Shyheels

Happy Birthday - I hope it is a good one

That’s true as regards sizing. Another good thing about going custom is that size no longer becomes an issue - I have bigger feet than yours and had no problems - but it was expensive. Ghstd one of the good things about the late Shoes of Prey - their sizes went up to a UK11 or 12 Long Tall Sally occasionally have large sizes but very few heels unfortunately

I’m quite a fan of chunky heels of 7cms or so and have several pair. Like you I do not care for statement style and like you I want something nice. I have a very nice pair of chunky heeled ankle boots from Shoes of Prey which, unfortunately went out of business a few years ago. You may find some on eBay though, The others I have - taller boots - are from Jean Gaborit, a custom maker in France, considerably more expensive than high street offerings they are beautifully made and will last for ages and fit beautifully too. They have a wide range of styles and a good selection of low and mid-heel boots. As I say they are custom made so will take a few weeks but are well worth the time and cost if you can afford it. I take the view that I’d rather have one really nice pair than ten ordinary ones

You certainly got some very good use out of them! Worth keeping them just for the memories

Welcome! You’ll find this is a very congenial place. It’s nice to have a new voice! Norway is such a beautiful place too. I was fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time there a few years ago on an assignment - I was up in Lofoten. Great weather for wearing boots!

Brilliant to have a paid for house - a huge step towards security and independence

As a freelancer working from home I've always made a point to dress for work - not doesn't have to be fancy or "business attire:" but it must be separate from my lounging around wear; the effort must be made - it reinforces the idea of being at work. I've found that wearing heels has prompted me to lift my game in that regard, more "smart casual" to live up to the stylishness of my heels. A good thing all around.

Sad isn’t it? I like my feminine boots with the zips up the side so I don’t have to tie my laces …

I do not wear T-shirts to be dressy. I wear them because I am doing something that requires freedom of movement. Otherwise I wear proper shirts and then yes, tucked in.

I won’t starve (hopefully!) I’ll just keep writing magazine features until I become too senile to continue, after which I shall set myself up as a political columnist and commentator

As a freelance I never have to worry about pensions - just starvation

I’m not a fan of the tucked in T-shirt. Maybe it’s my particular build or particular style but a tucker in T-shirt just seems wrong

Silent bullying, the tyranny of the crowd

I’ve wondered the same thing. I know that if one wants to join there can be quite a gap in time sometimes between signing up and getting their account activated and that may cut down on converting guests to members, and thus eliciting comments, posts and new threads. Aside from that I don’t know how one gets a larger more active membership. It isn’t as though we are a cantankerous lot, bickering amongst ourselves and putting off newcomers. I’m a member of another forum - non-fashion - but have never posted there because the members there are so incredibly unpleasant, both to each other and any newcomer who posts. I joined as I was seeking information but the idiotically toxic atmosphere put me off completely - and made me realise once again what a pleasant and benign place this is. Whether it is an embarrassment about their interest in heels, or that these guests are looking for something different or the time lag in getting an account activated, it is a real shame that at least some of these guests do not become active participants

Nor my street either. I’m sure there are some very hip places in certain very hip precincts of certain cosmopolitan cities where the echoes of these fashion show extravagances resonate but none of this reaches the masses, where fashion remain strictly within the same narrow boundaries. The people who inhabit this rarified fashion world may go all a-flutter about daring new directions, but they live in their own echo chambera. Much of these outlandish takes on fashion is merely attention getting, grabbing publicity and the hopefully admiring or envious nods of their peers

Yes but doing something just because you can generally doesn’t serve much purpose - those fashion shows are just attention seeking. They’ve been doing this sort of thing for ages and it hasn’t changed the core of men’s fashion one iota

I certainly welcome the meanderings off topic. Your posts are always thoughtful and interesting. I too have looked at the stats from time to time and have noted the large numbers of guests relative to members. It would be nice if some joined and added their thoughts and voices to the threads although it may well be that many are looking more fetish oriented (There’s no shortage of places they can go for that) I too like the interaction with the regulars here - it’s why I stay

So true and so disappointing. I’ve been experimenting with shooting images of myself in heels - not posing but looking natural, casual, as though it were not staged, and shot in such a way that the fact that I’m wearing heels is not immediately apparent although the heels are fully visible. It is entirely possible to photograph a guy in heels in such a way that it seems completely unremarkable -

Oddly enough I had a similar compliment the other day from someone who wears stylish heels herself. She said envious of my boots, I was quite flattered

Yes, genuinely hideous. Almost like an Identikit composite of everything revolting in terms of so called dress shoes

I agree. The heels described in that study were ghastly. From what I gather they created them so the male participants would not feel as though they were wearing feminine footwear - again the hang-up about crossing the dreaded gender line. How nice it would be if more people could get over that. They might also have had more volunteers for the study and fewer drop-outs

No females on here at all anymore

Yes a study group of eight, half of whom quit, is not going to carry much weight - even though I’ll bet their results were and are valid - but of course that opinion of mine is based on an even smaller study group: me

I must say the 2021 dateline is looking a bit tired

Thanks! That was indeed an interesting article. A pity the study group was so small, but the results seem significant. I know I have certainly noticed exactly those things in my own case with wearing heels - and the heel height I favour 3 to 3.5 inch chunky heel boots, is fairly close to the height used in the study. I had already thought that athletes could do worse that wear heels to strengthen their lower legs - I know wearing heels has strengthened mine! Hopefully there will be more studies coming to build in this one