Shyheels

Did she know you wore heels too?

Yes, and there are ways of putting these things honestly without using loaded or derogatory language. Happily all of use here seem to be quite adept and diplomatic at expressing an opinion.

And there are so many of them out there!

I agree. I’ve no doubt at all you would do an excellent one, but the satisfaction of making it, and the gratitude of the relatively few who would make use of it, would not be worth the backlash. We just don’t live in that kind of world. I did a personal photography project a few years back that received a lot of press. And while the comments sections were overwhelmingly favourable, some of the negative ones were truly mind-boggling in their nuttiness and eagerness for confrontation. And that for a photo project that was totally benign and uncontroversial

I take a similar view. If I can’t say something positive I say nothing at all. Everyone’s tastes are different and the fact that we all wear heels, of whatever style, a.ready puts all of us well out of the bell curve. Obviously if a member announces in a post that they’re planning to wear their pink patent thigh high stilettos on their golfing holiday in Dubai one would be doing them no favours by staying silent

Not at all anti high heels - in these things the story is king and the characters do as they will. Thats just good writing.

Indeed with rare exception I think more of the sleek posing on Instagram is fake. I do know and follow a couple of style influencers who are quite genuine, but they are not pretending to be millionaires either. One of them is always in heels, but there is no question that is her genuine style. She writes quite long and thoughtful posts. Bit most of the others are just painful to see - trying hard to fake it until they make it

Hollywood loves high heels. They are a visual shorthand for establishing a female character - stilettos are perfect for the worldly sophisticate, the empowered corporate high-flyer, the villainess, the bitch, the super-girly chick. Likewise they are perfect for delineating the ingenue - the sweet young thing who totters in heels as a way of establishing her unfamiliarity such big-city empowerment. Think of the Devi Wears Prade where innocent down-home Andie takes a job at that fashion magazine and finds herself overwhelmed and surrounded by "the clackers", her derisive term for her stiletto-wearing colleagues and formidable boss. She's nice girl who shows up in flats and a jumper. In a narrative arc that bears more than a passing resemblance to a morality play she becomes one of the clackers herself, her character changes and she's no longer so nice. This being Hollywood of course, she has a Damascene moment and redeems herself,. She quits her glamorous job at the fashion magazine, returned to her old true friends, gets a 'real' journalism job at a downbeat newspaper and in a final act of renunciation gives away all those freebie fashions she was given while at the fashion magazine. All but one, that is. In the last scene we see her walking confidently through the city , on her way to her new job, the old Andie but now wiser for experience - and wearing a pair of stiletto boots. One aspect of her old jazzy life she decided to keep. Some kind of interesting message there ...

I’m happy enough in my skinny jeans and tall boots. I’ve always liked longer lengths in clothes. I’ve no short sleeve shirts, and prefer long coats. And if I was ever to try skirts - which I now have and really like - it was always going to be a midi or maxi skirt. I could imagine a knee length pencil skirt worn with tights though. Nothing shorter. Again, not because of any conservative believe, but purely aesthetics and a personal sense of style

He was like a lawyer still arguing his case after it’s already been settled in his favour and everyone in the courtroom has gone home.

Totally agree, I did the same. A dozen would have been pushing it. I got the idea after the first few. I was impressed, but then became bored.

That’s exactly my style as well - stylish boots and jeans. It’s a great classic looks and he does it well. Precisely the sort of image that will help society at large accept men in boots and heels.

Sounds very nice indeed! Should be lovely in the spring.

Nice!! I’m quite a fan of purple - pretty much my favourite colour. Lots of purple tops but no purple trousers yet

I was a little confused by that too

Welcome back. Styles have certainly changed over the last few years and heels are much less common now but I’m sure if you look you’ll be able to find something you like

I’m definitely with you on the no shirts thing. I always have a shirt on as d as s result have tan I call a cyclists tan

Yes hefty punitive damages might overly enrich a plaintiff but what would giving the money to the government achieve? Or so called worthy causes relevant to the mischief caused by the defendant? . Who decides which cause and what is worthy? Is the government going to spend the money more wisely than the plaintiff? I agree that the lawsuit culture in the US and the compensation culture in the UK are both disgraceful, and wildly overused to say the least, but giving these jackpot sums to governments and institutions on the grounds that they will have loftier sensibilities than Joe Lunchbucket who brought the suit seems awfully paternalistic and elitist. The lawyers will naturally still receive their hefty slice Thr whole culture needs to change

I’ve got legs that look good in stilettos - if one was to see a photo of just my legs, in skinny jeans and boots, one would assume, from the presence of heels, that the photo was of a woman’s lower half and think nothing of it. its one of those things that make me realise that men do not look intrinsically bad in stilettos. It’s the unexpectedness of it that is unsettling, not the look itself

Nope. Bear in mind I’ve spent many years in the tropics and even there, I wore trousers - light weight ones to be sure, but trousers nonetheless. I’m not prudish, I just prefer the look. I have worn shorts on occasion, but rarely. Not as rare as wearing a tie, but rarely. And my skirt is a midi - calf length. I’d not wear anything much shorter

Except for cycling or going to the gym, I almost never wear shorts. Indeed my cycling shorts are ¾ length. It’s just my sense of style rather than concern for how my legs look. In point of fact I’ve rather good legs from many years of cycling and running before that. But wearing shorts, especially short shorts, is just not me. I am surprised though by how much wearing a midi pencil skirt is me! Especially with tall boots.

I too have been thinking how nice it is to see a topic near the bottom of the board take off - and such a good topic too, so germane to the overall tenor of the site! As to feminizing the male wardrobe, I have taken a step I’d never thought I would take and have bought myself a skirt - a midi pencil skirt. Here I need to give credit to @CAT for being a positive influence with his outfits, although our tastes are very different. I’ve always liked the look of long skirts paired with tall boots and have increasingly wanted to have something other than skinny jeans with which to pair mine. And so I decided to give it a try - and also to experience the novelty of wearing a skirt, something I’d never tried. in short, I love it. In fact I’m surprised by how much I like it and even more how natural it feels wearing it. Again, it’s a longer skirt, down to my calves which is something that suits me. I’ve never been a fan of mini skirts and have no desire to wear or try one - it’s just not me, and not because I’m being self conscious. The midi pencil skirt though very much is me - surprisingly so. I feel very comfortable wearing it, physically and emotionally. And it works really well with my boots. I can definitely see myself acquiring more of these skirts. I really like them.

Remember the Ford Pinto and the revelation that the company was aware there was a risk of explosions if the vehicle was rear-ended and had even calculated how many deaths were likely to occur as a result, and then made the conscious decision to regard any resulting lawsuits as a business expense.

But women can certainly wear colours. Look at photos of those G-7 meetings and such - the female heads of state always stand out a mile because of their bright colours while the men are all identical in cookie-cutter navy blue suits

I love colour myself, and although I’ve no suits of any description, I do like to wear bright colours, especially pastels - always gave. Even when I was terrified to acknowledge an interest in heels, I was still happy to wear what are thought of as feminine colours, and was likewise quite willing to buy, say, a Goretex parka from the women’s aisle if I liked the colour. All this said, there is no way a guy is going to get away with wearing a brightly coloured suit in a law office or corporate environment. Wearing one to church is one thing, but in the business or legal world you’ll face some significant, probably career ending problems