mlroseplant

I had already put all of my shorts away for the season, but it was freakishly warm yesterday (+30º C), so I couldn't resist taking a pair out for one more spin. I was actually inspired to meal plan for the week just so I could wear my shorts to the grocery store, which I did. The model is wearing Bakers faux-wood wedges in a calf hair type material and Banana Republic shorts. These are probably my favorite shorts out of the more than dozen pair I own, but I don't wear them often, due to their length, or lack thereof. Today, it's a return to normal temperatures, and the shorts must go back in their spot for the winter.

There is sometimes a fine line between confidence and arrogance. However, I don't think the simple act of wearing a skirt, even a short-ish one, comes close to the line, much less crosses it. Congratulations on the weight loss.

That's exactly the road I have been down for the last 5-7 years--skinnier and shorter pants. Men's suits, at least traditional ones, are not made that way. At some point, I started buying women's pants that were the same color, or at least close to the color of some of my suits. In some cases, you can't tell that I've left the actual suitpants on the hanger at home. In this case, I have nothing that matches well enough, as there are shiny flecks in this fabric. Also, the people who think they know what they're talking about keep telling me, "Skinny jeans/pants look dated! Wide legs are in!" I thought I'd give it a go. I personally think I look better in less expansive clothing. I shall do some more experimenting in the months to come, but somehow I think that maybe I'll land back on skinny, or at least skinny-ish.

The problem with the beginning of boot season is that it coincides with the end of motorbike season. I really need to dig out my knee highs and check their condition. As I recall from last late winter, I suspected one of the shanks was beginning to get weak on my favorite pair.

We've been saying for years that the forum is dying, and thus far it hasn't happened. At any rate, I'm doing an about face and posting some pictures. At church on this past Sunday, I wore a traditional men's suit with black pumps. I was running a little bit late, so I picked the shoes I thought I would have to fuss with the least. That did and did not work as I planned. It's been a while since I've worn either my gray suit or my Vince Camuto Carra pumps, and I had forgotten a couple of things. Number One, the pumps may look boring and conservative, but they're 4 3/8 inches steep! Higher than I was mentally prepared for that morning. Number Two, my pant legs kept getting caught on the back of the shoe, especially my left. I might consider some dressy looking ankle boots next time.

Why I don't like wearing wider legged pants anymore:

I did my 3 mile loop in 4 inchers yesterday, and nothing bad happened. I am debating about whether I should go lower today. I don't know when to pronounce myself healed, or whether I ever will be.

I have not made a special post about this until now, because it's not really that big of a deal, but there may be some who are interested. A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. Sorry, I always get distracted by Don McLean every time I talk about something that happened in the distant past. Take 2: More than a decade ago, I jumped off a waist-high concrete form in the dark, and landed on uneven ground, causing my right achilles tendon to hyperextend. I have never fully recovered from that injury. I wish I'd never jumped off that form, I never realized how that one moment would affect the rest of my life. I do not mean to blame this one incident for all of my problems, but it sure seems like I can trace almost everything back to that. Or is there more to it? Why is my right foot so much stronger and more actively flexible than my left, and yet I have most of my problems with my right? My left foot and ankle has basically escaped life unscathed, except for that bone spur, which hasn't really bothered me all that much in recent times, and it's never interfered with my heel wearing one bit. As I write this, I'm preparing to do my 5 km loop before the farmer's market, and we'll see how it goes. I talked with my sister last night, who is four years younger than I am, and it seems like we have many of the same health issues, only every one of them has hit her worse. Example: I haven't shared this, but I seem to have arthritis in my right big toe joint. Not a bunion, but it just doesn't bend like it used to, and it hurts if I try to make it bend like it used to. I work on it every day, but it's just a fact of life, that alone would probably prevent me from dancing ballet. Then my sister says that her own big toe joint has frozen up so much that she can only bend it maybe 10º each way. My first reaction was, "Oh, no, that would never work for me. I need at least 90º flexibility each way (and I struggle with that every day). Does this mean no more high heels for you?" She said what it means is no more high heels in reasonable comfort for her. And more importantly, it probably means giving up long distance running, which has been her pursuit for a couple of decades. Despite whatever is wrong with my feet, it could always be worse. I need to get off this website and get walking. I'll let you know how it goes.

That's just it--I am not going for artistry in my shots, or there would never be any to show. However, I have to admit that I've gotten completely stale, and I don't know what to do about it. I shoot my photos in the same spot, using pretty much the same poses. Therefore, I am uninspired to shoot more, because what's the point? The only reason I take any of these pictures in the first place is for y'all, and y'all have seen enough of me to get the idea. I will probably change my mind tomorrow, but right now I'm not feeling the need to document any more of my escapades.

I have a couple of bits of news, and a thought. Number one, I am on to yet another new job, which is quite a bit like my old job. I am moving back into the world of data centers, at a company known for being small and squidgy, at least by name. I am not 100% sure exactly what I will be doing, but I am close to 100% sure that I will be cold this winter. I have been spoiled by several years of working inside during the winter. Number Two, I ordered me a pair of Devious Domina 101s, which is a Pleaser mule with a supposed 6 inch heel. From the pictures, I don't believe that for a second, but if it were a 5 1/2 inch heel, that would be perfect for training. Or at least the concept of training. If I don't get my right foot and ankle issues straight, there will be no training. I'm doing just fine, but there is still some definite weirdness going on down there. And now for the thought: Elsewhere, I reported a sighting of a woman in heels, but I was only able to get a very brief glance, to the point that I couldn't really tell you much about this woman except for the shoes she was wearing at the time. This got me to thinking that yes, I do have an unusual focus on footwear (or lack thereof) compared to most people. However, I really dislike pictures of feet and/or shoes only, and there are a TON of those out there. My focus is on the feet, but it's the total person, and how they present themselves that catches my eye. I suppose that's why you'll rarely see me post a picture of shoes only, unless it's for a very specific reason. It's because I fundamentally dislike those pictures. I may be ugly, but you got to see the whole me to get a sense of the foundation upon which I stand.

It has finally happened. On my very last day, practically my very last hour on this office job, I saw heels. This company bought a rundown building several years ago, and has been renovating it piece by piece. The last to be done is the basement, which is where I am (was) working. There is one functional conference room in the basement at this time, and that's when I heard this "clop, clop, clop" coming down the stairs, presumably to attend a meeting in this conference room. I don't know if it's just us shoe guys, but it is a reflex that is almost impossible to resist for me, when I hear certain sounds, I almost have to stop what I'm doing and see who or what is making that sound. Unfortunately for me, I didn't resist it, because when I turned around to look at who was making the sound, the woman looked me straight in the eye. I nodded and said a soft, "hello," and immediately turned back around to what I was doing (preparing for a wire pull in the hallway). I was cussing myself for not resisting my reflex, thinking, "There is no way I can now look again to see what kind of shoes she is wearing." I did sneak a half-second peak as she was walking away, long enough to see that she was wearing chunky wooden-heeled sandals that were much like something I wear all the time, only maybe a little clunkier. I estimate the heel height at 4 1/2 inches with a 1 inch platform. Had a crime been committed and I were called as a witness, the only thing I can say for sure is, "Tan sandals, broad straps with brass studs, wooden heels and platform." Oh, and the fact that she was wearing pants for sure, because I'm not 100% sure whether the sandals were mules or not. I don't think they were.

No better news on this side of the canal. I started a new job yesterday at an office building. I should only be there a few days, as I'm only there to help a guy get his job wrapped up. I'm not sure exactly what it is they do there, but it is somehow related to the insurance industry. Although my construction zone is separated off from the office people, I had several occasions to visit the working office, thinking I might see some heels. Nope. Not even close. It evidently is a casual dress office, so there was a mix of trainers, Crocs, and Birkenstocks. I was thinking, "Man, if I worked here, I'd be wearing stilettos every day." I mean, it's a super easy job for wearing heels. Sitting at a computer most of the time, getting up only occasionally to do incidental things. Why wouldn'tcha?

I went through a minor shoe reshuffle yesterday. With all the new hires and all the failures I've had this year, my old system of organization was not working well anymore. In the process, my first two pairs of heels, which I keep for nostalgic reasons, were once again relegated to the upstairs closet, where they will be rarely seen. To recap from years ago, the black, thicker heeled mules are Söfft Aviano, my very first pair of heels. Let me clarify that. My very first pair of heels I bought with the intention of wearing them in public, and not hiding them in the crawl space or something. I always say they are low heels, but putting a tape measure to them, they're actually 3 3/4" tall, with a 3/4" platform, so they're not super low. I'd put them at the low end of mid-heels for me. As I recounted fairly recently in some other thread, that first walk in them, which was approximately one mile, and not all at once, was perhaps one of the longest walks I've ever taken in my life! The other pair, Sbicca Hutton (made in the USA, by the way), I keep because I think of them as my first "high" heels. This is mainly a visual characterization, because the tape measure says otherwise. Yes, the heel is a "high" 4 1/2 inches, a height that was inconceivable to me at the time, the platform is 1 1/4 inches, making them a rather tame 3 1/4 inches. Even my ex-wife could handle that for a few hours. I wore them a lot, to the point where they were not very nice looking anymore, and I bought another pair. By that time, I'd lost interest and never wore the new pair much. In my time of convalescence, I decided to take the old girls out for a spin one last time last week. Yeah, they feel low. Not only that, I shattered both heel tips in a one mile walk. I guess they are over 10 years old. They feel like 10 year old shoes that are plain worn out. It's either the bin or the back of the closet.

I see we've "crept." You'll have that in a thread called "Bits and Pieces." The question was never, "Which one looks better?" The question was basically, "Which one is least likely to get you injured?" Now that I think about it, it's basically a dumb question, because there are so many other factors that go into it. The poster, who propounded the idea that the platform, with its shallower foot angle and thicker block heel, was the "safer" shoe. I might be inclined to agree with this for people who wear heels only occasionally, and then only to indoor events. For the rest of us, it may or may not be "safer." I am to the point where heel steepness has little correlation with safety. What concerns me the most are situations where I could either catch my heel on something, like uneven pavement, or miss or misjudge a stair going downward, which would cause me to lurch or stumble, and fall down that way. Actually, the last time I tripped on something hard enough to make me spill my coffee was when I was wearing my work boots.

I ran across an Instagram post the other day which was a split screen of a model's feet. On one half, the model was wearing what looked to be 4 inch stiletto sandals. On the other half, the model was wearing 4 inch block heels with a mild platform, less than an inch. The caption read something to the effect of, "Which one is more likely to cause you to sprain your ankle?" I have yet to answer one of these kinds of things, even though I want to. I didn't reply to this for two reasons: 1) I was on my phone, and didn't feel like typing out a long reply, which is what it would take. 2) The post was already 3 weeks old, and had probably 500+ replies. I don't need to waste my time for that. My answer, of course, would be, "It depends." For most situations I am in, however, the single sole stiletto is more my friend, though I can't say that I'm worried about spraining my ankle in any case. I wear platforms all the time out in the wild, and it's absolutely true that if you step on a pebble or a twig in platforms, it's going to apply a lot of unwelcome sideways force to the ankle, a force that would be much less in single soles, regardless of heel configuration.

I have seen, in the past two weeks, no fewer than five women in substantial heels. Interestingly, all of them were in wedges, and all of them were wearing light, floaty, rather attractive sundresses. I think everyone, including me, is trying to get in the last wears of the summer items of clothing before we can't anymore.

I am finally back in my "ultra high" 4 inch/10 cm heels, so far without any problems. That was a bit of an eye-opener. What if I actually had to give up wearing high heels? By the way, 4 inch heels are simply not "ultra" high. Maybe to somebody they are. But, they do give me that high heel feeling, which I have missed for a couple of weeks.

I have no idea why I like categorizing things, as if ANY of this matters. Total heel height used to mean something to me, but these days, not so much. I do wear platforms, but generally not platforms over one inch (with some exceptions). I don't mind a platform if it's got the heel to back it up. Those are very difficult to find. Typically, if a designer uses a platform, they make the total steepness a little less in order to make the shoes "somewhat easier to walk in." The shoes that were in style approximately 10-15 years ago were extreme on some level. Every shoe it seemed had a heel over 5 inches, and usually closer to 6. But, almost all of them included a huge 2 inch platform, which kind of takes away the point of "high" heels, which is that elevated heel posture. I'm with Cali on this, somewhere in and around 4 inches is about right, preferably on the higher side of that.

Which is funny, we seem to remember "high" heels being a thing of the past, but I really think most women wore what we'd call "mid" or "low" heels back in the day. At least, my day in the 1980s. I was just talking with my friend from university a couple of days ago, who is now someone who can't wear heels for very long anymore. When she was 18 or 19, she wore what were among the highest heels of anyone I personally knew. Keep in mind, she did not wear heels every day, they were only for "dress up" occasions. For whatever reason, she happened to leave her high shoes behind in my dorm room one night. I have no idea how that happened, as there was no romantic relationship there, I only know that it did. Only now, 30-some-odd-years later, did I admit to her that I measured her shoes. If they had been a little closer to my size, I would have tried them on as well, but being a size and a half too small, that wasn't happening. So I told her that her "high" shoes were 3 1/2 inches, which absolutely floored her. "HOW did I EVER wear those?" I, on the other hand, was thinking, "Those are barely heels." They were black stiletto pumps, by the way, in case anybody is wondering.

My younger Gen Z child has no problem working. The reason he always looks a little trashy is because I can't seem to get him to segregate his "good" clothes from his "working" clothes. The kid has probably eight pairs of jeans, and every one of them is greasy from working on machinery of some sort, which is what he likes to do in his free time. On the other hand, he also knows how to tie a necktie, and owns a suit. His fashion is either "1" or "0", there's no middle ground at all. As an aside, he has never given any signs of being ashamed of his father in any regard, fashion or otherwise. I guess I'm lucky.

What goes around comes around. I was talking with my son the other day about how sloppy kids look these days. That would include my son, but his sloppiness is discernibly different from your average sloppiness. His sloppiness is also a hell of a lot cheaper. He was commenting that kids (or their parents) will spend a lot of money to achieve that look. I mentioned a Billy Joel song from 1980, which has the line, "You can't dress trashy 'til you spend a lot of money." The song, of course, is "Still Rock and Roll to Me."

Oddly enough, I've never had the actual thong break--it's always the other bits. In the instant case, it's obvious that one of the side straps came loose on the black pair, and there's just no fixing that. On the beige pair, the entire wedge heel is starting to detach from the insole of the shoe. Admittedly, that could probably be fixed, but the "patent leather" material is starting to peel in at least five different places, so they will never look very nice. Oh well. I did once have a pair of more expensive, high quality thongs from Michael Kors. The problem with those was that the real leather was so buttery soft that after a while it stretched out massively from use, so that eventually the sandals became unwearable. This whole behavior is cyclical. I go through a phase every few years where I suddenly get this urge to find some heeled thongs, just to see if maybe this time they'll work out.

I have some good news, and I've got some bad news. The good news is that my Achilles tendon seems to have returned to somewhat normal. I'm still going to take it easy, but it no longer feels like I'm going to make one misstep which will land me in the doctor's office. It's funny that my right foot is my stronger, more flexible foot, but it is the one that has given me all the problems. The bad news is that I bought four pair of thong sandals over the past month, and I've trashed two of them already. I never have any luck with those things. Maybe I should just give up. Both of these pair were awesome to wear, right up until the point that they failed. This type of fastening must somehow be intrinsically weaker than others. This always happens to me, and fairly quickly.

Oh, I don't know. I don't consider something to be a "high" heel unless it reaches 4 inches, but that's just my own little personal scale. I don't think that the actual exact height is important for the purposes of this website. I mean, we're not here to talk about trainers, but the occasional flat still finds its way in. I believe even I posted some knee high boots last winter that are sporting sub-2 inch heels, and the Hunter boots would definitely fall into that category. I don't really see what's wrong with it. High Heel Place is really a name of convenience. Somewhat Elevated Heel Place would be much more awkward.

To answer the questions in order, I have never met or heard of a guy who has a desire to wear high heels outside of the online community. It is unlikely that it's the case, but as far as my own personal experience goes, I'm the only one. The answer to the second question is no, the thrill hasn't faded much at all. To be sure, wearing heels is ordinary to me, but I will say that when I put on whatever shoes I'm going to be wearing that day and stand up, feeling the full height of the shoes for the first time since waking up still gives me the same feeling it always did. That has not faded over the years. What is different is that sometime over the last 12 years, I now require more steepness to get that feeling. 12 years ago, in 2012, I started off in effective 3 inch heels, and I very clearly remember my first real walk in them. It felt like a mile was going to last forever. I could not WAIT to get back home and get out of those shoes. My very next pair of shoes, bought several months later, had a 4 1/2 inch heel with a 1 1/4 inch platform, so effectively 3 1/4 inch heels. By this time, I was somewhat better at heels, but 3 1/4 inches still seemed pretty high to me, definitely felt like a heel. I started actually walking places in heels in 2013. I had a few more pairs by that time, but most of my walking heels were in the 3 - 3 1/2 inch range. Over the years, this has gradually increased to the 4 - 4 1/2 inch range. 3 inch heels no longer do it for me, and I have proven this in the past week, as I have been wearing lower heels (the few that I have left) in an effort to avoid further injury. I'm trying to take it real easy, hoping my Achilles tendon gets back to normal soon. The last three days it's been feeling pretty good, but I forced myself to wear low three inchers this morning, even though it feels like I can do more. It's just not the same. On pavement, it doesn't even really feel like I'm wearing heels. I was a little bit grumpy wearing the shorter heels. I need around four inches of steepness before I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, this is the life." As to the third question, I'm with Shyheels on that one. If I'm putting on Hunter boots, it's for work purposes. I've never thought they looked all that great as a fashion statement, no matter how shiny they are, or what color they are. I will make an exception for Shirley Temple. She looked cute in them. No offense to anyone here who likes the way they look. I probably cannot get over the association I have in my mind with doing a job I'd rather not be doing.