mlroseplant

There used to be a guy on here who had a business which specialized in selling hosiery for men. He hasn't been on here since Pandemic times, but they do make such things as tights designed for men. Of course, they wouldn't fit me, since I'm only half a man.

Don't you know I had a dream last night, that I wore suede pumps out in the snow and ruined them. It was a truly frightful experience. I swear I could feel the slushy ice all over my shoes, and they were actually starting to change color. But when I woke up, oh my dream, it was gone.

I have always gone on the shorter side of things simply because my legs are so short. I have recently had reason to review a couple of videos of me in longer shorts, as in what men traditionally wear, and they are not flattering on me. To be fair, this predated my heeling days, and also predated my days of training for triathlon, so perhaps my legs really did look that bad, but the situation was certainly not helped by the style of clothing.

I suppose it is wise to consider that silence doesn't necessarily equal tacit approval. The main point I was trying to make is that the internet allows people to be their worst selves, evidently without guilt. This refresher course in human fecal matter has definitely swayed my personal needle toward not making a "How to Walk in High Heels" video. Who needs that kind of abuse?

I failed to look at the comments section, but I suppose it's just as well. I was checking my social media feed the other day, and this random guy popped up. I scratched my head and said, "Wait a minute! That's that Mark What's His Face from Germany, innit?" Sure enough, it was Mark Bryan from Germany, and there was an article you could click on, which I didn't do, but I started reading through the comments. Hoo boy! Two thirds of them were pretty brutal, and 90% of those were pretty ignorant. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan, he lost me completely when he did that interview a couple years back, and for some strange reason started taking off all his clothes. Sorry, that's way too weird for me. I only wonder what my own comments section would be like, were it to exist. It's very easy to gang up on someone you don't even know, I really feel that my own success and acceptance here is because it's a lot more difficult to gang up on somebody you do know and have real, personal interaction with. Every once in a while, I get delusional and make a comment on somebody's video or post. This time, I resisted the temptation, because I believe that once you get more than about 50-100 comments on a post, even if the conversation is civil and semi-intellectual, who goes through and reads all that crap anyway? I think it would be easier to be heard shouting on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange than to be heard in the comments section of any popular post.

And then, there is social media. I am familiar with a certain gal who portrays herself as a young, self-made millionaire. She is always in high heels, except for sports activities. I do not know this young woman personally, but I know people who do. According to those in the know, it's all an act. She doesn't really dress like that every day. For some reason, I seem to have attracted this young lady's attention, because she sent me a private message and requested that I send her some pictures of my shoe collection, as she likes my style. As long as the conversation never turns into me investing in Vietnamese stocks, I'm cool with that. My point is, for us, it's not an act. We really do dress like that every day. I think people appreciate that.

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.

The concept of this blog seems very simple, but how to begin? At least I managed to come up with a wacky title. I have been meaning to feature the following shoes for a long time because they are among the first heels I ever purchased with a serious intent to wear them in public. They have also turned out to be, thus far, my most durable pair of heels. Though I have mentioned them many times in passing over the years, let me formally introduce you to my Nine West “Sizzle” oxfords in plain black leather. I purchased them on January 4, 2013. Going back through my records, I evidently paid $99 for them from Amazon. This was probably pretty close to full price, which is something I never do anymore. However, in retrospect, I can’t say that I didn’t get my money’s worth. My motivation for buying these particular shoes has been lost to the sands of time, but I can tell you that this was my second pair of this model. The first pair I had was black patent, rather than just plain black, and was U.S. Women’s size 9. I always thought that they were a bit too tight, and so I got rid of them and got the instant shoes in a size 9 1/2. I did that often in those days, that is, bought stuff in 9 1/2 or even 10. I am not sure why, but I would never make that mistake today. I am pretty clearly and solidly a size 9. As a result, I have to wear thick socks with these oxfords. This is simultaneously a plus and a minus. I hate how the shoes are really too big, but on the other hand, the cushioning provided by thick socks may be the secret to why they are an any occasion, all-the-time shoe--in the winter, anyway. Just so you know, just so you do not doubt my proclivities, I never wear these, ever, from about mid-May to mid-October. What would a Melrose expository post be without statistics? Here are the numbers: 4 3/4” heel, 3/4” platform, for an effective steepness of right at 4 inches. Diameter of the heels is about 3/4”. I have had them reheeled three times, and am very, very close to needing No. 4. I have walked 191 documented miles in these, plus any number of undocumented/incidental miles. I feel like they are going to fail sometime on the next reheel, and I will be sad when they do. I think I have worn these in every situation that I normally encounter in life, and some that I don’t normally encounter. I have worn these with men’s suits to church, and I have worn them with jeans for my neighborhood constitutionals. I know I have worn them on at least one occasion to work the “big” farmer’s market, which involves standing for five hours. I have worn them on a walk that exceeded 5 miles, 6.1 to be exact. I have only ever done this with 3 pairs of shoes over the past 11 years. After all this use, they still shine up pretty well!

Hello all, I have been considering starting a "jaunts" type thread for some time, but I don't really "do" jaunts. In other words, I don't ever dress up for the sole purpose of going out dressed up. I just simply go about my everyday life wearing heels and usually close-fitting women's jeans. So, in light of that, I thought I would start a thread which will feature probably rather random thoughts about high heels and perhaps other traditionally women's fashion that I might like to incorporate into my wardrobe. I have decided to start this thread with an introduction, or re-introduction, rather than jumping right in with thoughts and insights into the world of a male who likes to wear high heels. My name is not actually Melrose Plant, that is a work nickname which has fallen into disuse over the years. However, it persists on the Internet, as I prefer it to my current work nickname, Squirrel. I am married and I have two sons, aged 6 and 16. The boys are fine with my choice of footwear, even the teenager. My wife tolerates it, but I am sure she wouldn't mind a bit if I decided one day to throw all my heels away. That ain't gonna happen. As I said, I plan to share random thoughts about wearing high heels and perhaps other traditionally women's clothing from time to time, and I hope it becomes an interesting thread. I welcome all comments and opinions.