Shyheels

I totally agree with you. And have a lot of sympathy with air crews who have to deal with all this every day, all day. I remember being on a long flight (I forget where) and wanted another drink. The stewardess came by and remembered what it was I had had earlier. I complimented her on her great memory and she smiled sadly and said she remembered the ones who say please and thank you.

There’s no Christian denomination of which I am aware that sanctions wearing hats in church - by men at least. Women are certainly excused their Easter bonnets. The headgear you mention being worn in a synagogue is almost certainly not a baseball cap - a yarmulke, I believe, is what is worn. i have been in mosques in Africa, the Near East and Indonesia and while I certainly had to remove my shoes, I was never asked to don any headgear. And I can’t imagine them specifying baseball caps. there is an amusing scene in that mobster TV show, The Sopranos, where some young guy is wearing a baseball cap in a nice restaurant where Tony Soprano is having dinner. Tony has to straighten him out …

If the heels were size 12 that might be a clue! 😊

Wearing hats indoors in some instances is all right - in public places such as railway stations and airports etc. Wearing hats in church or offices is really not appropriate. I take your point that having the chap show up in church at all is a good thing, and he shouldn’t be dissuaded but if he continues to show up wearing a hat throughout the service, perhaps somebody could discretely let him in on the rule of etiquette. He may not even know.

As an Australian, and one who travelled an awful lot, I’ve had more than my share of flights that ended up like that. It happened even more often back in the dark age days of the 80s before planes could fly over the Pacific non-stop. Used to have to stop in Auckland or Nadi and then to Honolulu and then on to LAX. Sometimes they’d stop only once, usually in Honolulu, occasionally in Papeete. I can remember a 12 hour layover in Nadi followed by eight hours in Honolulu. And of course after I got to LAX I still had to fly on to Boston. Ill be happy not to step in a plane ever again.

I’m so glad I was able to buy some boots from Jean Gaborit. Made in France of really high quality leather, custom fit - will last the rest of my life. I’d love to come into some money and buy a couple more pair before anything changes

Offer to go boot shopping with her!

Well, I have Hunter boots bought about 20 years ago and they’ve seen some pretty heavy use in Antarctica aside from ordinary use in Britain and they’re going fine. I can’t speak to the quality of Hunter boots made last year or this because I’ve simp,y never needed to replace the ones bought twenty years ago

Perhaps towpaths are different - the other day I found myself chatting with a local (not a boater) who had come down to saw up some if the downed tree branches fir kindling and firewood. We had quite a good tarn about the trip he and his wife took recently to El Salvador

Possibly a good idea in case if a crash, but crashes involving commercial aircraft are, statistically speaking, vanishingly rare.

Yes Zelenskyy was set up. That was deliberate. Nobody said a word about Elon Musk showing up to a cabinet meeting in a T-shirt and wearing a baseball cap! Zelenskyy dresses as he does for a very specific and symbolic purpose as anyone knows who’s read a newspaper in the past three years. Musk wore what he wore because he is a boor - note the spelling, I am not referring to his being South African I should add that I’m not trying to be political here, just making observations on fashion rules and hypocrisy. All other things being equal, the fact that someone - anyone - does not conform by wearing a suit should not be an issue. wearing a baseball cap (indoors!) and T-shirt to a cabinet meeting is disrespectful. That does not even make the grade as “smart casual”

They’re great boots

Thought of you today when I was walking into town and came upon a guy wearing black hunter boots!

It’s even more downhome friendly among boaters - the kind of neighbourliness that went out of fashion in most places back in the Fifties. It’s a kind of funky offbeat community that drifts around the canal network, open and friendly. Last year for example, I was moored in a secluded spot with a couple of other boats nearby. A woman who ran a cafe boat decided to take a few days off and came up through a couple of locks to this quiet spot and was moored next to me. Next morning I hear a knocking on the swan hatch, when I open up I see her standing in the towpath - she wants to know if I’d like an espresso. She’s just fired up her generator to make herself one and thought her neighbours might like one as well. The couple in the boat moored behind me used to run a pub. They piped up and asked if anybody wanted poached eggs, avocado and toast. I brought out my well stocked fruit bowl. Next thing you know we’re all having this glorious breakfast on the towpath. We all still keep in touch too. This sort of thing is not at all unusual among us water gypsies

Leggings for winter cycling, and wearing under trousers during winters along the canal

I think a lot of women who wear them, wear them as we do, for the aesthetic. There were always those who wore them because they liked them, enjoyed wearing them, for the emotional and physical lift - and not merely because heels were expected in certain environments. They will continue to wear them, long after dress codes became more relaxed. The same with neckties. There are those who will always wear a tie. The writer Tom Wolfe was one. I remember reading some quote by him that it would be unthinkable not to be wearing a tie. Stephen Fry is another. He wrote quite an entertaining book about his love of ties starting from when he was a very young boy. We are more conscious of wearing heels because we are not supposed to be wearing them in the first place according to the dictates of society, but take that away, and our view of heels is probably not that dissimilar to those of female high heel aficionados.

On the towpaths it is very normal not only to say hi but often to engage in conversation- even with total strangers

Over here it’s mainly in the north that you see heels - Manchester, Leeds, York - not so much in London. I’m sure there is some demographic significance but I don’t know just what it might ge

I was walking along the towpath this afternoon, wearing low heeled knee boots and came upon one guy who was certainly staring. It was odd because around the boatyard and amongst the boaters everyone just expects me to be wearing boots - I always do - so it was unusual to see this guy with the puzzled expression. I said hi and he responded and we went our ways

I think the femininity of my boots in an otherwise masculine look - jeans and fuller- creates a nice frisson. It’s edgy. And satisfying. I think a natural sensitivity and awareness of stepping out of bounds makes us more critical of how we appear in heels etc. we hold ourselves to some heightened standard. A woman would not do that. Women come in all shapes and sizes, like we do, and they buy and wear feminine clothes matter of course.

I can certainly see the attraction for having canvas shoes - Keds as you call them - in whatever shade, hue or colour you fancy. I used to have a couple pair of Converse shoes - both low and high top - in pastel colours. I don’t think they make them in those shades anymore alas

I too have never heard the term “runners” used in the UK (or anywhere else) Trainers, yes, but not runners. White plimsolls and trainers seem to be everywhere these days. I don’t get it …

When I think of feminising the male wardrobe I think more of borrowing from the women’s aisle than achieving a feminine look myself - in much the same way women will happily borrow whatever they please from the men’s aisle and then work with it to achieve the (still feminine)look they are after rather than trying to dress like a man. i like adding what are perceived to be feminine boots to my style, but I’ve no interest in looking feminine overall.

Nice to hear. Boots are a great statement I think.

Like everything worthwhile walking gracefully in heels is a skill that has to be maintained. I’ve not worn my stilettos in some weeks so I imagine I’ll be having cramping calves when I finally try them on again