p1ng74

I have never participated in casual Friday in offices because I am not convinced the day of the week should have bearing on what you should wear into the office.  If I am going through the trouble of commuting to the office, I am going to wear the right clothes.  

But for those who do partake, how does it affect your choices in heels?  Mainstream thought seems to gravitate towards jeans and tennis shoes, but I bet you all stick to heels.  

I took all my meetings over the phone today and did not go to the office, but I had errands to run in town.  This is my “casual Friday”.  Not office attire, but hopefully reflecting more thought than a random t-shirt and jeans, and tall boots of course.

Couldn’t have done it without seeing all the heels everyone is wearing here.  I could not just sit on the sidelines while everyone else is having fun.  

I wear blue relatively frequently too so I guess I’ll be able to play with it a little.  I think I’m going to get back into black jeans this winter too, and the pair I picked up in the same trip seems to flows really well into these heels.  

Castle

Went to Clark’s at the outlet mall and had a splendid time.  Literally hundreds of shoes in women’s size 10.  Most were deeply discounted as they were from 2015-2016, but wearing them I can feel the improvement in the quality over the cheap wedges from Target.  The Target shoes were a low stress introduction to buying heels, but I would recommend anyone remotely serious about wearing the heels to graduate quickly to a better quality product and enjoy the feeling of a nicer shoe.  

There were two women and a man working the store, very busy catching up on tagging inventory and making room for a recent influx of inventory.  Initially I was the only customer, and the narrow, cozy store made the shopping experience very natural.  Unlike large stores where they might separate the men’s and women’s shoes with some displays to demarcate genders, there are only 4 aisles in the store, so being one aisle over from the boring men’s shoes didn’t seem weird at all.  The staff pleasantly  checked in with me as I tried things on, and I put my best “Asian person just looking for a good deal” face and they didn’t hover over me or ask if I was looking for anything specific.  I think it helped that I looked to have experience with heels, slipping them off and on all while one foot is standing on a stilleto.  I don’t use a bench to change shoes.  An older couple walked in to shop as well, a man accompanying his wife in the women’s shoe section.  I didn’t look over to gauge any reaction to what I was doing wearing women’s shoes, but rather just gathered some internal comfort that I wasn’t the only guy there.  

After trying a few things I decided on the purple heels.  The toe box in most of the Clarks shoes felt roomier than my wedges, which might be of interest to men.  Purple is becoming my favorite color, and I even happened to already be wearing a purple shirt.  Hopefully I did not pick a color that will clash with other outfits.  What are some other color shirts and pants that will work with these heels.  Any colors I should avoid?  

Footprints

9 hours ago, bluejay said:

I Like your look without socks. That's the way I wear my pumps, except when I wear sheer hose or tights in the colder months. I like the top of my foot showing, just like the ladies wear their pumps. I like to show off my heels. Welcome to HHP

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

You’re right, it is interesting how showing skin on your feet seems to draws more attention to your shoes, especially when the overall outfit is covering most of everything else.  What is amazing to me is about pump heels is that instead of making your feet look casual and naked, they actually look very dressed up.  With a man’s typical outfit, flat loafers with no socks would be glaringly casual regardless of what else you are wearing.  But with pumps, the toes are neatly covered, the shoe is fitted to the foot’s curves, and the feet are elegantly elevated above the dirt and dust of the floor.  

9 hours ago, SF said:

The only thing pointey toe shoes and boots are good for is squashing cockroaches in corners!!  Ha ha ....  sf

LOL you know what else is good for squashing bugs... heels!  I like being able to confidently squash a scorpion with the firm heel block.  With a flimsy treaded sole there is always a chance the critter would just squirm away.  

3 hours ago, jetheelsfan said:

Congratulations on your purchase.  For many years I would hesitate about that interaction with a cashier and would inquire about the return policy "if she does not like them or they don't fit" to make a statement they were NOT for me.  That was during a time before self check-out was available.  In the past few years, I began to go to Payless Shoe Source and shop in person and use Halloween or a fundraiser as the reason.   I was able to interact with a sales associate to find the proper fit for the best comfort.  That worked until one previous SA stated what are you doing here again.  That ended my fun of shopping and trying on different styles.  It was fun while it lasted.  You have a lot more styles available with a 10/11 size of foot than I do with a 12/13 size.  I hope you enjoy your new found find.  They look great.

Jetheels that is unfortunate, and I imagine one bad experience can really ruin things.  But as pebblesf said one good experience can be a big booster too, so I hope you might have the fun again one day.  Even though I used self checkout, it was a small positive experience and I feel more confident shipping for heels now.  

Hand

1 hour ago, pebblesf said:

I have the same issue.  I don't like how small my feet look in some of my rounded toe boots with higher heels when worn with levis....  I prefer the look of pointed toe boots in most cases, but am always open to most any style of boots....

I actually like footwear that makes my feet look smaller.  I won’t buy or wear the wide square toes that dominate the shelves of men’s footwear.  But I like both the round and pointed looks.  Pointed seems to have a more formal long and narrow look.  Round looks more natural and relaxed.  

Bomb

1 hour ago, Rockpup said:

Congrats  My first pumps were from Payless. It’s amazing how every little addition to height changes things dramatically when it comes to how you can move.

It really is amazing.  After I discovered the pleasures of wearing a 2.25” heel, I found myself really missing the lift when I was wearing only 1.75” - a mere half inch drop. I could even feel the additional drop down to 1.63” in another pair, and felt that my  arches were more tired on those than in boots with just 1/8” more.  On the other hand, you all are switching between whole number intervals here - 3” vs 4, 5, and 6.  I immediately liked 3”.  I had a couple of cocktails, jumped, ran around, and never missed a step.  I imagine a higher quality leather shoe will be even more comfortable, and I’ll probably be on the lookout now.  

Ready to walk to the office.  My feet look so much smaller going from boots to pumps.  Now I really need to find pants that fit better.  

I can imagine OTK being difficult, but I regularly take my 19" knee high boots through TSA security.  Perhaps the more fitted women's boots with zippers are more involved, but with western boots I just grab the heel and yank.  It involves a little bit of flexibility, but I have plenty of practice every day with them, and I end up holding the line less than when I bend all the way down to tie and untie shoelaces.  

I am always wearing 2.25" cowboy boots and I've been craving some more height.  Tonight I bought a pair of shoes which I think is more undeniably my first pair of heels.  It all happened like this:  I was at Target, and I swung by the shoe section, happy to find that it was well organized with every shoe displayed on top of the shelves with boxes underneath each display.  I have been looking for a pair of slip-ons that I could wear around the house with some heel.  It quickly came across exactly what I was looking for - closed toe pumps with a wedge heel, and it was even in black.  Looking at the sizes, they had 11, so that is what I tried first.  I slipped them on, and was a little surprised how difficult it was to stand in them.  I expected the heel to be not that big a deal, since I am in 2.25" heels all day, but I also considered that I have not worn anything but boots in years, so I may have to get used to strengthening my ankles a little bit.  Even with that consideration, these shoes were clearly too big.  I went down to 10, and wow they are perfect!  I am used to running, jumping, and doing anything in 2.25" heels and amazingly the extra lift of these wedges only made me feel even MORE light on my feet.  It almost feels like being on the balls of the feet makes it easier to turn and step, like the kind of grace that a ballet dancer would have.  I checked to see if I still had more flexibility to lift my heel, and there was plenty, so I was sold.  They are a cheap pair of Chinese made pumps, but they are comfortable enough for wearing around the house, and perhaps an appropriate introduction to the next level of heels before I spend more money on something really nice.  Target made it really easy - I walked up to the self checkout, paid, and walked out with a pair of women's shoes without thinking having to interact with a single person.  

As slip on wear around the house, I imagine I can just wear these without socks, which is how it appears most of you all wear your pumps?  On the other hand, when I am wearing them with black socks, they blend into my feet and legs amazingly well - so much so that I bet most people wouldn't even notice that I am wearing wedges.  On a hard floor, they certainly make a different sound than the thunk of my boots.  It sounds more like the pop of a woman's shoe.  Given that most people are used to my footwear making a lot of noise, I bet most people are too tone deaf to observe the change in my gait.  When I go out for dinner this week, I might be tempted to wear these wedges out... 

3 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Hotel lobbies and airport terminals (and business lounges) are especially interesting because people you see there are travelling. They are out of their home environs and on the road, actors in some ongoing story you as the viewer  can only guess at. The way they dress offers insight and becomes important. Footwear offees especially intriguing glimpses into their personalities and how they see themselves.

The funny thing is, for many years I used to specifically not wear boots when in the airport, because I felt like men's dress shoes would be easier to pull on and off for the TSA checkpoints.  It became the only time I would not wear boots.  It took years for my to finally realize that pull on boots are actually easier in the airport, because I don't have to fuss with laces.  

BAR

Mossberg

On 9/8/2018 at 2:19 AM, Shyheels said:

Regardless of footwear, I am an inveterate people watcher in cafes and airport terminals and hotel lobbies

I have been asked about my boots in hotel lobbies more than in any other public place I frequent.  I wonder if it is because the seating exposes a lot more footwear versus a restaurant or bar, where your legs are hidden under tables.  Or, if you are walking, other people may be seated low in lounge seats where their eye level is closer to the footwear.  

Hotel and office lobbies tend also tend to be the most interesting to me for looking at other people’s footwear.  Unlike many other places, where people “dress down” and tend to be in sandals and sneakers, people walking through hotel and office lobbies are on their way to work, business meetings, and dinners, and will be wearing nicer footwear and heels.  

Singing

Bound

Wind

Lens

9 minutes ago, Cali said:

When you have sandals on with shorts most people glance over your footwear and think nothing about. When you wear knee boots and shorts its more "in your face" to other people and they almost have to think about it and react. For me the hardest part are those first steps as you get out of your car and into the public or work. After that not problem.

I don’t even wear high heels and I can relate to this.  When I walk around in western boots and shorts it draws a lot of attention, because it is a very atypical outfit for guys.  When you take those first steps out in public, you stop to check yourself and the way you look if you know you will effectively be walking onto a stage of heightened attention.  

I stumbled across the fact that Target has been going gender neutral for their arrangements of children’s bedding, toys, and now even clothes, and they have left the door open to remove gender labels from other clothing sections as well.  I didn’t even know this when I was at Target the other night browsing the women’s shoe section looking at heels, and I wondered a little what the women stocking the section were thinking of my presence there.  Now that I know that Target, as a corporation, is trying to be progressive on gender neutral fashion, maybe I will quit worrying and just shop lol.  

Mountain