Shyheels

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

Big travel day today - Manchester to London to Leeds (and back to my boat) saw many a block heeled boot - from 2.5” to 3.5” but what surprised me was in Manchester I saw several quite high - 4” to 4.5” stilettos, both boots and pumps. And worn by people who knew how to walk gracefully in them. Their ages varied from about 30 to mid fifties. it’s been quite a while since I’d seen people wearing high stilettos.

None of those things would be hard to repair, although collectively that may not be worth it unless the bicycle was special to you in some way. If we lived closer by I could probably fix a lot if that - some of those things do require specialist bicycle shop tools which I have but you may not. But Yorkshire is a ways off Iowa …

Nice boots! I’ve not seen any with block heels. I’ve a pair of their classic green ones. Very handy

I don’t sweat in boots. In another sense I feel rather cool

It’s nice to think we boots guys have accomplished something! I’m always surprised and impressed when I read that you’ve been wearing boots of some sort!

That style of bicycle is called a mixte. Definitely not for racing. What parts can’t you find?

But it’s nice boot weather though! 😊

There are actually quite a few people who ride bikes for transport, at least in London, noticeably more than there were twenty years ago. And yes electronic shifting is very much for public consumption - although not many commuter bikes have it. It’s expensive and tend to be used for sport bikes, both road and mountain. It is technology that is being foisted upon us. And is working its way down the line to the less expensive bikes and group sets.

Oh yes, and the prices of these setups are eye-watering. And integrated shifters that nobody can repair, 12-speed rear sprockets and delicate chains, and disc brakes - it’s all very complicated, expensive and designed with short service lifes. I am very old school. My bicycles are all lugged steel frames, with classic components - but I am in the minority and a lot of these elegant old components are no longer available or being phased out

Actually I can tie up just anywhere - or nearly so. Life on the canals is one of the last vestiges of genuine freedom left to us these days. As a continuous cruiser - one with no home mooring - I can tie up along the towpath pretty much anywhere I like along our 2000-mile canal network, free of charge, as long as I move on every fourteen days. That can be the heart of London, Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds or some remote stretch of countryside in the Pennines or rural Wales.

Much the same can be said about narrowboats - finding a competent marine engineer is a total crapshoot. And the relentless drive for more complexity and flashy new technology is making it harder than ever to maintain anything yourself, assuming you gave the tools, workspace and the aptitude for such things. i am a qualified bicycle mechanic but most of my skills are becoming obsolete with the new fanged technology like electronic shifting etc. None of it is necessary or wanted by all. It is just being foisted on us by profit driven companies offering expensive solutions to problems that don’t really exist, and selling us in the idea that we must have these things. And raking away alternatives. its nothing new though. Many years ago - decades - E.B. While writes charming essay called Farewell Model T, lamenting the fact that cars used to be repairable by anyone, and how you could just order whatever parts you needed through a mail order catalogue like Sears, roll up you sleeves and fix whatever needed fixing. That simplicity was vanishing even in his day. It’s gone forever now.

Yes often the cost of the MOT plus whatever repairs are indicated exceeds the value of the car. It may still be worth paying it if you think you can get another year or more out of the car - especially if you know it is basically sound. Everything costs more over here. Cars, repairs, taxes and petrol.