Saturn

roni - it really was a dream come true. Thanks for the congratulations! I know it sounds like I'm bragging a little, and I guess I am - but this is the place where I know people would appreciate this kind of experience. I only hope that something this cool happens to the other members here, I know I've read some stories that I was extremely jealous of. One time, I knew a girl who I saw daily, and we used to sit and talk in the college dorms (in the lobby). She had size 10/11 feet, and she had some pretty chunky-heeled black boots, almost goth-like. She let me try them on, and she was thrilled that I wanted to, but I never told her about my true passion. That was fun, but this recent experience certainly topped that one.

Yeah, I was a little bummed. When she told me she only had 5 (6) pairs left, I knew that all the boots would be gone - and they were. But to be honest with you, I probably wouldn't have been able to get them up my thighs anyway. I used to weigh quite a lot, and then I lost like 80 lbs. But my calves and thighs are absolute monsters, and they're even bigger because I'm into weightlifting. I have trouble fitting into most every type of boot out there. Ankle boots are fine, but boots that don't stretch around the calf, well, they just ain't gettin' zipped up.

Yeah, I've been sporadically searching Craigslist for some time now, looking for deals on shoes. I used to search other cities, but it was kind of discouraging because I find something I was sort of interested in, and there was no way for me to go and try them on, pick them up, etc. So I stuck to searching my area and a little around my area. Of the things I've found were a very high pair of platforms, that looked like stripper shoes - labeled "drag" shoes, size 11. I don't like high platforms so those were out. Then I found someone who seemed to be purging their entire collection of drag clothing, size 14 heels included, for $100. I felt kinda bad there too, because I was hoping this guy wasn't abandoning something he liked because he feels that it's "wrong" or something. I've come close to purging my collection more than a few times, but that was several years ago - I'm past all that. I also found a woman who has recently become disabled, and she is selling any and all shoes with a heel in her collection, including boots and pumps. Very similar to Spikes story, just about tore my heart out. Even though there are these sad stories on Craigslist, the thing I really like about it is that even though it's an Internet classifieds, it brings the humanity back to the Internet. Look at eBay... we've got people trying to sell us things with a stock photo, and they're slow to ship. Craigslist could have jumped on the fee stacking bandwagon long ago - but they DIDN'T. And it's all about dealing locally, which is always something that I like. Sure, it is potentially dangerous, but I wouldn't go if something fishy was up. With eBay, you can get anything you want - except you pay a high price, a bunch of other premiums (including shipping) and you can get screwed over. That's not THAT great of a trade-off unless it's something ultra rare, in my opinion.

Thanks everyone! t-strap, I certainly do feel like I hit the jackpot, it just made my whole month (if not year!) And to be honest, the story almost sounds like it belongs in the "fiction stories" section, but it's 100% true. I'm still thrilled! She's had that ad in Craigslist since August, I feel really stupid for not noticing it. She even had a nice pair of leather thigh-high boots, as you can see in the Craigslist link picture. She told me that a gentleman came back THREE different times to buy shoes. Incredible that anything was left, let alone the 6inForever heels. I don't think she actually brought out the 6inF heels for anyone else to see - if she did, they most certainly would be gone, there's no doubt in my mind. To be honest, I wasn't going to buy the Ellies because I had the 6inF heels to compare them to... but to be honest, they're just so darn cool looking, they're really a whole different style than the 6inF. I like them both, but I love the 6inF. I was able to grab onto the wall and walk all the way down the hallway in these.. NO WAY I'd be able to do that in the Ellies. But the Ellies are patent, and I had to have 'em, or I would have been kicking myself today! As t-strap knows, I injured my right toe about 6 months ago. Well, I pretty much spent 2 hours in 6" heels last night... and when I woke up this morning, my right toe felt FANTASTIC. Like all it needed was to be fully stretched or something. It literally has not felt this good since before the accident. I am still going to be careful, and I'm not going to press my luck, but for some reason I feel like the stretch did me more good than bad.

Well, she lived in Parma, Ohio - not Parma, Italy. Hehe, sometimes I forget that most everyone here is from Europe... So I only had to drive like 45 mins to get to her house, not too long! And I have her e-mail address, I'll make sure to pass the website along to her! Darn, why didn't I think of that when I was there?

I was recently browsing my local Craigslist listings to see if there were any size 11 heels. There usually aren't, and if there are, they're lower heels.

So, somehow I skipped past THIS listing!

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/clo/814668370.html

Needless to say, I was excited and e-mailed the seller right away.

She replied very quickly, and said that of the 16 pairs she had, only 5 pairs were left! I was already smacking myself in the forehead for not noticing this listing.

So she e-mails me and sends me this picture of the shoes she has left:

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/IMGP0249.jpg

She tells me that the lacy ones in the front row, second from the right are already sold as well as the 6" pair in the center of the back row. I was mildly upset that the 6" were already sold, but I decided to go over there anyway considering she has my size.

I arrive at her house, and let me just say - this young woman was AWESOME. She was not getting rid of all her shoes, just the ones she didn't wear very much (or at all!) I figured it might be a man who listed this because of the size, but sure enough, it was a woman with size 11 feet!

In the picture, the shoes on top of the pink box were already gone, as well as the heels to the far left. She brings out a bag with all the heels in it, and she informs me that the 6" heels in the picture were NOT sold, the guy who was there that morning decided not to buy them (but bought the two pairs that were missing). She then informed me that every buyer who showed up to purchase the shoes was a man! Awesome!

So I'm sitting there trying on the shoes, right there on her deck. She says to me: "So what got you into dressing up? Or the shoes? I mean, if you don't mind me asking?" So, I sat there and told her my whole story (a familiar one around HHP) of wearing my mother shoes as a little 2nd grader, and it just continued from there until I could buy my own.

Then she tells me about her story - apparently her husband is the one who buys all the shoes for her, and even HE has a couple pairs of his own - and they have the SAME SIZE! She tells me that they used to go to fetish clubs, he would sometimes dress up in drag, all in good fun... then she had her kid, a little boy, and she is working at home now.

I'm deciding on what shoes to get - the 6" oxfords will just not go on my feet without a lot of trouble, probably because they are such a closed shoe. All others fit. The Pleaser shoes, as usual, are a little tight in my right foot in size 11, but they're leather, so I think they'll stretch some. I only brought $100 with me, but I wasn't thinking that I would want so many pairs!

It gets better. She says "You know, I have some other heels in the house. They're really expensive though, we paid a lot, and I'm looking to get $100 for them." So I tell her, "Sure, bring them out." A few moments later, and she brings out a pair of flat black leather 6 In Forever heels, with an ankle strap! I practically hit the floor!

She says "Here, you can try them on. They were a little loose on me, so I decided to sell them. My husband ordered them for me, and he was pretty upset when they didn't fit right, but you can't return them."

I let her know that I was familar with 6 In Heels Forever, and I know that they're great craftsmenship. I tried on the first shoe, and my foot went right in, NO STRUGGLING! It was like the difference between night and day when comparing the 6inForever heels to the Ellie 6". The Ellies seemed like foot torture chambers compared to these heels. They really are amazing shoes, as many of you already know. I had no idea that 6" heels had the ability to be comfortable, but I could actually walk a few steps in these!

As I'm wearing the 6inForever heels, she tells me a random story that she's mildly embarssed to tell (it was about her previous job). I'm like... "Uh, under the current circumstances, I don't think we should be embarassed about anything." So I thought that was pretty funny, and she did too, because she knew I was talking about the shoes and she had a nice laugh.

So it comes to the money transaction portion of our little meeting, and I want the 6inForever shoes for sure, and also a few of the other pairs. Unfortunately I only brought $105 - not enough! So I went to the bank, took out another $60 and bought a few more pairs.

This young woman was absolutely amazing - fun, open minded, and her husband wore heels and he loved her to wear them as well... and she loved wearing them! Before I left, I made sure to ask her an important question. "Can I ask you, what got you into these shoes? I mean, I know you're a woman, and they're women's shoes, so.... anyway, you know what I mean." Her response: "Well, I just love them because they're beautiful! And my husband buys them for me, he loves them, and I'll actually wear them. Some women won't wear them."

I shook her hand, and I walked away with 4 pairs of shoes for $165, including a pair of $150+ 6inHeelsForever shoes. She gave me a REDICULOUS deal on them, I could tell she was taking a big hit on the price, but she just wanted them gone. She knew they would make me happy so she said "Just take 'em, dude." I left the Oxfords, but I wish I could have taken those too - they were from "The Highest Heel."

So here are the pictures of my new shoes! (What, did you think I was going to leave out the best part? Sorry, they're from my phone, but it'll have to do for now.)

Here are the 6inHF heels, my favorite! These shoes are absolutely rock solid, and AMAZING!

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/6inHF01.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/6inHF02.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/6inHF03.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/6inHF04.jpg

Here are the 5.5" Pleaser heels, leather upper. As I mentioned before, the right shoe is a little tight (my right foot is bigger) and I usually go with size 12 in Pleaser shoes, but that's okay. The toe box is a lot smaller looking than it came out in these pictures, so they look kind of funny.

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Pleaser01.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Pleaser02.jpg

These are the open sided stilettos - very comfortable, but the sole bends when I take each step, so no chance of street heeling these. I still like 'em though!

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Jante02.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Jante01.jpg

And finally, here are those outrageous 6" Ellies. They were patent, so I had to have them! I'm actually surprised that I got my feet in these. I thought they weren't going to fit, but once I set the shoe on the floor, my foot went RIGHT in. As I was trying them on (before I bought them), the lady commented "those just look so awesome on you."

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Ellie6in01.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Ellie6in02.jpg

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/Ellie6in03.jpg

And here is a picture of some gold platforms that were size 10, and were way too tight for my feet. She commented on how comfortable they were to walk in, but unfortunately I would have had to JAM my right foot in. The left one was enough of a struggle, so I passed. Still, really cool shoes. She bought them at "The Mission" store in Cleveland, where I tried on the 7" Scream heels.

http://i391.photobucket.com/albums/oo358/HHPSaturn/IMGP0254.jpg

And that's all! You know, re-reading this post, it really sounds like I made it up as some sort of fantasy post, but this REALLY happened today. It was an incredible experience that I don't think I'll ever forget, and now I don't have to buy a new pair for a LONG time. As some of you may know, I was looking for some nice 6" heels that would fit me, and it couldn't have turned out better. I'm so incredibly happy, I still can't believe this!

I know this was a long post, so thanks for reading!

It depends on how the boot fits, like many others have said. canadianbeaver mentioned that they go barefoot in boots. I wouldn't mind this, but my feet contacting the leather seems to make them sweat even more than they do when I wear socks with the boots. If the boot is a little tight (anywhere) it's always good to wear hose instead, or even thin dress socks. Both will do the trick. Even though it's an extra layer of material, the hose usually makes my foot feel a little cooler, and a little looser (but not too loose). Putting the boot on is easier, and you can fit your foot better in the toe box sometimes, because your foot is more willing to go down into the boot. If the heel is very high, sometime barefoot or regular socks is the only way to go, because hose will make my foot slip TOO far into the boot. I have this problem with shoes, especially since I'm a "half size" and I can never get shoes that EXACTLY fit my feet (and one foot is bigger than the other, like many people). So the short answer? Boots, usually hose - but just the knee high hose, rolled down.

Hey Jamie - instead of complaining, why don't you add to the discussion? In fact, I think I'll do just that myself.

Are we pussies for not going out in high heels? Why should we care if people think we're feminine, wearing heels doesn't stop us from being men! It can't!

This is exactly right - it CAN'T change the fact that we're men. That's probably the most important thing for most people to consider. Unless you're dressed as a woman (and there's no problem with that, it's just not for me) then wearing heels can't designate you as any LESS of a man. Of course, we're back to that stigma that if a man wears heels he must be effeminate - which is simply not true in MANY of the cases here.

Why is it acceptable for women to want to do things that men do but not the other way round. Why should men, doing womanly things, be considered as perverts but not the other way round?

This is something that's been bothering me for some time. I suppose you could track it to the fact that sex is usually marketed towards men, rather than women. They try to sell women "intimacy" whereas a man apparently wants sex, and just that. Look at all the Tag/Axe body spray commercials - here's a guy who's attracting random women for suggested sexual relations.

I mean, I'm not an expert, and I didn't look it up. But I'm fairly certain there are many more female escort services/prostitutes available than there are male services of the same kind. So obviously, because so many of these services exist, all men must be perverts.

What this really does is attach a stigma to men, along with all the "perverts" in the press. Some guy who killed women based on high heeled footwear, the guy who randomly knocked a girl down and stole her shoe - these are the stories that get circulated, and well known. Innocent high heeled freestyling is very much NOT in the media. Yes, it is in the media, but you really have to look for it. We make a big deal out of it, but it seems that others are not paying much attention to ANY advances this kind of fashion movement has made.

Maybe the reason that women are wanting to do more "manly" things is that their so-called "liberation" really isn't that old. Most everyone is only a few generations away from the male mentality of "women should be seen and not heard" or a "woman's place is in the home." Women obviously have come a long way, ESPECIALLY within the last 100 years. My guess is because there was this kind of repression (which still exists in many parts of the world) they are branching out and broadening their horizons.

Men, throughout history, had a large advantage over women - being able to vote/own land, for instance. Heck, look at China! They actually look DOWN upon a woman being born, they want a son that will carry on the family's name (among other reasons).

So why can't a man choose to wear heels or do anything of the opposite sex without being discriminated? Well, maybe it's as simple as this - we've had the upper hand for a long time (so to speak) so there was absolutely no reason for us to RELINQUISH our masculinity for any reason - it was a symbol of power, really. Therefore, no reason to change. **(Of course, I'm speaking in relative, general terms here. I'm not trying to say that woman are any less than men - I believe in equality of the sexes. But in the past (and still today!) the equality just wasn't there.)**

Because women are becoming closer and closer to that societal equal to men (which unfortunately can not be 100% resolved, but it seems to get better all the time) men are finally accepting that other types of fashion are acceptable because the difference between sexes is becoming more blurred - as it should be, in my opinion.

Allow me to reiterate - I believe in equality of the sexes, I only presented the archaic views of others for sake of argument.

I'm not sure if this made much sense to anyone, but hey - I gave it a shot.

johnieheel

- What department was the ped egg in Wal-Mart? Was it over by the files and whatnot, or by the shoe inserts (or in another place?)

I realize that there seems to be a lot more men on here than women, so I suppose they just don't want to clog the girl's board with a bunch of men's post.

So I guessed it right. There were too many men posting on the women's forum (at a previous time).

I wasn't there, so please, if you feel as though you are "blue in the face," I'm sorry - but to my defense, I correctly assumed what the problem was, so give me a LITTLE credit here.

As far as drawing the comparison - well, maybe it was an unfair one. But it seemed similar enough at the time.

Really, that's an excellent question. Unfortunately, I don't know why it's okay for women to do everything a man can, but not the other way around. Take for instance, this message board community. We have a board for guys, a board for gals, and a board for "everybody." Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, PLEASE - but isn't it okay for the women to post in the men's forum, but the men are not allowed to post in the women's forum? I realize that there seems to be a lot more men on here than women, so I suppose they just don't want to clog the girl's board with a bunch of men's post. However, if there was an influx of female visitors, and a large amount of females began posting on the men's board, I think we would welcome it, yes? Like I said, I could be wrong, but that seems to be the situation. I'll still complacently follow all the rules, but it's "one of those things."

For anyone following this thread: I recently went to a foot doctor (WITH a PHD, not a podiatrist, they don't need to go to medical school). I supplied him with the x-rays, and he looked at them - didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He said that the ligaments were ripped, and repaired with scar tissue. This is what is causing the pain. He gave me a prescription for orthotics, and on the right toe it will limit the motion so it can rest. He said that he uses this orthotic for people with "turf toe" which is exactly what I have. The doctor also ordered a SECOND orthotic for my left foot to even things out. Hopefully this will help. The foot doctor said it couldn't hurt (no pun intended). To be honest, I can live with the pain. But I'm still trying to fix it (if there's time!)

Steve B, I have a feeling that she would be quite complacent to any boyfriend of hers that wanted her to do *whatever* in her heels. Heh.

I mean, all your weight is on your toes. I think if you had one wrong move, you could seriously injure yourself in these shoes. 7" - I'm glad someone had an answer on this, I think that means I'd be able to get my feet into 6" heels and be okay (maybe still not for walking, but standing at least).

When I was dating my current girlfriend, I had to figure out what kind of person she was before I let her into my "crazy" world of wearing heels. When I thought long and hard about it, I decided that I knew her well enough and that she loved me for who I was. While many think that I was "withholding information" and I should have been upfront and honest about it, look at it THIS way: If I was upfront and honest, and my heel wearing scared her away, then she would have lost out on a great boyfriend - namely, me (tooting my own horn, but I don't care). Now that she knows how great I am (and I know how great she is) and that we're in love, the heel wearing was almost negligible when it came up. Her words, not mine: "If wearing women's shoes is as weird as you get, you're really not that weird." She even went as far to say that heels looked "kinda sexy" on me, which REALLY made me feel good, because honestly I don't think the type of shoes that I wear (thin-heeled stilettos, etc) look great on me, so hearing it from her was just great. She supports my street heeling only if they're more discreet heels - I bought a pair of 3" block heel boots that I wear with pants, and she has no problem. Of course, it turns out she has some weird things of her own, but that's for another forum altogether. Needless to say, we're happy.

I recently had an excellent experience at "The Mission" store, in Lakewood, OH (near Cleveland).

I went in to try on these shoes, in size 12:

Pleaser Scream Heels

This is a fetish kind of shop with all kinds of costumes, fetish items, and just regular clothes, mostly with a Gothic theme.

The girl working there was so nice, she finally found the one pair of size 12 Screams that she had in the back, and I tried them on. My left foot went in the shoe beautifully, but my right foot is a half-size larger, and did not quite fit (of course). I did manage to stand up in these, and WOW, are those high. Of course I had to bend my knees, but I was still impressed I could stand in them. It really stretched my toes, probably more than they should have been stretched but after I took them off and walked around, it seemed like it loosened up my toes a bit. I imagine these kind of shoes are great for training to wear 5-6" heels.

I never felt uncomfortable in the store. To be honest with you, it was like walking into any department store where I belonged. Simply awesome, I recommend this shop to anyone in the area.

I was really upset that I couldn't get them - first, I am short on money, but at least I would be able to know if they fit for when I got paid next. Second, they simply didn't fit. How high of a heel are the Screams anyway? I'd have to go to a size 13, but then I think the left shoe would be too sloppy. They're definitely not for walking, at least for me. Would have been nice to have.

I really want to get a nice, high heel that is higher than 5", but I don't know how high to go. This is obviously too high for me, but just under would be awesome.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that experience.

On the subject of men who wear heels being gay, I have something to add. I was watching the television show "Weeds," for those who are familiar with it. It's a decent show. But in one of the early episodes, there is a PTA-style meeting and they talk about how a teacher was seen shopping in the women's shoes department at Nordstrom, or something to that effect, and that he was gay because of this behavior. I think they wanted to have the teacher fired. Or maybe it was just a parent of one of the kids. Either way, they were talking negatively about this guy. I just thought it was stupid. I'm still not sure where all this b.s. came from. I have a few gay friends - some of which are guys. And none of them wear heels, ever. So... I guess everyone who makes this generalization can screw off, yeah?

I don't know if this has been posted in this thread yet, but I enjoyed it:

This thread is kinda funny... Isn't the height of the heel PART of the style? I mean, if it's a 3" heel, that's part of the shoe's style. If it's a 5" heel, same thing. With that said, I voted for "height." I look for the high(er) heels, always (4" at least). But if the "style" of the 4" heel is lousy, then I won't get it. A high heel doesn't make the shoe good enough. Yeah, it might get my attention, but after that it needs to have staying power. So, uh... height THEN style? Yeah, that's it.

We are still working out a settlement not only for my car, but for my injury as well (and I'm not talking just hospital/doctor bills, I'm talking monetary compesation for the fact that I have been injured). I've been told that the quicker you are to settle, the less money you get. I'm in no hurry! I'm going to try and get an apointment set up for this coming week (or the week after, as soon as possible). Thanks bubba!

No, we have NOT settled. And yes, everything is as I said. I can still recieve treatment right now, on the other guy's insurance tab. I guess I should go back to the doctor, I don't know what else to do.

I was recently (almost 6 months ago) in a car accident. My right foot was on the brake. While panicked, my foot slipped down so it was mainly my big toe on the brake. When the collision happened, my big toe was forced backwards, which caused the whole thing to swell up. I couldn't walk on it for about a month without wearing a special boot. Well, I can easily walk on it now. Heels, on the other hand, are a different issue. Any heels that REALLY bend the toe (5"+), it still hurts the toe. In fact, I still have minute pain when I bend the toe at any angle, but it's so small I don't notice it unless I'm deliberately stretching it. I should mention that a small piece of bone was chipped at the base of the big toe as well, I'm thinking that could also be causing the pain (waiting for the chip to fill in). I don't walk for long periods in heels anymore, and haven't. I still wear them, but I don't walk more than maybe 50 ft. total per day (yes, it's not much). I'm kind of upset that this happened, because it affects my heel wearing, and the accident was not my fault (no, I was not wearing heels at the time of the accident). I was just wondering if anyone has had this so-called "turf toe" injury (Google it if you're unfamiliar). I'm wondering if this pain will ever go away, of it's one of those injuries that stays with me for the rest of my life.

I thought they were pretty interesting until the people selling the shoes came on the board (this was before I was registered).

Chris said:

I wasn't impressed with the attitude of the sellers when they appeared on here.

Basically they implied that male heel wearers were perverts and that they wanted nothing to do with us.

That's the exact impression that I got from them. Considering that they're in BUSINESS don't you think that they'd want more... well, BUSINESS? Once they got off their soap box, they were gone forever. I'm not surprised.

I really don't feel like digging up the thread, but they sounded like pompous jerks.

Even if I REALLY liked the shoes... I wouldn't buy them based on the merit that I don't do business with those who don't treat me with respect.

I might give Aldo a chance yet, but I need to cool it with buying heels. Not because I'm embarassed, but because I've got some that don't fit me that I need to get rid of, and I really don't have much money or space. I mean, I've spent my last twenty bucks on a pair before, even though I only had a quarter tank of gas. It's addicting.

The way I went about this with my current girlfriend is probably not the best way, but it worked. We started dating, and after several months we had said we loved each other. It was pretty obvious we were a good match. I slowly introduced the idea of my interest in heels to her, and she thought it was cute. So then I confessed that I owned heels, and she was interested to see me walk in them. She was a little weirded out, but she already loved me for who I was, and it didn't matter in the long scheme of things. She said "If this is the weirdest thing about you, I guess you're not that weird." She only encourages the wearing of "under the radar" heels, outside the house. Stilettos and the like (which I love) she's not so keen on me wearing. Honestly, I like the look and feel of stilettos, but they don't look that good on me. Boots are usually what look presentable, as I am a bulkier frame. She has accepted as a part of who I am, and I've even purchased her a pair of her own 5" heels, which she likes but can hardly walk in (she is a size 8, so they're pretty steep). To recap, I slowly got her used to the idea and there was no problems. She understood that I didn't want to come right out and say it because it could cause embarassing reactions. We have a great relationship, and my heels certainly have a place in there. She likes to talk about shoe fashion with me now, which is a lot of fun, and we do go shopping together. I haven't purchased any heels with her yet, but I definately will. I have so many pairs right now, it's probably not a good idea to be spending when I should be saving.