CrushedVamp

I bow to your experience and honestly have no reason to doubt anything you say on the matter. It would be interesting to see what kind of adaption a maker of high heels could come up with for hiking comfortably, but let's be honest, they would probably be incredibly ugly. And then again, why, when there are probably 10 people in the world who would try to hike in high heels. That being said, this woman Erin is attempting to do Colorado's 14ers, in high heels. I will submit the link but realize fully that this should have its own topic so as not to dilute the momentous first steps and throwing away of sneakers by @Goose . Colorado High Heels Mountain Climber

Thank you for your kind words. In most forums today just about every applicable username has been taken, so other than adding some random numbers to an otherwise overly used username, I have found combining something negative (crushed) with some element of the forum (vamp) is an adaption many users over the years have never thought of. Hence CrushedVamp... Interesting in that bookbinding is a business for me and why leathercraft, woodworking and much less so... metal working, are some skills I have. I prefer the term bookbinding but admit in modern speak it is a "publishing company". As for wearing high heels myself... well who knows? I am slowly finding out that I might not be as strange as I considered myself. I have had long held beliefs on what other men did and am finding out I have been quite wrong. I have gotten pedicures for years and just recently found out, a true friend of mine... a mans-man in every way possible... does as well. Who would have thought? And my dislike of body hair, I shave shaved almost all of me for years, but just recently found out some 15% of men do. From a practical standpoint, making a pair of high heels fit me comfortably makes things much easier than using my wife as a sounding board for fit and finish. After one is crafted then knowing what to do, I could turn my attention to a pair of high heels for her.

You can now buy mens sizes, called Unisex Leggings, but for me leggings are hit and miss. It is not just size. As I said before I do not like the nylon-type kind, and kind of have to feel them to get the cotton ones I want. My daughters said I like "inside leggings", but even that moniker is hit or miss. I was at the store the other day getting pantyhose with my wife, and I i noticed in that section there was a lot of "leggings" as they were labeled, but they sure looked like black pantyhose to me. Very, very sheer. But then the ones in the women's section are more nylon than cotton. At the dollar stores they tend to be cotton like, but not always. It is frustrating because about 50% of the leggings I get, I never wear because they are not the type I like. I even try reordering the ones I do like by Brand Name and Product Name but most times the brand is no longer being made. As for the unisex designation; it's about time. These things are super comfy. No reason for the ladies to have them all to themselves. I will, though she is an extra-introvert if there ever is such a thing. Very shy... That being said, I was on here a long time ago, I think. I say that because it was a high heels forum that I belonged too, but the atmosphere was a bit different then. Not better. Not worse. Just different. I could not remember my username or password so I started fresh so nothing nefarious on my end of things on that. It would have been back in 2005-2011ish. If this site did not exist then, it might have been a different high heels site. But no matter, I am here now and hope to contribute in a meaningful way.

Thank you for the welcome @mlroseplant . I was on this site years ago, but atlas forgot what my username was so I had get a new moniker. Like then, I hope to add to the forum in a good way. I was mistakenly thinking there was a lady who hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail (2190 miles) in high heels, but in checking I was sorry to see two sisters hiked it entirely barefoot. There is a HUGE difference between high heels and being barefoot. A few have hiked stretches of it in high heels, but to my knowledge no one has yet to through-hike it wearing high heels the entire way. Not to derail this thread but if someone on here wants to make high heel history it is theirs to take! Maybe that would generate some sensationalism for the high heel? Maybe a heel designer will take on the challenge and adapt a comfortable high heel for such a trip? What a Victory, to stand on Mount Katahdin 2190 miles later at 5269 feet... AND 6 inches!! 🙂

You are very fortunate, to which you can read that as 'I am so jealous of you', but in a good way of course. 🙂 I have always loved Shackelton and read all the books and accounts and as odd as this sounds, as much as I would love to see Antarctica I would prefer to see South Georgia Island more I think. To see Sir Shackelton's grave would be an honor. Such an upright good man. The advertisement for that job I saw said 9 months, but three would be better. I do have the mental capacity to winter down there I think, and might, but there is the marriage thing. Charlie Munger called it "Opportunity Cost", that is where when you commit to one thing, it prevents you from committing to another. He was referring to money, meaning if you put money in bonds the same money can't go to stocks, but it is the same with marriage. Being married I have to consider her needs too, and that is okay. Marriage has many perks as well. I would definitely sign up for a 3 month stint, but admit I really, really, really considered that 9 month job. I used to travel for 5 months away from home. 9 months is a lot, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Again, so jealous of you, but in a good way. I am so glad you got to experience it. Good for you!

That is so awesome, and thanks so much for sharing. What you did is really a life lesson; sometimes in life we just have to know ourselves and defeat us. Tossing away your sneakers forced yourself to do what you really wanted do. It is how we explore, get out of our comfort zones and really enjoy life. I once heard, If something scares you but also excites you... do it! I climb high tension lines, sometimes hundreds of feet in the air and with 345,000 volts and while it ALWAYS scares me, it makes lief exciting too.

Wow, I am so jealous. South Georgia Island is one place I have never been but always wanted to go. I saw one time that they were looking for Electricians to go down to Antarctica and maintain their powerplants and I almost signed up. Heck I still might. I do generation here in the States so would be well qualified. Unfortunately, I have a wife that would not like being alone for 9 months. Everyone at work wears Keen boots because of the composite toe and high voltage safety features, but for whatever reason they hurt my feet.

I am pretty conservative in both lifestyle and with money, but one thing I have done for several years is indulge in a manicure and pedicure. For me it started out when I got an ingrown toenail and the doctor said it was nothing they did at the clinic, and that her prescription was to go to a nail salon. As she explained why I needed to go and what they did there, it became clear that it would be a trip for sound medical reasons. But the doctor also followed it up with the statement that she thought both genders should go, and that her boyfriend went with her to one routinely. I had to look up some articles in male periodicals to feel okay about it that first time, but for sound medical reasons and the sheer fact that men spend as much time on their feet as women... maybe even more depending on what we do for work, it makes sound sense to take care of our feet the best we can. I do not live a flashy life, but there are a few indulgences that I do enjoy. Having a maid to clean our house is one, and another... going to the nail salon routinely. For me, it is mostly for a pedicure, but since they always ask, and I am there anyway, I have a manicure too. Both are without toenail or fingernail polish because that is not the reason I go, but I highly recommend a manicure/pedicure for men for health reasons. If you are unsure like I was, do an internet search and you'll see many articles talking about the medical benefits. That was the convincer for me.

I think one area of high heeled shoes that has gone unexplored is adjustable high heels. One look on youtube regarding “types of mechanisms” and it is clear to see that an adjustable heel is possible. Maybe it is adjustable in ¼ inch clicks, or a thread-out type of heel, or who knows, maybe the two means combined together so that a 2 inch heel could be extended to five inches? I could just see some interest in the same pair of shoes that is worn sensibly to work is cranked out and not so sensible at the club. Or the pair of shoes worn to work and is shorter in the morning takes on a much high heel in the boardroom later that afternoon? I am not sure, but it surprises me that this has not been explored with high heels yet.

Question: Do people on this site typically wear their ankle bracelet on one ankle versus the other? My wife typically only wears one, mostly because for some strange reason I prefer one versus her wearing one on each ankle. But when she wears it, she wears it on her left ankle because she is married, and her left hand is where she wears her wedding band. That is her reasoning anyway, and I am fine with that. As for church; she often wears her ankle bracelet to church too. I have noticed she is far from alone, with it seeming ankle bracelets are becoming more vogue. In doing a very loose survey at church, on any given Sunday our smallish church of 300-400 people might have 6-8, people wearing ankle bracelets. This is judging by several Sunday's, and not just one. It was done in the summer months too since often they are more visibly worn.

I always felt a Coffee Table book on high heels might be received well. I could kind of envision an oversized book, teeming with big high-definition glossy photos of high heels, starting with a chapter on the history of high heels, then progressing up through the various kinds. I am not sure how the layout of the book would go exactly, but a chapter on pumps, boots, mules, etc might be in order. That way in some trendy urban apartment, as apartment guests arrive for a cocktail party, they can kick up their feet on the coffee table and there is a Coffee Table book about high heels. Its kind of hard to describe what I envision I know, but not a fetish book, but not a history of high heel book either. A coffee table book. Lots of photos. Some information on the history of particular types of heels, but really a coffee table book.

For me it is not so much that male fashion needs to be more feminized or masculine, just that it is so darn boring. I am traditional in dress, but enjoy dressing nicely, with my wife and I being the most best dressed at a restaurant or other venue, but to "spice" it up for me, what do I really have? Typically, it is to wear socks or a tie that has a crazy color or pattern to them. Or, often I will wear a pink or purple button down shirt that kind of says, "that man has confidence enough to wear those colors". But that is it. Shoes, pants, shirts, etc; other than wearing a vest or some other article that is no longer considered vogue; men's fashion is pretty boring. How bad is it in the mens fashion industry? So bad that a few years ago a hispter sued a company for using his image on their advertising... except it was proven in court that it was not him! People were laughing because as new and different as the hipster movement was trying to be, it showed everyone hipster man wearing the exact same thing. I would love to see that change. In that way it only makes sense that men's fashion steals ideas from women's fashion because they are so much more options. Or maybe men's fashions should go back and steal from what women's fashion stole from us, namely hosiery and high heels? Myself I do not care where the creative ideas stem from, but man I would like more options then just whopping it up wearing crazy pattern socks and a wild tie.

My wife tried wearing toe rings, but for some reason she just did not like them. That was too bad because I find them attractive. She does however, wear an anklet when she is dressed up. Whether for church, a date, or just a nice dinner, she typically wears one of her many ankle bracelets. In reading through the replies, I do see that gold is the preferred choice for many wearers on here, but for some reason, me and her prefer silver. We do have some gold ones, and will wear them on occasion, but 9 out of 10 times, when picking out an anklet, we get the silver one. She does wear polish on her toes, but while I prefer her to wear fire engine red, what I call "whore red" just to tease her, honestly she mixes it up and it could be wearing any color. This includes different colors on each toe some days. They typically are symmetrical in color from her left foot to right, but her big toes might be red, her middle toes green, and her pinkie toe purple, and the other toes different colors.

As a creative person myself who makes income using intellectual property I understand the need to protect that, but to me this seems more of an arrogancy thing then true creative genius. I mean do they think they were the only designers ever to put red soles on shoes? It would be like me coming up with a cool title of a novel and then trying to copyright the title, and suing anyone else who tries to use it. Is it a creative title? Sure, but it does not mean someone else has not came up with the idea before me. You can't copyright titles for that very reason and CL should not be able to Trademark a primary color like red on the sole of a shoe. What is next, them claiming they should get Trademark rights to black pumps? The litmus test should be probability. It is highly likely some Cartwright made shoes with contrasting colors at some point, like red soled shoes. Now if CL had made a Red and green chevron pattern or their soles or something, that might be different, it is less likely someone else came up with that design, but the use of a primary color just seems like arrogancy to me. Like some grade school kids arguing on the playground they did something first when there is no proof of it.

I do not wear high heels myself, but do like my wife wearing them, and if it has been awhile since she has worn them, I get a sense of heel withdrawal. Because it's an issue with someone else doing something I like, it is not as easy to cure as just putting them on myself, but I do try and suggest we go places where she might typically wear them. Like going to an upscale restaurant she likes instead of going to our typical diner. Or I might mention how good she looked the last time we were at church and she had her high heels on. Or buying her a new pair of high heels that she liked. Another way is to reward her for wearing them this time in anticipation of wearing them next time, like giving her a footrub afterwards. Those are just a few of the ways I try and encourage her to wear them, and in doing so it helps with my heel withdrawal. It's just getting harder and harder to do as we both get older.