Yes, it has been a very strange year here also. Just a few days ago, I was wearing a heavy coat to work, at least first thing in the morning. Yesterday, I need no coat at all! We look forward to your next story!

Of course I buy shoes even if I do not need them! I haven't made a recent exact count, but I'm going to guess that a fellow doesn't need 50+ pairs of shoes! I wear almost all of them, too. The few exceptions are too high for me at this time. Workin' on it.

I kind of addressed this question in my personal thread, "The High Heeled Ruminations of Melrose Plant," but did not give the details presented here. The question is, "How high a heel can you wear?" The answer is, not very, compared to some. The steepest rise I can really deal with all day long, without thinking about it, is 4 1/4". I tried a pair two days ago foolishly that had a 4 3/4" rise, and it was not good. They didn't hurt that much, but I did not walk well in them after 2 or 3 hours, due to muscular fatigue.

My favorite style of shoe is open toed mules--well over half of my 50-60 pairs are of this style. However, the question didn't ask this, so I'm going to put down my Nine West Plantera platform loafer style pumps, which largely sat on the shelf for over a year while I worked my way up to them. Today, I can wear them easily wherever I like, for as long as I like. I have two pair, in fact, one black and one tan. So here are the stats:

Style: High cut platform pump (loafer style)

Platform ht.:  1 1/4"

Heel ht.:   5 1/2"

Net rise:  4 1/4"

Shoe size:  US women 8.5-9, Euro 39-40

3 hours ago, Thighbootguy said:

Those are nice looking shoes, but your statement is not a ringing endorsement.  Just be glad that your performance was only standing and not part of a marching band.

Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with the shoes, it's just that I can't walk in them for sustained periods of time as gracefully (or as quickly) as I am wont to do in less ambitious shoes. I just don't have the ankle flexibility and endurance to wear these heels for more than an hour or two. 

At the end of the last service, my trumpet case was locked in the choir room, and I had to get our new choir director, who was wearing mid-heeled sandals, to let me in to retrieve it. I felt relatively clumsy walking next to her and her smooth natural gait, especially when we had to go down a long flight of stairs. 

I'll get there eventually, but I just wanted to admit and share that maybe I have gotten a bit too cocky. Lesson learned. At least nothing bad happened. 

I had one of those rare experiences yesterday where I wish I would have worn lower heels. That hardly ever happens. Usually I've worn flats and wish I had worn heels, but in this case, I pushed the envelope a little too much. For some reason, I have the urge to go steeper lately.  Not higher, but steeper. I thought I was happy where I'm at, but suddenly I want to overcome another physical challenge. Right now, the steepest I can comfortably wear for long periods is in the neighborhood of 4.25 - 4.5" heel/toe height difference. This is usually expressed with a 5.5" heel, 1" platform. However, I have a couple of shoes with steeper angles, and I'd like to be able to wear them.

I selected the Vera Wang loafers shown at the bottom, can't  remember the model name at the moment. I love the look of them. Alas, they have a 5.25" heel, and not much of a platform, 1/2" at the most. I can sort of walk in them, if I'm not in a big hurry. Unfortunately for me, my duties at church yesterday lasted for about 5 hours. I was filling in for musicians who are on vacation, so I had to attend 3 different services, standing much of the time. I don't mind telling you that I should have picked different shoes. By the time it was over, I felt super clumsy, and I was ready to get out of those shoes! I need more gradual practice.

On the other hand, I had a similar experience with some giant (to me) platform pumps from Nine West. I couldn't wear them for more than a couple hours before. Now they are about my favorite closed-toe shoe. I can wear them however long I need to now. So I just need to be patient. My goal is to be able to wear 5 inch, no platform easily. On US women size 9.

I feel for ya brother. I haven't had a negative reaction like that for a long time, but I sure do remember when I did. Don't let it get you down. 

3 hours ago, SF said:

It's good to have a shoe buddy !!!!   I like the sandals too....    have fun, sf

BTW Mlroseplant, I was driving thru Iowa last week - heading for MN from Council Bluffs - did not see you, but I was looking !!!!! ha ha take care..

Being as I'm the Des Moines area, I'm not at all surprised that you didn't see me! About 125 miles too far to the west. Catch you next time!

My best friend (strictly platonic for more than 7 years, believe it or don't) and shoe buddy was very impressed with my new Aldo slides last night. This picture disguises the fact that she's 3 sizes smaller than me. Happy 42nd birthday to her tomorrow!

Like @CAT said, construction and heels don't mix, so I couldn't wear heels to work, even were I female. But pretty much every place else. Well, except for Vietnam, but that's another story.

On 4/15/2017 at 10:24 PM, alphax said:

The concept of stretching high heels is new to me.  It seems that it would only work with natural leathers and non patent leathers.  Is that true?

What can you do with synthetic leather shoes and boots?

Do blow driers work on those?

It depends on how much you want to stretch it. Synthetic material will stretch a little bit if you're patient, but not much. It would be a situation like, "These shoes already fit pretty well, but they would be even better with just a tad more room."

Don't know about using a blow dryer.

5 hours ago, kneehighs said:

This article with the SEO friendly ULR "Men in Heels: Harry Styles, Justin Bieber, Kanye West" title has been on the Vogue Landing Page above the fold for 3 consecutive days now:

http://www.vogue.com/article/men-in-heels-harry-styles-justin-bieber-kanye-west

The attached video came from an instagram story that ran Saturday 4.22.  I downloaded it b/c Instagram stories are only live for 24 hours. 

@cristalserranoo.mp4

I am glad to see that there is coverage mentioning men in heels that depicts them in a positive light. The only problem is, none of those boots are what I'd call heels. At all. There are plenty of guys who wear logging boots on a construction site that have higher heels than those shown here. What, exactly, is there to say here? If at least one of them had been wearing something closer to 3 inches, I could see it, but I can't even figure out why this is an article. Must have been a slow day.

For that sort of thing, I have found that contact cement works the best. Super glue typically doesn't last very long, but it also might work in this case. I am not sure how much experience you have with contact cement, but even if you already know the drill, I will go ahead and explain it for the benefit of others who may not know.

Contact cement is great stuff if you need to stick two things together where extended clamping might be difficult, and if you can easily separate and access both objects you're trying to glue. Basically, what you do is coat both mating surfaces with a thin coat of cement (it's very, very strong smelling, so do in a well ventilated area), wait for it to set up (about 30 minutes), then stick the two together. It will bond instantly. The cement sticks to itself like crazy, but won't stick to anything else once it is set up.

The only caveat is that once the two cemented surfaces come in contact with each other, little if any adjustment is possible, so make darn sure you've got it placed like you want. I would recommend putting a small piece of cardstock or paper in between the two surfaces while you're stretching that pad back into its original shape and position, because the glue will not stick to the paper at all, you can futz with it all you want. Then, when you've got it like you want it, slide the paper out (or have an assistant do it if you need 3 hands), and stick it down.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

Once upon a time, I wasn't a fan of wedges, especially platform wedges, but then, a few years ago, I wore a pair as an experiment, liked how they looked, and I've been wearing them ever since as they're fun shoes.

Same story with me, only I don't wear them as much as you do. I still prefer a shoe with a separately demarcated heel, but I like wedges just fine. I have probably half a dozen pairs.

2 hours ago, JeffB said:

Many thanks. I do as best I can. Meanwhile, because you asked:

 

Hmmm, that doesn't seem right at all! Who is that masked man?

I guess I have positioned myself in a situation where the platform lovers hate me AND the single sole people hate me. I hope it's not true, we all have our own preferences, and I have stated mine plainly, I guess. It's all good. We are all brothers here, and I hope I have not offended anyone. 

Spring is here! I broke out the shorts for the first time this weekend. I wore my new Aldo slides with a 5 inch stiletto heel, 1 inch platform, which is a little bit more of a radical sandal than I've worn in the past with shorts. I like the look, but I must say, I'm not 100% comfortable with the look. This is getting into territory where a woman would get a lot of looks wearing the same outfit, and popping down to the supermarket to get some bread for my son's and my lunch tomorrow (plus some cat litter to soak up some oil we spilled in the garage while cleaning up today), I was given the  once-over by about 20% of the other customers there. Nobody said anything, though. This simply does not happen when I'm wearing long pants, even if they are skinny jeans. Of course, my 8 year old son was wearing a neon fushia shirt. We must have seemed quite the pair.  He is not shy, and he will talk quite plainly and intelligently to total strangers. This, in combination with my admittedly booming voice and friendly demeanor, must have surprised some people!

I think it's the shoes, mainly. Yesterday evening, I went out with my wife, my best male friend, and several kids to the local pizza buffet. I wore more conservative wedges, but shorter shorts, and I did not receive nearly the attention that I did at the supermarket tonight. Who knows?

8 hours ago, Cali said:

It's no big deal. I see men with finger color as well.  I have acrylic fingernails with gel color.  I even have nail art done all the time on my toes and fingers.  Currently each toe has a different pastel color, an Easter basket.

And if you get a pedicure go for the spa pedicure, the extra massages is worth every penny.

If you wear open toe heels in the summer you MUST color your toenails.  No excuses not to get them done..

MUST? MUST???? My feelings are hurt!

No they're not, just kidding. As I've said before and am now saying again, I'm very picky about my feet and who gets to work on them, so when my nail tech quit the business, I started doing them myself, after years of careful observation. But here's the thing--I don't really care for nail polish on men or women. I like bare, natural nails. So yes, I'm going to wear my sandals with no color on my toes. But they will be perfect!

Back in the day, I used to hate platforms. But back in the day, platforms brought to mind John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," or clear stripper shoes (which some call "pageant shoes"). Today, almost all my shoes have some sort of platform. The key to me is balance. There must be enough heel to balance out a platform. To me, a 6 inch heel is just simply not tall enough to balance out a huge 2 inch platform, which is the basic formula of pageant shoes. It's like you've got these giant THINGS attached to your feet, and it just doesn't look nice to me. Go down an inch on both ends to a 5 inch heel and a 1 inch platform, and suddenly it's a whole different look, much less clunky, much more streamlined, even though the steepness hasn't changed. Go down another inch on both ends, and you've got a classic pump that's on the higher side these days for most women, but on the low side for my sensibilities. I prefer the extra height of the 5 inch heel, but appreciate the all day wearability of the 4 inch difference. Therefore, many of my shoes are right around that 5 inch heel, 1 inch platform formula.

Here are examples of how Christian Louboutin got it right, and how he got it wrong. The first picture is "Lady Peep" model, which I think is super nice looking. The second picture is "Daffodil" model, which I think looks absolutely awful. It's HUGE, and not in a good way. Too much platform, not enough heel. I think he makes a version with a higher heel than the one shown here, which look slightly better, but they still don't look as nice as the Lady Peeps.

Naturally, some strongly disagree, and actually like super huge platforms, but you'll have that on these big jobs.  .  .

Tip No. 1 and Tip No. 3 seem to be at odds with each other. I think as experienced heel wearers, we can tell the difference between shoes that are never going to work out, and shoes that might be quite nice with a little stretching and wear on them. From learning experience, I know that I have given up on some heels way too soon, and kept heels that were never going to work out way too long.

I'm totally fascinated by the juxtaposition of the practical and the impractical.

My ex wife and I could share clothing and shoes (she is US women's 9 1/2, I am 9), but she still attempts to shame me for wearing high heels, so that wouldn't have worked out at all!

13 hours ago, Cali said:

Do you have favorite brands?

Unfavorite brands? Why?  (For me it's "Jessica Simpson", "Ivanka Trump",...just to narrow)

I like Michael Kors a lot. I have quite a few pairs. Least favorite is Colin Stuart (Victoria's secret brand). No matter how cute they look, I've found the quality is so poor, they don't stand up to actual use.

Are you seriously going to drive Route 66 in that truck? I mean, I don't object on principle, but I hope you know what you are getting into, and I hope you're a pretty good mechanic. Unless the engine has been changed, DO NOT let that truck get low on oil. The old "Stove Bolt" six cylinder engine does not have a pressurized oiling system, and it WILL fail if it gets low on oil. At least it has two windshield (windscreen) wipers, but they are vacuum operated, and don't work well if you're going up a hill. Also, I hope you don't plan on going more than about 45 mph. Good luck, and send us pictures!

Lord of the Dance pose in substantial heels. Very impressive!

I am posting these at the request of @Thighbootguy. Sorry for the terrible picture. These knee high boots are Calvin Klein brand, with more wear on them than normal for stuff from Ebay, but the price was right. They fit perfectly in the foot, and are quite comfortable, but I wish the shafts were just a tad slimmer. My lady/shoe friend gushed a bit over them and said they are not too big around for me, but they are definitely on the loose side. Actually, they look fine with jeans, and I have worn them out several times, but with leggings they seem too big. They have a 4 3/4 inch heel with a small platform.