Shyheels

Well I finally got back into my 12cm heels - oh dear, it’s back to beginners. I was very glad neither of you guys were there to see me. In my defence, my boat has a slight list and so the floor slants sidewise - not a lot but enough so you can notice it, especially when you are trying to walk gracefully in lofty stilettos. it really is tough trying to learn the art of walking in 12cm heels when you live in a narrowboat out in the countryside and the muddy towpath is just not a viable walking option for heels - or nice shoes or boots in general.

No point in ruining nice heels in mud and puddles. That’s pretty much all I have when I step off my boat - a rough and muddy towpath for a good mile into town. It does cut down on heel wearing… Your story about the spilled beer reminded me of some advice John Wayne once gave an up and coming actor: never wear suede shoes. His reason - and it sounds like it came from experience - was that when your famous and you go into a men’s room, someone is going to recognise you when your standing beside them at the urinal, and turn suddenly in their excitement, forgetting where they are, and exclaim “my gosh you’re John Wayne!” And pee all over your shoes

I think it’s the kind of bend in the knee that indicates a struggle for assured balance and an element of uncertainty. Like people bending over slightly when they are learning to skate instead of standing upright. Learning to walk in heels does remind me a bit of learning to skate.

That’s nice. I have long fancied a pair of white boots but have never summoned up the nerve to buy some

Our weather here in Britain is fickle to say the least. I went up to Scotland for a couple of weeks this past August and came back with a tan. Sunny every day and temperatures of about 25°C. You just never know. Mind you this past spring and summer was unusually dry and warm. its definitely not warm now! I’ve obtained some wood for heating - much preferred to coal! - and now that I’m warm again am about to resume my practicing in my 12cm heels. I suspect I’ve lost a bit of whatever skill I picked up …

Yes! There is quite an art to this. I think that’s one of the things I find so appealing about it. Heels not only have a mystique and are aesthetically pleasing - especially 12cm stilettos - but require skill to wear well. It makes them special. I want to acquire this skill!

Although I’ve not mastered my 12cm heels yet, I can stand with straight knees in them and can straighten them when I walk. That part is fine. I am just clumsy in them - or clumsier than I would want to be! I feel like I am clomping around

If they’d been living in 12cm heels they’d be straightening their knees. It’s part of learning to walk well in heels - something I’m still working on in my 12cm stiletto boots

I was thinking that too - bent knees is not a good sign.

I passed through London one day last year - via Kings Cross and Waterloo stations - and was startled to see many women in towering stilettos - so many that I began wondering what was going on. I found out it was Ascot. Only time I’ve ever seen anywhere near that many heels in London - or anyplace else for that matter.

Sounds like an interesting evening. I'm surprised there were some in 120mm heels - that's a very elegant, and challenging, height and not often seen, at least not worn around and about town. I suppose an event is different. As someone who is trying to master the art of walking fluidly in 120mm stilettos, I'm wondering how well the people you saw wearing them were able to walk? Straight knees? Bent? Gliding or tottering? I can definitely see why having to climb and later descend 6 flights of stairs would be a disincentive to wearing heels. Did these others go up and down all those stairs to the venue? If so they must have been very dedicated.

Well done! I’m curious to hear what they’re like. As I say, they look really nice! And, yes, a challenge!

Let us know what you decide! Those are really nice

I know what you mean about skinny calves - I have the same but have been able to find boots that fit nicely and having skinny calves works well with stilettos! I too like to boots @higherheels has found, and I don’t usually like the lines of boots with heels over 12cm high. For me 12cm is kind of a sweet spot aesthetically - it projects the full imperiousness of a proper stiletto heel but without verging into fetish. The boots she has found don’t look fetishy at all, merely high - nice find! I hope you do get over to England sometime! We could catch up for a coffee in our challenge heels!

While I agree there is a north-South divide in terms of people wearing heels, I’ve not noticed any of the other characteristics you describe - at least not in Yorkshire or Lancashire, not in height, build or dress sense. Outlook may be more traditional, which is why you will likely see more women smartly turned out in heels in Leeds say than in London, but otherwise it’s all much the same. Unless you were looking for heels, and noticing that you saw more up here than down south, I doubt you’d notice any difference.

I agree - about 13.5 to 14cm. They look very high and very steep. Nice looking boots though. I'm not sure I could stand upright in them!

I don’t think anyone who wears Hot Chicks could ever be classed as boring! it is funny though how our tastes and styles differ. I too really like it.

I’m hoping the heater will be sorted this weekend. It’s not so much the temperature but the bone chilling dampness that is do unpleasant. England gets a damp cold and doubly so when you’re on the water!

I see heels quite frequently in Leeds and York. In York it tends to be more chunky heels because there are so many cobbled streets, although I have seen some intrepid souls gliding along in stilettos as though they hadn’t a care in the world. There is certainly a north south divide in the UK as regards heel wearing. It’s much more common in the north

Looks very presentable!

I’m so envious of your skill level when 12cm boots are the easy ones to retreat to when you can’t find 13cm boots. They’re still quite a challenge for me. I’m getting a load of wood this weekend so I can heat the boat and go back to practicing in my 12cm boots on my boat!

Wow! Congratulations! It must have been fun to be going out to dinner in them and having it feel relatively easy! That’s brilliant progress. i am hoping to be getting back into my 12cm boots later this week - and in a warmer boat!

I’m still very much in the world of heavy suede OTK boots with 8cm heels - I’m hoping to get my heating sorted in the next week or so and can get back to practicing in my stilettos. I just hope that in the interim I’ve not lost whatever modest gains I’ve made …

Speaking for myself, I find that walking around for a few minutes in my 10cm heels is a good warm up for wearing my 12cm ones - although if I do I have a way of becoming distracted and forgetting to change boots.

It’s interesting. It would be fun to know what their perception of heels is, especially stilettos. As you say, it’s not something you can sidle up and ask without looking like a creep. But from a sociological and cultural viewpoint, it would be an interesting question.