mlroseplant

Yes, even if the caption is inaccurate. Shouldn't that read "World of High Shafts?"

The wife and I made a Costco run yesterday. Sometimes I take this approximately monthly opportunity to be a little ambitious with my outfit, and sometimes I don't. Yesterday was the latter situation--I didn't have the energy or desire to wear truly "high" shoes. I literally need to warm up for half an hour to wear "high" shoes anymore. So I chose my Söfft ivory sandals (model name unknown), which are effective 3 1/2" heels. While in the store, I was accosted (and yes, that is pretty close to the right word) by a young-ish woman, who demanded to know where I got my shoes. I told the truth, and said I didn't remember exactly. I kind of hate doing that, but these days, not only is it the truth, but I have to inform people that this particular model (pretty much the case with whatever I wear) hasn't been made for at least 15 years, and good luck finding it. Thus far I have refrained from pontificating further on the state of current fashionable footwear, which I find either boring or ugly, or both!

I wonder what he's got on underneath those boots? I personally find that I cannot wear traditionally tailored suitpants with tall boots, because there is too much fabric there to stuff in, and it ends up billowing out in unflattering places after a bit of movement.

The "once-over" was not what I would consider a negative one, it was a curious one. Realize that my assessment is based upon a split second impression that was made before I realized who the guy was. lHad I not been in a hurry, I would have said hello, and the conversation would have been pleasant, if not brilliant. He is also in construction, though he is now retired. How we have not run into each other in the last 10 years, I have no idea. I see his sons around town often, and I still to this day do not call them immediately by name, because they are identical twins. From a distance, they still look very much alike, even though they are now approaching 50. And I can attest to context being everything. It is very jarring, and sometimes downright confusing to meet one of my colleagues outside of work. For one thing, people can look very different without a hard hat!

I sure got noticed the other day. It was the one day we've had so far this year that it was warm enough for me to wear shorts. I don't even remember what shoes I had on, but obviously, it was some sort of high heeled sandals. I was getting fuel for my car, and I got the once-over from an older man, which is no big deal, lots of older people are less than discreet about looking. I thought nothing of it, but when I stepped up to the counter to pay, I realized that I knew the guy. It had been a number of years since we'd seen each other, and for whatever reason, it didn't dawn on him that it was me. Since I was in kind of a hurry, I turned a little to the side and pretended not to see him. Recognition would have cost me at least 10 minutes, and probably more. Had I been in jeans and work boots, I wonder if he would have recognized me. We were not just casual acquaintances.

It seems that my shoe collection has gained some stability lately, as I haven't purchased any new shoes in about three months. With that stability, I realize that my whole philosophy toward shoes has changed somewhat. I used to say that if I couldn't walk two miles in reasonable comfort, I would get rid of the shoes. I gave lip service to this mantra for a number of years, but now I realize that I have to back off of it because I would estimate that I've never walked two miles in over half my current collection. Not all at once, anyway. It's not that I couldn't potentially walk two miles in any of my shoes, it's just that I don't want to. I pretty much don't walk in stilettos anymore because the heel tips wear out far too fast, it's way too easy to damage the heels putting that many miles on them in the real world, and it's not necessarily all that fun, paying hyper attention to every crack in the sidewalk. Sure, I do it occasionally just to prove I still can, but not on the regular. As a result, I have a whole bunch of dressier shoes that have never seen the two mile circuit, and probably never will. And I will not get rid of them.

An update on the Wilia3s: They're fine. They might even be decent walking sandals, but I know if I wear them too much for that purpose, I'll wind up damaging the gold finish, and then they won't be suitable to wear for dressier occasions. I have walked a mile in these with no issues and worn them to church. They are stiff in the way that non-leather shoes are, but not uncomfortable.

Sometimes I wonder if I ever got the chance to wear heels to work whether I'd regret it or not. I've come to the realization that they're not practical in all situations.

I was inspired by your post to drag out my Elisabet Tang pumps to see if I could make them work. The answer to that question is yes, I think they will in fact be wearable with the judicious use of the shoe stretcher. However, I chose otherwise for church last Sunday. I am simply not prepared to wear 120 mm + shoes in public yet, especially when I'll be recorded. I'm getting there, but the process is slow.

What a coincidence that there are several of us here that were attracted to go-go boots initially. In my case, I caught the tail end of that particular fashion, because all my memories of such were girls in elementary school. By the time I got to junior high, it was cowgirl boots or the wooden heeled sandals that I favor to this day.

Usually I forget about the significance of this day until it is past, but for some reason I remembered it this year. Perhaps it is because I didn't realize what was happening at the time, and what significance it would ultimately have in my life. Thirteen years ago this evening, I stepped out for the first time in public wearing obviously elevated heels. In a way, it seems like much longer. In this regard, time has not flown by. It is difficult for me to remember a time when I didn't wear heels, even though that was more than 75% of my life. I'm trying to remember what I did wear on a daily basis. I remember at one time I went through a hiking boot phase. When I played with a country band, I wore cowboy boots pretty much everywhere for a couple of years. I must have worn tennis shoes for a good portion of my pre-heeled life. I really don't remember much about my footwear before 2012. I still keep the Söfft clogs I wore for my maiden outing, but I never wear them anymore. Even though they are leather on the outside, the non-leather liner makes my feet sweat something terrible. According to my records, I have not walked very many miles in these shoes, but I sure remember the first mile. I thought it would never end. Even after thirteen years, I will not pretend to be 100% comfortable in my skin. At times I still feel self conscious, especially when I have chosen very loud shoes without thinking about it, only to end up in a place where it's very noticeable. But still, it hasn't been a bad trip so far, and it doesn't really show any signs of ending.

I finally got around to taking some pictures this week. Because the leaves are back on the trees, I now have a built-in place where the sun won't wash out the pictures, so maybe this will happen more often. I have said before that I am not the type of person to walk through the neighborhood with my tripod (or a companion), looking for the perfect photo op. Having said that, I don't usually photo-bomb like I'm going to today, but somehow or other, I managed to take the perfect set. Usually when I do these things, I take at least half a dozen pictures to get one decent one. This time, I didn't delete any of them. They all came out pretty well. Therefore, y'all have to suffer as a result. Today's shoe selection marks the beginning of sandal season, and I took some new sandals for their first public outing, those being Nine West Wilia3. I have no idea what Wilia1 and 2 might be, but evidently, these are Wilia the third. It's not truly their first public outing, because I actually vetted these with a one mile walk a couple of weeks ago, just to see what category they might fit into in my shoe collection, but this is the first time that others could really see them. They were all right for a few hours, and they're all right to walk a mile. They are not uncomfortable, but neither are they a pleasure to wear. They're kind of just there. Nine West is slipping. These are disposable shoes at a disposable price. They are not leather, they are not supple, and they don't appear to be particularly durable. However, they look kind of cool. On edit: Yeah, posting five small photos instead of two medium sized ones is unsatisfactory. I will not do it again, except in special circumstances.

I don't know if this counts as a "practical use," but the other night when I was at choir rehearsal, we did a complete run-through of the piece we had been rehearsing piecemeal, and we stood to do so. It is a very uptempo, high energy piece, and the choir director instructed us to imagine that we were standing on the balls of our feet. Without hesitation I said, "I don't really have a choice." Those within earshot laughed more heartily than I would have guessed, and those who didn't hear me were wondering what was so funny.

As it so happens, I believe I can help you out on this. I too heard the siren song of Elisabet Tang, and they are not bad shoes for the money. Naturally, or un-naturally, as the case may be, in that price range they are plastic shoes. I also imagine that they are twice the price now for me (but not for you). I'll leave that right there. Here are two things to know: 1) Whoever makes/markets these also sell the same exact shoe under the name Gen Shuo. And I mean the same exact shoe, right down to the detailing on the sole. 2) They run slightly small, and it seems to be consistent with this particular model. 98% of the time, I take a USW size 9, and I can barely get these on in size 9. I bought the cheapest used pair I could find in size 10 just to check sizing, and I discovered that size 10 is not really a good fit, either. 9 1/2 might be the ticket, if I could find them in 9 1/2. When I looked before, they only came in whole sizes. I see in the link you sent that you can get 8 1/2 and 9 1/2, but no other half sizes. This makes me suspicious, because in the feedback section of some website I visited trying to figure out what was going on with the sizing, the company evidently knows about the problem, and said they would take steps to correct it. This seems just like Aldo from 15+ years ago. Remember how Aldos always ran really small, and then they "corrected" the problem? This has been a lot of words to say yes, Elisabet Tang/Gen Shuo are probably worth buying if you like that style, but be aware of the sizing issues if buying sight unseen. As an afterthought, yes the heels on size 9 are every bit of 120 mm, probably more like 122.

It has been a long while since I've shared any outfits, and today is barely an exception. One of my friends sent me a screenshot of the church livestream, and I thought, "At least my posture is fairly decent." The photo is of course, super low-res, but then again, the livestream sound, to my ear, is super low-fi to match the picture.

From my perspective, you did it right. Get that stuff out of the way when it doesn't count for much. You see, I was a good kid. Not perfect, but never caused any trouble. As a result, I didn't start doing stupid stuff until I was in my 40s. Not a great way to do things.

I took the day off so I could take care of some things. While I was in the grocery store, I saw an older lady (by older, I mean at least as old as me) wearing OTK snakeskin boots with 3 1/2" block heels and a demin miniskirt. I have no idea who she is, but I have this feeling I've seen her before. I was in no mood for unnecessary interaction on that occasion, so I passed up the opportunity to learn more, despite the fact that I was wearing heels myself.

It's funny how everybody's experience is a little different. I have never had any trouble with teenaged girls, at least in this decade. It's the boys who tend to make rude comments, often behind my back, evidently. The girls all coo over my shoes.

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.