mlroseplant

What it comes down to is that many people don't know what's real and what's not, and maybe they don't care. That's the scary part.

I also had a demanding week, but may break out my highest presentable heels today. I am to attend a music recital this afternoon, which will involve about a 600 m walk each way. The key for me is warming up a little bit first. Once I get to that height, I can't just put on my shoes and go. There has to be preflight.

The younger one says he doesn't care at all, and I believe him to an extent, but I KNOW for a fact that he enjoys his reputation as the kid who shows up to school in greasy jeans and beat up work boots who can also write and speak well and play the heck out of a saxophone. It's a subtle statement saying, "I am one of the few kids who knows how to drive a manual transmission, and I am the ONLY kid in my school who knows how to rebuild a carburetor." He might also be the only kid in his school who knows how to spell carburetor, and that there are two possible ways to spell it, depending upon which side of the pond you're on.

You and both of my kids. I have no idea how I managed to raise two boys who never wear shorts and always wear work boots. They arrived at this fashion/function/comfort decision independently. I threw "fashion" in there because there certainly IS that element in the mix, particularly with the older boy. Sandals are very tricky. In my experience anyway, it's much harder to find a "good" pair of sandals than it is fully enclosed shoes or boots. Then again, I'm probably pickier than most people, both about appearance and comfort.

As many of you know, I do like to wear shorts. Now is the time when it will soon be time to say goodbye until next year. These are perhaps my favorite jean shorts from l.e.i. I like the fact that they are pretty short, but not super tight in the legs, making them a little less racy than would otherwise be the case. They are size 5, which means they are juniors and not misses (which is the U.S. term for "women's"). One would think that juniors would fit my nonexistent hips better, and they probably do, but the downfall of that slimmer cut is that they are much better when standing up than when sitting down. Were it not for the fact that I have certain plumbing installed that was not really designed into these shorts, I would have no complaints. In other words, they are a bit tight in the crotch when the legs are not parallel with the torso. I have actually had compliments from strangers on these shorts in the past, with one gal even asking what brand they were. To be sure, I was in a standing position at the time. Paired with the shorts (and my 175th anniversary of our local church t-shirt) are my Bruno Magli Kira suede mules. Suede and summer might seem an odd combination, but somehow with these sandals, it works. They could probably use a good cleaning, though. For something casual and comfortable, they fit right in. One of the things I like about them is that they are a very narrow wedge, so they are not clompy at all, as many wedges can be. It is almost like walking in stilettos without the worry of putting your heel down a crack. *** A technical note: These sandals are size 38 1/2. I do not care what many size conversion charts say. 38 1/2 ≠ 8 1/2 U.S. Women's. I made them work, but they are just *this* close to being too small. I could have probably used a 39 or 39 1/2.

It would seem unlikely without an invite, but who knows? I believe that there are any number of people who might like to join our community if only they knew that we actually wear heels instead of just fantasizing about them. We've had our dress-up-in-front-of-the-mirror people also, but I think they tend to find us very boring (and vice versa).

Ah yes, but were we rich enough for such luxuries. I'm talking about Italian Heels as if I'm going to buy some. Not until I procure the Next Big Job. I will certainly be laid off from the one I'm on right now, it's only a question of whether it will be in a couple of weeks or a couple of months. So for now, I'll have to participate in the challenge with slightly low heels. I'm not THAT far off. 12 cm on size 40 still translates to what? 11.3 or 4? What's a few millimeters among friends?

I did manage to get a photo taken this week of my church outfit. I can tell you this: While I am caught up on the laundry, I am WAY behind on the ironing. I am to the point where I have to scroll through my camera and see whether I'm repeating an outfit from two weeks ago. I decided that it had been a while since I'd worn purple, and it had been a long while since I'd worn my Michael Kors black and tan sandals. One thing about doing this steep heel challenge, it makes shoes like these effectively 4 1/8" heels seem like a little bit of nothing (5 1/8" heel, 1" platform).

I have been looking pretty seriously at Italian Heels. I hear they are nice. @Jkrenzer says they tend to stretch out fast, but perhaps that is not a concern for me. My biggest concern is that a size 40 is a size 40. And should I elect to get sandals, as I am wont to do, do I go with 39? 39.5? One thing about buying cheap stuff on ebay is, if it doesn't work out, there is very little remorse.

While I haven't led any tours, I've participated in a few over the years, and it does seem like heels have gradually gone away. In particular, my first trip to Chicago as a tourist was in the 1980s as a high school student. We did many of the tourist-y things, and I can remember many heels being worn by tourists during that trip. I can specifically remember a group from Germany in which several of the women chose to wear 3 to 4" stiletto pumps to do their walking tour. No heels in our particular group, but we were kids. On the last trip I made, seven years ago, I was the only one wearing high heels that I saw. There were a very few pairs of mid-to-low heeled wedges, but nothing to write home about.

I have to admit to having a problem with this challenge. The problem is, I don't technically own any heels of the proper height for it. I do have several pair which are a measured 12 cm, but that's on size 40. Otherwise, I have two pair of what are bordering on extreme heels at 14 cm. I find those to be frustrating for two reasons: First, both of them are low quality, and they don't even feel nice to put on, much less try to walk in. Second, the jump to 14 cm is too much. Even with nobody watching, I feel very silly wearing these things. It seems like I need reminding every few weeks why I never wear these shoes. So I need to procure a nice pair of 12 cm that actually fit me.

Yesterday, I did my longest loop, which involves some hills. I was wearing 10 cm heels (not stilettos). It occurred to me that instead of being slightly irritated at having to walk downhill in heels as I usually am, I should look at it as good training for steeper heels. It's a slightly different physical dynamic, but the effect is basically the same.

I am about to set some durability records, which I will write about elsewhere as soon as they actually happen. However, with one pair, it's going to be a nail-biter. I've owned four pairs of this particular type of shoe, and the same thing always happens at about 100 miles--the shank breaks, and they're done. On pair number 4, I've currently got 105 miles, 10 miles short of the record for this particular shoe model. However, I noticed yesterday that one of my top lifts (heel tips) has started to wear kind of funny. You know what THAT means--impending doom! We'll see if they last another 10 miles in the days to come.

It would be very interesting to interview Ms. Ton, HHP style. The news outlets who have interviewed her thus far have not been asking the right questions! I personally am the most interested in exactly how she wound up picking that particular style. I have many different types of sandals, and that would be almost the last choice I would have made, a single strap across the toes with a closed heel and a strap round the ankle. Evidently, it works for her! But why is nobody asking the question?

I've been practicing out in the garage with my 11.5 cm stiletto mules. It sounds strange, but it's the only place I've got where I can walk more than 6 steps in a row, so I can try to perfect my walk the best I can before I take it to the streets.

In my usual walk routine, I have short days and long days. Yesterday was a short day, meaning my walk was but a single mile (1.6 km). I chose to wear "real" high heels, just to up my game a little bit. Not all the way up to 12 cm, but close. Maybe 10.5 or 11, once you discount a little bit for my size 40. There is a big difference between that and my typical 8 to 10 cm walking shoes. If I ever get to the point where the high ones feel completely natural to walk in, that will be something. They weren't bad at all, I just never felt super at ease with them. The entire mile felt like, "Yes, you are wearing high heels."

Back to the question of what does it really accomplish. I personally get it, but I also can see your point of view. I mean, I'm kind of guilty of the same thing on a much smaller level. Why do I keep track of how many miles I walk in heels? What does THAT really accomplish? My answer to that is that it's just fun for me, and if nobody else gets it, that's fine. Nobody except for you guys even knows about my record keeping, so I definitely don't do it for the fame! On the other hand, I wouldn't want to work my job in heels, even though it would be a bit of an accomplishment. I'm not sure what the qualitative difference is, but there is one to me personally.

Hasn't had any problems with the ankles, but the blisters sure do suck. Yup, been there, done that. I carry bandaids with me at nearly all times, and sometimes even then, it doesn't work. 2024 was the Year of the Band-Aid, but this year, not so much, despite the fact that my walking mileage is nearly 50% more than last year. I have some theories about why, but no concrete evidence to back it up. The article did not really go into specifics about the negative feedback she got from "mostly male" commenters, but I can imagine. Some guys just love to tell a woman what to do. It's part of some people's culture. "Oh, that's really stupid, hon, you're going to get hurt." You know what else will get you hurt? Playing American football. This is the same conversation I had with my "sports medicine" chiropractor when he told me that wearing heels was super bad for my body in general. Not as bad as playing football. I would advise your patients to quit that immediately. End of conversation. It's never come up again.

Very well. I did not get a photo taken of my church Outfit Of The Week, but I did manage to fall asleep in the afternoon, so that I was forced to go out to dinner, being as I woke up too late to begin cooking supper. It was nice enough weather to eat outside, and I was forced to look at our reflection in the storefront windows the whole time. It's all I got. Oh, by the way, somebody I know walked past and said, "Beautiful shoes, as always!" I didn't get turned around in time to see who it was. That sort of comment drives my wife crazy, though she keeps it well hid these days.

If he did, he evidently did not write about them. Pity. Have a good week, y'all!

I have reached the "mile"stone last week of having walked 2,500 documented miles (around 4,000 km) in heels. To be clear, it's taken me over 12 years to do it, but needless to say, I've worn out and broken a lot of shoes in that time. Sometime within this month I will break some records concerning shoe durability. I may make it a special new topic to announce such, as no one seems to respond to this thread anymore. It may be getting a little bit long in the tooth.

I did much the same thing after several days of being sick. I broke out the mid heels to sort of ease back into it. Yes, one feels like one can zoom around in mid heels.

When did you say your next tour group gig is coming up? Does it cover more or less the same territory? If so, will you make the same comments to the next lot about Charles II?

I think you're placing way too much importance on a pair of socks. Within this truncated view, I do not immediately think either foot is too young or too old. I totally get what you're saying about feet changing size. I've always been frustrated by the common narrative that one should buy his shoes in the afternoon, when feet are biggest. It just so happens that my feet are biggest in the morning, and that's a fact. Why this should be so, I have no idea, I only know that it is. Also, I have a list which tells me where I need to place bandaids to prevent certain shoes from eating holes in my feet. Even that sort of comes and goes to some extent. I hate to admit it, but usually my most reliable shoes are boots as far as blisters and other such injuries, and I know it's because I always wear socks with boots. If only I could love boots. . .

I guess so! Where do you find these people? I've heard of them before, but I've never actually met them. They must go over there to the Bab-dist church. 100 years ago, we Methodists were admittedly a little uptight, but today we'd be right up there with the Catholics wanting a taste of that whiskey.