mlroseplant

8 hours ago, Cali said:

The cuticle nippers are use to cut dead cuticle skin around the edges.  @mlroseplant I hope your client last night was a good tipper.

I guess it depends on what you're calling the cuticle. What I've generally seen is nail techs using "cuticle" nippers to cut dead skin on the proximal/lateral nail fold. In my opinion, this is a questionable practice, except in extreme cases, where the buildup of dead skin is excessive. I feel kind of funny discussing this on someone else's thread in detail. If it's a true item of interest, maybe we can start another thread?

By the way, my client was very gracious, she didn't yell at me at all, even though I caused her some amount of personal pain.

Here is my toolkit, although it might be of limited interest, because no one in our household wears nail polish or artificial nails.

- 2 gallon washtub

- 4 sided buffing block

- 2 sided emory board

- orange wood stick (for cuticle pushing)

- spoon shaped metal digger (don't know what it's really called--use it mainly on big toenails to clean out underneath the corners of the nails)

- cuticle nippers, Nghia brand from Vietnam (the best in the world for nails, haha). I don't know why they are called cuticle nippers, DON'T ever use them for that. If some nail tech ever tries to cut your skin with these, give her a good dope-slap. I use these "diagonal cutters" for actually cutting nail length, rather than a traditional clipper. A regular nail clipper does not work well for me.

Like Cali says, have fun, and take your time! I'm slower than Christmas, just ask my wife. I took care of her feet last night. I'm glad she's happy, but I sure wouldn't want to do that for a living.

15 hours ago, RonC said:

 A pair of black patent classic pumps always looks good.  As I mentioned earlier, way too high for my ability, but a very nice look.  Always my favorite (for the ladies, put a bow on the toe and it's perfect!) as indicated by my photo at left here.

Oh, they're too high for my ability also. As I might have mentioned elsewhere, I bought them partially to see how I would fare in an over 5" single sole shoe, and to try to expand my physical limits. That, and the fact that the Poshmark algorithm kept pushing these in my face every single day, and finally I caved. But I'm not disappointed for the price, which was $25 + shipping.

I've actually only worn them twice besides an initial try-on, and I haven't left the house in them. For one thing, I can't walk in them. OK, that depends on how you define "walk." I can walk in them just fine if all you want to do is get from Point A to Point B. What I can't do is walk in them without looking like an idiot. Furthermore, this second time I wore them, I had them on for about an hour, and I was quite ready to get out of them. Both of these things need to improve by a factor of several before I would ever consider wearing them outside the house.

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

nicer in my opinion

If you had said anything different, I would have been concerned about your state of mental health!

Just for the heck of it, because what else am I going to do, I decided to put on the same outfit I wore to Costco the other day (minus the mask), only wear my new Pleaser pumps with it. Just to see what it looked like. Here it is:

7 hours ago, chesterx said:

just polish remover & qtips. I think it my just be either staining or possibly an old bruise from when I 1st jammed it 2 weeks ago, you know how much that can hurt.

 

I won't say I know nothing about fake nails having spent lots of time at a nail salon, but I've never worn them myself, nor have either of my wives. Looking again at your photo, I think your explanation of hurting your finger makes the most sense. That doesn't look like fungus to me, it looks like you smashed your finger with a hammer! Been there, done that a few times. I think, like Cali said, I'd soak that sucker in acetone for a good little bit, and see if you can't coax some of that residue off with something soft, like an orange wood stick, or ever a popsicle stick, if you haven't got a proper cuticle pusher. Certainly don't use anything metal on that nail, it's already looking fragile. Hopefully that residue will at least come off.

13 hours ago, Puffer said:

If it wasn't for the virus protection, I'd think you were planning to hold up a stagecoach.   (But the witnesses would surely identify you from your shoes!) 

If I were planning to rob a stagecoach, I would buy some brand new trainers and a track suit. No one would ever suspect it was me!

We had to make a dangerous excursion to Costco today. Just for the record, we did NOT buy toilet paper. I did get a random compliment on my shoes, my trusty Nine West Planteras, from a 30-ish white woman, accompanied by her evident significant other. She declined to compliment me on my mask, however, despite my fishing for compliments. Oh, and another notable thing--when we entered the store, I was fumbling about trying to find my membership card, and the lady said, "Never mind, I believe you. I've seen you here a lot of times before." I said, "Well, how do you recognize me with this mask on?" Without missing a beat she said, "Well, from your smile!" Yeah, right. I just wanted to see if she would actually say it. And remember, this is not in my small hometown, it was in the "big" city!

15 minutes ago, HeeledSlides said:

I fully agree, musically it’s not a great performance. But she still manages to get through, even in high heels as an added difficulty. I am sure that many amateurs are not able at all to play this famous piece. How much legato you need for Bach, that’s a never ending discussion among organists. What makes this video interesting for me is of course the visual part. So I have to agree with p1ng74 as well: I’d love to place myself in her high heels on this organ too!

Just to be clear, I am among the players who can't make it through this piece! Still workin' on it.  .  . Dammit Jim, I'm a cellist, not an organist! It does seem obvious reading through the comments that this was intended to be a fun video, not a serious, introspective performance. At that, it succeeds brilliantly! The comments also say that she apparently does not have an instrument available for her to play anymore. That is a crying shame.

I have previously replied to this post, but I think it's worth a revisit because of the reaction I got from my 11 year old son when he first saw me wear these Pleaser pumps, featured in the "New Shoes" thread. I tried them on for the first time, went upstairs to the kitchen sink and started washing the dishes. A little while later, he came in and said, "Daddy, those are about the most woman-like shoes I've ever seen you wear! Why did you get those?" Out of all my strappy sandals, mules, and lighter colored shoes I own, for some reason these struck him as being over-the-top.

I have forgotten to post a few new pairs I got back in January/February. Here is one of them. They are Pleaser Sexy-20 pumps. They are my first pair of Pleasers, and my first pair of pointy-toed pumps. The only reason I bought them is because my Poshmark feed kept throwing them in front of my face, they were pretty cheap (brand new in box for $25), and I have been wanting to get a really steep pair of heels to see if I can't learn to walk in something a little bit more challenging than what I have right now. I have no idea where or how I'd ever wear them at the moment. They have about a 5 1/8" heel with no platform, as you can see. I haven't worn them too much yet, they're a little snug, and since they're not real leather, I doubt they'll stretch much. They're not horrible, they're just cheap shoes, that's all. They look rather nice to me. They look kind of like Louboutin So Kates, only with a slightly higher heel.

On edit: I have decided that they look much more like the original CL Pigalle, not so much like the So Kate. Only with more like a 125 mm heel instead of a 120.

19 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

I'm not sure if it is the heels or just some of the technique that differs from what I know about organ playing, which is limited  to what I have pieced together from various sources, none of which were formal lessons.  I mean, the first thing I noticed is how low on the pedal she toes the natural pedals.  Makes for a huge distance between the natural and half-tone pedals, which I imagine creates a ton of extra movement and work for legato playing.  But then again, I am so tall that when I sit at the bench my heels are basically already sitting on the pedals, so I can't help but toe all the pedals really high up.  This kind of playing is what I'm more used to seeing:

 

 

Yes, the second performance is something like what I expected in the first, only with high heels! Upon re-listening/watching the first gal, I have come to the conclusion that it's probably more the player more than it is the heels. I think she was making a fun video, and there's nothing wrong with that. Yes, you are supposed to keep your feet closer to the sharp pedals than what she does, if for no other reason that you can "feel" where the groups of 2 and 3 are without having to look at them. I still have to look pretty often, but I'm slowly, painfully getting better at sight reading.

When I first decided that I needed to play the organ, and it's getting close to three years ago, my sister, who is an actual organist (I only play one on TV) recommended that I get this book called "The Organist's Manual: Technical Studies & Selected Compositions for the Organ," Roger E. Davis. It's a little spendy, I think I paid about 80 bucks for my copy, but I dove right in with the pedal exercises and etudes. I therefore learned the heel-and-toe method of playing from the beginning, and I've found it very difficult to change now, nor do I really want to. The only reasons to change that I can think of is if I ever had to play an super old Baroque organ that had short pedals (ain't never gonna happen), and if I ever decided I wanted to play in truly high heels, which is just silly. Not that I'm above doing anything silly, but I guess I'd rather spend my time actually improving. Anyhow, I highly recommend that book if you're looking to do more than just dabble. I know it helped me tremendously, and far beyond just pedaling.

24 minutes ago, p1ng74 said:

I watched it the whole way through, but I just love tracker action organs.  It must have been a real treat to play that piece on that organ - I'd love to place myself in her shoes, heels and all!  

The organ itself seems absolutely top-notch. There is a church in my town that has a similarly sized tracker organ. Unfortunately, it's not MY church. I've often threatened to defect and become a Presbyterian just because of that organ! It is fairly obvious in the video that the playing suffered on account of those heels, however. There was not even an attempt at legato playing.

5 hours ago, HeeledSlides said:

Here’s another very nice video of an organist playing in high heels.

 

That is a great find! Well, visually anyway. I know this piece very well (although my organ skills are not up to it), and my first thought was, "What the hell is REALLY going on here?", as that was one of the most tedious and ponderous interpretations of the opening Toccata I believe I've ever heard. Then I made it up to the point where the pedal first entered in the fugue, and I had to stop and look her up. After reading the comments on this video, it all makes perfect sense. I didn't take the time to find out who she is, but she's obviously not a professional organist, and the heels thing was meant to be more of a joke or experiment. I'm certainly not against that at all, but it's not a recording I would ever listen to for its fresh interpretation. I'm sorry if I sound like a music critic, I'm my own worst critic, and I recognize the limits of my abilities. Are those Hot Chicks? O.o

1 hour ago, ohnoberty said:

Kurt Geiger Tuesday

 

Those are very nice. That particular style is kind of hard to find, also. That is, a loafer with a goodly amount of heel on it. You can find loafers with less than 3 1/2" heels on them all day long, but not too many makers offer super high ones.

On 4/2/2020 at 11:48 AM, Pierre1961 said:

Hello 

does SAH ( stucked at home) exists in English ?

Pierre 

Well, not exactly, but it IS quite common to abbreviate "Stay-at-home-Mom" as SAHM on the internet. Stuck At Home is very close to that, so let's use it! These days, for example, I'm a SAHD. My wife, on the other hand, is still working. She's "essential."

On 4/2/2020 at 2:08 PM, Cali said:

I had to go back to my database to figure what heels these were, when I got them, and why I didn't remember them.

So it turns out that these are Steve Madden Lure Sandal.

In my size 10, its a 5 5/8" heel and 3/4" platform, over a 4 3/4" rise.

I must have gotten these in October/November of last year because I have a picture from 11/10 in them. I guess I got them on sale or clearance but had to put them away for the spring.  It's spring.

Those are really cool! Or should I say really hot?

_________________________________

It's awfully tough to wire a data center from home, but I will be having a Skype meeting this morning with all the foremen and general foremen. I will be wearing these shoes to that meeting, same as what I've been wearing for the past 2 weeks, with very little exception.

17 hours ago, RonC said:

That could very well be the case.  Willing to wear heels more often but for much shorter periods of time.  

I think the recent trend toward women quitting heels is not just a trend this time around.  In the past, yes, there have been periods when heels were not being worn.  However, it was fashion that dictated the change, not women's attitudes.  This time around, fashion is being dictated to by women who have rebelled against the wearing of heels of any sort.  Heck, not even heels, but dress shoe styles period.  Seems all they want to wear now is athletic related footwear. as we're seeing things like lace up gym shoes with formal attire.  While I could be wrong, and hope that I am, I think that the statement that heels are dead is in fact a reasonable possibility.  Sure, it will take a while for heels to completely disappear,  and I likely won't see the final results in what's left of my lifetime, but the rebellion against heels is very real today, and I think it will end up being the end of heels as a common and desirable footwear option for women.  Hey, maybe men can take it over then!

I think the problem is that so many in positions of power have made it a requirement that women wear heels to work or to certain occasions, without truly understanding what that means. Now we're getting to the point where we're realizing that hey, maybe that's not such a good idea. Should have been done long ago. While I personally cannot understand the pain of wearing "normal" height heels, say, 3 inches or less, I must pause and realize that I have spent years of effort to get to this point, and it may be that I have a physiology predisposed to wearing heels often. Therefore, I cannot possibly imagine bitching about having to wear 3 inch heels to work. That's not a heel! The thing is, no one is telling me I have to do this, it's my choice. I wonder if we hadn't put so much pressure on women to wear heels for certain things, whether more of them would now choose to wear them voluntarily. I do think that eventually people will get tired of wearing tennis shoes everywhere.

One thing about this staying home all the time is that I have the opportunity to connect with my people from Vietnam more often. I was talking with a family member yesterday, and the subject came up of how many steps per day our phone says we usually take vs. how many steps we are taking under these restrictions. At one point, I sent her a picture of my work boots, and said this is what I'm required to wear at work. She laughed (electronically) and said, "All I need is a pair of slippers." Which re-reminded me of why I believe so many Vietnamese women wear high heels almost every day compared to American women. It's because they don't actually have to wear them all that much. My cousin may present herself at the front door in the morning looking like the picture below, but once in the office, it's those rubber sport slippers for the rest of the day.

6 hours ago, Shyheels said:

...until their fearless leader decides they are not...

That's probably not going to happen. He seems to like high heels! Besides, all of these stories are years old. Who knows what's going on in there nowadays?

https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korean-lady-soldiers-in-heels-2013-4

2 hours ago, jamie1608 said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ZFAFA-Extreme-Strappy-Stilettos-Wedding/dp/B07KDR8CHQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=16cm%2Bhigh%2Bheels&qid=1585908692&sr=8-4&th=1&psc=1
 

these are what I’m looking at

Holy moley! I notice the model is NOT standing up.

7 hours ago, joshure said:

Loving dressing up and wearing heels as I do, It can often get in the way of work. For self preservation I got these to wear.

The same thing sort of happened with me. I was finding I was spending all my time wanting to wear heels which made me unintentionally avoid doing certain things that need to be done. I wound up getting a pair of Dansko clogs to "solve" that problem.

14 hours ago, Steve63130 said:

"When a man says he'll do something, he'll do it! You don't have to keep nagging him every three months!"

You reminded me of that quip I saw on Facebook a while back! 

Your photography would be better if you shine a light on yourself. You are backlit in the photo, and the camera is looking at the light, shuts the aperture to compensate for what it thinks is too much light, and the photo comes out too dark overall. The details in your shadow are dark and not very clear. So if you have a utility lamp or can position a floor lamp to illuminate you and your reflection, the photo would be much better. 

I like those sandals!

Steve

I'm going to try the auxiliary lamp thing, I think there's a chance it might work. The fundamental problem, besides the fact that I no longer have a proper working camera, is that the overhead light in that room is visible in the corner of the mirror no matter which angle you stand. Now that I've repositioned the mirror, the problem is even worse. If you turn the light off, it's way too dark for my phone to compensate without using the flash, and using flash in a mirror never produces very good results. As I've said before, I don't even really like taking these pictures, but people seem to want to see them. Therefore, this is my compromise. I think I can stand to take enough time to try the lamp thing, though.

I've been off work for only two weeks, and I've already started to get fat. THAT didn't take long.

16 hours ago, MackyHeels said:

Try not to compare oneself to others. W6ish has is own motivation and reasons wearing outfits that most would normally not able to pull off only being laughed upon. At the same time we all have some sort of itch to display ourselves in manner that excites us or that we find pleasing for  our own eyes. Some may disagree on our outfits or style not being appropriate.  

The whole point is to excite to get a rush "butterflies"  to wear and display yourself  boldly. If you dial it down, it doesn't work or less effective, makes it complete mess of the style which you choose to achieve.

Some of us delight in showing our toned, tanned smooth legs with outfit that is effective to bring the style we enjoy. Doing any other way is incorrect or simply bad idea nonetheless incomparable to which you may reference.

W6ish devised a style for himself that many hear can't match. Invoking lots of double stares not only for his high platform heels but also his displayed outfits that can't be copied readily, size, shape, length of one's physique. Not to belittle anyone for their appearance some just have people glance upon them and look ignore sorry they existed. While some receive intrigue and closer scrutiny of their appearance and outfit which W6ish qualifies in that category..  

 

 

I asked the man a simple question. He gave me a simple answer. He is who he is. I am who I am. I don't have a problem with that.

14 hours ago, RonC said:

Wow.  I've never seen anything but heavy looking chunky shoes from them.  I'll have to investigate.

 

Once upon a time, they even tried making stilettos! I'm pretty sure that didn't last very long. I used have a pair of their wedges at one time, which are difficult to find anymore. I believe both of those styles were from their 2011 model year. I was tempted by the oxford style stilettos, but I never found a pair for a price I was willing to pay.

I have noticed that it's becoming more common around here to see construction workers tucking their pants in. What I haven't really seen is guys doing this outside of work. In case you missed it the first time, I attempted my own take on the knee high boot thing.

19 hours ago, at9 said:

One friend of mine complains that some pieces of music have far too many notes in them. Her husband and son are both very musical (mainly classical and vintage 1920s-1950s), she just puts up with it. This is the sort of thing she really hates:

 

Ah yes, good old Mendelssohn! His music tends to be deceptively difficult, and it's not the number of notes, it's how the rhythmic elements all fit together. I have to admit being a fanboy of Tiffany Poon, been following her for a couple years, but she's not a big heel wearer.

My own wife puts up with a lot of stuff she doesn't really enjoy, for much the same reason as your friend. I think that's half the reason why she encourages me to play the organ--I have to go to the church to practice!

19 hours ago, Shyheels said:

The piano videos aren't noteworthy. I like it. 

Believe it or don't, that wording was completely unintentional.

20 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

Now I'm contemplating having a cobbler resole and reheel a pair of heels with felt and use them for my "organ shoes".  

That's actually not a bad idea! Let us know how it works out. I'm truly curious.