kikepa

If one wants to wear Sneakers, one should do so. To me those shoes look absurd, more designed to be "fashionable" than practical. If one is going to wear heels, they should be boots, pumps, or sandals, not morphed sneakers.

Awesome! It's like using one of those VW conversion kits to make your bug look like a lamborghini.

It's still a bug.

Subdued. I suppose it would depend a lot on your reason for wearing heels. I wear heels them because I prefer wearing heels. I'm sure people who're staking out fashion claim territory would be a little more ostentacious. Those who're CD/TV would be more dressing on the feminine side, and then there are those who're out to blow (not quite the right term) people's minds.

Depends on where I am and the weather. I've gone sight-seeing mainly in boots, as it attracts the least attention. A couple of times I've gone out in simple sandals (heeled), but usually on occasions where off-the-wall behavior wasn't abnormal (New Years, Mardis Gras, etc.)

I'm not sure I see the difference between calf and knee-high boots... One covers the calf, but the other goes to below the knee... Same thing, if you ask me! Same height, anyway.

Excellent poll! From the results, I doubt if people are really reading past the first response or considering the ramifications of the second response - yet it remains as applicable as whether or not certain female body types can get away with wearing string bikinis. Men and women have different body styles. Why in the world would be wrongly (IMHO) believe the same heel styles would look equally good on both?

I made some blog entries on this subject, here.

In summary:

1. Listen to your body. Pain is a message. Translated, it means "Hey! Cut that out!"

2. Eat right. If all you did was limit, 100% (no cheating!) your intake to this food list, you'd look better, feel better, be healthier, loose weight, live longer...

3. Exercise right. 98% of people simply don't. See my blog for some quick tips on how to do it right!

Not enough of them are available in the stores in larger sizes for trying on!

You're a very creative person. Professor Snape would have been proud of you!

I did forget to add the abeezal and asphidil...

Beegirl - thanks for your positive outlook! It goes a long way. May you be an example for others who would follow in your footsteps.

Option 3: Preference There's no obsession or fetish associated with my wear of heels.

I like the second pair, Dave - they look a lot like my oxford heels, which I enjoy wearing while travelling.

It depends on the occasion! For fit: A pair of 4 inch pleather knee-high boots with a rounded toe. I can, and do spend all evening in them (all day on the weekends). For lounging: A pair of Clarks clogs with a 2-1/2 inch heel. For fashion/outing: A pair of vanelli stilleto ankle boots with a rear zip, tied with my sudini ankle boots with a side zip (worn during icy weather as it has a terrific sole, whole the vanelli's leather sole slides all over the place) For sensuality: A pair of black leather stiletto sandals with a 4-1/2 inch heel.

JeffB, I'm inclined to agree. Nor does society get things right, either. I have two shirts made for men which people have asked, "is that a woman's shirt?" I have other shirts made for women that no one would ever notice. But this thread's about heels, not clothes. On that line I have a pair black leather ankle boots with a 2-1/2 inch block heel that no one has ever picked up on as being a woman's shoe. Come to think of it, it's probably my first "outing" in heels, instead of another pair I'd relayed, earlier.

I'm amazed that many members here have reported a complete lack of negative reactions. Either you're living in a very accepting area, or there's a little bit of head in the clouds thing going on. The times I've heeled in public I've almost always gotten at least one negative reaction. They've been minor, mainly a raised eyebrow. One guy shook his head and snickered. A woman just stared, looking back and forth between the heels and my face. Very rude. Most people have taken it in stride very well, either having no initial surprise or overcoming initial surprise in a second or two and proceeding on with the business at hand, if not simply going forward into normal conversation as they would have if I hadn't been wearing heels.

This question is directed to our senior members (40+).

Hey! I consider myself to be middle-aged, not senior! I'm over your limit, but have another twenty years before I'm a bona-fide senior citizen!

However, since you asked...

Before larger sized female heels became more widely available where did you get your heels from.

Before puberty, it was easy - Mom's heels. There were three solid years during which I could wear one pair or another. There were also the neighbors, which extended the wear dates, but was spotty trying to find time to wear those without getting caught! But while growing up, my first pair of heels I remember trying on and fitting belonged to a neighbor (I think I was seven), and the last pair that fit shortly before I graduated high school also belonged to a neighbor.

Once I was out of high school and in college, it became easy. Payless was around by then, and there always seemed to be a size 12 or 13 heel at one of the larger discount shoe stores. Occasionally K-mart or Walmart had a pair or two, though the quality was always rock bottom.

It wasn't until the Internet and places catering to larger heels came online that things got really run.

I suppose places like Transformation (For TV's etc) would have been one of the places.

No offense to any of our members along those lines, but I consider what's offered on those websites to be junk. Furthermore, they're specifically feminine in style (what else?) so it's really not what I'm looking for.

I would have to say "normally" I wear a range of different heel heights. All are between 2-1/2 and 4-1/2. My most comfortable pair, by far, sport 4 inch heels, but have a 1/4 inch platform. They're boots, perfect for winter. My next most comfortable pair are some Clarks clogs with a 2-1/2 inch heel, which I wear a lot in the Fall and Spring. I have two pair of 3-inch heeled leather oxfords I wear all the time, too. In summer months I'm a sandal fan, most flats (dodging fruit, here) but I have a couple of leather sandals I wear, including 4 inch wedges, and my highest, a 4-1/2 stilleto with two wide straps. I rarely wear the latter, but sometimes it's just fun to throw them on and walk around the house, you know? I've gone "out" to eat in them, too, but that consists of going through a drive-through then sitting in the parking lot, finishing my meal.

For the twentieth time in a couple of years I tried pulling my most expensive pair of boots over a pair of simple cotton socks the other day.

Ugh!

Most of my leather heels fit over socks, but not these, so I must choose between comfort and cold, or warmth and discomfort. I was hoping they would have broken in by now, especially given the many times I've worn them with socks, even though only just for a couple of hours, as any longer and I can't stand the discomfort any longer.

Then, it hit me, and I decided to make a shake!

I blended two cups of hot water with about six squirts of Aveeno moisturizing hand lotion, a tablespoon of some after-sun 99% aloe vera gel that has some tea tree oil and menthol in it, and half a cup of rubbing alcohol (helps dissolve any fats/oils in the Aveeno, turning what would have been an emulsion into a solution). Next I poured the solution into a bucket of slightly warmer than body temp water and stirred until it was thorouly blended. Then I dunked a dry pair of my best-fitting smooth, thin cotton socks in there, thoroughly soaking them, before wringing them out and putting them on. It's important to use thin socks, as you don't want to over-stretch your boots. Finally, I poured equal amounts of the warm solution into the boots and let it sit for a few minutes.

I dumped out the solution from the boots and put them on, ensuring there were no folds or wrinkles in my socks, and wore them for the remainder of the day.

Leather, being breathable, allowed my feet to dry in a few hours.

My boots now fit me perfectly! As they continue to stretch, I can simply upgrade to thicker cotton socks.

On the other hand, if you're a die-hard bare-skin boot wearer, this would probably work just as well with, well, your bare skin! I'd soak your feet in the bucket for twenty minutes (while your boots are also soaking) so your skin is overly hydrated and has absorbed some of the moisturizer. If that doesn't work, try a very thin pair of cotton or part-cotton tights.

This hit me when I was using some Aveeno in the morning, as my hands have been dry lately. I thought if it's good enough for my human skin, why not try it with the boot's skin?

Elegan, have you considered changing your avatar...

Have fun! Don't try walking backwards...

What would that make me?

Normal!

I think the varriance in sexuality roles/preference/identity are a bit more difficult than that!

Welcome to the human race!

Vagarities of sexuality has been around for thousands of years.

Mimize fats, alcohol, and protein in your diet. Drink plenty of water, ensure you're routinely getting good, aerobic exercise. Fast once a week, and keep the weight off. All of these have proven to be factors which lessen gout risk.

Waxing would be another alternative.

I've done that in the past when I've been in sandal-wearing moods. It takes a day or two for the red spots to return to normal. 24 hours ought to do it.

I don't see anything unusual about that.

Me neither!

they wrote a song about it:

"there's no business like snow business"

or am i going into meltdown....

Meltdown -

I thought the snowball was pretty cool. "Safety Police," huh? Are they the ones who were both misfortunately clumsy as children (as I and many of us were) and therefore feel like they're serving society by prohibiting the fun at which they failed? (which I'd never do - I grew out of my two left feet somewhere along the way)

I think part of the reasons companies are so secretive on the issue of salaries, and why they've lobbied so hard against revealing them is in part to remain competitive, but also in part to get away with sexual discrimination. If I negotiate a job then one day decide to walk in wearing heels, provided it doesn't violate the dress code, should I expect a salary reduction? I'd better be sure I'm working for a company that not only tolerates, but fully supports diversity.

I hate it whenever a telemarketer calls and I for whatever incompetant reason do not immediately hang up the phone without any hesitation, explanation, or remorse whatsoever. These people are not uninvited guests in my home. They are intruders into my space, my privacy.

Wrong numbers, on the other hand, are inadvertant slips. No issues there.

I've turned ankles on 2-inch heels, but never on the higher ones. It's not because I'm panting at the higher heels. It's because there's less weight on the heel (more on the toes) in higher heels, and because the higher the heel, the more it's like you walking on your toes anyway, which is easy.