Shyheels

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

Women get a much better deal with the Ritz. Smart casual will do - but genuinely smart casual, not what passes for that at business class airline lounges which claim to have a rudimentary dress code. You’d gave to dress nicely at the Ritz but as far as I know there’s no specific requirements as there are with men. Women are certainly not required to wear heels.

Even small shoe and boot making companies struggle. I know the people at Jean Gaborit, a French custom boot maker, and while they make absolutely beautiful boots at quite decent prices given they are entirely custom made in their workshop in France, they struggle mightily in a world dominated by huge corporations churning out cheaply made stuff in China and the Far East. It’s not right.

I don’t own a suit and can’t see myself ever owning one. I certainly would not wish to be buried in one. That would be so false. Like scumbag burglars wearing suits for their trial. It just wouldn’t ring true.

I think you’re a little late. That post was made nearly seven years ago

Hmmm…. Interesting. Skirt and jacket and tie? As long as you had the jacket and tie I think you’d be in with a chance. Winder how they would treat a well dressed Scot in a kilt? Although Scots don’t usually wear them except at weddings

I last wore a tie three or four years ago when I had lunch at The Ritz. It was obligatory. Men must wear coat and ties. No exceptions. I bought a tie for the occasion. The lunch was worth it. Before that it would have been decades since I wore a tie. I don’t remember any specific occasion. I still own my Ritz tie - it’s at the bottom of my sock drawer, still knotted. I wear shorts only when I’m cycling or to the gym and even then I prefer standard or ¾ length shorts, never short shorts. If I was ever to try a skirt, it would have to be along those same lines - a knee length pencil skirt or midi. I admit it’s tempting for the experience sake. As to feminisation, the femininity of my boots is certainly part of the appeal. Cowboy boots with heels (or without for that matter) do not appeal to me. I very much like the feminine styling of my boots. Whether it’s because it adds a touch of the forbidden, or is provocative, or I like the idea of stepping out of myself - I’m not really sure. Probably a mix of all these things and more. But it’s there. I like their femininity.

Yes we can wear more colours now - that’s one area I was always quite fearless about, I never hesitated to wear pink or violet or any other so allied feminine colour. But men can get away with wearing pastels and other such colours only for certain items of clothing. You might get away with a pale pink business shirt as long as everything else was conservative and normal, but try wearing a carnation pink suit, or a lemon yellow one, into a job interview, business meeting or a law office and see what that gets you. Just look at the photographs of world leaders standing together at some conference or other. Any women leaders will stand out a mile because of their bright colours while the men are all in navy blue suits. I remember President Obama getting a lot of grief for showing up somewhere in a tan suit - far too radical.

We're having some heavy snow and bitter cold in Yorkshire at the moment. Definitely weather for nice warm knee and OTK boots but not with heels!

I just noticed this post. Totally agree. Women’s fashion has far more choices, colours and capacity for self expression than men’s. Male fashion is all about conformity and is quite puritanical. I’d much rather be one of the Cavaliers

I don’t see how that works in any snowy situation. If the snow is deeper than the heel is high she’ll topple over backwards. If it’s light powdery snow and she's walking over an icy surface she’ll go flying. If it is stable shallow snow on a firm surface she might be able to walk a short ways without doing a pratfall, but what would be the point? In no way would heels confer an advantage. Any illusory “grip”; a heel might seem to offer would be badly offset by the slick narrow leather sole. She might have walked across a snowy parking lot without suffering a broken coccyx but there’s no way she had an advantage

I think you’re right. People do notice but in these days of ridiculously heightened sensibilities nobody is going to want to risk putting a foot (or eye) out of line., let alone express a compliment to a woman, no matter how tame the wording might be. One just does not know how it will be taken, and when even the use of the wrong pronoun can ruin someone’s entire life why risk your career, live savings and possibly your liberty by telling a woman you don’t know that she looks nice?

I know Cadbury has won court battles over its particular shade of purple-blue for bars of chocolate. The rulings concerned that particular shade and for the sales of chocolate specifically. It’s complicated

I guess anybody can be a shoe designer

I know if you’re a cyclist you definitely want to be making eye contact with motorists at intersections - whether you’re in heels or not!