steve6

They are divine.

Boots; 3 inch heels right now. Not specifically for reading the forum, but rather because it is cool enough to wear them.

stilettopete

Not naive but very elegantly put.

It can be variable. The first difference is whether the sizes are UK or USA (since USA sizing is quite common). Then the key factor is the height of the heel. The higher the heel, the more likely you will need a larger size. The need for some extra width of the shoe to fit a man's foot also comes into play, and might push the size up. So a low heel woman's shoe is quite close to the men's size. A 5inch heel adds 1-2 sizes. Some brands (such as the normal Pleaser shoes - not their few 'wide' shoes) effectively need to move another size to make it wide enough. My experience (adapting to men size eight has found good shoe fitting ranges from women's 8W through 9W or even 9WW and up to US 11M for Pleaser. It is certainly worth getting some different sizes over time because in that first flush of excitement of getting the shoes, any slight mis-fit is ignored and it is only after a while that the discomfort gets noticed. Once you find a good fitting and comfortable pair of shoes, it is really such a pleasure to wear them. Don't discount the pleasure of wearing good leather shoes with cushioned soles etc. My experience is that it takes a bit of trial and error to get the sizing right, so don't get discouraged by a few mistakes. I find that once I have found the right sizing for a particular brand, then I can stick with that brand with some confidence.

I just brought a Mercedes C63 AMG in black with the performance pack. Awesome car BUT hopeless for driving in heels. You sit so flat?level? with very little space under your legs, that driving in heels (and putting on or taking off heels inside the car is a real problem). Different to other cars I have had. Its great to drive but I borrow my girlfriends 4wd when I want to drive in heels.

I normally take a size 46, especially with higher heels and (double especially) when the shoes are made a bit narrow as many are. I bought a pair of boots from Italian heels - size 45 - and they fitted very well to my surprise. So my experience is also that they run a bit larger than the size would suggest.

I wait until evening in summer, and hopefully it has cooled down enough to then wear boots. Right now, I'm sitting outside at 830 in the evening and it is 25 C (76 F) (middle of summer) and it's pleasant enough to wear boots. Which makes a great change from wearing strappy sandals in the daytime. So I'm wearing a pair of Ros Hommerson stiletto boots in black leather, and they are great. It helps cool things down because I am wearing a very short skirt . . . . Anything boots in PVC would be too hot though, and any of those lined or insulated boots would be the same. I've also got a pair of Annie fabric boots which are great in hot weather - light and cool. Mind you, I tried to wear of my thighboots the other night and even though they were fabric, they were way too hot. Roll on autumn and winter where I can wear boots day and night

Elswyth,

Bought on-line many times (far too many my wife would say). Mostly I buy from the USA because they have the best stores (Zappos, ShoeBuy, Ros Hommerson, Avenue, Amazon, etc). But the UK stores (such as Marks and Spencer) are also OK; provided they are not just a re-mailing service for American stores. And I am a BIG BIG eBay fan!!

I use MyUS.com quite a lot which is a great re-mailing service, so those retailers that ship to the USA only can ship there (it's in Florida) happily and then MyUS courier them onto Australia.

Being in Australia I have learned to put up with some inconveniences and I reckon that is part of the cost of living where I do.

The first is that it costs to mail. I pay $30-50 to have a pair of shoes/boots sent out directly to the Antipodes. If I use MyUS, then I tend to order several things and let them accumulate in their warehouse before shipping, because the courier costs are typically $150 a time. It makes it seem a bit silly when I pick up a pair of shoes for $20 on eBay to pay fortune in postage, but I guess that is the way it works. I try to buy several pairs over a week or two, and get them all sent out. It is like Christmas when they arrive.

The second is that returns are pretty hard to the USA, because of the postage.

My way of handling all these things is to rationalize them in terms of my options. I could go to the States and buy the shoes directly but that's going to cost me $2000 for the air fare.

I could live there (but it is not for me).

I could return shoes if they don't fit, but it costs and once I have paid the return shipping (which is often the way it works), then I will have paid out $30-40 and got nothing.

So in the end I choose not to return shoes that don't fit, and I sell them on eBay. It is a hassle but I tend to come close to break even. I have learned which brands suit my feet and what their sizes are, and I limit my purchases to those brands which cuts down the problems of fit. I guess I now run to 10-20% disappointment (i.e. wasting $$) and that is part of the overhead. I can't buy these sort of shoes in Australia, so I put up with the cost.

Good luck with your buying.

Beautiful skirt - good taste !

Yes indeed, welcome 7INCHHIGHHEEL. Photos of your wife's heels (and especially the higher ones and the more interesting ones) would be really great. Cheers steve6

It does feel nice though.

I've got a pair of platform shoes not dissimilar - at least in height and platform size. They are lovely to behold but absolutely dangerous to walk in.

I just change my shoes every couple of hours through the day. That way I get to wear all the current favorites. Then every week or so, I'll pull out some shoes or boots from another cupboard and start to wear them. When I buy new shoes or boots, that sort of triggers a slight 'clean out' thought and I might throw out a pair or two that don't fit so well or that I don't enjoy. But it is not very rigorous, and somehow the number of shoes and boots in my collection just seems to grow My real focus is on new ways of storage rather than reducing my collection.

Awesome shoes and photos, Bernheels. You've inspired me!

And there are some great High Heel apps out there: Shoebuy, Shopstyle, iShoeSizes

How embarrassing; I have to replace the driver's side carpet in my car again; it seems that stiletto heels have worn a hole in it, again. How nice.

My favourite bit was my Toyota Prado where I had to replace the floor mat on the driver's side because someone had worn a hole in it from their high heels . . . . .

gw1 Really great find - many thanks indeed.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. My wife is aware of my interest for wearing heels, but I don’t quite think she has realised it’s a passion. And I suspect that she has already discovered my hiding place and is turning a discrete blind eye to it. She seems to have rationalised things by looking around at her friends and the state of their marriages or divorces or whatever, and realised that if this is the biggest issue she is facing, then it is really not too bad at all.

Hi I am a 45 yo male who loves high heels from Australia. I have admired shoes and boots with heels (and even better with platforms) for many years, and I have been lucky enough to find several special people to wear them. My wife included. I have been wearing heels myself in secret for about 5 years, and only within the past year has anyone known about my fetish for the wonderful high heel. When I found this site, it was like a light was switched on for me.

I’ve been mainly wearing heels at home when no-one is around, and since reading about the exploits of others in their posts, my wearing rate has shot up. My desk in my home office has a big wastepaper basket beneath it that has (surprise surprise) several pairs of shoes in it hidden beneath the papers. A pair of very soft black leather scrunch boots, a pair of black 3½ inch heel boots, a pair of brown low heel pumps, and a 3 inch espadrille wedge. I’m currently wearing a pair of soft black leather ballet shoes. I’m a bit frustrated in buying shoes because I’m a men’s 12 (which is a women’s 13W in Cloudwalker or 13WW in Magdesians or even up to a 16 in the very high heeled Pleaser shoes and boots.

I’ve worn boots in public street-heeling a couple of times since getting encouraged by this site, but so far only a 2 inch block heel pair of brown leather ones from Blondo. These are great winter boots with soft and warm waterproof leather – just right for rainy days and nights. Of course, driving in the car is a different story, with lots of excursions and wearing anything up to 6 inch heels. I actually had to replace the drivers floormat because someone  had worn a hole through the mat with their stilettos.