KneeBooted

49 minutes ago, Bubba136 said:

Does your wife like them

Surprisingly yes! She’s the one who encouraged me to get them, and liked them even more when she saw them in person.

Well the new-to-me boots arrived on Friday, and with the in-laws having departed my Saturday morning, I decided to try them on.

Whenever you purchase something second-hand AND you don’t get to see them in person, pictures always try to tell the best story.

Unfortunately, these beauties aren’t in perfect shape. I had asked the seller if there were any defects/spots/wear to which they said no, but that was not the case.

However, my wife and I both looked at them and decided that they look good enough, and were cheap enough, that they’re worth keeping. I got them from the Poshmark app for $26 plus shipping and tax, which came out to about $35. These are $130 when new from Aldo!

The fit is fairly decent. With my usual socks, my right big toe felt a little squished but not so bad that I needed to take them off. Can’t wait for the cooler weather to rock these beauties!

Well @JeffB, I’ll throw myself in that boat as well. I originally only considered knee and thigh boots, thinking rarely about ankle boots.

Like you, as my interests have progressed/changed over time, I’ve become more curious about how I could style a pair of ankle boots to make them work on an outfit.

If I‘m being honest, it’s been your adventures with them that have helped me decide I really can pull off a look, so thank you!

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

You are remarkably perceptive! I vacillate between Size 4 and 6 in most women's pants. The difference between 4 and 6 is minimal, only 5 to 7 pounds of body weight for me. That is also the difference between "fighting trim" and "slightly poochy." At my age, it's pretty difficult to shed that last 5 pounds, particularly when I have a fondness for craft beer.

I shall have to consider your recommendations carefully. I guess I would like to wear my boots this winter, as I have a couple of pairs that I'm fond of that haven't been loved since the winter of 2017-18.

I have that same fondness for craft beer! It’s more like a love affair that I can’t let go! 

Well a pair of new to me ankle boots arrived yesterday, and now that the in-laws are gone, I had a chance to try them out with one of my new sweaters. What do you all think?

Secret

1 minute ago, Shyheels said:

I think that is my biggest beef with men’s fashions - the incredibly limited colour palette that is available, and usually only the most basic and drab of colours. That does seem to be changing a bit lately, but there is a long way to go. 

I have to agree. Part of the reason I have been venturing into women’s tops now is for the sheer fact that the men’s side is fairly bland.

I wear tshirts primarily during the summer months, and usually stock up with 4-5 each season from Old Navy when they have their sale. This year even my wife mentioned how sad the selection was. I’ll post pictures in my thread, but I was fortunate enough to find two very bold colored sweaters on Target’s site/app that I don’t recall seeing in the men’s section.

To be fair, I am sure there are clothiers/retailers that do carry some more variety in the way of colors, patterns, styles, etc. My experience however is that those tend to also come with a higher price tag. If I’m honest, I haven’t paid more than $20 for a shirt, pair of pants, etc. in a few years and I’d like to keep it that way. I have to save my money for the important things, like shoes! 

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

Maybe it's because I have to wear boots all day that I really don't want to wear them when I get home. Style wise, I think I need to find some boot cut pants that are not quite so generous with the flair at the bottom. I think that would be a good compromise between what I'd really like and what I'm willing to spend.

There is a woman at church, I would guess her to be in her mid 30s, who usually wears boot cut pants with modest heeled boots in the winter (2-3" chunky heels), and she always looks put together in her own way. Maybe I'd better start taking notes as to why.

I would suggest looking into American Eagle for some modest boot cut pants.

Recalling previous pictures you have posted, I would venture a guess that you are on the slimmer side, likely a 4 or 6 in women’s pants?

All of my pants that I own now are from AE, and I’ve had relatively good luck. If you’re looking for a second hand pair to try out first, I would look for the Kick Boot style on Poshmark. They are what I currently have, and are wonderful for having what I would consider a minimal flare.

If you prefer to try new, I would look at their Skinny Kick style. It’s a fairly straight leg with minimal flare.

I am in the boat where the majority(99%) of my outfits that I wear currently with heels involve a boot cut, if I’m wearing pants that is. I have two pair of jeggings that I am trying to get some outfit ideas together, one of which I posted in my thread a while back.

I am looking forward to the point where I wear my knee high boots on full display.

53 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

Latest update on my 10 year old son: To briefly recap for those of you who didn't read the other post, my 10 year old is only a size smaller than me now, and he decided he was going to try on some of my lower heels, discovered he could actually walk in them, and then proceeded to wear them all weekend, much to his mama's dismay.

Now a few weeks have gone by, and he has worn heels around the house a couple of times, but doesn't really seem all that interested, which is probably good in the end. I did just buy him a new pair of trainers! One thing I couldn't help noticing is that the women's shoes (which are the exact same style, exact same model name as the men's and boys') came in 53,486 colors, whereas the men's and boys' came in 3 colors. I'd be buying from the women's section, but he wanted.  .  . wait for it.  .  . BLACK. So no cross referencing was necessary.

I admire your restraint as a parent here. I worry that I’d almost be like “you should totally try heels!” and overdo it when my son gets to that age. It’s a wonderful thing that you’re able to step back and let him find out on his own whether or not he enjoys them.

With regard to the color options on shoes, I have to agree that on multiple occasions I have found myself browsing the women’s section for shoes. I’m not there to find heels, but to find a pair of sneakers in a color other than white, gray, or black. It’s frustrating beyond belief!

8 minutes ago, jeremy1986 said:

They look good on you. You don't find them restricting? 

Thanks, and no, not restricting at all

8 minutes ago, jeremy1986 said:

Looks good @KneeBooted. The khakis  are women's too, i assume?

Yes they are. I’ve phased in to wearing pants that are only from the women’s section.

I would love some rain for our area, especially because there is now a Sonoma Valley fire that’s growing extremely fast.

Here in East Bay, it’s expected to hit 90 and windy. I’m ready for 70s and below

26 minutes ago, Cali said:

Since most people here in California don't have basements, the garage tends to become their basement. I my old house we parked in the garage, one of a very few who also parked in their garage on the street. But then I designed a basement into that house. Basements are under rated here in California, i have a basement designed into my next house.

Nice shoes.

Yeah, one of the first things my boss told me after moving out here is that living in the Bay Area will turn you into a minimalist.

I have found myself getting rid of a bunch of clothes I was holding on to for no reason. I don’t know if I’ll become a true minimalist, but I have found that the things I’ve gotten rid of thus far have caused no sadness or empty feeling now that they’re gone.

I’m actually looking forward to doing some more clean out in the coming months.

10 minutes ago, kneehighs said:

It's not my start up.  Waiting for a new CFO hire to create options contracts.

Will see if I can get a pic of outfit. 

Sorry, meant to say the startup you are working at.

So it’s amazing what one can do when motivated properly.

Since we have moved out to California, our garage has become our basement to store all of our stuff. Amongst this “stuff” is a large selection of car stuff that I’ve acquired over the years. Parts that I think I would need, or upgrades, etc. that were too good of a deal to pass up.

The fact that the garage is our new location for all of our stuff, my wife has mentioned repeatedly how nice it would be to be able to park a car in the garage. So I have slowly been making an effort to get stuff out, but it has been a slow-moving effort.

Yesterday lit a new flame though. I had sold a part yesterday, and upon returning home, asked the wife if I could use a portion of the profit and maybe get a new pair of shoes? After all, I had been looking for some brown-ish ankle boots. She said sure!

So I bought these beauties from Poshmark yesterday, and we will see how they look when they arrive. They are from Aldo and look like the style on their site called ‘Naedia’, which is normally $130, and a pair I had already been eyeing.

My only fear is there appears to be some color worn off on the sole and maybe around the bottom edge of the sole trim, but if all else is good, I’m hoping to find a way to remedy that.

57 minutes ago, kneehighs said:

Here's a good article from Grazia UK about Harry Styles rewriting the new masculinity on his terms.  The philosophy aligns with how we wear heels.

Keep in mind, editors write for their advertisers to keep revenue flow.  There has to be money in the new masculinity.

https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/harry-styles-masculinity/

Sorry for my late reply.  It went well.  I attended a painting class.  Was the ONLY guy in a room of about 15 girls in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  Every single girl was friendly.  Will I see the girl again?  Perhaps, if I make the effort.  She did tell me she was "desperate" (her words).  Door is open for sure.  She's an attractive Polish fashion stylist.

I am meeting a Russian girl in Williamsburg Thur night for drinks.  Right now my outfit plan is leather pants tucked into Micheal Kors 3" heeled knee high boots, a red lace top, a blazer, Chanel (fake) brooch, and 2 delicate necklaces.  Subject to change.

I'm just sooo busy with working at a start up.  It'll probably change the transportation industry in cities for many years to come too.  Without prompting, new users already have told me it's changed their life.  And they use again, and again, and again. So the upside gains make it worth my time now.

Would love to hear more about your startup sometime!

Also, the outfit for your Thursday night date sounds wonderful! Would love to see pictures

So this past Saturday my wife and I went to see Joker for my birthday, and left our son with my mother-in-law as this was likely to be our last date before our daughter was born. Side note: our daughter was born on Tuesday, and her and mom are home now and doing great.
 

The movie is definitely worth seeing, especially if you are into the dark history of the Joker character(I feel this movie kind of could be a lead up to the Batman movie with Heath Ledger’s joker)

Afterwards, I asked if we could go to Target, just the two of us, to spend some time looking at tops. I was convinced I could find something that fits from the women’s side that looked good. Sure enough, we took our time, found me some stuff to get for me, and some stuff for my wife.

I ordered my stuff online and it arrived yesterday, so I had to take some pictures. I bought a green henley shirt from the men’s section in a forest green, two striped tops from a brand called A New Day, and a long sleeve ribbed shirt from the same brand. The khakis are from Poshmark that I just received. One of the striped tops is not pictured because it won’t arrive until next week.

Let me know what you think.

In case you all have not yet seen this, the shoe brand Jeffrey Campbell has updated their website and instagram with an advertisement for an ankle boot that’s available in US women’s sizes 12-14.

That in and of itself is wonderful news, but I just looooove the way they chose to  advertise it!

You do bring up a good point @p1ng74. I recall one time when I was flying, I had a woman on my flight who I am fairly certain walked behind me through a connecting terminal for the sole purpose of getting a picture or two of me in my heeled boots. I never saw said pictures, etc., but I certainly wouldn't be too worried in the grand scheme of things, unless I wasn't getting any of the royalties! 

There's nothing I post to the account that I would consider to be beyond PG, unless a guy in heels is somehow rated R?

On 9/30/2019 at 8:09 PM, Cali said:

Woman's tops can be tough to fit. I like tighter fitting tops (and bodysuits) myself.  I will them blend/layer with some of my male clothes. 

I would agree with the others, That top does not fit right.

Cali, I have discovered the style of 'bodycon' for which I interpret to mean 'body contouring'. Out of curiosity, where do you shop that you're able to find tighter fitting tops?

-Jeff

So I have two updates that are work related.

I have started to transition from wearing my normal work shoes, which are a women's pair of Red Wing athletic shoes in pink, to wearing my Converse wedges during the work day. The wedges prove to be fairly comfortable, even for averaging 10k+ steps a day. It's quite possible that people have noticed, but if they have, no one has said anything.

1. So on Thursday of this week, I was wearing my wedges at my desk as usual, and someone needed to drop off a key to me. I've complimented this woman on her variety of ankle boots multiple times, to which she is always appreciative. Now the way my desk is, you have to approach from behind. I usually keep my headphones on and some form of music playing so that I can drone out some of the noise around me that is a constant throughout the day. I admit I may have had my feet placed in a way that the shape of the shoe was visible, possibly even able to tell that they were a wedge, when she came to drop off said key. With the headphones being on, I don't know how long she was there before tapping me on the shoulder. 

Other than a polite greeting and usual chit-chat, she was off and on her way. About an hour later, I was chatting with another female worker who does know of my heeling, and she had ben asking questions about the wedges. This is where I freaked out. I was using one the chat platforms at work and having this discussion. Now you can have this platform on multiple devices and open at the same time. I had left my conversation on my laptop, chatting with the colleague who knows of my heeling, and had moved to being in a vehicle where it was easier to communicate via the app version on my phone.

However, the app version was opened to the first conversation with the female who doesn't know of my heeling. I was responding to a question about the heel height and the fact that they are very comfortable. I swear I didn't even have time to realize/delete the message to the wrong person before she wrote back saying "Hahaha your shoes are very cute! I thought that when I saw them." "They look comfortable." I didn't discuss the heeling any further, but it did make me feel good that I received a positive response! Maybe that will pave the way for some future chat? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. Now Friday's endeavor actually started Thursday night when I was browsing through Instagram. There is an account that I follow that discusses being the wife of a crossdresser. They typically take the time to share stories from other friends, followers, etc. One of the stories that was shared talked about doing things that may be new/uncomfortable. They said that they put a number to a lot of things. The example was something using the number 5. So whatever that thing was, they would be fine with NOT doing it the first four times, but once it hit the 5th time, then it was time to do it. Now I realize that this is not a mantra that could be applied to everything, but I looked at it with regard to heeling, mainly the types of shoes with heels to wear to work.

My job entails that I do an awful lot of walking, where 10k steps a day is low(I usually am somewhere between 18-20k). So any heel I wear would need to be comfortable. I have my Sorel wedges that I've been wearing into work, but I then change into my Converse wedges once I get to my desk. I usually get there early enough where I would only interact with maybe one or two people. Anyway, I decided Thursday night that Friday would be my "5". My Friday routine is such that I get to work, run for 30 minutes in the gym, shower, then head to Starbucks for my Friday treat. I told myself that until I got back from Starbucks, I would wear my Sorel wedge boots. Now by the time I head for Starbucks, it's usually close to 7:30, and there are more people at the office, but again not many.

In this case however, it just so happened that I crossed paths with one of the facilities guys that I have talked to/worked with before on some of my projects. My very initial reaction was just say hi and go, but he wanted to let me know that I was inspiring him to start working out again. He said every morning when he's making his rounds, he is amazed that I am at the gym regularly. He swore I must be training for a marathon. Instead, I told him I was just trying to be healthy and focus on my weight. He was in awe and openly wished he had the drive/willpower to do that. I invited him to come work out in the gym with me any time I am there. The best part is, throughout this entire interaction, my shoes were 'on display', in that they weren't hidden by a box/desk/etc. He could have easily noticed them, but didn't even glance down. One other guy that works in shipping/receiving walked past and looked down at them, but never said anything to me the rest of the day.

When I got to Starbucks, I smiled a lady and I exchanged a smile as we walked past one another, and again no looking down at my shoes. I use the mobile app to order ahead, so I just went to the counter and picked up my drink, and strutted back out the door. I've no idea if anyone took notice when I was there, but again, no one mentioned anything to me, so I'll count that as a win for the normalcy book.

By the time I got back to work, it was approaching 8am, and by then, more people were definitely coming in. However, the stroll back to my desk was extremely uneventful. Here's a picture of what they looked like sitting down...
 

I’m throwing a poll out here to see what everyone’s thoughts are on this? Initially I jump to it being private, in that I only let those who I allow in can see my posts/pictures. But part of me thinks that with my attempts at continuing public heeling, anyone and everyone out there has the ability to take my picture, likely without me even knowing.

One thing to note is that on my posts, I don’t tend to hide my face, so anyone who knows me will know that I wear heels. Thoughts?

@mlroseplant you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I have found that when I find a size matching my upper chest, the area around my stomach usually ends up loose.

I’ve washed it once, but I was worried about it shrinking, so it hasn’t had a full cycle in the dryer yet.

A coworker suggested ModCloth, so I may give them a try too.

I will try to pick an outfit to pair the top with as well as run it through a dryer cycle.

Thanks for the feedback!

Well my mother-in-law has arrived and it’s also started to feel like fall. My mother-in-law is someone who I would say is not exactly open to the idea of a guy in heels.

That being said, I am not exactly wearing my 4” heels at the moment, so no eyebrows have been raised.

However, I decided to switch from my usual look of wearing Converse wedges and jeans to church. My wife likes it when I occasionally dress nicer, which is usually a button down, polo, blazer, or some combination of those variety of items.

Today was close to Fall weather, but not quite there yet. It was cool enough in the morning for pants and maybe a light jacket, but it’s warm enough in the sun at the moment for shorts and a T-shirt. So I decided that today I would wear my blazer that my wife really likes on me. It’s one of my more versatile pieces of clothing that I’ve found goes with just about anything. Today proved to be no different as I wore it with a T-shirt, jeans, and my new Naturalizer boots.

My mother-in-law mentioned that I looked nice before we left for church, and my wife thought the combination looked really good.

The heels as expected weren’t heavily noticed, being that they’re only about 2” block heels. That being said, there is one girl in the child care area that always is there to check out my shoes when we drop my son off. She was wearing some boots today, but I couldn’t get a good look to see much of the style/detail.

What made me feel good though is that a couple of people we talk to at church made it a point to say how nice I looked today! Talk about a confidence boost! Now they made no mention of my shoes, but I’m ok with that.

Here’s the look:

Honest feedback is always appreciated!

This has crossed my mind as our son approaches the age of 2. He still has a couple of years probably before he would ask about them, but I do want to be prepared when he does.

I hope when the time comes that it’s as simple as ‘I like to wear heels/yes those are my shoes’ and that’s it.

I had a brief conversation back around when our son was born about me wearing heels as he got older. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the idea of me continuing to wear them regularly around the kids, so we will see.

I am glad this thread is here because it’s helpful to read about other parents and their methods of exposing the kids to your heeling.