mlroseplant

Not much to tell this week. Our choir director was gone this week, so we played with a substitute pianist. It was fine. No comments. The only thing of note is that the no-name, Alibaba type sandals that I am wearing in this picture are pretty high, very skinny, and yet at the same time very stable and very comfortable. They had a brand name on them once, but it has been worn off long ago, and it was a name that you never heard of.

Second try with my Bonny No. 3 sandals. I experienced no troubles from them this week. We did experience a slow night, though. It was the first day of the Iowa State Fair, which did not help turnout at our market, and it was bloody hot, as evidenced by the sweat marks on my shirt.

The Bonny No. 3s are just about broken in now. Given how long this process acually takes, I am surprised that I ever kept Bonny No. 1. These sandals are incredibly stiff when you first get them, and it takes quite a bit to get them to soften up. In addition to that, when I got the Bonny No. 1, my toes did not really want to bend in the way that they need to bend in order to wear these sandals. I do not really remember, other than the mere passage of time, how my toes got more flexible in that direction to the point that I had forgotten how uncomfortable these things were when I first started wearing this model some 8 years ago.

Included, since it was such a good snapshot, is the brains behind this operation wearing her high viz sandals, which are NOT high heeled.

7 hours ago, alicialehoux said:

they won't be comfortable to wear anymore

The couple who did this wasn't really interested in comfort. They were more interested in taking creative photographs. Alas, they are no longer with us.

I got my Bonny sandals glued back together with a minimal amount of super glue, they shouldn't cause me any problems for the next 25 miles, which seems to be the average life of the stock heels on these things.

In other news, I got some new Michael Kors sandals, reviewed in the "New Sandals" section. Here is the outfit I chose to wear with them. I've done the "grayscale" look before, but this is a slightly different take on it, since I have gray sandals now!

When I saw these Michael Kors sandals on Poshmark, I had to at least look at the listing. I've had several pair of this same basic platform over the years, and I knew they'd fit me in a size 9, even though I usually take and 8 1/2 in sandals. But gray suede? No way was I paying the seller's asking price for what is destined to be a shoe that gets worn maybe twice a year at best. If you don't know how Poshmark works, if you see something that you are interested in, but don't want to buy right at the moment, you can "like" it in order to save it for later. In the process, the seller is alerted that you're at least mildly interested, and many times they will offer you a lower price, often at a reduced shipping cost as well. That is what happened here, and I kept ignoring the offers and ignoring the offers until I got one that was about a third of the price of the original listing. At that point, I caved, and now I own yet another pair of shoes I could have easily done without.

I do not know the model name of these sandals, but they are the same exact shoe as the "Oksana" model, except with a different upper, which in this case features an enclosed heel. Like my Oksanas, they feature a 5 1/2 inch heel with a 1 inch platform, which makes for a pretty steep shoe to walk in (for me, anyway). In one of the pictures below, you can see a comparison between this shoe and the Oksana model I've owned for a number of years. They are exactly the same design with different uppers. They also share the same strengths and weaknesses.

The heels measure just a bit under 7/16" in diameter, or 11 mm. This is a gray area (pun intended) as to whether these qualify as stilettos. When you see them on, they look like stilettos, but when you put them next to a pair of true stilettos, it's obvious that the heels on these sandals are considerably thicker. Nevertheless, I find the shape of the heels to be pleasingly curved and proportional.

I really like the way these look, but their future is uncertain as there are a few negative factors, some of which I can control, and some of which I can't. First of all, if I'm being truly honest with myself, I shouldn't wear these shoes out in public again until such time as I've overcome certain physical limitations. I don't feel like I look horrible walking in these, but I don't look great either. And I'm slower than Christmas. Second, they are light suede. You can apply all the Scotch Guard you want, they are not really compatible with Iowa weather. Maybe if they were black. Maybe. Third, they've got the same problem that all models of this shoe based upon this platform have--weak shanks. This is my fourth pair of this basic shoe, and in my opinion the shank is not nearly stout enough to last for years. I've had one pair bite the dust because of shank failure, and the others have basically the same feel to them--not sturdy.

I do not care for the enclosed heels, because my pants keep catching on them, and I do not think the answer is to crop my pants even shorter. There are those who would say the answer is to wear them with a skirt, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, if ever.

This review sounds very negative, probably more negative than I actually feel about my new sandals, but I'm just trying to be realistic. I'll probably keep them, maybe even for a long time, for those few occasions when they're the perfect choice.

It just goes to show you that beauty is really in the eye of the beholder. I know a couple of Vietnamese gals who really like high heels, but they refuse to wear anything more than about 3 1/2", even though they like the style of heels higher than that. The reason? The really high heels make their calves look too bulky.

It also helps a good deal if YOU are wearing heels when giving the compliment. There is no way I would ever think of complimenting a stranger, and it would likely be a female stranger, if I were not wearing heels myself.

I get three layers of harassment training at my work--the customer's, the general contractor's, and my company's. They're not that painful, but I feel they can all be pretty much distilled down into one sentence: "Don't be a jackwagon." Evidently, people can't seem to follow this simple rule, and evidently a LOT of people can't seem to follow this simple rule. Therefore, we all have to suffer through the training.

20 hours ago, SF said:

Very attractive sandals, have fun with them.  I don't get all philosophical when someone asks about my heels. Usually it's a compliment, and I just tell them thank you, it's something I do.  If the conversation goes further, I will oblige with further details, but most of the time the comment / compliment is merely to take note of that fact that I am wearing nice looking shoes.  

As for folks reacting to or noticing my heels, when I first began wearing heels wayyy back in the 80's, I did get more comments from folks.  But for the past few years, it has been very rare to get a comment.  Maybe folks are getting used to seeing a guy in heels?  Not likely, since I sill have NEVER seen another guy in heels, or gals flats for that matter.  It's a lonely life - smile...  But I will handle the challenge..  sf   

Part of the reason I did it is because I had the time, and the other part is that she (the woman who commented on my shoes in the first place) kept going on and on about how she could do little heels, but not ones like I had on, and started describing her exact symptoms, and HOW do you work a farmer's market in those things? So I started to explain how. Evidently, it turns out she didn't really want to know how. And that's fine.

Since you mentioned it, SF, I actually saw a boy in gal's shoes that night, but had forgotten about it until now. I'd say this kid was probably 11 or 12 and otherwise dressed like your typical boy that age--athletic shorts that were on the loose side, t-shirt, short hair, but with sandals that were obviously intended for a girl. Not frilly or anything, but very thin straps and very thin soles with a 1/4" heel on them. They fit him perfectly, so I'm guessing they weren't borrowed from a sister or a cousin.

Farmer's Market OOTW. I have a couple of interesting notations. First of all, I am just not too sure about these shorts. I've had them for a while, but have never worn them before because they were too tight in the waist. I have recently dropped a few pounds for reasons I can't really explain, and now they fit OK. At least in the waist. Looking at them in this photo, I feel everything else is too big, and cut too fully. I don't know, I just don't like them all that well. Except for the full sized pockets. No dumping change when you sit down in these shorts.

This week, I got in a conversation right off the bat with one of our early customers about my shoes. It was the usual "I don't see how you can do that and remain a normal, upright, pleasant person" kind of exchange. Since the market hadn't officially opened, I had a little more time to talk, and I attempted to explain how I approached wearing heels from a different place than most women, talking about social constructs and expectations.  .  . I'm not going to do that again. I'm sure there are some people out there who are interested in such things, but they are probably few and far between. She was pleasant enough, but obviously had no idea what the hell I was talking about, or didn't care. Which is fine. She can marvel at my endurance in high heels without understanding how I got here.

So, I wore my favorite Bonny mules for the first time to the market, just to see if they were really as comfortable as I always say they are. The Bonny No. 3 is not fully broken in yet, so I did bring a backup pair of shoes and a couple of Bandaids just in case. I wound up using the backup shoes, but not for the reason I imagined. As it turns out, both heel tips came loose before the end of the night. Not a big deal, I think it's because they are New Old Stock shoes, and the wooden heels have probably dried out and shrunk somewhat over the years, losing their grip on the heel tips. Same thing happened with Bonny No. 2. But I had to finish the night in low heels. :((((((

4 hours ago, hiddenheels said:

Sorry, do not like posting pics.

 

Got used to the skirt and heels I was wearing. Was quite comfortable in them! The heels look "manly" and the skirt was denim, also somewhat "manly". I don't know... My original plan was another skirt and stiletto heels, but wasn't too comfortable with that, whereas I think this worked well. I had fun. No one said anything.

First of all, congratulations on your successful outing. Even without pictures, I'm sure you looked just fine. And if you didn't, I guess we'll never know, haha.

I don't really like posting pictures of myself, either, but I have gotten used to it, and now do so on a regular basis. Actually, it's not the posting  pictures that bothers me, it's the taking pictures part. I don't have a nice smile, I don't know how to pose, and I certainly can't enlist any help from my wife in that regard, not after I complained every week for years when she would drag me out to the local park to have me take pictures of her.  I am not sure what your personal objection is, but I can tell you from experience that taking photos of yourself is a very valuable learning experience if you care the least amount about how you present yourself in public. Better yet, take a video. THAT can be an eye-opening experience. And it doesn't necessarily have to do with heels or skirts or anything like that. For example, I never noticed how badly I slumped my shoulders and put my head forward when I walked. Now I know what to work on. That really has nothing to do with heels, it's more a health thing. We should stand up straight in general for better health. You may not have that problem, I'm just giving that as an example.

For the second part, it's funny how we assign certain clothes or shoes as being more radical or controversial than others, when this is probably not the case. People who are receptive to a guy in a skirt and heels are not really going to put the finery on it as to whether the guy is wearing stilettos or block heels. Same goes for people who find the idea repulsive or merely weird. They're really not going to notice the exact style of shoe or skirt. I do this all the time myself, don't get me wrong. I'm guilty of the same inner head game, but it's kind of silly.

21 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

Do you all get red wasps up there?  I’ve never had a black/blue wasp even get anxious, unprovoked, but the red ones cannot be trusted.  

We don't have red wasps up here. The only black or blue species I can think of we call mud daubers, and they are pretty mellow. Most of the rest of them are yellow and black striped, and can be aggressive at times, especially during this time of year we're coming into soon.

I have a "boot friend," who is always trying to convince me to wear thigh boots. The problem I discovered (besides disliking the style for myself), is that thigh boots for your average person are crotch boots for me. I don't seem to have this problem with knee boots, so maybe I just have really short thighs with normal sized calves/shins.

I really wouldn't mind wasps all that much, but why do they have to be so angry? If they would just mellow out a little bit, I probably wouldn't kill them every chance I get.

That IS a nice color. It seems like there are lot more colors of pumps (and shoes in general) than there used to be. And that's even if you don't count the gaudy, busy, multicolor designs that seem to be everywhere as well.

Thanks, Joe. You are right, those shoes would have gone well with my "BluBlocker" outfit from Sunday. The color of the sky and the color of the coolers just happened to add that little bit of extra, and that was a complete accident. That picture is straight off the phone, no filters. That's just how it came out.

Here is my church OOTW. I seem to do the blue thing in slightly different permutations on a fairly regular basis, and here is what I came up with this week. FSJ blue mules, Buffalo pants (Costco), polo shirt from Vietnam.

The only notable thing that happened today is when I was getting out of the car after coming back home. As I was unloading my stuff, a wasp started harassing me. I had a bass case in one hand, and my bucket full of music/equipment in the other. I wound up stabbing the top of my foot with my own stiletto heel. That felt awesome. At least I didn't get stung.

Time for the latest installment of Farmer's Market Outfit Of The Week. I try not to repeat too often, but I'm sure it happens. I know I've worn the Michael Kors tan wedges before, the shorts before, and the olive t-shirt many, many times. So even if this is not a repeat, it's close.

It was a beautiful even here in central Iowa last night. Low 80s for temperatures to start off, a good breeze, and plenty of sunshine. In fact, I want to say it's the first truly decent weather we've had all year on a Thursday night. The State Fair hasn't started yet, so the people came. And they came, and they came, and they came. By my estimation, we sold about 750 egg rolls last night. Once again, my outfit and shoes did not seem to negatively affect business.

Despite my lack of time to do anything, I got three comments. One from a six year old girl early on who pointed out to her mother that I was wearing high heels. And that's it. Either it was that uninteresting, or the mother shushed the daughter hurriedly. I didn't actually hear any shushing, but I was kind of busy at the time. Number Two was from a customer, a woman about my age who asked the usual question of how I can work in those heels. We had a short conversation about heels during our financial and culinary transaction. She said she actually still did wear heels for special occasions, but she said she could only do about THAT high (held her fingers about 2 1/2 inches apart). My wedges are 4 1/2 with small platform, making them right at about 4 inches steep.

Number Three was when I was going to fetch my car from a nearby street so we could load up and go home. Two college age girls were walking behind me somewhat when I heard one of the shout out something. I didn't pay that much attention, but evidently she was yelling at me. What I finally was able to discern was, "You look fierce" and "I like your shoes." I thanked her and her friend, and went on my way. Both were very attractive young ladies, and both were smiling. I sure didn't feel fierce, I felt like I just got run over by a truck, but whatever.

I must be gaining some stamina, because the last time I wore these shoes, the balls of my feet felt quite uncomfortable by the end of the night. This time, they were just slightly ragged, and now the next morning I can hardly tell I stood in 4 inch heels for nearly six hours.

Oddly enough, and I suppose that we all are odd in some way or other, I really do not get a kick out of wearing heels while sitting. As I am writing this, I have my bare feet propped up on the adjacent piece of furniture to where I've got my backside planted. I do rather love the sensation of wearing heels while standing or walking.

23 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Due to image size limits I was unable to show these yesterday. 

Now there's a color I had not really considered before, but may in the future. It goes so well with denim.

7 hours ago, pebblesf said:

I would like to do this someday as well, but am afraid of the horrifying results!

Ummmm, yeah. It can be horrifying. I admit, I am probably way too hard on myself, but it's taken me 10 years to figure out how to walk, and I still ain't really got it right yet.

I have to admit to taking quite a bit of video of myself lately, because I realize I need to improve my walk. It's very instructional when a person sees himself as he actually appears.

That is also my style--sort of. But I have to agree with Bluejay, just shave your legs. If you're just chillin' on your deck, and wanted to show us your shoes, don't bother. It's kind of a pain in the rear. But if you're actually out in public, please do. To be sure, there are some members here who will violently disagree with me on this one. And it's fine to be wrong about something that doesn't, in the grand scheme of things, really matter. 😂😂😂

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

In the break room. It's been exillerating wearing heels at work.

I actually think I'm a bit more productive. Not sure why other than the feeling of high heels on my feet seems more natural when I'm in an unloaded position. I have a reasonable arch.

That is one thing I always wondered. I know you favor stiletto heels that are around 5 inches tall. First of all, I can't even walk in 5 inch heels properly, but even supposing I could learn, I don't think I could actually wear them to most places where I usually wear heels, because I spend a good deal of the time walking or standing. I find that 3 inch or lower I can almost ignore completely, but as I get up to 4 inch, it becomes quite noticeable after a couple of hours that I'm wearing heels. My question is, am I to understand that you spend quite a good deal of time sitting in your heels, as compared to standing or walking?

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

I just canceled this order. They asked for 10 more dollars. Claimed material costs. I may have paid the price if it was listed that way, changing in mid stream is bull.

Yeah, I'm trying to imagine my wife having a sign up that says, "Egg rolls, $2 a piece." And then charging $2.50 at the counter.

I feel that I already have way too many shoes, and I know you have several times what I have. Do you ever get the feeling when something like this happens, "Ah well, I didn't really need those anyhow." I know I do. Doesn't keep me from looking for the next pair, but sometimes it's a bit of a relief to have an order cancelled.

First of all, I would like to say "welcome." I say this with some puzzlement, as I see you've been here for nearly 7 years, so perhaps "welcome back" would be more appropriate.

It all depends upon what kind of shots you would like to get. If you are currently using a phone propped up in a supermarket trolley (or grocery cart, as we would call it over here), I am guessing that you are not wanting a documentary-type video where people can see your entire body, and you walk around and talk about things. I'd go with p1ng74's suggestion in that case.