Shyheels

That’s hugely impressive to go 200 metres in a pair of 13cm Hot Chicks. And @mlroseplant is literally miles ahead of me. I’m afraid I am very much bringing up the rear. I can walk quite comfortably for a decent distance -when opportunity offers - in my 10cm knee boots and my 9cm OTK boots. And yes, it is quite exciting to do it and satisfying to be able to do so. I am very much looking forward to attempting my first 200 metre walk in my 12cm boots. That will be really fun

For me the problem is getting that half mile! Heels - especially stilettos ! - and boat life is an uneasy mix. I can, and do, wear my chunky heeled boots out and about. It can be a bit of a challenge along parts of the towpath, but it’s doable. Stilettos are almost hilariously inappropriate. It’s not just a matter of balance, it’s also a big risk for ruining the heels/boots. Nevertheless I’m practicing on board and working out places where I can go to practice - changing into my heels once I get there. It takes a certain amount of dedication and I must admit there are days when I decide I’ll just wear them here on the boat, and make another pot of coffee …

Wow! Thats great! And very impressive - as I work at mastering my 12cm stiletto boots, the thought of adding yet another centimetre and without the ankle support offered by boots seems a really serious challenge. Well done for going for a stroll outside in them. Real world walking is also vastly more challenging than pottering around the house. I can imagine you’d be well motivated. its funny how these little successes motivate you to press on and keep trying. I am finding that with my 12cm heels. i also find that after wearing my 12cm heels for a while, my 10cm heels feel so incredibly easy.

Hideous. Truly hideous.

Frankenstein seems to be supplying the style cues to modern fashion designers

If the heel height is actually the same, yes. But many makers scale the height of the heel to the shoe size, as per the Italian Heels size chart above.

Sounds monstrous.

Passing through Leeds train station today. Although the overwhelming majority of people are in trainers, there are a surprising number of heels being worn including stilettos. Nearly all the heels being worn are boots, and generally chunky heels There are sure a lot of ugly boot styles out there …

I’ve made a virtue out of necessity by buying very good quality- but very few pairs. I think it’s worked out well!

According to the Italian Heels heel height chart, a 12cm heel is actually 14.5cm in a size 45. As you can see they base their nominal heel heights on a size 38. So you and @higherheels will be pretty close to the nominal heel height, but I don’t get to “cheat” by having longer feet. The lines, proportions and the steepness will be the same as yours. Which is nice, even if it means I can’t cheat and have to work just as hard to master 12cm heels - it’s not the number that I like but the aesthetics and so I am pleased to have the same aesthetic despite my larger size. How frustrating it would be otherwise! Sizeaaaaaaaaaa 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 . Heel 8 cm 07,0 07,5 08,0 08,3 08,5 09,0 09,3 09,5 09,7 10,0 Heel 10 cm 09,0 09,5 10,0 10,5 11,0 11,5 11,7 12,0 12,3 12,5 Heel 12 cm 11,0 11,5 12,0 12,5 12,7 13,0 13,5 13,7 14,0 14,5 Suede is not readily worn in Britain either although this year you can pretty much wear suede with impunity. We’re having a drought here, our reservoirs and rivers are at historic lows and some of the canals are closed because there is insufficient water to work the locks.

The one in the right definitely looks significantly taller, although I can also see where it could be an optical illusion too. But 6mm would definitely make a difference in terms of wearability - especially at those lofty heights. I wore my 12cm boots for a couple hours this morning - making breakfast (in the midst of which I had to go out on my well deck (bow) to change gas canisters! Right as I was heating water for coffee.) I still have a long way to go to achieve anything like effortlessness in 12cm stilettos

It must be the angle. I'm on my way back to my boat after ten days in the Scottish highlands. Not great for wearing heels! I did get some practice in at my hotels. Slowly getting used to the extra height and steeper pitch

For the longest time I've wanted to master the art of wearing 12cm stilettos. I've always loved the asthetics and lines of that height a heel and wished could manage them - although without ever really putting in the necessary time and effort to accomplish this. I own a pair of elegant chocolate-brown 12cm stiletto knee boots, which I try on wistfully every now and then, but take off when my calves start cramping up and because I feel too teetery in them. In the course of breezy exchanges with @higherheels who wanted to master her 13cm Hot Chicks and @mlroseplant who wanted to improve his already formidable skills (both of these members are way beyond me) I've been making a concerted effort to put in some time in my 12cm stilettos every day, even if its just sitting down to write and getting up every now and then to make coffee or fix myself a snal, or take another fascinated turn around the room. It's not going badly - and it's certainly fun. Today I'm in Scotland on assignment, and have brought along my 12cm knee boots - for hotel room practice Even if I ws competent in them, they're not exactly suitable for waling in the heather!

I saw this article on the CNN website about a high heels race in Spain as part of the local Pride festival. Apparently it has been going for quite a long time. Minimum heel height is four inches or 10cm - so they are racing in genuinely high heels. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/05/travel/madrid-pride-high-heel-race

I thought I'd start this thread as a bit of a finger on the pulse of what is being worn. I was thinking of this the other night when I was in a busy pub having dinner and noticing the boots and heels being worn by my fellow patrons. I was wearing low-heeled OTK boots myself - bluish-grey suede over skinny jeans. I was not the only one in OTK boots. There was a young lady in black shorts (this in winter) with some very tall black leather boors - actually more like thigh boots than OTK. I'd never seen anything quite like them. The shafts looked to be made of very nice leather and fit her well; that part was elegant. The boot part though was like a pair of exceptionally heavy Doc Martens with very thick clod-hopper soles. I don't know if contrast and aesthetic tension was the point of this, but it looked like hell. My other outing this week was to go to Leeds, an old city in the north of England. I saw a lot of people (all women) wearing heels - typically chunky heeled knee and and ankle boots with 3" heels. It was almost the norm. I was wearing black leather knee boots myself, again with low heels (my circumstances at the moment do not lend themselves to wearing heels - not because of the fear of censure but risky footing and the ruination of nice suede high-heeled boots) Again, my black leather knee bots, for over skinny jeans, passed without notice.