yozz

Actually I am quite happy that here in the Netherlands we get this ban, starting July 1-st. I am very sensitive to bad air, and the smoke has given me quite a few migraine headaches. Back in the seventies I wanted to attend a lecture series by a Nobel laureat, but due to the smoke I got a terrible headache. The rest of the day I spent in a dark room on bed. Needless to say, I couldn't attend the other lectures. In those days quite a few smokers would become rather agressive if you would dare to say something about it. If you are in a mixed company, it are always the smokers who insist to go to the bar in which you can smoke. If you object you are asocial. In Spain at the moment, bars can determine themselves whether they are smoking or nonsmoking. Guess what: nearly all allow smoking for the above reason. It is very hard to find a bar that is nonsmoking. I used to say, before they banned smoking in our building: if you don't smoke in my room, I won't fart in yours. To me that sounds like an even proposition. Actually there is a much smaller chance that my disgusting behaviour will give you a headache and it is probably less unhealthy. I am not sure whether this is 2 dollar cents or 2 euro cents worth of opinion..... Y.

Could be that that is the answer. It is rather amazing though, because one wonders how they can walk like that in high stiletto heels. But because it is fashion they have to wear them. The Japanese are very fashion minded. My guess is that many must have terrible problems with their ankles. It is a pity, because it doesn't look nearly as elegant as it could. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures. Next time I go to Japan, I will try to take some. Y.

In the classical field there isn't very much, apart from lots of ballet music. And of course die Meistersinger von Nuernberg by Wagner (most of it plays in the workplace of the Cobbler Hans Sachs). Or maybe The Shoe cantata by Bach Der Shuh auf dem Felsen by Schubert Couldn't find them yet. Y.

Yes. The boots were a real find. I ran into them in the Shuhtick in Berlin last summer. They were on sale, but still a lot of money. It was the last pair and my size. The reason they still had this pair was that the zipper on the left one didn't work too well. But I had a good look and it was easy to repair. It is perfect now. They are very comfortable. I can walk in them all day. On the bottom it says oXs, then vera cuoio and made in italy.

I wish I knew the real reason. It is some form of inner compulsion, coupled to a feeling of relaxation and satisfaction. In the beginning there was also the excitement of breaking a taboo, but that has gone long ago. It is still there when I go out with heels though. Talking about compulsions: More than a year ago I saw a program on dutch television about someone who as a boy saw a movie about a mermaid and he got so obsessed by that that from then on, all he wanted was to become a mermaid. Someone had made him a tail to put on, but at the moment of the program (s)he was in a very advanced stage of a sex change. I think the operation was rather imminent. They showed that movie and watched it and the person became so emotional that they only thing that could be done was go to the pool, put on the tail and go for a swim. How powerful the mind can be. Hence I am happy that my compulsion only makes me do things that are easy to do. And the shoes are very elegant as well. Y.

Some time ago I was in Japan and I noticed that most women who wear stiletto heels don't have their feet straight. If you look from behind you see something like I / I / That is: the right foot is about 30 degrees from vertical. It is nearly always the right foot. Then a few weeks ago I walked through Amsterdam and I saw a women who was walking just like this (but now with the left foot). Then I checked, and YES, she looked Japanese. Does anybody know the reason of this? I asked my Japanese hosts but they were very unclear (as usual when you ask a question about something that they consider as a japanese imperfection). Y.

The problem is that Europe is less uniform than the USA.

The Italian shoes are rather narrow. In Germany the shoes are wider.

My wife has rather wide feet and always had to buy one or two sizes larger

than her real size. Then we visited Germany and in Berlin she could buy her

own size without problems. It was just standard.

In Spain we found a shoe brand which are rather wide (http://www.pikolinos.com)

but in the same shop they had Spanish shoes that were much narrower.

I was also told that in Japan the shoes are very wide.

Y.

I have rather small feet. For a man 39 is too small according to the shoe shops. Here they sell only in the sizes 40-46. If you look for 39 you can hardly find anything and what you find is horrible. Once in a shop they told me to go to the childrens department. I will never buy shoes there anymore. Talking about disgusting. But since I buy in the womens section I am quite happy with my size. The choice is great. The fashion is better. Also when you look for something very neutral. After all, many items of male fashion are copied for the female section. My wife has the opposite problem....... Y.

I told my wife 5 years ago about my feelings for high heels, after we had bought a nice pair of boots for her. I told her I was jealous of her boots. She was quite good about it. It came as a complete surprise, also the fact that I like skirts and tights. As we can read in many stories her first worries were whether I liked men (reply: absolutely not) and whether I wanted to become a woman (reply: no). After that she started thinking and when I told her that I had this already since my childhood, she reasoned that since she like me very much before I told her this and that telling it her didn't change me, she concluded that she still liked me. Actually I think even more, because I entrusted her with this deepest of my secrets. And we know both that the essence of a good relationship is not to try to change each others character. Hence she picked it up pretty fast and the next day we went together buying a pair of 5" boots for me. I must say: her social IQ is extremely high. I respect her very much. Y.

I have been going around the whole day in 3.5". At home I have been wearing 5" the whole day, but that is different. I guess I can handle 4" for shopping around for an hour. Y.

> All female from 18 to 25, one male 18. > Most just said that it was a shock cause I had a female bottom and a male top look. > The guy and a female friend, left their car running to chase me to see me walk....... > HAHAHAHa!!!!! It is all a matter of what one is used to. If people have seen you like this a number times, they will start noticing the difference between your various outfits. My wife hardly realizes when I walk around like this in the house. She actually thinks I look much better that way. At the moment people still think: heels/skirt/tights -> female. Hence they don't see that you put together something nice that can actually look good on a man too. Better than on quite a few women. And after the onlookers can go past their first reaction, they may have to admit that you can still look 100% like a man. > Comments? How does my outfit look? Legs? To me it looks good. Y.

Hello

After looking around for more than a year, I finally joined. This is my favorite site on the web. It teaches you about confidence in yourself. Just wear what you want to wear.
And it is true. I go out shopping regularly with heels, and only a few times I noticed
people giving a second look. Never a remark. Just act normal.
I belong to the fortunate people who's wife is supportive. We go shopping for shoes and
clothes together. This is also much nicer for her. She says she never looked this good.
It is nice if you can share things.

My buying of women shoes went into second gear when I saw some nice shoes
outside a shop in my size -- I have rather small feet (size 39) and most shops don't
sell my size in mens shoes; they refer you to the childrens section; now that is
demeaning -- and I took them inside to try. The lady told me in conspirational voice:
"you know, they are actually womens shoes". I told her, I didn't mind.
They looked OK to me. I bought them and I have used them for two years most of
the time. They were very comfortable. Since then I have no real problems
trying on shoes or boots. When they have very feminine heels, I just try to be a bit
discrete. Only once some other shoppers looked again. Just ignore.

My most confortable footware is a pair of boots with 6 cm heels (2.5"). I have some
problems with my feet and with these my feet feel best in the evening. But I still
haven't had the guts to wear them to my work. If I would wear very high heels the story
would go around the world rather fast (a rather gossipy academic environment) and I
would probably have to explain things many many times. I take my time.

I hope I can make some contributions to the discussions here. I enjoy reading them.

Y.