mlroseplant

Please expand on your thoughts. What is it about these particular shoes that you find attractive? Is it the gold trim?  Is it the gold heel? The peep toe? You know, give us a little something to discuss.

I am glad you are able to do the full time heeling thing. In my profession, even if I were a woman I would not be able to do so, but I get what you mean by there is a big difference between a few outings and living an entire day (or an entire life) in heels. A difference in attitude, and also a difference in endurance!

All right, so after another incredibly disgusting day at work, I can talk about jeans without actually wearing them. As I was saying before, I started off wearing boot cut jeans in a quite long length, in an attempt to hide my heels. This style was not unknown for women, though it may have been slightly out of date by the time I was wearing it. I can remember several years prior working at the State Capitol Building, and the young, smartly dressed female lobbyists would come in with their sleek pantsuits. The style at the time was to have flared pants that nearly touched the floor, pretty much hiding the shoes. All you could see was just the tiniest pins of stilettos peeking out of the bottoms. It drove me crazy not being able to get a good look at the shoes, so I figured I could use the same concept to my advantage when I didn't want people to see my shoes. The problem with that was, I often wore clogs or mules, and I would always get the hem of the pants caught in between my foot and the insole of the shoe. It seemed like I was always straightening or rearranging my pants.

What freedom it was when I finally decided to go with a straight cut jean that stopped at the ankle! Suddenly I could sit or stand, climb stairs, get in and  out of cars without worrying about my damn pants. I cannot recall exactly when this transition took place, but it was at least a couple years after I started heeling publicly. I finally got rid of all but two pair of boot cut jeans last year. I realized they were hanging in my wardrobe unused for several years. Once in a blue moon I will wear the boot cuts, just to remember why I stopped wearing them.

I do not remember making a conscious choice to wear skinny jeans for the first time. Truth to tell, I don't really love them because they're a pain to get on and off, and often they are lacking pockets where there ought to be pockets.  In addition to that, they tend to bunch up once you've actually moved around in them, giving you that wrinkled look. I prefer a slightly looser design, but still quite slim. I am not loyal to any particular brand, I get most of my stuff at Costco or Walmart.

I have jeans in quite a few different colors, as well. Here are some in pale pink, although my friend thought they looked lavender. Perhaps they do in this photo, but trust me, they are pale pink.

All right, something else to run with and have fun with! First of all, it was literally 100º here yesterday, so I can't imagine voluntarily wearing skinny jeans and boots, but we'll set that aside for a minute, being as this forum is international in nature. At any rate, looking good Cali.

Like many of us, I started out wearing boot cut jeans in a floor grazing length... Whoops, I'm out of time, it's time to make the donuts (this is a reference to an old television commercial, and means I have to go to work). I'll come back tomorrow and actually begin.

I can't do capri length anything, because it visually bisects my already short legs. 

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

Ha ha!   I don't recognise the cartoon, but interesting that it seems to be better known outside the UK than I expected.

I might have figured SF would provide a link to Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh. I can't say as I am surprised that you don't recognize the Disney animated version, as it bears (no pun intended) little resemblance to A.A. Milne's books, especially in that few second clip.

One interesting abbreviation I have run across is the initialism LED, or Light Emitting Diode. Or I should say, it's an initialism here, but in Asia, everyone seems to pronounce it as a word, making it an acronym.

21 hours ago, SF said:

OOTW...   I'm not "hip," (sadly) and had to look up the meaning of OOTW.  Four plus definitions came up.  One was "Operations Other Than War," I imagine that was not your meaning here.  

Nice sandals and I'm not a shorts wearing guy but do like that coral color.  I have a casual shirt that color and it is also my fav OPI nail polish color.

Have fun...   smile...  sf 

I had defined that abbreviation three posts previous. I am normally loathe to use those sorts of things, but I have read this so often when I receive pictures from my fashionista friend that it now seems normal to me. Only with her, it's always OOTD. I simply don't have a different outfit every day, so I went with OOTW. In fact, I don't know if you could call most of what I wear "outfits." It's more like "stuff I pulled on at the last minute that I hoped wouldn't look terrible."

Operations Other Than War might have actually worked in this case. After all, our operation is quite peaceful there on 5th Street every week.

18 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

Engineers are always inventing acronyms, and I think this is one he created - Outfit Of The Week

I'm going to tag @Puffer on this one, because this is probably right up his alley. I didn't actually invent this "acronym." Or maybe I did. As I'm sure you are quite aware, being a fashion enthusiast yourself, OOTD is as common as dirt on many social media platforms. Like I said previously, I had to change it to reflect one-seventh the frequency.

On a slightly different subject, we call these things "acronyms," but they are not truly acronyms. That definition may be changing as people, including me, slightly misuse it, but what we really mean is "initialism." To be a true acronym, the initials must form a sort of word that you say, kind of like "LASER, SCOTUS, SCUBA," that sort of thing. An initialism is an abbreviation where you say the letters, like "FBI, DIY," and quite possibly "OOTD." OOTD is an interesting one, though, because at least as I use it, it's only in writing, as "Outfit Of The Day" rolls off the tongue quite easily, perhaps rather more easily than saying, "oh-oh-tee-dee." "Eff-bee-eye" is obviously more handy than saying "Federal Bureau of Investigation" every single time.

I could go on to examine the fact that Americans will call air-conditioning "A/C," whereas Brits will tend to say "aircon." Both are shortened forms, and some might point out the the initialism "A/C" might be mistaken for "Alternating Current," whereas "aircon" cannot. However, in real life, this never happens. Y'all ave a good day.

Farmer's market OOTW. Bruno Magli suede wedges (which are holding up rather better than I expected), Loft shorts, Walmart t-shirt. Did not get any comment on my shoes, but one male customer, appearing to be in his early 20s, complimented my shorts. It is quite possible that he never even saw my shoes. I'm not sure they're visible to customers unless they go out of their way to view them.

Although they appear shorter in this particular picture, these sandals are right a 4" with no platform. I wore them six weeks ago, and by the end of the night, I was ready to get out of them. This week, however, they treated me much better. They were just fine. It's probably more like I'm getting my endurance built back up. And yes, the photo was taken in a men's bathroom.

OOTW. I don't really have an outfit of the day, but I usually have an outfit of the week. The Via Spiga pumps are fitting a lot better after going through the shoe stretcher. I got complimented on my shoes by a fellow musician, one whom I had never met before. I was not in my best form, but she was. That is, as I was reminded again by a sometimes friend, because I don't do music for a living. If I did, I would probably practice more. I also got accused of having man-boobs within the next few hours. I don't know why this bothers me. I only wish they were bigger. Just kidding.

Seeing this thread definitely takes me back in time, especially the part about not knowing what to say when somebody complimented me. I would just clam up, which is really not like me. Today, I typically just smile and say, "Thank you," and leave it at that, unless it's obvious they want to talk more. Usually, they don't.

It hasn't happened to me in quite a little while, but I suppose it's only a matter of time. Evidently, you were not seriously hurt, but the question is, were the shoes hurt? The last time I ate it, I broke my shoe!

21 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

That's quite the record you have. I have no clue what I've worn or when. After a few days, the memory fades and I've never jotted down my choices. I know which are my favorites and seem to rotate amongst them most.

Sounds to me like Söfft has become your favorite brand based on comfort. 

I don't get the sandal seam placement. Seems if the could move just a bit forward would help. Realize they need the tip to be rounded into the sole unlike pumps for better structural protection, but seam is in a bad place.

I don't usually record that stuff the way JeffB used to (and probably still does). I only started writing down what I wore to the Thursday night "big" farmer's market because of two reasons: 1) Since it is a bit hard on the feet, I need to remember what not to wear, and what to wear. 2) Seems I have a bit of a reputation, and I don't want to accidentally repeat too often.

I have not recently done a shoe inventory, but pretty much all of my low heels are Söfft brand. I haven't had a perfect record with them, but I've had a pretty good one. One of these days, I shall have to do a little segment on that part of my collection.

I have worn 4" to work a farmer's market before. In fact, according to my notes, I have done so three times this year. Twice have I worn 3", and the other two times I wore 3 1/2". None of them have been true stilettos, and about half of them were wedges. There is only one pair that I won't be wearing again for that purpose. I doubt that I will go over 4" for this event, although sometimes it's tempting, just to see if I can pull it off.

What I have found is that only the Söfft sandals, pictured three replies above, actually feel like flats. The rest of them, when worn for 5 hours of mostly standing, produce discomfort under the ball of the foot from friction. I believe that this is because there is usually a seam there in the footbed on most shoes. Most sandals, anyway. It's not a musculoskeletal thing for me, it's a skin thing. It's like I've walked too far on concrete barefoot when I'm not used to it, that sort of a feeling. I believe it is simply a matter of toughening up my feet. Ever since I stopped using the treadmill on a regular basis, my feet have gotten soft.

It does seem that as the weeks go by, it gets easier every time, but the Söfft sandals are the only ones where I don't even notice I'm wearing shoes, much less heels. No wonder I have 3 pair--4 if you count the ratty, worn-out pair that I still keep for some reason.

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Being more comfortable in your heels reduces your own alertness. I used to know all around me but as I have become more comfortable I have become less aware of my surroundings. My guess, people are still taking pictures, you're just not on to them. For me that's fine. I know I'm the odd character, even most women don't wear the heels I sport and not nearly as frequently. 

You are less than accurate about that. No one wears the heels you sport. Not even me. Only on Instagram. 🤣

6 hours ago, Cali said:

Slow time in the heel world.

 

BUT next week I will go back to working in-person, the first time since March 2020, so more heeling stories might happen.

We can only hope. We need more stories, and I'm a pretty boring guy, I can only provide so many. 😆

13 hours ago, StockingTop said:

Couple of things: Nice shoes, nice legs! However, it would be nice to know some information about your new shoes. What they are, where you bought them, how are they to walk in, you know, stuff like that. I realize that I'm a man of too many words, so I'm not saying you should follow my example, but some sort of explanation would be helpful.

On 6/17/2022 at 2:34 AM, highheel111 said:

Nobody said anything or even really notice except one lady who I noticed followed me for a bit I did a u turn and saw she was filming me.

This used to happen to me all the time. I did not react as well as you did, usually I whipped out my own phone and pretended to take pictures of whoever had their phone out at me. However, times have changed, and I have changed. I haven't noticed anybody trying to record my image in a long time. It probably still happens, but not like it did 5-10 years ago. Maybe I just walk better now?

Farmer's Market outfit of the week. The weather has been very strange this year. For the month of May, it seemed like it was either really hot or really cold. We hit shorts wearing weather the second week of May, but then for the next few weeks it was in the 50s for highs (lower 10s C). As a result, I let my legs go for 3+ weeks. That was a tactical error. What is normally a 5-7 minute process turned into a 15 minute endeavor, it was kind of a hatchet job, and it made me run late. At least the farmer's market is not the type of place where people notice that you've missed a couple of patches of hair on the side of your thigh.

I chose to wear mid heels on this particular night, one of my three pairs of Söfft Calvados, which have a 3 inch total rise (3 3/4" heel with 3/4" platform). True to form, they didn't bite back, and it was like working in flats. In fact, when we got home, I didn't bother to change shoes for the unload like I usually do.

Shorts are Banana Republic, t-shirt is by some unfortunate in Vietnam, quite possibly named Baby Three. I only got one comment, and that was from an old lady who was using a walker. I stepped out from behind the table in order to serve her, and she said something to the effect of, "I don't see how you can work this market in those shoes. Even back when I was waitressing, I always wore flats, and my feet still killed me." I kind of deflected the subject a bit, and found out she was working at Costco part time, giving out samples. Next time I am at Costco, I'll have to look for her.

I honestly don't know what to tell people any more. I do bring backup flat(ter) shoes with me, just in case. I've never had to use them in a year and a half of doing this. I guarantee you that if I ever forgot them, or decided, "Nah, I don't need these!", that would be the one time something would go wrong somehow.

I saw an unusual pair of sandals on Poshmark, made a kind of a low offer, and the seller accepted it, so now I have yet another pair of sandals. They are Söfft brand, model name unknown. They are the strangest pair of Söfft shoes I've ever run across, and I ought to know, as I've owned over 20 pairs of that brand, and currently have 17 pairs. I may have to do a little segment about that one of these days.

The reason I say they're strange is because they do not seem to share certain material characteristics with the rest of that brand range. The platform bottom is constructed as a complete unit, in other words, the padding within the footbed seems to be contained within the actual platform itself, rather than laid over the top in an insole arrangement. The design of the sole is different than anything else I've ever seen. It must be an older design. I don't think it's a newer one. The heel itself is significantly higher than anything I've ever seen on any Söfft shoe up to now. At 4 1/4", it's a good 1/2" higher than any of my other Söfft "high" heels. With a platform thickness of 5/8", and I know it looks thicker than that, but I'm compensating for its strange design to accurately calculate a steepness of 3 5/8". This would make them the only Söfft shoes I've ever worn that actually feel like heels.

Another unusual thing about these sandals is their color. I know they might appear to be cherry red in these pictures, but I assure you they are not. They are some weird combination of fuscia and coral pink, I can't decide what color they really are, but it is striking, whatever it is. The platforms and heels are cork, but heavily lacquered cork, in a manner I've never seen before. Perhaps this is designed to complement the patent leather. The curved, slim heels, opposite of today's fashionable setback heels, look almost as if they thought they wanted to be wedges on their journey to the ground, but evidently changed their minds, and decided to come down as separate heels. Which, by the way, measure 11/16" across, putting them in that no-man's-land between stilettos and block heels where I seem wont to reside.

Comfort, as far as I can tell, is good. I haven't yet worn them any further than my own driveway, but I did have them on domestically for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, as the experienced among us know, that don't mean a thing, irrespective of whether it has that swing. I would promise to make a report soon, but first I'm going to have to figure out what on earth I'm ever going to wear these with. Possibly I have a couple of pairs of shorts and maybe a couple pairs of pants they might go with, I'll have to compare reality vs. my imagination.

One last feature of these sandals which is somewhat unusual for me is that they actually have a closed heel and an ankle strap. I think only one other time in my life have I ever owned sandals with a closed heel. The other pair I owned never did straighten up and fly right, and I had to use a bandaid with it every time to keep it from digging into my ankle. Hopefully, that is not the case with this pair.

Ok, so it's not just me, bow leggedness is harder to overcome with higher heels. I've always felt that this is so, but I can't figure out a good reason to explain it. I wound up taking a number of videos over the weekend, some in 3" effective heels, some in 3 3/4", and some in 4 1/4". And yeah, in the 4 1/4", I cannot physically pull my knees together when standing. If I want to give that appearance, I have to cheat and put my feet in something akin to Third Position in ballet.

Despite being bow legged, I do not have a tendency toward supination. My heels, whether on flat shoes or elevated ones, wear out evenly. My feet also naturally point straight forward when I walk. One thing that I have noticed in the last 10 years is that my work boots last a lot longer than they used to. I used to be a heel dragger, but not any more! And yes, @Pierre1961, I think we do pay a lot more attention to the physical act of walking than do most women. And to be fair to ourselves, most women are pretty bad at it.

I keep threatening to make an instructional video one of these days, and perhaps I've finally gotten off my keester and taken the first steps (pun intended) toward that end. In this day and age, there are so many videos and articles out there, and a lot of them are terrible. Some of them are pretty good, but I have yet to see one that truly explains what it takes to have an attractive walk.

For the first time in several years, I actually took video of myself walking in heels. Perhaps this was inspired by the awful video footage of me referenced in the post above (and no, I will not be providing a link), but when I am paying attention, I am not all that bad. I need work, to be sure, but at least I don't make myself wince. Part of my problem is that I am naturally bow legged, which is not a great thing for presenting in heels, but it is a fault that I believe I can overcome.

20 hours ago, Bootslover29 said:

4 inches rise is still comfortable for me, but not far to my limit to walk easily.

@Mlroseplant, I mainly agree with you. The day I purchased those wedges was sunny but not so warm, this explains the jacket and the scarf. Wedges are less elegant than heeled sandals, but far more easy to walk on cobblestone, and we are used to have a lot of streets here in France with irregular ground. I had some heels nearly destroyed by cobblestone!

For sure, I prefer the look of true sandal, like

but I like also to have the choice

I sure do get it. Sometimes, practicality wins out over absolute style. We don't have cobblestones in the Midwest U.S., only the occasional street still paved with bricks, and even that is not too common. I do appreciate my wedges for some things, like dealing with grass, especially wet grass.  These are 2 inch wedges I usually wear to help my wife with her farmer's market tent. They are every bit as practical as flats, but have that just a little something extra.

18 hours ago, Bootslover29 said:

Sorry guys I love vintage bikes also, but I only have my new wedges to share with you! 😃

 

https://www.casimages.com/i/22053102573422178917910101.jpg.html

High but very comfortable!

I was going to make another post today, but I'll hold off, to see if we can get some more comment about this post. I have several pairs of wedges in this general style, and while I agree they tend to be quite comfortable, I find myself not wearing them very often, because every time I see myself wearing such shoes, the contrast between my slender legs and these HUGE THINGS ON MY FEET is quite jarring.

I think they look less that way on you, but the contrast is quite noticeable. Also, the contrast between short skirt, bare legs, sandals, then heavy layering on top (complete with scarf!) is.  .  . very Korean of you. I mean no disrespect by that!

19 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

Yeah I felt like I was fighting the high noon sun.  Usually standing in the open sun provides the best light, but when it comes from straight above nothing seemed to work.  

I know we've all been there as photographers of all skill levels. It still amazes me that, even with all of our modern technology, we cannot match the sophistication of the human eye, or perhaps really it's the human brain, or a combination of the two. I'm sure that in person, I would have no problem making out the details, even with that bright background.

So after the validation came the Big Hit--I actually saw myself on video walking in those insanely high Michael Kors shoes referenced above, and elsewhere.  It was not pretty. I hope not too many people saw or noticed THAT. Not that I CAN'T walk in them, I just need to pay better attention. This particular video was a livestream, and I had a lot of other things on my mind, but it just goes to show you, 45 years of habit and physiology is difficult to overcome, even with much practice.