p1ng74

To me, the distinction between a hobby and a lifestyle is not mutually exclusive. I think @Cali’s original encouragement is to make wearing heels a lifestyle, not just a hobby for your spare time. Yes, your passion for this lifestyle may result in certain hobbies like going shopping in your spare time, taking pictures, and posting on this forum. But ultimately it is the lifestyle that normalize heel wearing. The same goes for my other hobbies. Spending a significant amount of spare time learning an instrument can be a hobby, but the full enjoyment of listening to all the music around you and in your head as you go to work and carry on with life is the lifestyle that enriches the whole world we live in.

I have “boots” listed as one of 3 hobbies in my profile but that is, like Shyheels said, a reference to time spent during free time collecting and shopping for boots. My actual wearing of boots every day is not a hobby, it is a lifestyle.

Nice boots! The shape and thick soles look just like dress cowboy boots that are fairly common for men to wear here. Not borderline fashion at all - it’s a nice look.

figure

I am basically a newcomer to this perspective of fashion, and I hope I am not drawing a shallow connection here. The reason I am here is because “men’s” fashion is boring. There is so much uniformity that men have lost aesthetic discernment. They pick what to wear based on what everyone else is wearing. I am not saying that all men should want to wear skirts or heels. We each select the pieces that are practical for our lifestyles and body. I don’t wear sandals or any open toe shoes because it does not match my lifestyle, but I think men should have all those options available. I think when we welcome tasteful expansion of men’s fashion options we are all supporting the same cause. Heels and skirts are relatively easy to physically wear and incorporate into men’s fashion and lifestyle. But there are many mental barriers to men accessing the option, and I think most of those barriers are shared between heels and skirts. They are made, marketed, and sold very widely in only women’s sizes and departments in stores. There is unfair social association with cross dressing or oddness. I think there is opportunity for general improvement in the way fashion is perceived by men and those who design for men. It would be nice to progress to a point where we see heels displayed in men’s shoe departments, and nice kilts hanging with trousers on the rack like skirts do in women’s departments. We’re not insisting you to wear one, but we should welcome having these options.

I am more referring to external synergies than internal. I looked around on men in skirts discussion groups to see if there is enough talk of heels to warrant participation and found that it is sparse - there is no direct association. But externally, any progress others make on acceptance of men in skirts is a win for men in heels I think, and vice versa. It is about opening men’s minds beyond their generally narrow view of fashion, in general. Some of us do this through different ways, whether it be heels or skirts, but I think we can still support each other in these individual ways towards the broader goal.

Actually I would argue that there could be less acceptance for men in skirts than men in heels. There are also some interesting similarities and synergies between the two topics.

Kashmir

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I have worn these pants for about and hour and have already received a compliment on them. I was in the auto parts store this morning and the sales associate asked if I was a model. I gave a “don’t know what you’re taking about” look and he called out my pants and shoes. I told him no, I just like to look good! He liked that answer. Who knew $48 is all you have to spend on pants to get there. Guys, if you want to look like a model, wear heels!

Found a pair of pants tonight at Last Call. At first glance they are another pair of black office appropriate pants that blend with everything else. But this is my first experience with Lyocell fabric, which I am really liking so far. I refuse to wear the polyester fabrics that they put in many mens’ pants. Polyester breaths poorly and feel awful. This Lyocell and cotton blend, on the other hand, drapes and moves around really nicely. I wore this down to the bar tonight and a guy pointed out how tall I am and asked why I am wearing women’s shoes. I responded with the usual “they are my shoes now, I like them”. He added that he has never seen a guy wearing high heels before. I replied that there is a first time for everything. He raised his beer glass and said he is down with that. One step at a time...

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Ready for breakfast and an early morning trip through the grocery store