mlroseplant

I have yet to summon the energy to start my bloggy thing, but I have taken a few pictures this week. Yesterday's hurriedly thrown together outfit is as follows: Nine West "Versell" sandals, and yes, I am still somehow wearing sandals in the middle of November, and the rest is some hodgepodge of button down shirt, black trousers that may be a little on the short side, and some tie that I selected at the last minute when I realized that my t-shirt was showing through the outer shirt.

I have said before that I don't wear these sandals often enough, but oddly, my own mother told me I ought to get rid of them. I asked her why, and she said, "They look so uncomfortable!" I gave her one of those looks like "Where have you been for the past 15 years?" We then had a conversation about the onset of dementia.

15 hours ago, Mr. X said:

Here are my latest. The brand is just fab. The heel Is a bit chunkier and measures in at five inches with no platform. These are quite high and difficult to walk in. And this coming from a guy who is comfortable walking in heels. I will definitely need to practice with these babies on my feet.

I also have a pair of Just Fab sandals which are quite steep, but I find they are designed in such a way that makes it a bit easier than the numbers would suggest. I hope you have luck with these.

The news people here in Midwestern sort of rural U.S. wear heels, but not as high as the news people in the city. And I guarantee you they're not on if the feet are not visible to the camera.

My totally unscientific hypothesis (and I stole this from somebody on here, but don't remember who) is that some people are born with the High Heel gene. I do not believe that this gene is slanted more toward the female side of the spectrum, either. It's just that the addition of a Y chromosome causes the High Heel gene to be latent, or recessive. Sometimes the presence of this gene causes other changes in surrounding genetic material, and sometimes it doesn't. Some of us are in it for the heels only, and some of us like the Whole Nine Yards.

Let's face it--at a basic level, most of the things we do in life are a waste of time. Including visiting this website. Doesn't stop us much, init?

There seems to be no category for "Having a woman's aesthetics." Perhaps that is an artificial construct. Actually, the whole thing seems like a rather artificial construct. I'm not going to be too critical, as I haven't actually read the book, but my basic question is, "Whose body? Whose fashion? Whose behavior?" It's not like there is one sweeping set of characteristics that we can slap on all women worldwide. You have to view this attraction through the lens of your own cultural and personal biases. For example, I do not attempt to emulate the woman I work with at the present time. It's not that I don't like her, it's not that I think she's ugly (I do, and she's not), it's just that my vision of the feminine look/aesthetic does not really match up with the way she presents.

23 hours ago, kneehighs said:

Pretty much the same sentiment here.  My emulation goes to the specific wardrobe style of girls I'm most attracted to: classic and preppy.  So yes, I dress to be attracted to myself, to a certain degree.

I think I remember reading a post of yours where you mentioned in your younger years people mistook you for the opposite sex? Was that euphoric for you?

I think there was only one time, and that was only because a salesman at some Big Box store approached me from the back, and I had long hair at the time. I remember having no real reaction to it one way or the other. I do remember thinking to myself, "Dude, quit apologizing. It's not that big of a deal."

I notice there is no category for wishing to move like a woman, which is entirely different from "having a woman's body" or "having a woman's bodily functions." Then again, not just any woman will do when it comes to finding motion in the physical world attractive. I have been trying for quite some time to adjust my walk to my preference, with some amount of success. This carries over somewhat to my construction life as well.

23 hours ago, kneehighs said:

Ultimately, the closer I can get to embodying the femininity of the women I sexually desire, the more aroused I become.  For me, there's a definite sensual and erotic motivation to having my body hair laser removed, wearing heels, wearing perfume and basically dressing exactly like a woman I find visually attractive.  

 

I have always said that since I find women attractive, why wouldn't I want to emulate them? It is quite true that I have never tried going full "dress," or even close to it. I suppose if I were younger, I might see things a little differently.

56 minutes ago, kneehighs said:

Speaking of Iowa, I was on the debate team in high school in Des Moines Roosevelt. Killed it all the way to Nationals and Harvard.  Is Adventureland still a thing even?  Tasty Tacos?  Such nostalgia as viewed from over here in Europe/Russia/Asia

All of those things are still things. Roosevelt, of course. Tasty Tacos is one of our occasional indulgences. I cannot believe how averse I am at driving the 15 miles to get there, but sometimes my son convinces me to do so. Adventureland is still there, and it has expanded/updated somewhat. They've still got that rickety old wooden roller coaster, though. I personally have not had a fun filled day for at least a decade, but up until a month ago, I worked right across the interstate from it.

18 hours ago, kneehighs said:

Dr1819 was a small airplane pilot.

admirer5577 was also a small airplane pilot

Paul Duane rides motorcycles

I wonder if there is a correlation between cis men wearing heels and risky transportation sports

I don't know if simply riding a motorcycle in your day-to-day life is necessarily all that risky, but I do know that it sucks to ride in heels! Scooters are a whole different story, and I sold mine this year.

10 hours ago, bambam said:

I'm a licensed pilot, and I sail. Horses too...

 

Primus sucks. (Don't worry, I'm supposed to say that)

 

As far as heels go, I'm drifting into the Cat lane a bit, heels with nylons or fishnets with a bodysuit top are my thing right now, especially with the holidays coming up.

I'm aware. What do you call Primus, anyway? They're not traditional rock, they're not really proggy, they're not metal. My son came up with a category, Music Theory Rock. Good as any, I s'pose.

So far, @at9 has got my attention with "Confessions of a Heel." I probably won't call it that, but I don't care who you are, that there's funny!

I don't think I'm ready to begin. It's Monday, I've got to go back to my real job, and the shoes in question have a lot of stories to tell, some of which involve the police. So it's a question of which to share and which to keep to myself.

In other news, the sun is rather low in the sky these days, so I may have to find another time of day to take pictures, if I take them at all. 'Twas a beautiful day, but the sun was right above my head (or at least it appeared to be), so these pictures aren't the best. If you ain't figgered it out by now, right behind me in the usual spot is due South.

Today was a little bit warmer than it has been for the past week and a half. So I decided to wear sandals to church. The sandals I chose were a little bit on the casual side, but my feet were too swollen to fit into my first choice footwear, and I didn't feel energetic enough to wear super steep heels today. So this is what you get, my Miu Miu wooden sandals in navy blue, one of the very few slingback shoes I own. I am partial to Miu Mius, they seem to fit me exceptionally well, and they seem to be well made, and not too fragile. The only problem with them is that they are related to Prada (specifically Miuccia Prada), so they don't exactly give those things away. I have managed to find three pairs of them used for a reasonable price, one of which is featured here.

Race car driver, eh? You know, Jerry was a race car driver. At least, that's what my son tells me. My son is into Primus. I risked nothing to tell you that little tidbit of information, it is true.

I am seriously considering doing a feature on my shoe collection. Maybe not individually, and maybe not every pair I own, but I definitely want to hit the high spots, and make some comments about the history and the life with a particular pair. Some might get grouped together, like all of the Steve Madden pumps, because, well, there's not much to tell about them individually.

The question is, what to call such a thread. I wanted to use the word "exposé," but it has the wrong sort of shade to it, unless I meant to reveal how boring my collection actually is, and how the adventures are less adventuresome than most people imagine. Any title ideas for such a thread?

As an introduction, I was going to start off with my most durable pair of shoes, and reveal some interesting statistics and observations. The "teaser" picture is here:

10 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Looks like his business passed. No longer shows under shopping on Google. He's a way more attractive man in heels than either myself or Melrose (James)

And he definitely walks better than Mark Bryan. Or me, for that matter, despite my best efforts.

It is not a great time of the year for photos, due to the shortness of daylight this time of year. However, there was this one, showing how far I have fallen down the food chain. My relatively cushy job at a major social media company had ended, and I have now been forced to take a real job again.

I see we're playing the rotated 90º thing that somehow can't be fixed, so imagine it in a normal perspective, if you can. It was a pretty good picture, too.

Evidently, those boots are gonna walk all over you. Funny thing is, actual combat boots are not all that big compared to normal shoes.

Another slight misstep in outfit today (now yesterday), but not with the shoes. This is the problem when one selects one's outfit 45 minutes before church starts. I started off wanting to wear blue yesterday, but changed my mind at the last minute, and went with red/pink. Mainly because I spied these pink/mauve corduroy pants, and thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if those oft neglected Söfft fuchsia sandals will go with these." So I wound up wearing something completely different than what I first intended.

The obvious issue with this outfit is that the pants are too long, and they bunch up all the way up the legs. Not a great look. If I had worn them with mules instead of something with a closed-back heel, they might have been a little better. I'll have to experiment later when I have time to see if they actually need to be shortened.

The shoes themselves were pretty great, but I don't expect anything else from Söfft brand. The problem with the brand in general is that they don't make any truly high heels. Most of their models are squarely in the low- to mid-heel range. These shoes, along with one other pair I've managed to find, fit in that upper-mid height category where some might actually call them "high" heels. I'm not sure where I draw that line. It is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 3/4", and these are 3 1/2" steepness. It is definitely true that I can zoom around in these things like they were flats.

Not an OG here, but I suppose I'm close. My dates don't show it, but I was around. I can remember when there were actual women on this site, and I can remember when there were men pretending to be women. I can say that it may be boring around here nowadays, but there's very little stupid stuff that goes on anymore. It has just become a site for men who like to wear heels. It may be that there is a need that is better filled elsewhere, or it may be that there is less of a need for a support group like ours. There is no question that the world, in many places, has become more accepting of fashion non-conformity than it was in 2002.

On 10/31/2023 at 7:39 PM, Shyheels said:

My daughter does the Doc Martens and dresses look - although she can carry it off. She doesn’t do floaty dresses but heavy Victorian ones and with floral Doc Martens. It works - I think because it is her natural style and unaffected 

I am at odds with most people on this, at least most Westerners, but I do not like how Doc Martens feel at all, saying nothing about how they look. They are far too squidgy for me. I don't want to feel like I'm walking on air. I want to feel like I'm walking on the ground. Running a shovel or bending electrical conduit (by hand) is very unsatisfactory in Docs. As a final note, it seems like within the first few days of the temperature dipping below zero, and by zero I mean -18º to most of the world, the sole splits transversely in half underneath the ball of the foot. I've had this happen to two different pairs.

Continuing along the same line of thought, people tell me that Crocs, though ugly, are like walking on pillows. Seems like that would take a great deal of effort for no fashion gain, wouldn't it? Again, I'd rather just walk on the ground. It's much easier.

Come to think of it, they do feel quite a bit like clogs and less like sandals because there is not a lot of toe sticking out the front, and there is a lot of coverage way up the foot. Not necessarily my preferred configuration, but somewhat more practical than a barer or flimsier design. You're not going to be just kicking these shoes off casually. They have to be extracted from the foot quite purposefully, even after the break-in period is over.

Here are a couple more pictures of the orange mules/clogs. I wanted to see what they would actually look like with my hi-viz construction shirt, so I changed into some black skinny jeans and threw on a hat to hide my messy/greasy hair, and here you are! To me, this is sort of the definition of casual, and helps visualize my assertion that very few people would actually wear heels along with clothes that are this casual. Also, I think I got my pose backwards. In retrospect, I think you are supposed to put your hand on the hip that is sticking out, not the one that is folded in. But I could be wrong. I am not good at these things.

I have managed to avoid buying any shoes for nearly four months. I cracked on this pair for several reasons. 1) They are wooden heels. OK, they're not real wood, but close enough. 2) They are the third pair in my collection of this model. I'm not aware of another color, so I think I have all the colors now. 3) I bought this exact shoe in my first year of public heeling, then got rid of them, a decision I regret. 4) The price was finally right. 5) I don't think I have any other orange shoes, at least not with orange as the main color.

First, the specifications. True Religion brand, model name unknown. None of the five pairs of this model that I've bought over the years came with a box, and there is only a number inside the shoe. 4 3/4" heel, which tapers down to 3/4" width at the floor, and 1/2" platform. The heel and sole are made of some sort of composite material which appears to be quite durable in every way except against abrasion. Lose a heel tip without noticing, and your shoe is ruined beyond repair within a few hundred feet. Don't remind me of why I know this. The upper is fully leather, including the lining and the footbed. This is one of the reasons I like this model so much--it's easy on the feet for extended wearing.

Expansion of topics: 1) I have always liked wooden heeled sandals since I was a kid. Perhaps that's what was in style during my formative years. I never liked the huge honking wooden heels of the decade before, but was quite enamored of heels about the size and shape of the instant pair of sandals. I now have purposefully begun collecting more wooden heels in the last couple of years.

2) This is my third triple--These, my Steve Madden "Barbb" mules, and I also have three pairs of Söfft "Calvados" mid heeled mules.

3) I bought my first pair of this model, in orange, in my first year of public heeling. Everything else I wore at that time was black, black, or black, underneath boot cut pants. Also, the shoes seemed incredibly tight at the time, and required my toes to bend in a way that I was incapable of back then. Coupled with the fact that, "When am I ever going to wear orange shoes anywhere out in public?" caused me to divest myself of them.

4)I found another pair several months ago, but they wanted 75 bucks for them. Nah, I don't think so. These were 25, and they look to have been worn a mere handful of times.

5) I checked again. I truly do not have any other truly orange shoes. I've got some orange accents, but no true pumpkin shoes. They go well with my hi-viz shirts from work.

The only bad thing I have to say about these is that I wish the toe opening were one toe bigger. I prefer to have three toes showing, rather than only two. That's pretty much it.

@p1ng74, good to see you back after an apparent leave of absence.

@Puffer, it was a mortal sin for me to use the word "never." I should never use the word "never."

As to the other, do the round-toed brown pumps need to go, or are they worth messing with for better fit?

Since this site seems to be hanging by two threads, I'll try to do my part to keep it going. So, as the several replies above show, it is a fact that pop culture can and does affect fashion, including footwear. Two negative examples are given above, but a positive example must certainly be the TV series "Sex and the City," which helped bring us out of a dark decade filled with Grunge bands, Spice Girls and Bratz. I do not see why some combination of circumstances could not allow it to happen again. Despite what some may say, there are definitely still girly-girl things happening out in the Real World, just not stiletto heels so much.

11 hours ago, Puffer said:

Not sure I understand your point here.   What footwear are you suggesting that a woman would wear in 'extreme dressy' mode?   Single sole pumps or sandals (usually with highish stiletto heels) seem to be current/recent favourites, surely? 

My point is that the usual footwear with very formal dresses is sandals, not pumps. The irony of this is that extreme formal situations (white or black tie events) always call for a floor length gown, and therefore who cares what you've got on your feet? Nobody can see your feet.

___________

Moving along in the wrong direction, according to some, I once again explored my Michael Kors round-toed brown pumps, which I have owned for several years. I always think I like them, but without a little bit of fiddling, they are never going to work out in my world. The problem is that I can easily walk right out of them at any moment, and sometimes the wrong moment. This despite the fact that they are on the tight side at the front. As a result of this, I don't walk well in them, and my feet tire more rapidly than they should.

I have thought about trying different combinations of fitment aids to try to get these to be more wearable, but then, I'm not sure that their aesthetic value warrants it. What say you? They are the only dark brown shoes that I own, so that color palette would either be extinguished, or would need to be replaced.