TXGuy

A little late to the thread. But Frey's passing was a surprise.  My wife and I saw the Eagles on tour last year and Frey looked great. I guess his issues were not obvious on the surface but the show was great and glad I got to see them one more time. Probably will be saying that about a few groups from fhat era. Actually, that started years ago when I was supposed to see Zeppelin when they cancel the tour because a member died...

Another great outing tonight. I wore the same Clarks booties and boot cut jeans (different pair of jeans though  ).  But I wanted to push myself in terms of the amount of people and crowds, so I headed for Downtown Disney this evening.  Downtown Disney was not super crowded like on weekend or holidays, but there were a lot of people. 

I walked around and shopped for about two hours.  I believe a few people noticed I was wearing high heels, such as when I was in the LEGO store and squatted down to look on the lower shelves and the heels were fully visible.  I talked to other people in the stores as we browsed over the souvenirs.  Especially the ones related to the new Star Wars movie.  I even bought a few for the kids.  No comments or looks about the heels, I had no clue if anyone even noticed.

It was interesting walking around on the main drag though, there were people doing all kinds of things, walking of course in all kind of directions, sitting and eating, sitting on park benches looking around (tired of walking  ).  The one part I was the most self-conscious was when I happened to join the crowd of people exiting the park, a mass of people walking in one direction, I was wondering if the people walking behind me noticed the heels, either by sight or sound.  I also happened to be watching a woman in front of me who was wearing a really nice pair of high heeled booties, they looked higher than 3.5 in, and about an inch wide.  Watching her walk in the shoes made me wonder if there was someone behind me watching me.  Probably not, but the thought occurred to me.  Basically, hundreds, if not thousands of people sitting, standing, and walking around with the opportunity to see what I was wearing if they were looking down.  I basically made it through the gauntlet with nary a bruised ego. 

Basically was enjoying the moment enough that I wore the heels into a restaurant.  The only comment was my waitress saying I was wearing nice shoes.   I'd say a pretty good outing.
 

9 hours ago, RonC said:

I have a pair of Nine West booties quite similar to those, but the heel is thicker.  Right about 4.5" on the height, and I have to say, my ankles get quite fatigued when I walk much in them.

Yea, I'm not up for the higher heels yet.  My shoes I have been walking around in have a 3.5 inch heel.  That was one of the reasons I was specifically looking for 4.5 inch heels and higher from Nine West the other day.

The Clarks Booties can be seen in my posting from Oct. 28 above.

Nine West Sherbert

Nine West Benteena

Having a great couple of days.  On a trip, as soon as I checked into the hotel, I changed into my bootcut jeans and my Clark’s heeled booties and headed out.  First stop, the nearby mall, especially the Nine West store.  Black Friday sales were still on.  Parked and jumped out of the car, walked into the mall past a bunch of people, and headed straight for Nine West.

When I walked in, there was no one there, the sales people were in the back, so I just looked around until I found something interesting.  I quickly zeroed in on the Nine West Sherbert Booties with a 4 ½ inch heel.  When the sales girl came out, I said Hi and asked if they have the Sherbert booties in size 11.  She brought out a pair in black leather and handed me the box.  I told her that they were for me, and asked if she minded my trying them on.  She said that she figured out that they were for me as she had seen the heels I was wearing into the store.  I few people came into the store at that point, but I put that out of my mind, took my heels off, and put the booties on and walked around the store a bit trying them out.  They seemed a bit big and I asked if they had the size 10 ½.  She brought out the brown version, and I quickly swapped them out and walked around a bit more.  Didn’t’ seem right, so I was convinced to buy them yet.

While walking around, I spotted a pair of high heeled sandals, the Benteena ankle strap sandals.  I now asked if they had a 10 ½ or 11 in that sandal.  She brought them out, and I once again swapped my shoes.  First time anyone outside my house has seen me wearing high heeled sandals. These I definitely likes and bought them at half price.

Later that night, I saw that if you spent at least $125, you would get an extra 20% off. If I had known that, I would have bought the Sherbert bootie as well.  Oh well, I’ll just have to wait until another big sale comes along.  I also want to wait until I can walk wearing heels into another Nine West store for the experience.

In the end, the sales people were great.  And a few looks from the lady shoppers….

Walked around the mall for a few minutes with the Nine West bag and wearing my heels before heading out.  Next stop was Whole Foods where I walked around as I got my dinner for the night, walking past lots of people.  Last stop before heading back to the hotel was the local grocery store where I picked up a few things as well as the chance to walk around more people.

Tonight, I wore the Clark booties into PF Changs for dinner.  There were a few looks, but know comments.  I felt pretty good strutting around.  Things are getting easier. 

11 hours ago, robbiehhw said:

 

I'm in no way suggesting that you should do something that makes you feel uncomfortable. But the mere suggestion that a job could be effected by your choice of shoes in  general blows my mind. The thought that anyone who chooses a feminine path in the slightest way or all the way, would earn disrespect is maddening. Fortunately the world is changing and in some places changing fast. Whatever level of stepping out you have done this far is to be commended

I'm not saying that I would loose my job.  But I still believe that it may have an effect on the job.  I'm doing well, and I want to keep raises and bonuses coming.    Plus, if I am not up to the confidence level yet of having the boots in plain view out of town, it's not time to do it at work.

8 hours ago, RonC said:

  I have yet to try the stiletto heel style like yours, but after seeing you in them, I just might have to give it a go.  But if and when I do, they will be worn with pants that, like yours, keep things on the quiet side from a visual standpint.

I wanted to try a thinner heel, my other heels are wedges or blocks.  Plus this shoe is a bootie version of a pump, which I have only one other of.  Which is also 4 in heel.  I also wanted a smaller heel that I can easily walk for hours if I got the chance.

Thinking this from a mechanical point of view, heel to toe makes sense, but as the person’s weight increases, that means walking heel to toe in a perfect mechanical motion.  By this I mean that as you put your heel down and touch the floor, you rock the shoe forward to put the ball of the foot on the floor in such a way that you induce no twisting/bending motion.  All the force on the heel is directed straight down through the heel so that it does not bend. Any bending will affect the weakest point of the heel, which is probably where it attaches to the bottom of the shoe. There are two obvious factors that will impact the life of the joint of the heel to the shoe if that is not done. The person’s weight, and the length of the heel.  More weight of the person, more force on the twisting.  Same with the length, the longer the heel, the more force at the joint, for the same reason you use pry bars to use length to get more power at the point of the bar.
 
Thinking about how much force is concentrated on the small point of a stiletto, or even the high heel at the point it touches the ground, that is a lot of force to maintain.  With leather and materials that go into a shoe?  I’m not sure it can be done without adding more metal to the shoe, such as the steel rods in the center of the stiletto to prevent the heel from buckling on some heels.

I remember a scene from an old Kung Fu show with David Carradine where he had to prove he was a master by walking across rice paper without tearing it. If you want those tall heels / shoes to last years, you need to become the Master of Walking in High Heels. 

This past week in walking about, sometimes walking a little quicker, I noticed on the 3.5 inch heel, that when I put the ball of my foot down, there was tension in the heel when I lifted the heel up in walking forward. In my walk, I bent the heel slightly forward as I put my weight down on the heel and put the ball of my foot down.  When lifting up, I felt the heel slightly rub against the ground releasing the tension as it was able to spring back slightly.  Obviously, I am not a master.  Has any else noticed that with stiletto heels?  I do not have that much experience with these smaller heels. 
 

Mr. X - All in good time.  I'm pretty sure a few people saw that I was wearing heels.  That fact made me confident on the 4th night, I just got out of my car and walked into the restaurant without worry about the people waiting in front.  I'll get better with the idea and feel more comfortable with being more visible.  But is still a cool feeling to not be afraid to walk around in a heel.

pebblesf - Not in Dallas, further South.  But, I really do not take chances.  I have a good job, and a family that depends on my keeping a good job.  While technically, there should be no legal problem, I have a level of respect and position which i wish to maintain.  Maybe when I am ready to throw caution to the wind, maybe, but not now.

Thighbootguy - Might be a while before I am that confident to strut that style.  ;)

It’s been a while, busy with life.  The last few days have been great.  I’m out on travel for business.  One of my favorite new pairs of heels is the Clarks Brier Milan.  I also like that they are a bootie version of a pump.  The last 4 days I have been wearing them every evening, leaving all my other shoes in the hotel so I cannot chicken out when I get where I’m going.  I am wearing a pair of boot cut jeans, which makes it pretty discrete.  There is still the sound of stiletto hitting the ground, but I’ve gotten past that as well.  I’ve walked into malls, restaurants, and by today, looking for extra places to go, such as hitting the Apple store to check out the new iPhone 6S.  I can’t wait to get back here.  I do not know if anyone has noticed, but getting out and about is building up my confidence.  I still have to get used to the stiletto heel. I’ve hit a few surfaces where the heel start to slip…..

I agree, can you provide a few more details. Including your general opinion on the actual training it self. Did you learn anything new? Probably should post a companion thread in the "For Everyone" section if you would like some female thoughts. Actually a new thread on the merits of the training and any feedback for any others who may have taken a class. Glad you had a great time.

Yea, I see your point.  But what can I say, I’m ooching up to your level.  Walked out of the hotel this evening wearing the boots, leaving all other shoes in the room.  Went to a restaurant, where I was seated near the bar in a 2 person table/half booth.  Basically everyone coming in the front door could look down and see my boots.  I wasn’t that nervous about it then.  Went, got gas, walked through a grocery store picking up some drinks, and then a Barnes and Noble.

Heading home tomorrow.  Really disappointed I didn’t get to get out and heal as much as I really wanted to do. I was working out at the customer site to almost 10PM every night.  Maybe next time. 

Me and my girlfriend got a couple of shoes in last week. The black ones are mine, the pink ones hers.IMG_20131025_142057.jpgIMG_20131025_142127.jpgIMG_20131025_142200.jpgIMG_20131025_142252.jpgIMG_20131025_142302.jpgIMG_20131025_142320.jpgIMG_20131025_142342.jpgIMG_20131025_142407.jpgIMG_20131025_142418.jpg

I love both of them!

I am also involved with cub scouts and girl scouts. This person’s description appears to be very different from what I experience. Yes, there are elements of truth, we have pop corn sales in late summer, we do 2 camping trips, say the Pledge of Allegiance at meetings, and we do pretty much follow the book/manual and I have put down our social security numbers for the health /permission forms each year. But I have never looked on my experience with the same impression that this person has. As far as the paid higher ups, I have yet to really see any of them show up at our meetings. Although the pack leader may interact with them. But I have nothing to see in terms of negative interference at all. As for camping, the events/activities that are planned are planned by the leaders and volunteers, including me. Most are geared toward achieving a goal or belt loop etc. We’ve never got angry at a kid who didn’t want to participate in an activity. I know from experience as there was an activity that my son did not want to participate. He did not get the belt loop, but that is also a learning experience. We do preach leave the area as we found it, but that is not a Boy Scout only rule now a days. Pretty much everything in the wild has a use. Although I don’t believe nature over time really planned on it being firewood for people. If everyone at the campsites we have been at picked up wood for fires, after one season, every piece of dead wood would have been scavenged and burned. Yea, when I was kid playing out in the woods out back, you could do things like that, but it was only a few of us that would camp out there, the forest easily replenished faster than we used it. I agree on the compass and maps. My son has had a compass since his first year and can read maps. I’m planning on giving him a nice Swiss Army knife for his birthday. Better than the one I carry. But, I’m wondering if his school has a zero tolerance policy for knives/weapons…. And make sure he never takes it to school…. Another topic, but one I’m against. Especially for the recent rash of stories of small kids getting suspended for playing with something they imaging looking like a gun. Hands, paper….. As for the parents, there is a rule that there always has to be a parent there. I believe basically due to the sexual predators that targeted the boy scouts for obvious reasons. But it doesn’t matter to me if they are men or women. I see this person’s point, but I also remember from when I was a cub scout (dropout…). In my den, it was run by the mothers. My father would have liked to come, but he worked a lot to support us. And it was the same for most of my friends. I can’t say that is the reason why every father can’t make it, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. His experience is definitely light years from mine. I don’t see any resistance to teaching the kids to be outdoors and to survive on their own. But then, I don’t live in a liberal city like NYC. I’m in Texas, and we’re probably open to a lot of things that would not be right in NYC in terms of outdoor activities…..

I agree with trying them on in the store. The last 5 pairs, I've tried on in the store. But ALDO has had an issue that their size 11 s have seemed more like size 10s compared to other brands, so even in the store, there hasn't been much luck walking out with a pair I like. Although, I do some preplanning before going out shopping by browsing online the brand/ store I plan on visiting, and find a few heels I would love to try on, but they just don't stock them in the stores I visit. And may end up trying to order them online.

As far as the ALDO sizing is concerned, they have changed, but I'm still not sure of the sizes. The booties I purchased were labeled size 11, but European size 41 on the inside leather. The boots I just purchased were labeled size 10, but are labeled European size 41 as well on the inside. They may just be in the process of readjusting the American size to European size. But I'm not sure if they are truly making the European sizes actually larger, or making a larger shoe in general. IE, a 42 now. I've been lucky in finding two well fitting boots now, but I am not sure they will be making all their shoes in this larger size in the future. But we will see....

Two weeks ago I made another boot/heel shopping trip out to the mall. Checked out the local woman’s shoe stores. Didn’t see much, getting very late in the season but the prices were pretty good. Didn’t see much except for in ALDO again. At first, when I asked if they had some sizes 10/11 in the back, I was confused by the Sales Ladies answer and assumed that the store did not have what I was interested in stock, so I left. Before I left the mall, I was thinking about what she had said and went back into ask. They didn’t have the size of the boot I was looking for, but she suggested and had me try on another boot. She said a friend had tried them on a few days ago and liked them. A guy friend. They fit well and felt great, but I was looking for a higher heel as these were 2.5 inches. She suggested another boot with higher heel, but these were too small, and once again suggested another boot, which did fit great, but not interested. Which is when I thought to ask if I could order the ones I really wanted. ALDO Elumina wedges boots. She checked, and said there were only 7 left in the company. So, immediately ordered them. Went in this morning to pick them up. This time it was a different person, but the person from my previous trip and remembered that I had tried on the black version of the boots I ordered, and purchased the black booties. (These are the two boots from my 1 / 4 posting.) I didn’t ask if I could try them on, I just went and put them on and walked around the store. They felt great. Pretty good fit and pretty comfortable for a heel. But I admit with the platform, the actual heel height probably isn’t that high. I was definitely taking them home. She had told me that if they were good to go, just let her know and she would box and bag them up for me. After walking around, and thinking it over, convincing myself to to do it, I told her it wasn’t necessary, I was going to wear them out. But she did box and up my regular shoes. And off I went wearing the most female boots I have worn to data, carry a HUGE ALDO white bag with the boot box through the mall on the way out. I was self conscious a bit, but most of the time, I was trying to walk just close enough to the store so see my reflection of the boots as I walked, and didn’t think about what anyone else may have been thinking. I’ll have to make a few more trips out in these boots and build up the courage. Something to look forward to. Also looking forward to the next business trip to LA, or such where I don’t have to worry about people I’m not ready to know to do a lot more walking out in public. Only real disappointment in today, is that I thought of getting my wife a pair of these boots, but they were sold out at the price I got these.

Actually, on further thinking about it, maybe “great” was not the right description. The fit around the foot felt pretty good, although a little snug. The foot part was long enough, as the front of my toes were not being crushed in. The top part of the boot was tight. Zipping them up wasn’t without some effort. Not unbearably so, but not bad for the few minutes I walked around in them. I tried them on wearing men’s dress socks, so pretty thin. So, the top part of the boot was tight right against my skin on my calves. There was no chance of fitting any jeans or pants into the boot for me. ALDO’s sizes must be changing a bit. Last year I tried on a 10 wedge pump there, and that was two short. Foot would not fit. This “10” was OK in the foot. I’d still like to try on the 11 for a comparison. I guess I should also keep track of their European sizes as well. They had the boots I purchased labeled size 11, but the European size on them is 41. But the ALDO website says that a 41 is a size 10. I didn’t check what the European size was on the boots, I just took the sales girl word at being a 10. As for my calves getting smaller, I already go to the gym, so I don’t think they will get smaller, and with using free weights, if anything they might get bigger….

Figuring that there were some good deals out there after Christmas, I hit a nearby outlet mall to browse for some boots and see what I could turn up. I went into the Nine West store first, and while there may have been one or two boots I would have tried on, they didn’t have my size. I might be able to squeeze into a 10, but most of the time, it’s 11. But they didn’t have much larger than 9… I went into the ALDO store next. Walked in and said Hi to the sales Girl, she said Good Morning and to let her know if I need any help. Started looking over the boot selection. I saw style that I have seen online that I like, a wedge boot named Elumina. I liked it more in person. Kept on browsing bit more, seeing a black wedge bootie in the back of the store in the clearance rack that I found interesting. ALDO Phiinmena. Went back up to look at the first pair and was looking for a box to see what sizes they had available. Was just realizing that they did not have any boxes out when the sales girl came up behind me and asked me if I like the pair and would I like to see a size. Before, I would usually chicken out and say I was looking for something for my wife, etc. But this time I just came out and told her, that actually, I was looking for myself and asked if they had the Cognac in a size 11. She was surprised a bit, but was really cool with it. She went in the back to check. Unfortunately, she returned that size 9 was the largest they had. I thanked her and started to leave, thinking to ask her the largest size that she had in the black, but that was a size 10. I browsed through a bunch of other stores. Being disappointed that there really wasn’t much of a good boot selection out. And decided to go back to ALDO’s and check out the booties I saw. The sales girl looked surprised to see me again, but I asked her to see the other shoe that matched the bootie I saw on the clearance rack. By this time there were two other guys and two women in the store. But when she brought out the box with the other shoe on, I steeled my nerves and said I had to try the shoes on. So promptly put them on, wondering where the guys were and if they were watching. After I had the booties on and tried walking around a bit, I forgot about the other guys! Looked for a mirror to look at the shoes and felt how they felt walking around in. They felt great and I decided to purchase them. Partly because the sales girl was so great. As I was talking to her that I loved the booties and I was going to take them. She started to talk about the wedge boots I was first interested in and that I could order them. Or even order them online and have them delivered to the store for free shipping. She then said that they recently resized they European to American sizing a bit and that the black Elumina in size 10 might fit. She basically talked me in to trying it on. Actually felt pretty good. She was doing a good job trying to sell another pair now that she knew I was a real buyer. So, put them on and walked around a bit. They felt great! The top part was a little tight around my calves though. I really enjoyed walking around in them. I decided not to get them though as I liked the cognac color better. Plus, even though my wife tolerates me wearing heels, she’d kill me if I bought a pair at full price. She ranged them up and paid, got them for $39.99, about 60% off. As she was about to bag them up, I pushed myself a bit more and asked her if I could wear them out of the store. She was surprised again, but said yes, no problem. So I put them on, and walked out into the mall wearing a pair of high heeled wedge booties. Anybody could see I was wearing heels as I walked out to my car. I’m planning on heading back to the store when the boots go on sale. I plan on wearing my new booties when I do so.

Unfortunately, no, 4 sizes different. And while she doesn’t typically where high heels, she will wear them for me on special occasions, date night, etc. Over the last few years, in cases where I have purchased a heel for her (OK, maybe really for me to see her wear), or she has purchased a heel (once again, for me, but to surprise me, such as for our recent 10 yr anniversary), in most cases, I have ended up purchasing the same one for me (if they make it in my size…). And when I have purchased a heel for me, I’ve also purchased one in her size for her. It’s great when she wears one of her heels out on a date, etc. I enjoy seeing her walk in the heels, and she knows I am looking. I also know what it feels like. She isn’t into me being out and about in heels, so going out together in heels will be a long while if it ever happens. But we have had fun at home many times wearing the same heels.

I wanted to get back out there, so today during lunch I ran down to a local mall. I wore the suede wedge heeled booties I purchased a week ago. While my jeans covered up a lot of them, they are definitely a feminine style and can definitely see that I’m wearing over a 3 in heel. I was nervous getting out of the car. Even though I’m getting better at walking into a women’s shoe store and looking around, being around people is another story. Instead of trying on heels in a store, my goal was to walk around in a crowd. I jumped out of the car and started walking towards the entrance before I could chicken out. Telling myself that I can do this…. Walked into the mall and headed for the food court. I figured it being lunch time that would have the biggest crowd. And yes, definitely the largest populated space. Men, women from work, mothers with children, retired people. I headed right through the crowded section along the front of the food “restaurant”. Through people standing in line, employees asking me to try samples of food, etc. Didn’t run or rush, just walked casually in my heels. No one freaked out; no one yelled “There’s a Guy in Heels!!”…. I did see a few people who were sitting down and eating notice my shoes and follow them a second as I walked by. But no “looks” that made me feel anything about it other than they noticed I was wearing 3 inch wedge heels. Walked all the way around the mall. Walked past the Nine West, Bakers, and ALDO store, sort of scouting out a future trip where I’ll stop in to try on a pair of heels and maybe purchase. Although, I’d rather try on a pair of boots to buy for walking around. Not exactly the season for those. It’ll be a while before I walk around in the pumps I purchased recently, or feminine sandals. Overall, a pretty successful trip. My first walk through a crowd of people and I survived to heel another day.

HappyinHeels – I wanted to get back on the horse pretty quick, so I took your recommendation. I didn’t have any closed toe heels that I could wear. I have few heeled sandals, but none that I feel ready enough to walk out in the public in. So, I decided to hit a few stores. I went to a DSW first, looking for a low heeled, wedge pump, hopefully black leather. No luck there. But in browsing, I did find a decent pair of black 3.4 inch wedge heeled booties. Just as I was about to try them on, a sales lady came around the corner and I thought I saw a strange glance. I asked her if it was OK for me to try on women’s shoes and she said go for it. So the strange glance was probably in my head. Tried them on, they fit pretty well, and went to check out. She ended up being the check out person and we chatted a few minutes. Pretty good visit. Put them on in the car and went to an outdoor mall. Visited both a Nine West and Aldo’s wearing the booties. I didn’t really find much that I wanted to buy in the ALSOs, but decided to try something on for the experience. Asked the sales person for my size, actually, asked if it was OK for a guy to try on a shoe first. She said she didn’t care. I probably should have assumed that as I know she saw the wedge boots I was wearing. Unfortunately, the largest size in that store is a 10, and it is definitely a small 10. No luck in the Nine West store either. Chatted with the sales lady there for a short bit. Did not discuss men wearing heels, etc. She also noticed that I was wearing wedge boots. I tried one pair of heels on, but they did not fit either. I walked around the mall for about 45 minutes before I headed out. I want to try it again next week. I’ll hit another DSW. But this time wear the wedge boots in and try a few more heels and see what I end up with. I still need to get more comfortable with other customers around. Getting pretty relaxed with the sales people. I also noticed that the Nine West sales person was wearing a great pair of high heeled wedge sandals. The Aldo sales person was just wearing a pair of flat sandals, but she was pretty tall, so probably doesn’t wear heels as much. A pretty good trip out over all.

Great Day! I finally had time to go into a store and face my fear, talk to a sales person, and declare that the shoes are for me. That I, a man, need to try them on before purchasing. And it was not that hard. I got there just after they opened so there would not be anyone there except the staff. I had thought of a few ways that it would go, what they would say, what I would say, etc. Assuming that they would say some version of “who are they for?”. To which I would say, for myself. Entered the store, said Good Morning to the one sales person, talked a bit, she told me about their sale, etc. She did not ask who the shoes I was browsing for might be for, and I did not add it to the conversation as this point. And off I went browsing along. Turns out, there was not a shoe in a size greater than 10. Figuring that 11 would have to be the size. So, not to make effort a total loss, I decided I would at least try on a size 10. And to force myself to deal with the issue, I went up and asked the person if she/they minded a guy trying on women’s shoes/heels. She was surprised. But quickly came back with whatever floats your boat. The specific pair of shoes I was going to try was right there as well, so, grabbed the box off the shelf and started to put them on. A pair of basic black platform pumps with a 1 inch platform and 5 inch heel. (Actually, the same pair that my wife purchased for me to wear on our anniversary dinner, but that is another story. ) We ended up talking the whole time, and as others have said before on other threads, that other guys have been in trying on shoes, there is a group or so nearby that like to wear woman’s clothing (I said it’s just the shoes for me)..... I asked how you tell if a pair of pumps fit or not. Even though I was expecting to need a size 11, the shoes did not seem too short. Maybe a bit tight in the toe box, from the side, not from the front as if the shoe was too short, but not hurting tight. And the heel was mot popping out as I walked. We talked about that there will be some stretching etc. She also made a comment that I walked really well in the heels, much better than a lot of the women/girls that come in and try on heels that tall. She also admitted that fact surprised her a bit as well. So, even though I only walked around in the shoes for a few short minutes, and will not know if the leather will stretch or not, I decided to purchase them. Partly because the salesperson was really good at making me feel comfortable, and having a pretty good conversation that ranged over a few different topics. Overall, I considered the shopping trip a great success and once I crossed the boundary, and actually had the shoes on and walking around in the heels, talking to the sales person, the worries went away and had fun with it. I’m not sure when my next shopping trip will be, but I already feel a lot less stress about doing it. I will probably do it once or twice more after a store opens so there are not that many people around. One step at a time.