Shyheels

Even in blocky 3.5” heels a lumpy towpath can easily cause you to miss for footing or turn an ankle.

My feet are narrow and long and I’ve always had trouble finding shoes that fit with any precision. Footwear manufacturers just do not seem to believe that anyone has narrow feet - any more than they believe there are any females with feet larger than a UK8

Muddy towpaths wouldn’t do them any favours either

Yes that would just tire you out walking 20,000 steps - not the same kind of foolishness as heavy lifting, mowing lawns, or working locks on a canal (dangerous)

I too have never worn metal heel tips nor would I want to for just the reasons mentioned above. Why trash your nice wooden floor or carpet, or somebody else’s? since most of my boots are block heels anyway it’s not an issue I worry much about. And I too dislike kitten heels - they’re neither fish nor fowl as the saying goes. If you’re going to wear stilettos they should be long and thin, like the blade of a dagger - not like the blade of a jackknife.

I do wear OTK boots with heels (and without) and they are a benefit - especially on cold mornings, either inside or standing at the tiller. Stilettos though would not only be silly but dangerous)

If I'm struck down today my last pair will have been some dark grey suede OTK boots with 3" block heels. Lovely and warm on a cold damp day

Yes, a bold move to be sure. In my world stepping off a boat onto a muddy towpath in stilettos is not something I fancy trying.

Well I’m wearing a pair of ankle boots at the moment with 3.5” block heels. So if I’m struck by lightning or some such today, those will be the ones.

Nice styling! And good to see them offered as menswear

It’s been very wet here - and continues to be so - and I do not wear my suede boots outside for that reason but in my home office where they stay dry and I stay warm! And my feet and calves especially so

Chilly and raw in Yorkshire - for me at work it was heavy suede OTK boots with 4” heels

Why not? I see noticeably more heels in the north of England that I ever saw in London

It was no kilt. It was a skirt. Nobody wears tights with their kilt! 😊

I was travelling around northern England today and for the first time saw a man wearing a skirt. No heel, just tights and low-heeled ankle boots. A grey and black skirt and a leather jacket. This was at Leeds. Quite a modest ensemble and nobody gave him a second glance. Also at Leeds a middle aged woman wearing some bright green stiletto ankle boots with what looked to be 4” heels. Quite striking. Not seen such flamboyant stilettos in quite a while.

I’m relieved to hear that because you are obviously an expert

Well put! I know exactly what you mean, although I'm no gait geek myself. That said, I am conscious of the fact that in stilettos I am too stompy and would like to lose that stompiness. Likewise I was aware of the moment when walking in my 3.5 inch heeled ankle boots suddenly 'clicked' and I could feel my gait shifting into something fluid and which I knew instinctively to be right.

Me, on the other hand - all of my heels are boots, and very much on the casual side of things. I've never been one for the corporate look, no suits or ties or even men's dress shoes for me. I've always been the outdoorsy writer/photographer editors sent to remote places - not the one they wanted covering politics or the billionaires' gabfest at Davos. When it came to buying my first pair of heels I veered well away from the iconic stiletto pumps. That corporate look was more alien and unsettling to me than the heels. I have a couple pair of stilettos but they are knee boots and by definition smart casual, especially with skinny jeans. All my others are chunky or slender heels, from about 2 inches to about 3.5 inches. I like owning a couple of pairs of stilettos, but it's the chunky heels that get worn the vast majority of the time. they are more me.

Men are still living in the era of the Great Male Renunciation as some psychologist in the 1920s termed it. That was the period in the 18th century when men forswore any form if theatre, colour or ornamentation in dress in favour of some vague ideal of the thinking man. And here we are two hundred and fifty years down the track still uptight about breaking ranks, having painted ourselves into an ever smaller style corner.

I’ve never really taken the trouble to analyse my walk, although I know I could be better, smoother and more fluid. I guess I think if it more like ice skating - so many things needs to come together for you to do it well. I tend to go for overall movement, the whole of the motion, rather than try to break it down into parts. To me that complicates thinks too much.

I like them too. I like chunky heels in the 3 to 3.5 inch range. They suit my aesthetic

Funnily enough I saw an ad for a new TV show in our side of the ping and the name of the lead character us … Kitty Wells

Sounds interesting. I shall look forward to reading

That’s quite a lot of pairs! I’ve about a dozen pair of boots and feel rather extravagant for having so many. Mind, I gave much more limited living space than you and a dozen pair of tall boots takes up a lot if room. I do try to make certain they all get worn regularly though. I can’t imagine trying to wear regularly 106 pairs of heels

I’ve bought a couple if things from Asos - not shoes or boots - and thought they were just ok. Not great but cheap.