mlroseplant

15 hours ago, Peeptoe said:

Went shopping and dropped by DSW to try on some shoes. Ended up with these two pairs. 

I needed a new pair of black pumps and the Jessica Simpson shoes fit really well in a sz 12. I find her brand typically runs too narrow for my feet most of the time. 

The Madden Girl shoes are a sz 11 and are snug but not uncomfortable. So I wore them to an outdoor mall that I needed to stop at to break them in. I only needed to visit two stores there. But they were comfortable enough that I browsed a few others as well. I got a compliment from one of the young ladies in one of the stores that I stopped in. At one point the buckle on one shoe started to rub and the block heel took a bit of getting used to. 

I was actually going to wear the JS shoes around the outdoor mall but even though the fit was perfect there was a bit of slippage at the heel as I walked from my vehicle so I went back and changed. I'll have to try some inserts for some grip on the back of my heel. 

I often have the same problem with pumps. I don't think my heels are unusually narrow, but I tend to step right out of them in the real world, especially if I am wearing hosiery of any sort. And speaking of the real world, what you experienced is what I've been preaching for 10 years. Once you step out of that car and walk across the parking lot, all them dishes you washed while wearing heels, all of the floors you mopped, all that vacuuming you did, it don't mean a thing. Mainly because it ain't got that swing.

1 hour ago, kneehighs said:

Age range of 14-21 is GenZ.  😀

After rereading my post, it does seem rather self-contradictory. It wasn't meant to be. What I really meant to say is that all age groups seem more accepting than they did 10 years ago, including the dreaded Boomers, I don't see a hard generational line there. On the other side of the fence,  the Gen Zed folks include those who have asked my 13 year old why his dad wears "booty" shorts and heels in a somewhat derisive manner. My point is, Gen Zed it not at all a homogeneous group, any more than any other age group is. In my own defense, wouldn't I have to actually have a booty in order to call them booty shorts? Mine fell off a long time ago.

I meant it to be a completely separate thought and observation that it has been my personal experience in the last few months to have been approached by total strangers who happen to be younger girls.

All right, folks, it is STAT time of day. When I was compiling these, I realized that I am a complete amateur compared to JeffB. I think he kept track of every aspect of every shoe or piece of clothing he ever bought, including how many times he'd worn a particular item. Information that would be quite valuable for a hoarder like me, so that I could have actual evidence of a reason to divest myself of a number of items. Alas, my record keeping, while not nonexistent, is severely lacking compared to the pros. And we won't even get into the non-shoe part of my wardrobe.  .  .

I decided to compile data on four metrics: Actual heel height, as measured up the back of the heel (in a plumb line, of course), effective steepness of the heels (thereby taking into account a platform, if it exists), type of heel, and style of footwear (pump, sandal, etc.). One thing I just thought of is maybe compiling data about platform shoes vs. single sole. I have never owned any truly giant platforms, but have been moving away from my formerly favored 1 inch plats in favor of single soles lately. Well, sort of. We'll get to that in a minute.

So here are the numbers, and I will mention again that the present count is 99 pair, the percentages may not always add up to exactly 100%, due to rounding:

Actual heel height

<4" 15.2%

≥4" - 4.5"  25.3%

>4.5" - 5"  32.3%

>5" 27.3%

In addition to these stats, I can state generally:

Low heels (>2" - <3")  6 pairs

Mid heels (≥3" - <4") 8 pairs

High heels (≥4") 85 pairs

Effective heel height (steepness)

<3.5"  18.2%

≥3.5" - 4"  30.3%

>4" - 4.5"  40.4%

>4.5"  11.1%

Heel type

Stiletto  38.4%

Slim (near stiletto)  5.1%

Tapered (much thicker than stiletto, but substantially thinner at the bottom)  29.3%

Block  7.1%

Wedge  20.2%

Footwear description (these definitely don't add up to 100%, as there is quite a bit of overlap)

Pump  18.2%

Open toe  58.6%

Open back (mule or clog)  57.6%

Lace-up (oxford or derby) 7.1%

Boot (all styles  from shootie to knee boot)  6.1%

A word about my boots, since I know there are a lot of people on here who wear boots exclusively: I have four pairs of true boots, two over the ankle boots, and two knee high. The remaining two I consider shoes, but some call them "shooties," that is, they stop below the ankle, but are sort of in the style of boots. Sorry to disappoint, I don't really like boots all that much. I wear them when it is necessary to deal with cold or snow out of utility. In my ideal world, I'd wear sandals 365 days a year. I don't foresee me ever moving away from Iowa, so that's not going to happen.

Back to my tendency of getting away from platforms--yes, my total collection is less platform-y than it used to be, but what do I actually wear the most on a day to day basis? That's where it gets a little subjective, because I don't keep records of that sort. My general sense is that most of the time, I wear open toed mules with a modest platform (.75" - 1"), and with an effective steepness of 3.5" - 4", even though the stats for the entire collection would indicate higher and thinner on average. We'll never truly know for sure. Pictured below is most of the collection, but just a bit of it is in a different location. Excuse the mess, who am I kidding? I'm never going to clean that up all the way.

The shoe inventory is now complete! Now all that remains is to compile some stats, à la @JeffB. Anybody else miss that guy? I hope he is well.

As a preliminary report, I evidently now have 99 pairs of heels. 85 of them I would call high heels. 6 low heels and 8 mid heels round out the near-century. I should really, really stop buying shoes for a long while. I actually would have had 103, but I divested myself of 4 pairs. Three of them never really fit right, and the remaining one I never wore because I didn't really like the way they looked on me. I have only 2 pair that I still won't wear in public. In both cases, they are simply too steep for me to walk and move in properly. I keep them around for aspirational purposes. Maybe someday.

My observations here in Middle America, while not at all scientific, are that yes, change is happening, but it's not any sort of hard line like Millenial vs. Gen Zed. What I have noticed as of late, and again this is merely anecdotal, is that girls in the age range of 14-21 seem not to be shy about approaching me, a relative old man, and engaging me about my fashion choices. This is something new, and it's happened too many times to be random chance. Not so much with the boys. Then again, boys in general don't care much about fashion and such nonsense. I know I didn't at that age. I might have cared a lot more if I'd been allowed to wear heels!

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Been a while since I posted. Nothings changed still heeling at the office, just pretty much what I have already shown.

Today I'm wearing a lighter color. Taupe or light beige are really one of my favorite color for heels.

Yup, I get it. I have been on a buying spree for shoes in this color range for about a year. I never thought I could wear anything but black (or possibly dark brown) in the past, but I have been liberalized as of late. Glad to see we can share in the love of this shade!

19 hours ago, Cali said:

@mlroseplant:  "too many" and "heels" in the same sentence? NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

23 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

The reason why I bought all of these lower heeled sandals is because I bought the first pair specifically for my wife's farmer's market venue that is not on pavement. They were actually pretty cute, and they worked out great. So me being me, I bought several pairs in the same general style, and now I really have too many.

Technically, I did not use the aforementioned words in the same sentence. The words are, however, in the same paragraph. I will admit to that.

Here is an example of my lower heeled sandals, of which I have 6 pairs in various colors and slightly different styles:

Sorry, fellas. I'm not perfect. However, I think @SF will approve. Just for the record, I actually had to trash the shoes pictured, because I'd abused them too much. I think wearing them in wet grass regularly is what done it in the end. I actually hate getting my feet wet, but what impressed me about these sandals was that yes, my feet got wet while I was setting up in the morning dew, but they dried out lightning quick afterwards. This is preferable to wearing rubber boots like I used to do, but over time it seemed to have a deleterious effect on whatever they used to glue everything together, and eventually they fell apart from the inside out.

For some reason, I went and bought a ton of mid and low heeled sandals last year, which I actually wear pretty often. However, this lapse in judgment did not extend to my dressier, enclosed shoe collection. My only non-high heeled closed toe shoes are my Dansko wedge clogs, which have a tad over 3 inch heels, but you would never wear those except in the most casual situations.

The reason why I bought all of these lower heeled sandals is because I bought the first pair specifically for my wife's farmer's market venue that is not on pavement. They were actually pretty cute, and they worked out great. So me being me, I bought several pairs in the same general style, and now I really have too many. But you wouldn't know a thing about that, would you @Jkrenzer?

The shoes presented here are very unlikely to offend anyone, but neither are they likely to really excite anyone. Somehow or other, these slipped through the cracks when I first got them as far as posting them here, so technically they are not new shoes, even to me.

We have some round toed Cole Haan pumps in size 9 with a 4 1/2" heel and a 5/8" platform, netting an effective steepness of 3 7/8". Which makes them very easy to wear and live with. The heel itself is 3/4" thick and the one nod to complication or flash is that the heel does feature a snakeskin printed covering, which I believe is actual leather. I've no idea what these went for when they were new, but they appear to be all-leather, including the sole. I paid a whopping $26 for them, plus shipping.

I didn't actually step out of them when I wore them the other day, even wearing hosiery, but it's a dodgy proposition. I could see where it could happen. Worn barefoot, this problem does not exist.

I went Old School this week, at least for me. Just a simple black suit and tie with plain black pumps. The coat is slightly more interesting, evidently. I did get a couple of compliments on the coat.

As I mentioned before, I'm feeling weary these days, so I chose some shoes I thought would be easy on me. These Cole Haan pumps are pretty easy to get along with, if less than exciting. It was when I went to face my Wall of Shoes on Sunday morning, I realized that I do not own any enclosed shoes that are lower than 4 inches, and precious few that even have a steepness of less than that. Sometimes a fellow would like a nice pair of oxfords or loafers with a 3 inch block heel, just for such occasions. However, I can't seem to bring myself to spend money on a dressy shoe with such a low heel.

Two more things: First, somehow these shoes got missed when I got them, so I'm going to post them over in the "New Shoes" thread, even though I've had them for a while. Second, I just completed a shoe inventory. I just need to compile some stats, and I'll post the results soon!

17 hours ago, Cali said:

Wear them on the outside of your pants and see what happens.

17 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Yes, definitely on the outside of your jeans 

I guess I did not specify that is what I meant. I have noticed that as of late, it also seems to be acceptable to wear ankle and half calf boots on the outside of your pants now. Done wrong, it looks rather silly, but I've seen it. Much as skinny jeans and stretch pants seem to keep making those lists of fashion items that "need to go," I do not see the skinny jean disappearing anytime soon. I own very few pairs of pants where it would even be possible to get the legs over knee highs.

While I find the more forward heel placement to be way more aesthetically pleasing, I have found that personally, heel placement is not a factor when it comes to how easy it is to walk in a given pair of shoes. Well, it might be a factor, but it's not THE factor. As an example, the setback heeled ankle boots pictured here are much easier to walk in than either of the shoes pictured next to them, even though they are the least attractive of the three. All three are approximately the same steepness, about 4 1/2" on a size 9 U.S.  I have examples that go the other way, as well. For me, anyway, heel placement does not seem to matter that much. Where it DOES matter is going down the stairs. One has to be much more careful not to catch a heel with the setback design.

It just so happens that a member who was formerly quite active on this forum gifted me a pair of low heeled knee high boots. I have never worn them. I suppose I ought to try them, just to see if they get public reactions in the way that my high heeled boots get. It would obviously be a very unscientific test, and probably not a very informative one, but it might be fun!

14 hours ago, m1super90 said:

Well, looks like nobody has any suggestions on where to find pictures of highly extended insteps (vs arches). Was worth a shot! 

You have to admit that it's a very narrowly focused interest.

I'm pretty hard core when it comes to sandals and cold weather, but even I have given up already this year, as the temps have dipped into the teens (that's around -10º C) on several occasions. Winter has come early this year!

18 hours ago, Cali said:

What about the parents?  I know at least one had real heels.

The parents are a little tougher to gauge. The kids are up on a stage, and walk by on the way to their proper seats in a long line, so you get a chance to see what each student has on their feet, at least for a few seconds. With the audience, you may only see a small percentage of lower extremities, so no, I didn't see any real heels on the parents. Ankle boots with 1 1/2 to 2 inch block heels do seem to be popular among the Mom crowd this year, though.

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Both nice looking boots, very presentable, altough the photography is a bit weird - someone's used a wide angle lens making them look very large in comparison with the legs of the person modelling them. The second one looks like it ought to be a size 17...

So that's how you do that! I'll have to try it sometime. Oh yeah, I forgot. I don't have a real camera anymore.

18 hours ago, SF said:

New sandals, just in time for winter.  I had eyed them last fall, and Zappos now had them on sale.  I could not resist.  The are Abercrombie and Fitch "Austria."  Slightly less than 3 inch kitten heel with a wide vamp strap and toe loop.  Very minimal, a style that I like.  They are size 11 and fit very nicely.  I have only worn them around the house, they are comfy and I hope to get a lot of wear when spring time rolls around.  The only downside, they are all synthetic, but have soft, material.  I much prefer leather sandals but that is getting hard to come by.  

Attached is a pic, I think they look "cute."  Uh, can a guy wear "cute" sandals????  sf

 

 

Um, no. He cannot. It's just not physically possible.

19 hours ago, Puffer said:

My wife professes to now dislike high heels, partly for (alleged) reasons of comfort but more, alas, because she considers them inappropriate stylistically.   She is scathing about my liking for heels as an admirer and, equally, whenever I wear even my modest cuban heeled boots, which she considers ridiculous for someone 'of my age' etc.   She does occasionally wear a modest heel (especially on sandals or ankle boots) and used to like the wedge sandals in question, but they have not appeared for some time.   I quite expect her to roundly reject the new sandals, but I can only try.   (If I disappear after Christmas Day, you will know why!)

I get the same sort of feedback from my wife. She usually uses a phrase something close to, "Look very funny!" Imagine that phrase spoken with a heavy Vietnamese accent, and you've about visited my house. On the other hand, she usually follows this up with something like, "But whatever, you do what you want."

In other news, amongst the young people here in my locality, the high heel is not dead, but it's not particularly healthy, either. At a 7th and 8th grade band concert last night, I counted approximately half a dozen real heels, and probably a couple of dozen short heels. This is out of maybe 100 girls. Zero boys wore heels. Out of the "real" heels, which for the purposes of this discussion means 3 inch or above, there was only one pair of proper pumps worn with a conservative, if shortish, black dress (the kids were told to wear black and white if possible). The rest of the "real" heels were either block heels or wedges, and mostly booties, which makes some sense at this time of year. There were zero "real" heels as defined in my personal world, not even close.

23 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Fine looking pumps. I have found that rounded vamps can actually be less comfortable than almond shaped vamps. I also have found hose or other foot covering tend to cause my feet to slip forward into the vamp loading my toes a bit more, less friction. I'm wondering if your went barefoot in those if you would have had less long-term discomfort. 

I didn't really have any problems with the comfort of the shoe, it's just that I'm not used to being in that position for that long these days. I tell people it's like ballet dancing or practicing a musical instrument. The subtlety and endurance leaves you rather quickly. I have been very lazy this last month or so. Not that I haven't worn heels every day, but I haven't really gone anywhere, and my walking has been severely curtailed by the cold weather I don't want to go out in.

It may be hosiery vs bare feet, but then again, it may not be. I did not have any trouble with walking out of these particular pumps as I do with many when I wear hosiery. I'm going to chalk it up mostly to not wearing heels enough for the last two months, and losing that hard core edge.

11 hours ago, Puffer said:

Thanks.   I rather agree about the squareish toe, and can understand a preference for a toe-post.   In fact, my wife has a pair of toe-post strappy wedges that I admire and I think you would approve of.   If I can locate them, I will provide a pic for your delectation.

Or, if not, that's perfectly fine too. Though I am now curious about your wife's wedges. I thought she didn't do the high heel thing anymore?

Nevertheless, Lenny Kravitz is not a regular guy, any more than David Bowie was, or Prince was.

Not a concert situation, but similar as far as standing: I wore these shoes to church yesterday. I had them on for about 3 1/2 hours. Out of that 3 1/2, I got to sit down for about 30 minutes. Maybe 45 tops, and not all at once. I am somewhat dismayed to report that I was quite ready to get out of them by the time I got back home. I have been very lazy about following my own advice, and I've gotten out of condition. I find that for me personally, it takes a great deal of endurance training to be able to hack wearing heels that high for many several hours of standing. I've been slacking lately, and it shows. Not that the shoes were painful, it's that my feet and ankles were fatigued after 3 hours, and I was ready to stop.

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

You 'liked' my post, melrose, but would you wear those sandals I pictured?   Just curious, knowing your tastes.

Enquiring minds want to know? In theory, and in general, you are quite correct. However, in actual practice in December of 2022, I would not purchase that particular pair, even at 5 quid. Though it is not too squared off, I find the square-ish toe objectionable. Also, as I hope to document soon and share with the group, I have way too many shoes already. Five years ago, I might have actually paid money for such a thing, but not today.

On edit: I just noticed that I did not actually answer the question. Sure, I'd wear them, though I'm still not sure about that square toe. Also, from experience, I think they would be rather better if they had a piece that went between the first two toes.

I'd be in Krenzer's camp, except for one thing. You said this was your gig? If you're anything like me, you won't even notice your heels until the performance is over. After that, you won't be able to walk properly.  If you really want to wear your heels for the gig, bring flatter shoes for the teardown and loadout afterwards. If attending someone else's concert, yeah, I'd be very careful about what shoes you wear. Standing is way more challenging than walking.