outnumbered. It is too bad that this evidence is merely anecdotal. Otherwise I would say that there is a trend toward heels in the pre-teen/early teen age group. And keep in mind, this was a snowy/icy evening, not terribly heel-friendly.

Unfortunately, there is a distinct disconnect between wearing heels, and actually being able to walk in them. It was example after example of what not to do when wearing heels. All of the common mistakes were on display. The one girl who seemed to do the best at it, and by "best," I mean that she didn't look completely ridiculous, was the one wearing the strappy sandals with the highest heels.

On the other hand, it is heartening to see that the kids have made great strides in the quality of their playing. There has been remarkable progress between three months ago and now.

An afterthought: While there were no boys wearing heels, there was one high school boy who had his fingernails painted black. He wore his hair in a sort of K-Pop (for lack of a better descriptive word), androgynous style. He seemed to be wearing light makeup as well. Otherwise, he did not dress or carry himself in any sort of feminine way at all. He was featured prominently in several solos, both on guitar and trombone, and he appeared to be rather popular with his classmates, both during and after the show. I'm just noting how times may be changing.

It is time to bite the bullet and cull some shoes soon. I haven't done a full shoe inventory in over a year, but I did a quick count a few days ago. Evidently, I have 90 pairs of high heels. Or 85, depending upon how you count, because 5 pair are definitely low heels, but they still take up the same amount of room in my life.

Last time I went through this process, it wasn't difficult. I got rid of several pair which were unsuitable for public consumption for various reasons. Some were simply worn out to the point of no return, some had never fit me quite right, and some I had just never worn for whatever reason. This time, I need to make some hard choices. First to hit the chopping block are probably my Vera Wang loafer pumps. I have them in 3 different colors. I love them. However, I have to admit that the design of the toe box does not fit my personal foot very well, and they make my toes numb after a time. This is after giving them years of chances to straighten up and fly right. They should probably go.

Then there are those Aldo platform oxfords that I bought maybe 2 years ago, and have worn twice. The reason I don't like them is because when I have seen photos of me wearing them, they're ugly. Theoretically, they're cool, but they don't really look all that great on me. Now we're getting down to harder choices--what about those Shoedazzle rainbow mules I got last year? Those things are SO cool! However, after only a few wearings, they have stretched out to the point where I have to have ball of foot inserts AND wear of those thong toe ball of foot pads to make them work. They are still viable, but 99% of the time, I find myself choosing something else because of this "feature."

Then I've got the giant Sam Edelman clogs in black and brown. They are so comfortable, comfortable to the point where I've gotten one of the pairs reheeled, but I have not worn them even one time this winter. Why not? It seems I have reached for my BCBG clogs of a similar, but less huge style every time. Or, if I need something way more practical, my Dansko wedge clogs.

Speaking of wedges, I could probably stand to get rid of a few of those, as well. I just don't wear them, even though there's nothing wrong with them. Would it kill me if I got rid of the two Michael Kors wedges I own, which I have worn at most a half dozen time between the two of them? I need to be ruthless!

On 2/21/2022 at 9:13 AM, SF said:

Bluejay....  Those sandals look fantastic.  Hope you enjoy getting out in them.  I also like Nine West shoes and sandals, FYI most Nine West styles go to a gals size 12 which is nice.  I just ordered a pair of sandals from Nine West, style “Popi” a thin heeled thong/ankle wrap, should arrive this week.

After seeing  the style you have, I am tempted to get that heel as well, after all, how many heels can a guy have?  Can anyone answer that?  ha ha

Enjoy your new sandals......   smile....   sf

I have been interested in something like that for a while, it does seem like the clear PVC material has come into the mainstream. We've had these clear shoes for a long time, my wife even had a pair, but it seemed to me that they were tacky looking in a way that the modern version is not.

I have either 85 or 90 pairs of heels, depending upon your definition of "heels." I do not really count the few <3" heels I have, but they do play an important part in my wardrobe.  I just counted, out of curiosity, to see if I had exceeded where I was at last year, considering I culled about a dozen pairs last summer. Yes, I have gotten back to where I was before, and then some.

The latest acquisition is a pair of sparkly silver fabric mules that are a brand called BellaMarie, style is called Bebe. They are yet another cheap Chinese shoe, and the only reason I bought them is because I have another nearly identical pair in a sort of blush patent, I know they're durable, and they fit me incredibly well. Oh, and you can't find them anymore. These were closeouts for dirt cheap. I have no idea what to pair these with, but they do fit well, are comfortable and easy to walk in.

The heel, while very thin (6 mm) and fairly high (just shy of 4 1/2" or 115 mm) is quite sturdy, and well-placed under the shoe. It is also, like on my other shoes in this style, not covered with anything--it's just straight molded plastic. Which is good, because the chances of you catching this in a spot where it really shouldn't go is fairly high, and the lack of leather/plastic covering minimizes the chance of damage.

I guess I'm willing to give these writers a break partially because it never occurred to me that what I was reading was "journalism." In retrospect, I suppose it sort of is. I'll have to rethink my perspective.

I just think stilettos are easier to walk smoothly in. Obviously, there are some challenges with avoiding dropping your heels into voids where they shouldn't go, but on smooth even surfaces, I find them much nicer as a general rule. I have rarely run across very thick block heels or especially wedges that don't seem clompy to walk in.

1 minute ago, Shyheels said:

Oh, I get the idea of stilettos creating an aura of confidence and empowerment - I could sense that from the moment I first tried in a pair of stiletto knee boots a few years ago out of curiosity. I liked it, as I liked very much the sense of daring and taboo breaking I felt by wearing them, but visually, in the sense of my own aesthetic, I prefer chunky heels of 3” or so, in knee or ankle boots.

Haha, new reply. My thoughts do not really apply to this height range. In fact, I would say the opposite in this height range. I find kitten heels to be the worst as far as ease of walking! Give me a good old block heel at 3" or less!

22 hours ago, VirginHeels said:

That’s the thing. I’m above average for height, I’m 5ft 10in. The average here is 5ft 8in. The problem is that I’m loosing my battle with gravity early, plus the amount of walking/running I do is compressing my spine the way it does with long distance walkers/runners. I was 6ft, maybe just shy. Now I’m smaller. I want a little extra height, plus some. And I know it will help me with back pain, as it did recently. It won’t feel right for a long time, but eventually it will. From what folk have said and from what I’ve read, once I get into a pair of stiletto heels, it feels more natural in a odd way.

I have lost a small amount of stature as well sometime during the past 5 years. I now have to round down to 5' 5", haha. But I can honestly say that 0% of the reason I wear heels is for the height increase. I just like the way they look and feel. And I know that people really don't believe me about the second part, but it's true!

19 hours ago, SF said:

Yes, you will get used to the extra lift.  I keep my heels to the 2 - 3 inch range since I am too tall already at 6 feet, and don’t want to scare the kids - ha ha.  

But I do like the look, feel and style of a nice heel.  

Hope you enjoy your shoes, I do.  sf

I have heard you say the same thing over and over again about not wanting to wear heels TOO tall, because you are already tall, but I am confused. You no doubt realize that once you get beyond 3 inches or so, you don't gain very much in standing height because of the increased angle of your feet. And let's be honest, what is the real difference between standing 6' 4" and 6' 5"? There is certainly no shame in admitting that you just don't care for higher heels, either because of style preferences, or because you don't want to deal with decreased mobility. I will be the first to admit that once you get above a certain height, it results in decreased mobility to a certain extent, and once you get beyond that, to a very large extent! It never ceases to amaze me how I can zoom around when I wear heels of your usual height.

Oh, I don't know, it's all fun to talk about, but aren't we taking all of this a little bit too seriously? I mean, whoever writes these articles certainly doesn't have us in mind, I figure they're just trying to make a living, same as you me. And it's very difficult to pin down journalistic accuracy and ethics with such a subject, don't you think? Hell, we won't even tell our goddamned real names, will we? And that's TO EACH OTHER!

I appreciate the Brooks saddle comment. I had one of those once, only I bought the bicycle used, and the saddle was undoubtedly perfectly formed to somebody else's arse!

It does seem like the articles slowly keep getting better, or at least less bad. It does bug me that the opening photos in most of these articles have absolutely nothing to do with the article. Furthermore, it seems like at least 75% of the time, they choose a random photo of hairy legs and red stiletto pumps. In this case, fetish-y super long toed red stiletto pumps. Nobody wears that shit in real life!

36 minutes ago, VirginHeels said:

That’s what I found funny when I was out in heels recently, the extra height was great, empowering. However getting used to being higher from the ground was fun.

It took me years to get used to being tall. Ok, let me rephrase that. It took me years to get used to being normal height. Sometimes it still doesn't feel right.

8 hours ago, 5150PLB1 said:

Maybe so but try pulling a dent out of one of them.  You got to replace the entire panel. Metal, just a mallet and a couple of suction cups a lick of paint and you're done.

At my end of the spectrum, I just leave the dents in them! Actually, come to think of it, I've never put a dent in a car. The wife has! Somebody keyed my car a couple of years ago, and I was upset for about 2 minutes. Then I was like, "Oh, well." I'm still driving it that way.

Seriously, though, I've owned two Saturns in my life, and rebuilt many more than that. You don't get dents in plastic panels, they either suffer the impact well, or they get totally destroyed, and then yes, you do have to replace them. At the time, this was not a big deal. You just bought one from a junkyard for 50 bucks, and put it on. If you were lucky, it might even be the right color. I reckon those days are over.

13 hours ago, pebblesf said:

Yeah, I suppose you are right...  Kids left to their own devices will usually pick the worst outfits, so it is probably easier to just prescribe a "uniform".  

My kid doesn't bitch when I make him dress up, it's just that it wouldn't occur to him on his own that he ought to wear something better than a greasy t-shirt to a band concert. It also doesn't occur to him that he ought to change out of his good clothes before he starts to work on anything (like antique small engines) that might permanently stain them.

At any rate, I haven't seen any evidence of this platform trend invading Iowa. Ugly heels, yes. Platforms, not just yet. You, being a flight attendant, get to see a lot broader cross section of people than I reckon I do.

23 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

I usually lock it there, but didn't this time. It's an older vehicle, 2000. In this state there is literally no corrosion so vehicles last for decades. I had no real valuables in it, the golf clubs were im the tool chest im the bed.

Will be locking it going forward. 

Theft is not unknown (but very unusual) in our town, but rust is known. My rusted out 2004 Ford Taurus needs to hold together for about 2 more months, then I can start fresh with another rust free car (also a 2004) in the spring. I've got another car, an '02 Buick, that has minimal rust, and I don't know how, as it has lived its entire life here.

Was the truck locked? I mean did they actually break a window or something to get at this stuff? I rarely lock my car, but then again, I don't keep anything in there, either.

12 hours ago, pebblesf said:

I am always turned off by dress requirements such as no jeans or sneaks.  A nice pair of jeans that fit properly with a decent pair of clean sneaks can look so much better than some ill fitting department store "trousers" and cheesy/cheap shoes.  Now, I'm not saying that ripped jeans and dirty old sneaks are appropriate, but just resent that jeans and sneaks are automatically assumed to be inappropriate dress.  

I am guessing that the reason for the no jeans thing is because so many of the styles are pre-distressed these days, and some quite radically. It's easier just to say "no jeans." Although they are not old enough to have uniforms, I noticed that by 8th grade, that teacher must encourage the boys to wear black pants, and button down shirt, and a tie, because 80% of them were dressed that way, and I can't imagine it was their own idea.

16 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

When I was in school, playing a concert in sneakers would have resulted in at least grade deduction... 

When I was in school, I cannot ever remember even thinking of wearing sneakers to such an event, but I'm sure it was done by others. In this day and age, the official email I received from the school asked that the kids please not wear jeans, but that no purchase of new clothing was expected. Actually, everyone looked very decent, if you don't count the parents. The parents looked terrible. My son did in fact wear jeans, but he wore his aforementioned Allen Edmonds and a shirt and tie (pilfered from me).  Evidently, they let that slide. Well, that and the fact that he basically carries the entire bottom end of that band by himself. They can't afford to fire him over jeans.