hiddenheels

I've been thinking about this a lot recently. Traditionally, I mean over the past decades I've been (trying to?) wear heels, I've tended to go to parks, or out at night.

Parks: I feel like a deviant wearing heels in a completely out of context place. No one (your average woman) would wear heels to a park, unless perhaps block heels only a couple of inches high.

Night: Granted this is a lot of fun, but still often feel like I'm out of place, or doing something bad.

Coffee shops: I've found some bad places where I feel completely uncomfortable (near industrial parks, with a lot of trucks and their drivers) while I've also found places where I feel much more comfortable (suburban areas).

Outside during day-time: Infrequently able to do this, but with the right footwear and cloths, I'm comfortable.

However, I am barely seeing heels being worn by anyone. "Downtown" is far away. Malls would be good, maybe I'll try that.  Do you guys have any suggestions where heels would be more seen, where your average heel wearer (man/woman) wouldn't stick out as much? Just trying to find places where I can wear heels where I wouldn't feel like a deviant, although I understand that feeling is coming from within, not without.

It's been a while... August was busy, both in terms of "life" and "heeling". Found time to go to the movies once, in 4" block heels, dark jeans, it wasn't busy so noone cared. I was loving it.

Have also bought some nice shoes along the way. Recently bought a nice pair of boots, 4" heel, but 1" soles which are a bit thick. Aside from the heels, they could pass for guys shoes. Of all places, Walmart, as I accidentally saw them. Very comfortable, barely can feel the lift, and they almost feel like regular guys shoes. I got so excited about the boots that I went to a coffee shop to do my work wearing them. The outfit I think worked beautifully: loose hanging dress shirt, white t-shirt, light coloured jeans, and light-brown boots. Walking I doubt the heels were noticeable, but when sitting I'm sure the entire thing showed. I was a bit nervous but my goal right now is to find a comfortable pair of heeled boots that I can easily walk in, and try to wear it outside as much as possible. I'm sure people notice that they're heels. My goal is to get used to being outside wearing heels, but not worrying about feeling physically uncomfortable, or tripping someplace, or walking weird, etc. Once I'm comfortable being out and about, then I'll experiment, wear higher heels, or stilettos.

Had some luck again yesterday. Bought these guys for $15, a few signs of wear, but nothing big. Fit awesome, very comfortable.

https://www.tradesy.com/i/boutique-9-black-btstrut-leather-bootsbooties-size-us-8-regular-m-b/22036267/

On 8/21/2019 at 2:25 AM, maninboots said:

Big steps in the right direction mate, you’ll find the more you do it the easier it gets, and people’s reaction is probably more your imagination than anything, in any case you will become less caring of others and just go about your own life in your own way, act naturally and don’t feel you’re doing anything wrong, before long we’ll have you strutting around in longer boots on full show over your jeans, most of all enjoy yourself mate 

Haha, thanks! I doubt I'll be strutting anytime soon (it's not one of my goals), but definitely have more to go, and your support helps a LOT. 

OUTING: After my previous outings above, had another chance a few days later. Wore my usual jeans and my current favourite black 4" chunky boots, with about 1" showing. They are very very comfortable. Decided to walk to a nearby store to buy some essentials, about 2km away.  It was early evening, with people going home. Went along the sidewalk with cars and other people passing by, crossed the streets in front of cars, went into the store, shopped for half an hour, checked out, walked home. Probably 2hours total. The first few steps were the hardest. Once I got going, I was happy. A few people probably looked, but could have been my imagination. Felt very liberating, being able to do my own thing. Probably my longest trip so far, in daylight, in a public place. I'm proud of myself. 

The sky didn't fall...

Speechless... Amazing collection!

On 8/16/2019 at 2:13 PM, Spikes said:

When I go in I look at all of the shoes from size 5 on up and always check out the highest heels.  What amazes me, is how unused most of these shoes are.  There usually is very little wear on the sole.  I don't know if it is because as others have said, they are just too high and uncomfortable and therefore, donated to second hand stores or maybe they were worn one time for a wedding and discarded.  I still like the second hand shoe aisles because I try to picture who bought the heels and how they looked on them.

Haha, so true. Same experience. A lot of these are probably "they look cool, must buy" and they never wear them. Most of the shoes I like, and I've bought there, have been almost-completely-new. 

Can't vote, as the answers don't make sense. I wear jeans over boots, as I like the look, and don't have the confidence the do the reverse. 

Updates. Travel has interfered with the daily routine, but has created some interesting opportunities for heeling. A few outings, as usual, in one of my long jeans to hide some of the heel. 

In one outing during my trip, I got dressed in my jeans, with a maroon top, and almost-identical-maroon ankle boots. The boots have I think a 4" chunky heel, and laces. The jeans covered all but about 1" of the heels, and I think it looked quite good overall. Went out, it was early evening, and walked around town for about an hour. I was quite nervous back home, but once I stepped outside, the nervousness and caring how much the shoes show, disappeared. I was quite self-conscious, but had quite a lot of fun walking around. I knew the heels were visible a bit, and I did notice (or imagine?) a few people looking more than they should have, but it was fun. On my way home I stopped by a grocery store to buy food. No one seemed to care, no one commented during the entire trip. 

On another outing, I decided to be a bit more brave. Black chunky heeled 4" boots, blue jeans, dark blue top, think it looked OK. Anyway, decided to visit a nearby city, so bought tickets, and got on the train. While sitting I'm sure the heels were visible, and I think a neighbour did spend a bit too much time looking, but could have been my imagination. Got off the train, walked around the city for a bit (it was full of people), and went to a park to sit and read for an hour. I wasn't advertising the heels, but at the same time felt quite comfortable in them. After my reading, and eating (at McDonalds, where an old lady stared a bit longer than expected), I decided to get back on the train and go home. It was quite a bit of fun! 

A year ago, I was walking around in the dark outside when heeling...

Nerves are still there, but "they're just shoes"! 

On 7/17/2019 at 7:38 PM, bailey said:

My latest thrift store find...heel tips not even worn...10 bucks.

Those are amazing finds! Good for you!

15 hours ago, canadianbeaver17 said:

I use to have really good luck at Goodwill and Value Village, but lately have not had the same.   I find them pretty ransacked at times and the line ups at the cash are ridiculous.  

Where I’m at, several “upscale” consignment stores have popped up and they are all a pleasure to shop at.  I find many luck there, stuffs in better shape than you find at other thrift stores, and for the same or less price at times. 

I will have to try to find some other such stores, but it's fun searching, even if I end up buying nothing.

Any stares, comments, weird looks? If you were too wrapped up in your shopping to notice, that's awesome!

Thanks for the encouragement. :) Managed to repeat the experience, although with a 3" chunky boot instead. Similar coffee shop, but elsewhere. Spent about an hour inside, working. I was feeling much better, much more confident, and the heels were under the table, but I didn't make an effort to hide it if someone walked by. Not that I was flaunting it, but more that I was just focusing on my work. It was quite a bit of fun. :)

Went easter egg hunting again today. Found some amazing shoes, beautiful conditions, but alas they were around the size 7-8, too small for me. Got my hopes up though, only to be crushed.  

So no luck today, even though I could have used a quick pickmeup... 

Thank you very much for the encouragement! I will keep posting, and will try to keep pushing myself. 

Had a chance to go out to a coffee shop while I was doing some work. Picked one a bit far from my neighbourhood, donned my jeans and favourite boots and went. For whatever reason when I got there I just sat in the car and didn't feel at all comfortable going in. After a while of killing time, I decided to go elsewhere, so went to another coffee shop closer to home. There, I went in, bought some drinks and food, and went outside to sit at a table and work. The jeans were very long, the heels were probably barely noticeable. Spent about an hour at the table working, after which I had to go, change back into boring cloths and continue with my day.

Somewhat disappointed I didn't get to spend more time, and that I chickened out at the first stop, but am happy I enjoyed myself at the second stop. Ah, the ups and downs...

Alright... Turns out they there is a .CA version, and they ship duty-free to Canada. I'm intrigued now. 

Did find some really nice shoes though. To summarize: 40$USD / month for the VIP. If you log in between the 1st and 5th then you can "skip the month" so you don't get charged. Some questions:

- What if you skip the month, and then want to buy something?

- Does the 40$ go into an online account from which you then buy stuff? So if I buy something for 50$, I assume I pay the difference. If I buy something for 20$, does the remaining 20$ roll onto the next month? 

Can you please detail a bit how this works? As you said "twist my arm"... :)

10 hours ago, AJ777 said:

@RonC, that is my biggest fear is someone smart ass posting a hate photo on social media and people finding out. I am in a very public career and this is my fear. I go far away from home but sadly I always seem to run into someone that knows me.

Out of town trips may be the solution.... hope to try more

Somewhat in a similar position, but I try to go far enough from home that my immediate neighbourhood will not find out. There's a danger that others who know me will see me, but at those times I take that risk. Otherwise I will be stuck at home only, which is no fun. Starting to focus more on potential trips, and trying to plan ahead... 

OUTING: Had a chance to try my new 5" ankle-boot (no platform) outside, along with another 5" ankle-boot (with 1" platform). It was in a suburban neighbourhood, and it was dark already.

My no-platform-boots, although they're size US9, I have no idea what kind of messed up sizing system they used, as US9 would be way too small and unworkable for me, but these shoes are a perfect fit with socks, and I mean 100% perfect, so comfortable. I don't think I've ever gone out in a 5" boot before, but I simply had to try these out. As usual, it was with long jeans covering most of the heels. Getting out of the car is getting less of an issue, and I am starting to not worry about that at all. Although I've worn heels this tall inside, outside turned out to be a challenge. Took me about 10 minutes to get used to it, and figure out how to handle the slopes on a sidewalk, and the ups and downs of driveway entrances. I didn't trip, ankles didn't go out, so am quite proud of myself. Walked around for ~30 minutes, and it was an amazing 30 minutes. Had some people walk by, but didn't care. Did get a small group of teenager guys walk my way for which I stopped and messed around with my phone until they passed. I didn't trust that situation. After 30 minutes of walking about, my feet didn't ache, my toes weren't crushed, I love these. Although the heels are higher than my usual, I'm surprised how well I did.

Before calling it quits, I had to try the other boots, so changed into them, and took a quick stroll. I don't know why, possibly because after 30 minutes with a 5" lift, wearing something with a 4" lift was child's play. I felt like I was wearing my sneakers, so comfortable, so easy to walk in. 

Overall, I had no issues, both new boots did great, and I'm super-happy. Before heading home I considered stopping by a grocery store or something just for the thrill of it, but decided to head home and not freak out my wife (that I went into a store in heels - maybe next time). 

3 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

2 weeks off, day 2 aftera long drive.

Had to super glue the block heel taps on after one was sucked off by the ground. 

Looking comfortable! 

4 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

It’s nice that you are skilled enough to improve those boots with your cutting and sewing.  I’ve done a lot more sowing that sewing in my life.  It yields tasty food but doesn’t help with clothing :p. 

Yeah, the fact that I "sow" should be a clear indication of my skill-level. I was just very motivated to save those boots!

58 minutes ago, pebblesf said:

I try to visit Goodwill, Salvation Army, and our local thrift chain:  "Savers" as often as possible.  I have found a few pairs of boots, but am usually frustrated finding boots I might like only to see they are too small.  The key is to get in the habit of visiting as often as possible to scoop up the best candidates.  Patience and persistence pays off, as Hidden Heels has happily discovered..

The smaller sizes definitely have a lot more variety, which is sad. I've seen some boots that I would have loved to buy, but they were way too small. I'll try to drop by these stores more often from now on. 

I figure a lot of people (women) will buy high heels thinking they'll wear it, but it's too high, or too big or whatever. They wear it once or twice and then never again (a-la my wife), then it's off to a thrift store it goes. Having said that, there's a lot of garbage shoes there that I would never in a million years wear.

48 minutes ago, pebblesf said:

Keep it up buddy, great work indeed...Confidence builds with each outing, and it feels so liberating....  I am older also, but have found that I am less worried about what others think with each passing year.  All that matters is that I think I look great in boots.  Please don't misunderstand, I know that many have families and can't put themselves "first" very often.  My partner hates my boots, fortunately I work for the airlines so can wear my boots freely while away on layovers.  I am very lucky in that respect....

From the heel wearing perspective, that would be a great job! I get to travel a bit, and will have to challenge myself, to maybe spend a day in heels during one of my trips. Have been thinking about that for a few weeks now, but I don't have a trip coming up for months...

Does your partner know you do this while away?

I'm getting old, but have never seen another male wear heels, dressed as a male. It's a bit daunting, but I have noticed that as I get older, I realize that the time I have available to me to do this is getting shorter. So I venture outside more.  Thank you everyone for the positive feedback. I am making progress in my adventure to wear heels. I hope I will be comfortable to wear them more openly as time progresses.

Wow! Lucky! Here in Canada the selection is much smaller in online stores that carry really nice looking heels... Congrats on the purchase!

I've been thinking about this... Mixed feelings when reviewing my own shoes:

Where the heel is in the middle, they are easier to walk in. However, i prefer the look of heels when they are at the back of the shoe. To me it just gives a cleaner, sharper look.

Having said that, I have heels of both styles, and like both styles and find both can be comfortable...

Have come to appreciate second hand stores, like GoodWill . Recently I try to stop by when I'm in the neighbourhood, and have gotten lucky. In one store I found two boots, one brand new (based on the sole) while the other was barely used. Yes, they're a bit older, but they were cheap (less than 20$ each), and they fit great. One has a huge heel & platform, really sexy, but probably too sexy for me to ever wear outside. The other is a 4" stiletto heeled boot, looks awesome under jeans, and is very comfortable. I've worn them out a few times and they're great.

Most recently, I stopped by another GoodWill and found a really good selection of shoes/boots. Envious that the selection in size 7-8 (my wife's size - but she doesn't care for heels) is much larger, but the selection for size 10US is OK. Found 3 candidates, all of which I tried on in the closet where you try on cloths. One an ankle boot fit great, but was too beat up to be worth it. Another looked great, nice ~5" inch heel with 1" platform, which fit great and was too comfortable and cheap for me to pass up. Probably worn once or twice before landing at GoodWill. After looking up the brand name, I found the shoe which retails for ~100$USD...

The third boot was interesting.... It was a brand new knee high boot, no platform, thin 5" stiletto heel. It was a size 9, which is too small for me, but the shoes were so gorgeous I couldn't resist trying them. So I removed my socks, got out my pantyhose-socks thinking maybe with that I'll fit. When I tried them on, they were huge! Put my regular thick socks back, and the fit was perfect. I don't know what kind of size 9 they are but it was sooo comfortable that I had to buy them. The top of the boot, covering the calves, however was another story. My calves aren't thin, but these boots could have fit calves that were 3x the size of mine. Imagining someone with calves that size wearing those boots, I felt sorry for the boots. The top portion of the boots were ugly (raunched, I believe it's called) and way too big, but the foot was a perfect fit. Had to buy, thinking I'll figure it out later. When home, after much thinking, I decided to cut off the portion covering the calves, fold the material in, and sow it in (took me an hour to do all that). End result, I now have a new beautiful pair of 5" ankle boots, something I've wanted for a long time now, that I am super happy with.

I paid ~30$ for the 2 pairs.

I have to stop by these stores more often. Sometimes I find nothing, but sometimes there's a good find, and with shoes this cheap, I can get creative!

Anyone found anything exciting in these places?

Had a need to go to some stores, and though I would try some new heels I bought. Lower, ~3" chunky heels, but light brown, harder to hide. Jeans, TShirt and my bag. Sat in the car for a few minutes, contemplating things, then got out and just went for it. I felt very comfortable, and not so self-conscious as last time. Walking in heels outside is interesting, can't hurry as much as I usually do, which is kinda nice.

Anyway, went into one store, browsed around for ~20 minutes but didn't find what I was looking for. Reparked by another store, a much busier store, and again sat in the car for a few minutes. Then got out, and went in. Timing couldn't have been better, as a lady with awesome heels was walking out. Went in, grabbed what I needed and walked out. Nothing unusual happened, no comments, no stares, nothing. The boots do look a bit like cowboy boots, but they were very hidden under jeans. 

I'm now happy, I got it out of my system for the time being.

Will be visiting the UK, specifically Edinburgh, attending the fringe festival. Would like to wear some heels while there, but won't have a chance to take my own, so would like to buy/order some heels while there. Any recommendations for some relatively good quality but cheaper heeled boots? First time to the UK, so am not familiar with stores... If my conversions are correct, UK8 should be good, but UK9 would be better. I won't have a fixed address, but read some stores ship to drop-boxes (or whatever they're called). 

Any tips? Thanks.

On 7/3/2019 at 6:01 AM, jeremy1986 said:

Macgyer would have been able to fix them with a bit of duck tape, that's for sure. 

Tried duct tape, and apparently I'm no MacGyver... I inspected the screws, but they were fine. I strategically (I think?) applied some super-glue and hopefully they hold. I haven't had a chance to try them out yet... 

Thank you @mlroseplant, I read up a bit about the shank, and now understand what's likely going on. Would be sad to see these go.