Shyheels

There are certainly more heels here too in winter than in summer - at least in my experience. Again, boots

Your impression is probably accurate. I just passed through London today - Kings Cross Station and St Pancras - heaving with people and virtually nobody in heels.

These days with so much hypersensitivity around he was probably reluctant to open any conversation about your alternative footwear

I rode both the German and the Austrian sections, and on one of those times continued nearly to Budapest before turning off and riding down to Trieste - although after Vienna the it really isn’t the same thing. The German and Austrian parts are brilliant. I love the Donau Radveg. I’ve toured all over the world and that is one of my all time favourite rides.

Germany is such a great place to tour on a bicycle! I have ridden through the Black Forest and followed the whole length of the Donau Radveg (twice!) Not in heels though … 😊

Yes it very much depends on your pedals! I never got into the modern trend for clipless pedals and the pedals on my bicycles are all old-school quill pedals and my feet never slip on them. But a lot if cheaper bikes and rental bikes have these flat pedals with plastic platforms that can be very slippery when wet. I rodeo e once and being used to really nice bicycle, I was appalled. i think it will be fun to put in my stilettos and ride to a place where i can practice. Come spring I hope to be doing this!

It’s unlikely, but if the ball of your foot slid outwardly on the pedals and you were wearing stilettos your heel could hit the front mech on the downstroke. Unlikely, but I think it’s possible. in any event it’s perfectly possible to cycle in heels, and something I am considering so I can get to places to practice in my 12cm stilettos

There’s no way your heel should get stuck on the pedals. Your heel doesn’t touch the pedal, no matter what kind if footwear you’re wearing. It’s just the ball if your foot on the pedal. Dismounting might feel strange in heels, but that’s all. The biggest problem woukd be the risk of scuffing your nice heels on the chain if you don’t have a chain guard, or getting a long stiletto heel stuck in the front shifting mechanism. If you were careful and pedalling at a measured pace there should be no problem

I don't understand how cycling in the Netherlands can be considered challenging. The place is made for cycling. Europe in general is excellent - at least compared with Britain - and the Dutch and Danish in particular have it down to an art. The challenge with cycling in heels will depend on the type of bicycle you're riding - the classic Dutch commuter bike, with the chain guard, wouldn't pose a problem. With others there's a chance of getting a long stiletto heel scuffed on the chain or caught in the front shifting mechanism. Smooth leather soles could slip off some styles of pedals, especially in the rain, and obviously you couldn't ride clipless pedals but the old standard quill pedal should give you sufficient grip.

North shore, sure. That makes sense! Offhand I can't think of any suburbs up there beginning with New, but then riffraff like me didn't frequent the North Shore

A condo? In Newtown? We can’t be talking about the same place. The Newtown I’m thinking of in Sydney is an old neighbourhood, lots of run down old terrace houses. No condos. That’s an American thing. This was was a student ghetto near the University of Sydney, with lots of Greek, Lebanese and Asian immigrants as well, and pretty rough back in the day.

It was probably so they could feel a bit warmer!

I took a bus to a nearby town today to do some shopping. I had thought about bringing my practice heels and practicing but I knew I was going to be doing a lot of walking and carrying a rucksack full of shopping so I went in my chunky heeled knee boots. As you say, both for men and women trainers seem to be de rigueur these days That said, winter - boot season - is the time of year when you will see the most heels. As I was liked around the town I did see a number of women in heeled knee boots. The men, with the exception of me, were universally in ratty trainers. Although I wasn’t practicing in my 12cm stilettos, it was nice to walk about the town in my chunky heels - it’s all good grist for the mill!

I lived in a very down at heel inner city neighbourhood called Newtown in Sydney many years ago when I was at university. At the time you could get one of the dilapidated old townhouses there for about 60k. I was much too smart to waste my money there … Today they are well into seven figures

Not at all! There’s a Scot moored just up from me who wears shorts when it’s below freezing. Lots wear shorts. I didn’t wear them when I lived in Australia either!

I just don't do shorts - not unless I'm cycling or going to the gym, and in neither case am I wearing heels.

I don’t think anybody would be walking long distances in Hit Chicks or your new boots. They are strictly for going out when you walk only limited distances - and the fact that you can do that is really admirable. Hardly anybody can from what I understand, even people who consider themselves adept at high heels. So you can take a lot of satisfaction in your accomplishment.

I was fascinated by stilettos - aesthetically and for the allure of the forbidden, to say nothing of the intriguing physical challenge of wearing them. Just how easy or hard was it to stride briskly along a city sidewalk or waltz across a ballroom floor in lofty stilettos. The thought that I was never meant to know only heightened the appeal. And yet at the same time it was chunky heeled boots that most caught my fancy. Stilettos appealed because they were the Ultima Thule of boundary breaking, which chunky heel knee or ankle boots I could see myself aspiring to wear every day. i know what you mean about feeling funny wearing stilettos in more casual situations. They are inherently dressy. It’s one of the things I like about wearing stilettos in my home office - when you’re a freelance and work from home it’s a good idea to make at least a bit of an effort to dress as though you are going to work as a reminder to yourself that this is an office, not just your kitchen table, and a place for work. Wearing stilettos is great for that. Nobody just lounges around in stilettos! since we started doing this challenge I have really begun to feel at home in stilettos. They are starting to feel as much my natural style as chunky heel boots. I feel quite proud of my ability to get around briskly in my 10cm boots, even if I struggle with 12cm. I can admire your abilities to walk long distances @mlroseplant and @higherheels remarkable abilities to wear Hot Chicks and her even high new boots. You’ve boot been great influences and examples

Yes stilettos are certainly more feminine than block heels. They’re also more fun. Funnily enough it was block heeled knee and ankle boots that originally attracted me to heels - I loved the look and lines and wished it were open to me to wear them. And I would say that these 8 to 10cm block heeled boots are my most natural style in high heels. But there is something fun and racy about stilettos that appeals to me. I don’t feel threatened by their femininity, but enjoy the challenge in learning to walk well in them. I love the elegance and lines, especially at 12cm, even if I do feel that the style is outside my natural comfort zone.

Once I started wearing heels I too found they suited my narrow feet better than most men’s shoes. It’s rare to find men’s shoes, boots or trainers in narrow fittings whereas women’s seem to be narrow by default. When I used to do a lot of running, only ASICS and New Balance trainers worked for me. ASICS had a narrow fit and New Balance came is a wide variety of width fittings. The other brands I would step right out of. Same with hiking boots. A lot of those were too wide for me. Italian made Scarpas worked well - perhaps Italian men have narrow feet - but most others were too wide. When I finally dared to try wearing heels I was pleasantly surprised by the fit. I just wished they made more styles in bigger (length) sizes

And I too personally raised the standard in my office - from not wearing heels to wearing heels, 8 to 12cm every day! 😊

I think there are heels and there are heels - yours look quite presentable. I can understand the basic idea of the rule though. In a lot of offices too 10cm would be the upper limit of what would be considered presentable in a work environment. Happily in my office I've declared 12cm to be pretty much the workplace standard!

I have quite narrow feet - long and narrow - and that would be my worry about trying pumps: that I would step right out of them. Especially if my feet were already steeply pitched on 12cm heels!

I’ve never worn any pumps or sandals in heels, only boots. I’m curious to try them sometime

I’m not following your math. If you bought for 180, put 50 into it, and sold for 250 that’s only a 20k profit - or 10k a year.