mlroseplant

I get to do New Year twice this year! I will be traveling to Vietnam for the first time in five years to celebrate the Lunar New Year with my family. Chúc mừng năm mới!

1 hour ago, HappyinHeels said:

Hi All,

I just ordered the JS Devalyn sandal which is basically a slingback version of the very popular Dany sandal that has been around since at least 2010. It should arrive in AZ about the time I fly back by the end of this week. The Dany looks and feels great but takes a bit to put on. A slingback offers a much faster on and off experience. I have some new flare jeans as a Xmas gift which should pair well with these sandals. I hope to post some photos once I get them since I haven't posted in a while and don't know if it's gotten any easier than before. I know sizing was always an issue for me as my phone wants to make everything way too large a file. We'll see. Until then Heels Up!! HinH

I totally get the easy on and off thing--perhaps that is part of the reason why I am so obsessed with mules. Regular sandals, particularly those with thin straps, can be very fiddly things indeed, especially for an old man like me. Fingers! Come on fingers! Work with me here!

The photo situation has not changed much. You are still limited to half a meg per post. I know that people have mentioned this on a number of occasions, but what I do is email photos to myself. On my particular phone, it automatically prompts you as to how big a file you want to send. Whatever software it uses to do this doesn't really affect the quality for viewing a normal sized photo on a computer screen. Perhaps you have something similar on your phone.

And just to be clear, I really prefer to keep my heels down. I find that when they go up, some unfortunate situation has occurred, which usually involves some level of pain. 😆😆😆 Good to hear from you again!

It's been a while since I've posted in this thread. Part of it is because I swore off buying any new shoes for a while, and part of it is that I simply haven't shared every single thing I've bought.

On display this time are shoes that I have no idea why I bought. Well, yes I do know why I bought them. Believe it or don't, occasionally I just don't feel like wearing super high heels somewhere. These Born oxfords serve the purpose quite nicely. At 3 1/2 inches, they are just enough of a heel to feel like you're wearing heels, but low enough that you kind of feel like you're not wearing heels. Furthermore, the styling is evidently not too much of a jump, even for those who are kind of negative toward my fashion choices in general. I guess I have pushed it so far that when I dial it back a notch or two, I suddenly seem normal.

This is really my third time wearing these easy to get along with oxfords out, and they feel pretty much exactly like they look--boring, but functional.

Happy New Year to everyone! Even though I don't have to work today, I'm up at 4:30, whether I want to be or not. I've always been an early riser anyway, heck I used to deliver the Des Moines Register newspaper, back when kids were allowed to do such a job. That would have been an awesome job to do in heels. With the possible exception of Sundays.

Yesterday was an unusual day at church. We had a single service, where we normally have two, and my son and I were given the day off as musicians. We didn't take it. Luckily, our choir director is very tolerant of us, and did not mind a bit that we showed up to wing it (in other words, no rehearsal). I did wear low heels to the service, however. I had no idea what to expect, so we brought everything but the kitchen sink with us, and I didn't feel like carrying all those instruments in super high stilettos.

My favorite clogs have split in half across the ball of my foot. They are made of molded plastic of some sort, rather than real wood. I have one pair in black, and one pair in brown. They have both suffered the same failure. I have decided to roll with it, and continue wearing them until they are unwearable. The structural failure is not really noticeable to the general public.

I got my record, and still have one day to do some walking in 2023. I did some number crunching, and noted some differences between this year and the previous record year, 2014.

The main difference is that I did most of my mileage this year in actual high heels. I consider a "high" heel as one whose difference between heel and forefoot is 4 inches or greater. Less than 4 inches down to 3 inches, I consider a "mid" heel. Back in 2014, when I last walked more than 300 miles within a calendar year, 70% of my walking was in mid-heels. This year, about 70% of my walking was in actual high heels, and most of my mid heels were on the higher end of "mid," whereas in 2014, they were on the lower end of that scale. I did not get quite that specific in my statistics.

At any rate, I have made a goal for 2024 to exceed my 2023 numbers, and I plan to do so by upping my monthly "quota" by 5 miles per month. I think I can manage it, provided that I remain healthy and uninjured.

On 12/8/2023 at 5:06 PM, Gige said:

I want to offer a response that might be a bit different that much of the other comments in many of the posts I have read, including this one. First, I want to express the fact that I am, to a large degree, envious of those men who wear heels out in public that are not hidden by long pants. As I just starting going out in public while wearing heeled boots, I truly desire that someday, I will be sufficiently confident in myself to wear such footwear in public where all can clearly see the heels I am wearing. Right now, I am not close to that point.

One of the reasons I do not feel completely comfortable in wearing uncovered heels is related to where I live. I reside in the capital city of a larger “blue” state but the city itself is rather small with a population of ~115K. Given that the city is more or less in the middle of the state, it can feel rather rural as farmland is but a short drive from my residence home. The areas outside of the capital city are deeply “red” and when I am out at certain stores, identifying those who live in these areas is rather simple – you think they came off an assembly line.  

When I am out in a store or event and wearing a pair of heeled boots, I have learned not to care a bit about what anyone else should think of me should they notice. I, probably similar to others, have had a few negative comments come my way from narrow-minded people. I do not worry about those insomuch as I do about the potential of being harassed and/or threatened by those who would deem my choice of footwear to be “abnormal” for whatever reason. If I still resided in the very large city that is within my state, my feelings would be different about when and where I wear a pair of heeled boots. Given my concerns of threats of violence being leveled against me by a very less tolerant rural population, I am extremely careful about when and where I will wear a pair of heeled boots in public. There are a few upscale stores and museums near me and I do feel comfortable in my boots within these places. I would not, however, take any of my five-inch pointed toe boots into a home improvement store. It is sad that I feel this way but it is the reality of the times and the places where I live.  

I can't believe I missed your post! I also live in a smaller town in what used to be a "purple" state, now clearly a "red" state for the moment. I honestly think politics have little to do with how well one is accepted in a community. It's not nothing, but it's a small factor in the grand scheme of things. I have visited much more politically conservative places wearing heels, and never had a problem, at least not a violent one. This includes eastern Ohio and northern Georgia. I did get yelled at from a passing lifted pickup truck in Georgia, but nobody actually threatened to kick my ass.

15 hours ago, Tech said:

It is a democracy but not an "Adult content only" website.

A certain amount of decency should not have to be requested. It should be a given that this is a public website, and out of respect for each other, you just dont expose yourself publicly.

Stockingtops images have only just been seen by me. The auto-moderation took care of them. And rightfully so, they were very inappropriate. He wouldn't go out shopping like that; he wouldn't walk past a school dressed like that, so don't do it here.

Common decency and don't turn the website into something it's not intended for have only ever been my focus.

I sometimes forget that we have a lot of eyes on us, perhaps we could call them "Silent Eyes." It does often seem that there are only 6 people who are paying attention at any given time, but @Bubba136's observations would suggest otherwise.

In addition to concerns about the type of material that will get us labeled  as a adult-only site, the fact is, I would really like it if we tried our best not to look silly. We have a hard enough time out there in the real world as it is.

I did talk to my cobbler about how he reheels these hollow molded plastic heels, and his solution is less elegant, but similar in concept to @Puffer's method. I assume it is also somewhat less time consuming for a busy shop. He says he takes a small bundle of wooden dowels, beats them in the hollow space in the heel, glues them in, cuts and sands them off, and then nails the new rubber heel cap to that.

What I did not expect is that this simple question would lead to a several minute tirade on his part about how pretty much all modern shoes are junk. It might have been more than several minutes had I not been in rather a hurry--I actually sneaked out of work for a few minutes to go pick up my shoes, hoping that nobody would notice I was gone. They didn't.

13 hours ago, peterborough said:

just got Back in UK now and will be going to hospital tomorrow.

No problem at airport with my heels both in New York and UK.

everyone had to take shoes off at the New York Airport.

i was getting quite some speed up walking in the airport and could hear every step lol.

was a blessing my toe issue as it forced me in heels when i might otherwise  wear trainers (to the airport) so was a very good heel experience prob walked a total of 15 miles in them over since my stay in NY.

i feel like i never want to wear flat shoes anymore as i get the fun from the heels.

i seem to prefer to have a hard heel v a rubber type heel. Sound + how it makes my feet feel.

I went with my brother, sister-inlaw and his 3 kids and my partner.

 

 

 

Yeah, I get you about that. I rarely wear flats anymore on my own time. Because, why would you want to? As far as the other, yes, I kind of like the click click, although with shoes like yours, I find it to be more of a "Tok, tok." However, there are limits to that obnoxiousness. I currently have 3 pairs of shoes at the moment that I consider to be too loud. Usually, this is fixed with a reheel, just to keep things down to a dull roar.

On 12/23/2023 at 3:51 PM, VirginHeels said:

Impressive Melrose. I love those stats on how much that extra half inch slows you down.

I am not so sure that the extra half inch slows me down that dramatically, but rather the style of the shoe. You have inspired me to experiment in the future (might have to wait until spring). I don't have very many non-stilettos that have a steepness of 4 1/2" or greater, but I think the reason why I'm walking more slowly in stilettos is because I have to be more careful how I walk and where exactly I step, so as not to damage my shoes. If I were to do the experiment at say, a shopping mall or some other place that is perfectly flat and has no cracks in the pavement, the difference might not be as much.

I have been rather motivated to set a new annual mileage record, and have walked about 11 miles on my three days off for the Christmas holiday. I now stand at over 308 miles for the year, or less than two miles of the previous record. I think I can manage to walk at least two more miles by the end of the year. For only the fourth time in my high heeling career, I did a five miler. 5.3 miles to be exact. Yes, my feet and legs were tired by the end, but I really suffered no ill effects. My left sandal started rubbing my instep slightly for the last mile, but it was a very tiny wound, and two days later I don't even notice it. Here is a picture of me right after the 5 mile walk. I am fortunate that the weather is unseasonably warm for December, about 45º F or 7º C.

There is a distinct, if subtle, difference between sore feet and tired feet. I normally log anywhere from 10-15,000 steps a day at work, and sometimes my feet are mighty tired at the end of the day, depending upon the exact nature of those steps. In construction, not all steps are created equal! However, I can certainly remember in years past barely being able to walk by the quitting time. That is what I would consider "sore" feet. Which would you characterize as your condition at the end of your day in 3 inchers?

I personally find 3 inchers in generally to be good walking shoes, especially heels such as you describe. I also would not hesitate to go to 4 inch, depending upon the exact shoes/boots. I don't know that I'd want to wear 4 inch stiletto pumps for 20,000 steps (plus you'd have your heels tips worn significantly down by then), but a nice 1 inch broad block heel should be no problem. I should be interested to see how it went. I've never been to New York City before. Merry Christmas!

I think that the end goals of the jury selection process are not all that different in the various countries that more or less follow the Common Law system, it's just the details that can be a bit different. How very strange that we use the term "voir dire," which is French, when every other foreign word we use in the law is Latin. Depending upon what part of the U.S. you're in, wild, terrible mispronunciations of said foreign language terms are quite acceptable, even by professionals. I still cringe when I hear lawyers pronounce it "vor dyre." I wonder if I could get out of jury duty by calling a lawyer an idiot for pronouncing it like a hick. 😆

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Interesting! The first time I saw myself in heels - in my case chocolate brown knee boots with five inch stiletto heels worn over skinny jeans - I was unsettled. Not horrified, but definitely unsettled. It felt very strange to see myself in stilettos. Rather than get all self conscious about it, as I might usually have done, I studied what I saw and I realised that was unsettling about it was not that I looked bad in heels but the unexpectedness of it, the femininity of them as counterpoint to the rest of me.

Considered dispassionately I did not look bad in stilettos. My legs are slender from being generally fit, and if one was to see an image of just my legs, from the thighs down, one would have made an assumption that it was a picture of a woman’s legs in high heels. It is only when one sees the male top half that the unsettling bit comes in.

My conclusion is that men do not intrinsically look bad in heels - it’s just that it is unexpected, contrary to the norms and therefor unsettling. The more it is seen, the less unsettling. And perhaps the more minds open to the idea that men can look good in heels.

For the time, I was unable to be dispassionate. I had no hope of being able to wear heels in public in the late 1980s, as a practical matter. And I really did look terrible. It may be fortunate that I had that reaction at the time, because it allowed me to live my life more or less in peace for another 15 or so years, by which time society had changed enough to where I was able to do my thing without a terrible price to pay. Unlike you, I immediately dismissed myself as having any decent looking feminine qualities. If I had taken 10 minutes to really assess what I saw in the mirror, I would have realized that all of the visual dissonances I objected to could have been addressed individually and collectively with a small amount of effort. I'm not much of a believer in destiny, but that chance encounter with the mirror definitely changed my life, and it was ultimately for the better.

As a member of the State of Iowa Bar, albeit non-practicing (everybody knows I'm actually an electrician), I must object to your reference, "That stupid Voir thingy." Because then you go on to say that there are exemptions/excusals. I don't know exactly how the legal system works in Scotland, but that's exactly what the usual process of "Voir Dire" is designed to address. You don't want a firefighter on the jury when your client is accused of arson. In some jurisdictions, even the judge can disqualify a potential juror for possessing some sort of bias. In any case (pun intended), it would definitely be heels for me, were I selected as a juror in the future.

As the year's end nears, I am drawing close to a record. As many of you know, one of my leisure activities is walking in heels. Of course, there is an app for that, and I use one called Map Your Walk. I have several routes I take, so I don't necessarily need to know the distance I have walked, but it is interesting to see whether it's a fast day or a slow day. Naturally, a big factor in the speed deals with effective heel height and to a lesser extent, shoe and heel type.

With an effective 4 inch block heel, I can easily walk 20 minute miles. 18:30 or less is definitely possible if I concentrate on it, and really push it, but that kind of takes all the fun out of it for me, so just a tidge under 20 minute miles, or 3 mph (just under 5 km/h) is my usual pace. Adding another 1/4" of effective heel height slows me down incrementally, but not much. Going to 4 1/2" stiletto mules slows me down significantly. I've only done it a few times, but I clock in at 23+ minutes per mile in such impractical walking shoes.

Oh yes, I forgot the real subject of my post--the record. My previous record is 310 miles in a year. Right now, on the morning of December 23d, I am sitting at 297 miles. I need to get off this computer, and get walking! I am pretty sure I can make it by the end of the year. Not by much, but I should be able to get at least 311 miles. I'd already be there if I hadn't been so lazy in May, when I logged only 5.4 miles for the whole month.

I did realize from a very early age, say, younger than 6, that the white go-go boots were for girls only. Or the black, as the case may be. And somewhere, in my own interpretation later on, I decided that I liked wearing such "forbidden" items, but that I had to have a certain presence with them that was more on the feminine side. I can remember the first time I saw myself in the mirror with high heels on, I was horrified. I looked absolutely terrible! I vowed never to wear them again, they just weren't for me. And, for the following 15 years, I did little to nothing with it.

As life became more stable and more comfortable, I took it up again, this time for real. And I tried to address my concerns about looking terrible, which had mainly to do with posture and gait, and a little bit to do with how the rest of me was dressed. I never entertained any serious thoughts of trying to change my gender or my gender appearance, I just wanted to be cool and graceful.

7 hours ago, StockingTop said:

Perhaps when taking pictures to post in a thread about 'freestyle fashion' on a forum about high heels?  Does everything have to be 'street wear'?

So just for a bit of fun.

If the consensus of opinion is that these images aren't appropriate for this site I'll take them down. (had forgotten how staid things were here).

Such decisions are above my pay grade, and as we've discovered many times, this ain't a democracy, so consensus is irrelevant. I personally do not care about whether the above images are appropriate or not, I just had to give you a good poke in the ribs about them. And yes, we are boring here. And yes, you WILL have fun, dammit! 😆

That's very funny. I don't know why I remember that, I can't seem to remember anything else these days.

And now, for what might be the final word on the so-called stiletto wedge, I dug my wife's shoes from Vietnam out of the closet to see if their actual appearance matched with my memory. It pretty much did, but they weren't quite as stilleto-y as I remembered. Yes, they have a fairly narrow heel, especially for a wedge, but they are no more narrow than the blue suede mules I posted above. They are also a very unimpressive 3 3/8" in heel height, but my wife never did wear what I would call "high" heels, even when she wore heels every day.

This thread is starting off like a herd of turtles! Part of it is because I just don't have a lot of material at the moment. It's cold outside now, it's a busy time of year in general. I'm not really stopping to take pictures like I have in the past.

However, I do have some news about the Nine West "Sizzle" oxfords in the original post. They have been resoled and reheeled (5th set of heels). I was beginning to think that the shank was giving out on the right shoe, but my cobbler thought it was all right, he said my soles were so worn out that he wasn't surprised that they felt a little "off." A 2 mile test confirms that they definitely feel way more solid now. Who knows, maybe they're good for another 200 miles! Not holding my breath on that one. I'm back to posting pictures from the top of my washing machine for now.

On 12/19/2023 at 3:18 AM, Puffer said:

Melrose: I am still interested in knowing your opinion of the wedge sandals I pictured above, given your ambivalent view of wedges.   Something you would wear, or not?

I get a really strong feeling that we've had this discussion before, but I'm unable to find any proof of it in a reasonable amount of time. I even seem to recall saying that I'd like them rather better if they had a thong toe piece. Anyway, yes, I'd wear them, but I don't know that I'd actually pay money for that privilege. Not crazy about the square shape, but it's not severe, so it might be all right. The skinny straps might be uncomfortable after a time, or they might not be. I do not know how much this answer differed from my previous answer.

I'm trying to figure out just exactly where one would wear such an outfit.

I was a little bit curious to see just how narrow my skinniest wedges actually are, and I have come to the conclusion that they simply don't achieve stiletto status in any dimension. If you will refer to the picture below, you can see that the middle of the wedge narrows more than the part that actually touches the ground. This narrow part measures 7/16" wide, or just over 11 mm. The heel cap measures 5/8". This is obviously skinnier than the Victoria Secret "stiletto" wedge, and yet even it is still too big to be a stiletto, so not only is the marketing a contradiction, it's an exaggeration in any dimension. That being said, I think that the VS wedge is well proportioned, attractive, and not enormous. They should make all wedges that way, they just shouldn't call them stilettos.

I shall have to check one of my wife's many closets, I believe she may have a couple pairs of actual "meat cleaver" shoes, as Shyheels so aptly and humorously called them. If I find them, and if they are indeed as narrow as I remember, I will post a picture. They are buried in a closet somewhere because she brought them from Vietnam 15 years ago, gave birth to our son less than a year later, and her feet grew a size larger permanently. It's a common problem, I understand.

The whole disrobing thing was just really weird. Other than that, the interview was OK. Does anybody even wear a three piece suit anymore?

I have a love/hate relationship with wedges. I treat them as second class citizens in my collection, but at the same time I feel more comfortable wearing them, especially with shorts. I know it is very silly, but somehow I feel less self-conscious when wearing wedges with shorts as compared to shoes with separate heels. I have no idea why this would be, as I'm sure the subtlety is lost on anybody outside of the shoe/fashion world. As we've mentioned before, wedges can be more practical when walking on surfaces that are not hard and flat. That's the love part.

The hate part is, I just don't generally like the way they look, especially as you increase in heel and/or platform height. They get enormous looking. Maybe that will make them popular this year, as enormous shoes seem to be very much in fashion right now. This effect can be somewhat ameliorated if the wedge is somewhat sculpted and narrows somewhat as it nears the ground. Along with this enormity, I have never found a pair of wedges above mid-heel height that don't feel somewhat clumpy to walk in.

Wedges comprise about 10% of my shoe collection, and they are all sandals, save two pairs of clogs. They also tend to be significantly lower, on average, when compared to my separately heeled shoes.