Shyheels

That reminds me of a story about “bunny boots” - the heavy white rubber boots issued by the US Antarctic Program and which they neurotically require to be worn. I like boots as a rule but I loathed those. Heavy, clumsy, like cartoon character boots they were extremely warm and utterly unbreathable. Horrible things. I was on assignment at McMurdo, South Pole and multiple USAP field camps one (Antarctic) summer and was issued a pair of those. I’d brought my own pair of quite nice Scarpa mountaineering boots and was forever getting into trouble for wearing those instead of the mandated bunny boots. I vividly remember arriving at some remote field camp and the second I climbed out of the helicopter having some military type screaming at me for not wearing proper footwear. My Scarpa mountaineering boots were a million times better than those ghastly white things that were literally designed for 1940s army polar expeditions

I’ve had back troubles in the past - a ruptured disc a long time ago - and have found that heels really help. Not really high heels - I don’t think 10 or 12cm would help, certainly not 12cm! But 8cm chunky heels are really good. When I had a kid I had a toe injury that had a very beneficial side effect! I was goofing around, running through the house (aged about 12j and managed to break my little toe on the leg of a table. It hurt. My foot swelled up and I couldn’t wear my shoes. It was winter and my mother had a pair of mid heel knee boots that I could get my foot into. And so my mother lent them to me. I was delighted. I secretly wished I could wear knee boots and here was my opportunity. I had sure to take a long time healing. But then winter ended and I had to give up my borrowed boots. Looking back I realise that nobody - not a soul - commented in my wearing mid heel women’s knee boots. There it was - an open possibility to wear heels

Time and age has its way with us all. I’ve no foot, knee or ankle issues, thankfully, but an old hip injury that flares up periodically. It doesn’t affect my heel wearing - I’d limp no matter what I was wearing, even if I was barefoot, but it’s certainly no fun and I regard it with a sort of disbelief - recalling how not so very long ago I used to routinely cycle 100 mile days (often much more) and before that I used to run marathons in reasonably competing times. I know we all age but somehow I always thoughts they’d make an exception for me …

I second this! It’s been great. I’ve had a pair of very elegant chocolate brown knee boots with 12cm stiletto heels that I love but never wore because my ankles would cramp up within minutes even if I just stood up in them. We’ve been encouraging each other to practice and with this in mi d I’ve been making a point of wearing my 12cm heels regularly - not for long periods but building up slowly. It’s working, not only am I (slowly!) growing used to the lofty 12cm height but practicing in them has given much greater confidence and ability in my 10cm stilettos, which I can now wear and walk about it with an ease I could not have imagined before we started this.

The muscular fatigue really came as a surprise to me. I’d expected the burning in the balls of my feet - I’d heard that was a common issue - but instead I had cramping and achy calves. Considering all the cycling I do, I couldn’t believe muscle tone was an issue when it came to wearing heels. If anyone had fir calves it was me - but wearing heels really was like taking up an entirely new sport! I’ve not yet had an occasion to stand for several hours in my 10cm so I don’t know how I’d managed but for a couple of hours I’m certainly fine. I have not tried standing for a long period in my 12cm heels - I shall start building up, see if I can manage an hour standing in them.

Let me second those Christmas wishes! I know what you mean about the muscular fatigue. I was not in actual pain, and don’t recall much pain in the balls if my feet, but my calf muscles felt like I’d dine about a thousand toe raises at the gym. It wasn’t exactly painful, but tight and achy. I took the next day off - frustrating, as I was so keen to put them in again!

I was lucky - having waited so long to try wearing high heels, I decided to splurge and treat myself to a really nice pair of boots. A heel wearing friend, to whom I confided my plan, had also urged me to buy well. And so I did. They were expensive, but really nicely made and fit perfectly so I escaped some of the usual discomfort and blisters that most experience.

I’ve no doubt at all about that. I think guys in general are weary of the stifling rules for men’s fashion regarding colours and styles, and would like to inject a bit of theatre into their personal style

Oh, I agree with you that when you start to wear heels you’ll find muscles you forgot about. I differentiate between that and actual foot pain. I could walk reasonably well - hardly catwalk grace, but reasonably well - in my 10cm boots when I first got them although after a fairly short while my calf muscles seized up in quite painful cramps. These went away when I sat down and flexed and massaged the muscles and I learned quickly that small doses were the way to go when you’re first starting out. i have taken a sort of middle road - wearing 8cm blocky heels generally but also slowly building up time in my 10cm stilettos. I’m doing the same now as I try to learn to walk in my 12cm boots.

I always try to dress smartly when I’m in heels and I would do the same with leather trousers. I like contrasts in textures so I would wear them with a wool jumper or something like that

I find that too.

Yes there is something empowering about walking in heels. I always feel a bit deflated when I take mine off at the end of the day.

Yes, I also like how wearing heels feel, especially the 10cm and 12cm heights. And you’re quite right, wearing heels is like any athletic endeavour. I think that having done a lot of yoga, sabre fencing, running, skiing and cycling I had a natural advantage when it came to wearing heels. I never had any trouble at all with 7 to 8cm heels, not even from the first day. Even 10cm heels were not that hard although since I started practicing with my 12cm heels, they’ve become quite comfortable and easy. I still have to graduate to the 12cm ones ..

Yes, my heels are all quite comfortable - even my 12cm ones which I struggle to walk fluidly in, are still comfortable. I’ve experienced more pain in badly fitted and designed running shoes than I ever had with heels. But then I made certain to buy well made, well fitting heels. They absolutely don’t need to be painful

They certainly are. The history of fashion is quite an interesting topic. Until I got brave enough to try wearing heels, I never really considered the history and meanings of fashion before. The history of heels is fascinating And you’re right in the 90s and 00s it was not uncommon for men to wear leather trousers - even without a motorcycle!