BobHH

Katy Perry in Pleaser platforms:

I don't know about international shipping, but the places I look are Zappos, Endless.com, Nine West, and shoes.com for non-Pleaser shoes. Nine West only goes up to 12 USW, Endless sometimes has 13s in certain brands. I can wear some 12s in sandals, but 13s are usually better, though sizes vary between brands and even within brands. I have found 12s that were the size of 10s and 13s that were so big they wouldn't stay on. That's a problem when you can't try them on. Personally, I like Ellie and Karo shoes of certain designs, though they also have radically high platforms, too, and Karo has wild and expensive wood shoes. The Karo 925 wedges are about the most comfortable high wedges without a high platform I have ever found and they go up to 14USW. They are comfortably wide and very stable.

I like the look, too. Are they real or artificial? Real ones wouldn't last long and would have to be wired on, or something like that, but they would be different!

Here's one for you! Taylor Momsen, 16 yrs. old (never heard of her before this), makes Miley look sophisticated.

http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2010/06/taylor_momsen_wore_those_clear.html

The worst example of poor sizing I have found was in some Gabriella Rocha wedge slides named Stef. A beautiful shoe, but the size 12W was more like a 10.5! Definitely way off from the size stamped in the sole and on the box.

I have recently bought several pairs of heels from more mainstream brands like Nine West and Pelle Moda. They are very nice in many ways - genuine leather smells very nice, they seem to be well made, they are more fashionable by today's standards (though I think the styles today are too "trendy"), but they don't fit me any better and the cheaper shoes tend to have a few features I like, such as "suede" (padded and fuzzy) liners. The clear plastic uppers on sandals used more by the cheap or "stripper" shoes are more flexible and adapt more to varying foot size (especially width) than the leather straps on some more stylish shoes, and the suede liners tend to work better in putting them on if the feet are slightly damp from the shower or perspiration in warm weather, or taking them off under the same conditions. Size variations are just as great in expensive shoes, and I find ratings to be an unreliable guide. A pair of fairly expensive Pelle Moda wedges which I tried were too wide to stay on, but a similar style in stilettos was on the small side. Cheap shoes tend to be small rather than large relative to the advertised size, in my experience, but it varies by brand.

I do much of my work from home, but have to travel to one company's office every week for a meeting. Still, weekends are quieter because almost everyone else is off, and I know it will pick up on Mondays with more work demands, etc.

Forgot to say leave a tip if you are happy with them.

Never had a manicure, but I went for a pedicure the other day (every 2 weeks), wearing my high heel wedge slides to the salon with long denims, so people rarely notice. Yes, they are high - 5.5 in. Got bright red Sally Hansen polish, and she insisted on adding rhinestones! That was a first for both of us. Actually, I have known the girl for many years, and she has been a close friend since I lost my wife 8+ years ago. She is much younger than me, a tall blonde, and recently married. She does not wear heels and never has, probably because of her height (5' 10+"), but always shows off her polished toes to me. A couple of the salon girls are young Vietnamese, and they know about my shoes, polish, etc. They are quite friendly. My advice: Pick a nice place with young Vietnamese girls (they won't be judgemental) at least to start. Just act confident and have fun talking to them about what's happening, etc. They will be happy to see you come back if you are happy with them. I take my own polish, several colors/brands, and let her pick the color but the salons have plenty of their own to choose from. Take some flip-flops or thongs to wear out until the polish dries.

See my posting under online stores, www.endless.com

They have many, many size 12s, though many are flats or low heels, but sometimes there are bargains with high heels, and they are not all Pleaser, but many more mainstream brands. It pays to get there early for new arrivals or sales, as the large sizes tend to go first.

All these articles indicate the writers still have a thing for heels. And this one seems to be just the opposite of other articles saying heels go up as the economy goes down. I think the fashion changes in order to stimulate sales, but stilettos will always be popular because they are attractive and sexy.

Nine West pics!

I just bought my first shoes from Nine West, after reading about them extensively on HH Place. I bought the Xan wedges and the Versell stiletto slides, both in size 12. The Xan wedges don't show 12 available any more. They are listed as a 4 inch heel - mine are about 4.5 inches at the back. The Versell slides are listed as 4 in. heels with a 1/2 in. platform, but mine are 5 3/8 in. at the back. They have a really small heel tip - about 5/16 inch. The leather uppers really smell nice! They are also now on sale.

For those with large feet, the high fashion shoes were never in the running. The less expensive brands like Pleaser, Ellie, some Gabriella Rocha, Payless, etc. make more 12s and above.

You are right about dance costumes. As a guy, I have basically one competition ballroom set of clothes, but can use other street-type pants, shirts, vests, etc. some of the time. The guys outfits can be almost as expensive as the girl's, but the girls usually have several with different styles for smooth vs. rhythm dancing, and maybe more than one of each, so much more money can be involved. Expensive means over $1000 for men's new outfits, easily over $3000 for girl's. They are made especially for competition dancing. I don't see as much variety in girl's dance shoes, though. Maybe a couple of competition pairs plus the regular practice and party shoes. Most are specialized dance shoes, expensive but with heels not over 3.5 in. generally. The dance instructors can work 7-8 hours a day on their feet, so they don't necessarily wear heels all the time. That's why they are usually young.

Daniel- You really ought to wear pants when you are mowing the lawn!

A number of "stripper style" high heel platforms have had lights for years.

Take a look at Karo wedges - they are mostly slides/mules but go up to size 14USW. Not cheap but quite nice. Beverlyheels, for one, carries them. My personal favorites are the Karo 925 model, which I sometimes wear to the hair and nail salon. They seem to be pretty accurately sized, so the 14 might be a little small - I fit the 13 well and wear men's 11 or 12 shoes. The other place to try might be ShoesUSA which has some styles in sizes up to 14. They are expensive and very generously sized. Those are the ones I know about - there are probably others.

I got them on line from Endless.com. They are a size 13 USW in a C width, and seem to be accurate on size. Did I really pay that much? I don't think so, but I don't remember now!

Here is a link to the page:

http://www.endless.com/Sudini-Turbo1-Womens-Turbo-Shootie/dp/B001WAJD5U/ref=sr_1_32/?cAsin=B001WAJBQG&fromPage=search&qid=1271715489689&sr=1-32&asins=B001WAJKYE,B00171LUBY,B0026L5WJ0,B001CMFTZ6,B0026L6AM8,B001WAJ3WS,B001GNBGEE,B001H0G7MW,B001GIP8DY,B001CMIHAU,B001CMFQMC,B001WAJHSI,B001GIP71C,B001H0GA0G,B001H0G812,B001AGZRDS,B001H0G7DG,B001H0G9TS,B001WAJ66G,B00171N8L4,B001WAJIVO,B001GNBFZY,B001WAJJP4,B000Z4NY9A,B001GNBEQE,B000Z4UVT6,B001GNBCZC,B001WAJ4JK,B001WAJ7T2,B000Z4NYO0,B000Z49WJG,B001WAJBQG,B000Z49YEE,B001GNBE50,B000Z522HY,B001WAJLJI,B001WAJE68,B001WAJHC4,B0026L650U,B001WAJ5LC&asinTitle=Sudini%20Turbo%20Shootie&contextTitle=search%20results&page=2&size=40&page=2&dept=241745011&node=241745011&nodes=241745011&keywords=sudini%20shoes&sort=relevancerank

Today was the first real time out in years, more than just from the car into the salon, though a lot less conspicuous. Went to the market for grocery shopping wearing the shoes shown in the picture - Sudini Turbo Shooties (what a name!). The heel is about 3 1/4 in. at the back, and I don't really notice the height at all. Very comfortable. They are a little noisy but sound like cowboy boots and attract about the same amount of attention. With fairly long jeans, they are not too visible. At least one person looked because of the sound, but they do that with cowboy boots, too, and I didn't pay any attention.

Except many religions are not tolerant, and take the position that everyone else is a non-believer, a blasphemer, or worse, and should be killed. Theirs is the right way and everyone else is wrong. That's why there are missionaries.

My rant: The whole of Western society and tradition reinforces the stereotypes of male and female dress and behavior. Photos taken at the Academy Awards show the men all in black, many tuxedos, like penguins in uniforms, while the women are in bright, colorful gowns, standing out like flowers. The women are dressed to attract attention and made up and hairstyled to attract attention of both men and women. It's not only facial makeup, but body tan, shapely legs, shapely hands and feet, manicures and pedicures, finger and toenail polish also are there to enhance femininity and attraction. A current newspaper and magazine ad shows a little girl in her mother's high heels, looking down at the shoes. You don't see ads showing little boys in their mother's high heels. Females are raised practically from birth to fulfill the stereotyped roles. The whole fashion industry lives to reinforce those roles, as does the beauty supply industry. Females are raised to be sexually attractive, for the most part, though few will admit it. The western standards of beauty are largely to attract males, though. High heels with their impracticality hobble the women from activity, a sort of bondage in a way, making them perhaps more vulnerable and are often designed to enhance sexuality as perceived by many. Why else would strippers wear stripper shoes? Men are supposed to be practical, strong, rugged, manly, plainly or severely dressed or at least not very colorful or adorned. Ready to handle any physical situation at any time, not emotional. They are to run things and protect the frail females. And where has that gotten us? If a female dresses too revealingly, she has crossed a decency line that denies the real purpose of the dressing in the first place. If she exposes herself, she is rarely arrested, but those who aid or abet the situation are punished (remember wardrobe malfunctions?). If a man exposes himself, he is a sex criminal and can be expected to be arrested and tarred with that label for life. Men are largely the aggressors in relationships, especially sexual relationships. Most violent sexual crimes (rapes) are committed by men. Men tend to be more aggressive in sex drive than most women and are taunted by fashions and behaviors which are designed to stimulate them, but sex is not available to many, especially if they are not studly or confident enough to attract females. Thus, we have sex crimes in societies in which there is no acceptable substitute. Why are men attracted to high heels? Who knows, except shoes are articles of clothing that everyone wears, are quite different than flat shoes, and are flaunted about by women who know they attract men. Shoes are, I think, more different from flats to heels than clothes are from pants to skirts or dresses because they cause people to walk differently, they reshape the feet and legs, and are used seductively by many young women. They are so different that many men attracted to them want to experience that difference and feel what it is like to wear high heels. And maybe feel what it is like to play attractive in that way. And many like it when they try, like us, and would like to experience that often and in everyday roles, not just hiding in the home, ashamed to be found out. My beautiful wife liked to be sexy, wear high heels, makeup, etc. But she is gone these eight plus years. She understood and supported my high heel wearing, as did/does a sort of ex girlfriend. But my current sort-of-girl-friend is young enough to be my granddaughter, is a tomboy who doesn't wear makeup or polish or even lipstick, has her hair cut very short, and wears jeans most of the time, and doesn't know about my heels. But she seems to like being with me, and that counts for a lot. End of rant.

The gym at least 4 days a week and dancing 4 or 5 days a week, not to mention house and yard work.

They are closer to the ground, so have a better view of shoes!

I have had a pair of Emus for years, an UGG look-alike, though I think they are better looking. They were very inexpensive ($30 or $35), but have lasted quite well, are very warm in the cool weather, and quite comfortable. I also have a pair of Aussie Dogs, which are made in the USA of materials imported from Australia according to the label. They are much heavier and sturdier, and camouflage colored. I think they look OK, and they are more comfortable and warmer than anything else. Interesting that the video talks about the dangers of unsupported footwear when many flat shoes have no support, either, especially flip-flops, but they are worn by many people. Interesting also that the news in running has to do with barefoot running being better for you than the well-padded and supported running shoes due to the different style required - flat footed instead of heel first.