HHCraziness

My latest addition to my collection is another pair of clogs. :-)

Kelsi Dagger Haiden Clogs.

Heel measures from side = 5 1/2", measurement from the back = 5 3/4" and platform is 1 3/4".

HHC

Steve,

Thank you for such a thorough explanation of the process! This week I will start checking different salons to find one that I feel comfortable with.

HHC

TBG,

Thanks for the info, I do appreciate. Will post after the pedicure.

HHC

I am thinking about getting a pedicure and honestly I have no idea on what to expect.

I have been partial to closed toe shoes forever but recently I purchased a pair of T Strap Platform Sandals, the toes must be at their the best.

Curious as to the procedure. Average cost involved. Do all Nail Salons cater to men? What if I have polish applied, do I need to wear a thong type sandal? How long for the average polish to dry? How soon can i wear socks and closed toe shoes?

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

The first picture is the Simply Vera Vera Wang Melrose Pump, the heel measured from the side is 5" - measured from the back is 5 1/4" - platform is 1 1/2".

The second picture is the Jessica Simpson Salvati Platform T-Strap Sandal, the heel measured from the side is 5 1/4" - measured from the back is 5 1/2", platform is 1 3/4".

Here is another picture of the Vera Wang Melrose Pump from the rear.

I have been in a shoe buying mood recently, here are two of my latest. Yes, I am still into the platform shoe, it just feels right.

On 12/15/2015 at 6:35 AM, Chorlini said:

There's two reasons why I dislike platforms, first, they're ugly as hell, giving the wearer the look of having club feet. And secondly, eliminate the platforms and 99% of the time you're left with a 4" heeled shoe. Too low for my taste. It allowed people to pretend that they wore 'killer heels' when actually what they really wore were granny heels.

Really? I find it odd reading some threads posted here on HHP the dislike for platform heels. I have many pairs of single sole heels and platforms and I love them all. The platforms range from 1/2" to 2" with the total heel height of 6". Yes, I agree 6" heel minus 2" platform = 4" heel, not even close to wearing a 4" heel in my opinion. The highest single sole heel I own is 5 1/2", no where as comfortable as my 6" platforms. I love the look and feel of wearing my 6" platforms with a nice pair of jeans which are cut just right to show the shoe.  

LuvsStiletto,

I could not agree with you more on women wearing heels. Where I live is far from the dark ages of fashion but very seldom do I see a lady wearing heels. Sometimes when I am in a local Stop & Shop grocery store I might see a lady wearing heels and sometimes at a local Chef Supply store but that is about it. Even at the malls very rarely is there a sighting.

I have been out heeling six times since my last post. I have gone to shoe stores mostly, stand alone stores and stores at malls. DSW, Nine West Outlet, Famous Footwear, Payless, Saks 5th Avenue Outlet, J.C. Penny and Macy's have been all pleasant experiences and a visit to Charlotte Russe was unpleasant. At Charlotte Russe I was ignored by two sales associates even after I asked them twice about a pair of shoes.

Shoe shopping has not been the greatest, perhaps I am getting too picky. Most of my heels are 5" or better, stiletto type heel, not really great for me to walk in for extended periods of time. My mission has been to find a nice pair of 4" to 4 1/2" heels with a slender, thicker heel, not chunky, just a shoe that would be comfortable to walk in for longer outings. Honestly, walking to and from stores or walking in malls can be a trying event. Uneven surfaces, broken asphalt, cracks in cement, slippery store floors all play into a scenario for trouble. Quite possibly this is why I do not see many women heels?

Back to the shoes, I have been a fan of Nine West shoes for a while but recently something has changed with their shoe. All shoes have a plastic composite sole, when wearing the shoe the comfort is not what it use to be. DSW shoes have changed also, many brands but most of them just don't feel comfortable. As I stated, maybe I am getting too picky, all was fine when I did not  leave the house in heels. I wore my heels for a bit in the house when it was safe to wear them so they were comfortable but now I wish to go out for hours in heels and I just have not found the right heel for that purpose. Trust me I am determined, I will find that shoe and I will post what I find.   

TBG,

What was I thinking??? This is why posters should not post when they are under the influence of any substance, my substance was a "Great Aura" from a fun outing.

HHC 

Hi everyone, again I need to thank all of you for getting me out in public in a heel of any type. Yes, I am still going out in my boring Dansko clogs but they still have a 3 1/2" heel which are higher than anything I have ever worn in public plus they are a "Women's Shoe"

My first outing was to the VIP Boutique which was a Great experience. The second was to a DSW and that was fun also, read my other posting for the details. The third was back to VIP Boutique, different sales people, again a Great time trying on shoes and talking with the sales people.

Today, my fourth outing. I had to take care of some business out of my immediate area so before leaving I did a shoe store search for what was in that area. The area had limited small stores but did have a good size mall with Famous Footwear, Journey's and a Payless shoe stores. I have read here where some avoid the mall's but I figured it is Monday and the mall should not be that busy. I did check the mall layout online and found an entrance close to the Famous Footwear store, great I can just enter the mall and get to trying on some shoes. Wrong, Famous Footwear moved to the other end of the mall. Time to suck it up and take a nice stroll down the mall. The clogs do have their own sound and on occasion I would see a head turn but no comments or weird looks.

I arrive at Famous Footwear and I am greeted by the sales assistant, a lady probably in her early forties, she asks if she can help with anything. I state that I am looking for ankle boots and 4" pumps, she smiles and asks "for you?" and I smile and say "yes", she then asks "what size?" I say 9.5, she then says "follow me hun". I spent close to an hour trying on different shoes and boots, most of the time this nice lady was assisting me in any way that she could. I asked her for her opinion on different shoes and boots and she was right there with a polite but firm opinion. Unfortunately, I did not find a shoe or boot that wowed me.

I am looking for a nice 4" pump that does not have a super thin stiletto heel. I wish to find a heel that is just a bit thicker but by no means not a chunky type heel. I want to wear the heels with  jeans when I go out on my jaunts, many times the terrain is not perfect so the bit thicker heel would give me a bit more stability.The ankle boots that I saw and tried on just did not excite me, maybe it was the heel was weird or the boot itself just lacked something, the mirror does not lie. I cannot believe that on my fourth outing I am getting so picky about what shoes to purchase, never had this problem buying online. I am thinking that the interaction with the sales associates is becoming a good thing, I will find what I want and what looks good on me.

Journey's and Payless had the same outcome on me, nothing wowed me. Tomorrow I have an appointment not to far from another DSW, I will give it another go and hopefully purchase a pair or two.

Interesting side note, while in Famous Footwear I did get a few looks when I was trying on shoes from a couple customers, I just smile. On my long walk through the mall to Journey's and Payless I did get a couple of glances from people I passed but two were just funny. While walking I hear two girls talking from behind me, they are not talking about me from what I could tell but when they pass me one girl turns to me and says "nice look and the walk isn't bad", I smile and say thank you. The second was, two young men walking towards me, I see one look down at my shoes and then look up to me and then he says to his friend " see, he has the balls to wear his shoes in public, not like you". Made me feel good, his friend seemed embarrassed but we all smiled. Til tomrrow.

HHC   

Bluejay, glad to see you enjoy them also. Some would say they are a bit pricey, but they are so comfortable. I do have the black and brown but I would love to add a pair of the red ones to my collection. The clogs got me out of the house, now I will have to pull out a pair of my pumps and see how that adventure goes.

Thank you for the ideas of getting the jeans altered to accommodate the heels. I really never would have thought about doing that and probably would have just purchased longer jeans which most likely would look hideous.

It is so nice being in a Forum with so much knowledge as HHP.

Thanks again to everyone responding to this thread, off to VIP this afternoon.

Steve, thanks for the nice reply. In my introduction I mentioned that my living conditions do not permit me wearing heels and dying to go out in public in a shoe other than a man's shoe, I felt the clogs fit the bill. Just walking in public in a shoe with any sort of heel takes a bit of practice and before I try walking in my 5" to 6" heels and feeling confident doing so, for now I will stick with the clogs.

I do have two pairs of the Dansko's, one brown and the other is black. I also have a pair of Michael Kors clogs which are a black with chrome studs and they have a 4 3/4" slender heel and a 3/4" platform. I do hope to be confident enough to wear the Michael Kors in public in a couple of weeks.  

I am not interested in dressing, my love is for the heels, which brings up an area for me to address - clothes. I am the boot cut jeans kind of person and I will have to look into different cuts of jeans and slacks that will compliment my heels. Wow, I never thought I would think about what pants go better with heels.  

Question regarding posting pics, what size pic is normally used on this Forum? I posted the pic of the Dansko's and maybe it is too big?

Later

TBG -  You are correct that I could have cut the other heeler a little slack but, the way he said what he said and the look that I received from him took me from my very passive self to being on the defensive. I will have to work on that and control my emotions.

mlroseplant - It is strange how people are different just from what area they are from. People in the Northeast generally just say what is on their mind. A while back I visited your part of the Country and I was pleasantly surprised how nice people were and trust me the difference was a great feeling.

"Something as nondescript as Dansko clogs"  I don't know about that. The shoe itself is a clog, yes, boring to some but I chose for my first and second outings mainly for the comfort and as a confidence builder.. The heel heel height is 3 1/2"  with a 3/4" platform, the shoe displays well. I am 6' and my jeans fall just at the top of the shoe making the heel of the shoe and my heel visible just standing and more so when walking.  

Yes, I will get more daring with shoe choices in the future, can't wait to take my G by Guess Veeta Platform Pumps for a stroll - 5 3/4" heel with an 1 1/2" platform. Two outings in less than a week, thanks to the great people and support here at HHP.

Okay, the trip to DSW to find ankle Boots was a bust. I visited a DSW that was out of town because I had business in that area this morning. Usually I have good luck in this store but I could not find a pair of anything that excited me.

The fun part of the visit to DSW. I arrive at the store about fifteen minutes before opening time and there are two middle age  ladies waiting outside the store. I sit in my vehicle for a couple of minutes and decided to go wait at the front door with the others. Today I am wearing jeans, a sweat shirt and my Brown Dansko Rae Clogs. I do a nice slow walk through the parking lot to the front door and acknowledge the two ladies standing there. One lady pays no attention to me while the other says hello and then glances down at my shoes. She looks up and smiles and then says "interesting". I respond by asking, you approve? She says "Yes and that the shoes look good on me" and she then adds "you walk pretty good in them too". Wow.

The staff unlock the front and I open it, holding the door for the two ladies when out of no where a young man appears and I hold the door for him. As he approached I saw him look at me and as he passed by me he said "really". I replied "I guess you do not approve", no comment from him. Interesting enough he heads straight to the women's boots, as I walk by him I ask "for you or your young lady"? No comment from him. I look around the store for a bit and I end up back at the boot section and who is still there, my buddy. Now he has a sales assistant with him and each boot he picks out they do not have the correct size, size 12 US. He and the sales assistant end up right next to me where I am trying on boots, I chuckle and say to him "definitely the boots are for you", he turned red and smiled. Normally I would have let the "really" comment pass but when he went straight to the boots I had to say something.

I had one sales assistant approach me from behind and when she passed she smiled and said " I like the look, can I help you with anything? I tried on a few more pairs of boots with her and then I went back to the heel selections. The assistant in the heel area gave me a look of confusion, like what I am doing there and then asked if she could assist me with anything, I said that I was interested in a pair of d' Orsay  pumps with a 5" heel, she asks what size, then looks down at my shoes and says "these are for you, correct" and I said yes and again the smile. Unfortunately they only had up to a 4" heel in stock and that just did not excite me.

That was my exciting, stimulating second outing wearing heels, I feel so much better getting a handle on my emotions, the nervousness is still there a bit but I will try to make each outing an adventure. I have it set to go back to VIP on Tuesday and try on some of their exotic shoes and because Thighbootguy asked I will try on a pair or two of thigh boots! 

Have a good weekend. 

Steve, thanks for the encouraging words.

I do have another outing scheduled for tomorrow, a trip to DSW. Hopefully I can find a pair of ankle boots that I like.

Will post back after my trip to DSW.

I need to say thanks to the posters who discussed in various posts about how to handle going out in public for the first time. In my introduction I discussed my love of heels from an early age and how now my living situation does not allow me the freedom of wearing heels when I want. Yes, I have gone to a couple shoe stores, DSW and Nine West and tried on shoes and purchased shoes, but never actually walked into a store or gone anywhere in a heel.

Reading some posts there were suggestions of purchasing a lower or mid heel type shoe for one's first outing. It made sense to me to choose a lesser heel because all my heels are in the 5" to  6" range. I decided that I would purchase a couple pairs of clogs. The first pair were a Dansko Rae Clog in Brown with a 3 1/2" chunky heel and the second pair were a Michael Kors Black Studded Clog with a 4 1/2" slender heel. I actually prefer the Dansko Clogs because they are so comfortable, I liked them so much that I bought a second pair of the Dansko Rae Clog in Black.

A couple of days ago I decided to go to a local Romantic Boutique in our area named VIP - Very Intimate Pleasures. The store is nice and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I throw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and I grab the Brown Dansko Clogs and off I went. I pull in the parking and I did not even give it a second thought, kicked off my deck shoes and slid into the clogs and walked in the front door. Honestly, who is going to judge anyone in a boutique like this.

The floors in this store are either a highly polished tile or marble, and the sound the clogs make as I walk in them caught the attention of a couple patrons. So there I am looking at a few different items when a young female sales assistant asks me if she can help find anything. Before I can say anything I see her looking down at my shoes and then looks up to me and smiles. I smile at her and ask her if she likes the clogs and do I look okay in them? Of course she giggles and then says that she does in fact like the clogs and the jeans look and that I do look good in them. I was surprised, but I have to say that even in the shoe stores I do get more smiles than frowns from the ladies. She had questions like how long have I been wearing heels, do I just wear clogs. She was surprised that this was my first outing in any type of heel because she stated that I walked quite well in a heel. I looked at her and said "Why should only the girls have all the fun", she laughed and agreed. 

She walked me over to the area where they had all the exotic shoes and boots, she smiled and said where would you like to start? I looked down at my jeans and looked up at her and I said I really do not think the jeans are the best pants to be trying on these crazy heels and boots. I asked if it would be okay to come back another day wearing a pair of skinny jeans or leggings and she smiled and said she will be waiting for my return.

In closing, thanks to all those who posted suggestions on going out for the first time in public and thanks goes out to the person who tagged the "Why should only the girls have all the fun".   

Don, Stratford area near the shore.

Thank all of you who replied, it feels good to share. I guess my biggest obstacle is getting over the fear of being seen by someone I know. A stranger seeing me in heels probably would not matter as much as a friend or acquaintance not understanding my affection for heels. 

I recently purchased a couple pairs of clogs, one pair has a 3 1/2 chunky type heel and the other pair has a 4 1/2 slender type heel, hopefully these shoes will help me build some confidence in wearing heels out in public.

Thank you for the encouragement.

Hi to all here at HHP.

New member here and I wanted to introduce myself to all the great people on this Forum.

My story is about the same as most, fell in love with high heels at a very young age. It started with mom’s shoes, then my sister’s shoes and then it came to a halt because their shoes did not fit me any longer. Because I could no longer wear the shoes the desire was still there.

As life moved forward I became a married guy and surprising enough, I could carefully fit into my wife’s heels. Being very careful not to bend or damage her shoes I was able to satisfy my passion again. This went on for a while, children came along and she ended up disposing of most of her heels because they were not practical any longer.

I never mentioned my love of high heels to her for the reason that I knew she just would not understand.

Divorce came along and some other issues came along which put a damper on my desire to wear heels. Just over a year ago the desire came back stronger than ever. It seems like every show on TV, every commercial on TV had a woman wearing some gorgeous looking heels, heck, even the women on the Weather Channel  were wearing stunning heels.

I happen to be out of state and as I am driving down the road what appears, a DSW store. I got the courage up to pull in the parking lot and then went in the store. I went to the front desk and asked if it was okay to look at women’s high heels, two girls were at the desk, one looked at me for a minute and said nothing while the other girl said it was not a problem. She asked if I was buying the shoes as a gift and I said no, the pause, the shoes are for me. She smiled and said let me measure your foot and then she took me to  try on shoes. The next question was heel height, I said if I am buying my first pair of heels, they better have some height to them. I ended up buying a pair of Nine West 5 inch heels.

Today, just over a year later I have twelve pairs of heels ranging from 3 ½” clog to 6” platform heels. Unfortunately, my living situation does not permit me to wear the heels in the house. I have gone to a couple parking garages, but that is about it. I wish I could find just one person that would accept the fact that I love to wear heels and let me wear them when I am with them.

Sorry about being long winded. Later