Shyheels

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

That’s the one! Sitting in front of a tapestry that once belonged to Henry VIII. This image has been brightened up considerably - photoshop? The real one is much more muted. Men in those days were peacocks at court- all silks, laces, bright colours and heels. The along came the Age of Enlightenment in the early/mid 18th century and suddenly science, intellectualism, and philosophy were the fashion. Broadcloth and sensible shoes were in, heels and silk stockings were out

I don’t think anyone should be required to wear heels - or a tie for that matter I would like to see a whole lot less rigidity in how we dress, and much more freedom of expression.

Out and about today in Edinburgh and while strolling through the art collection on display in the Throne Room at Holyrood House I took a good look at the grand portrait of Charles II in all his 17th century splendour - which included ankle boots with what appear to be 10cm heels. A reminder of the days when high heels were a specifically masculine fashion

As a creative I detest AI and boycott it scrupulously - on more grounds than I can count.

I was thinking of your Hot Chicks and guessing they were roughly the same price as my custom OTK boots. It’s nice to have something special like that. Definitely worth the effort of learning to walk well in them! I hope that is going well

Yes they are expensive. Depending on the style - they do quite a range of boots, from fashion to country boot to vintage styles for the classic car/motorcycle/aviation enthusiasts - the prices range from about €650 to €1200. Mine are at the lower end. Most custom makers - and there aren’t many these days - charge a lot more. These are all hand made in France and are fully custom, even the soles. Mine fit perfectly, the nubuck suede is thick and luxurious and they’ll last forever. So it seemed a good investment. My other two stilettos are not custom though. The OTK ones are special

Yes it is very difficult to find nice fashion heels in my size. It can be done but you have to be committed enough to spend. I’d always wanted to try wearing heels and when I finally summoned the nerve to do it, I decided to do it well and buy some really nice ones. Jean Gaborit is fully custom and make gorgeous boots in just about any size. And so my collection of heels is quite small but very nice.

Thank you! I’m quite pleased at feeling more at home in them. i wear a 45 or 46 so it is not always easy for me to find nice heels. I have no interest at all in fetishy ones which are what you usually find in larger sizes. I bought a couple pair of knee boots from Italian heels - very classic style - and a pair of really lovely custom OTK boots from Jean Gaborit in a very nice black suede. They are my favourite pair by far - and the 9cm heels are really easy and stable to walk around in. They were expensive but I absolutely love them.

My 12cm heels are very definitely the proper angle for 12cm stilettos - they were made for the right proportions for my size. Even just wearing them as a potter around and sit and write I am starting to feel more at ease in them. They are becoming more familiar which is a help. I just need to put in the distances and practice. And probably with an 11cm first!

Italian Heels has a chart on their website that gives the actual measured height for each size and style. Handy

I’ve also never tried a style like that - I’ve always worn boots. Some attempting 12cm in sandals seems like a great way to turn an ankle!

I would not gave guessed those were 11.5cm. At this angle I would have guessed they were 10cm. My 12cm heels look much more than 0.5cm higher. Then again, my 10 and 12cm stilettos are both scaled up for the larger size that I wear. The standard for the style is a 10 or 12cm heel based on a size 38 shoe - the actual measured heel height is scaled up (or down) as you move away in size from the standard 38. This keeps the lines and proportions consistent for that particular style throughout the size range. If the maker of your shoe does not do that it would explain why your 11.5cm heels look lower. My collection is much smaller than yours - I have two pair of stiletto knee boots (10 and 12cm) and one pair of suede OTK boots with 9 cm heels

I agree that heels are an accessory - a finishing touch, but the act of choosing heels is a statement. By the same token the heels I like are those in which the heels are part of a larger whole. They should contribute to the overall aesthetic, not dominate it. I love the aesthetic of 12cm heels but 14 and up just ruins the look for me. At that point it’s all about the heels

Heels themselves are a statement - they’re about self expression

I don’t have any 11cm heels but it sounds like a great idea to buy some and use them to train for the 12cm height.

Absolutely! In places where I’ve moored the towpath is doable in heels and there I’ve certainly noticed the difference between that and walking on the hardwood floor in my boat! im not embarrassed by the fact that I like wearing heels - but I would be embarrassed to be seen fumbling around in them.

Because I have to walk a ways down the towpath to do my shopping I have a good sized rucksack for carrying groceries. No problem to put my stiletto boots in and change at the park once I’m off the towpath. The walking surface is good in the park. As for photos you are mistaking me for someone else. I’ve never posted a photo of myself in heels. There was another member who lived in the north of England who used to post pics of himself at cafes. Not me. That said I am thinking of setting up some shots in the park if I can work out some good compositions. Professional pride won’t allow me to post snapshots. So I’ll work out some good angles and backgrounds, practice a bit and see how I go

To everything a season

Like you I wish I had been able to summon the nerve to wear boots and heels much earlier. It is silly and foolish to allow yourself to be so hobbled by the opinions of others, especially in something that in the bigger scale of things is so trivial. It’s not like wearing heels is a sin, or a crime, or damaging to anyone - it’s simply expressing yourself in fashion. Allowing yourself to have fun. And once you realise and accept that it is such a relief to unload all that useless angst

Yes, living on a boat does make things tricky in terms of wearing heels. Obviously I can wear them in the boat, and while I’m working at my home office. I’ve a nice hardwood floor and can get up from my table and putter around the galley, make coffee, cook meals, and do chores, and in that regard I suppose I am no different than anyone who wears heels to an office in the city- they spend most of their days sitting down at a desk or conference table. I just don’t have the commute! I also don’t have a ready means of practicing and acquiring the effortlessness in wearing heels that is so important. Especially with regards to mastering the 12cm stilettos to which I aspire. Even in the 10cm ones, which I'm fairly comfortable with, I could do with some longer walks etc. I really need to figure out some way of managing this. I can go to the local park, change into my heels and practice there, although I am reluctant to do my practicing in public as I feel silly looking like such a beginner in my 12cm heels - yet if I don’t put in the practice I’ll never gain the skill. And I really want to gain that skill. I also worry about the fragility of my stiletto heels. I know the song These Boots Were Made for Walkin’ - but how far and in what conditions? I’m not at all worried about going out in my chunky heeled ankle and OTK boots - and as long as the towpath isn’t a sea of mud (and it sure hasn’t been lately in our drought) I’m happy to walk to town in them. And on the bright side with my stilettos, I do derive some benefit in wearing them in my “office” simply for the liberated, creative feel wearing them inspires. I’m just not gaining that effortlessness that completes the look.

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.