Topsy

Hi everyone,

No picture but did you see tonights Doctor Who with The Master (John Simm) in red dress and black rather chunky high heels near the end of the episode, when he took over everyones bodies.

GG

No, but have you seen Zara Phillips in 6 inch stilettoes on snow and at church with the Royal Family on the front page of todays Daily Mail? Awesum!

We've had some attrocious weather in the UK over the past 3-4 days.

Despite this chaos, I am still seeing many women out-and-about in stilettos during the day. On Monday, I saw one woman struggling up a steep snow-covered path in her best office-wear 4" pencil heeled courts!

Saw a couple of girls yesterday walking around in stiletto heeled boots as if they were at a disco rather than in a snowstorm.

It seems a bit mad if you ask me - surely most women would welcome an opportunity like this to leave their impractical & uncomfortable footwear at home.

But it's somehow a wonderful thing to see: Their refusal to put practicalities (and risk of injury!) ahead of fashion.

So, a question to the stilettos-in-snow ladies: Why do you do it?

?

Stilettoes in snow? I love it. I have a pair of 5inch stilettoe ankle boots with steel tips and commando soles. They are GREAT on ice, hard packed snow and even on icy cobbles as we have here in Edinburgh. I get admiring glances from both girls & boys. It gives me a great feeling being able to walk without difficulty when people in flatties are sliding around and falling over. The steel-tipped heel really gives me the stability and grip I need. I do not think that high platforms would be as easy to use, but I may try it if I can find some with commando soles

What bothers me most is if I damage the heel. Which I,ve done on 2 pairs now.

I have found a huge difference in quality between the cheaper brands and more expensive ones. I have had many cheap heels break or come away from the sole, so now I only buy ones where the heel unit is actually part of the main shoe last. It means paying at least £60.00 a pair, but I find these far more comfortable and longer lasting. I also find that cloth covered heels get damaged much quicker than uncovered heels, and I am unable to repair the cloth, so these days I normally buy shoes and boots with black painted heels and I carry a felt tipped black stain pen that I got from a cobbler so that if I scuff the heel, it can be tidied up straight away, so that the heels always look good.

Topsy,

What brand are your "8inch narrow heel with a 2.5inch platform"? I have been looking for something with those specs. (A picture or website would be nice, too!)

Thanks!

They were some of my earliest super heels, which came from "Cover Girl" at a shop called "East of Eden" neither of which are on the www. I think the firm disappeared some years ago.

Mine are now well worn and I have just replaced the steel tip for the umteenth time. Now looking forward to some sheet ice to play on with them.

If you want to try replacing your heel tips on your own, here is the company I use:-

http://www.stiletto-heel-tips.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=2

Its 4.75 inches for me all day with pencil thin steel tipped stilettoes. I can manage 5 inches for half a day, but I find that 6 inches with a one inch plat are far more comfortable than 5 inches without a plat, and can manage the 6 inch for most of the day standing and walking. I recently managed 5 miles of unmade Scottish road in 6inch wedges with a one inch plat, but my ankles took a hammering, trying not to fall when getting small stones under the sole

Just back from the Scottish outback, and have read this thread right through. It's steel tips for me. I find plastic tips are lethal on wet cobbles and here in Edinburgh, there are miles of cobbled streets. Steel tips are much better on wet cobbles - not perfect, but better. It annoys me that whenever I buy new shoes, the heels have plastic tips. I bought a quantity of steel tips some time ago and replace them myself. All you need is a pair of Mole Grips and considerable strength plus a small hammer. If I can find the on-line contact for steels heel tips, I will post it here. It is also steel tips for me on ice as they bite into the ice and slide only slowly whereas plastic and rubber slide without warning often causing the wearer to fall heavily

I do my stuff both indoors and outdoors but always in private. I used to serve in the Royal Air Force (1980-83) and regularly did night shift on my own in a stores block which included a steep ramp covered in large lino tiles. I used to smother the ramp in wax polish and try to walk up and down it in my heels - usually without any success at all, but it kept me happy and aroused during the early morning hours when nothing was happening. When I slipped & skidded outside, it was always in private when I was being adventurous, but before I joined the RAF I did a couple of years in an office after leaving school. My best friend & I both wore towering stilettoe boots of around 5.5inches. Our office was at the top of a steep hill. In winter, the hill got very icy and everyone had difficulty walking up and down it. Most people chose to use the road but Lillian & I used the footpath. Lillian's boots had nylon heel tips and mine had 1/4 inch diameter steel tips. It was then that I found that my steel tips provided a much better and stable grip than plastic/nylon tips. I would get aroused with gentle but fairly safe sliding while Lillian held onto me just to stay upright. Many colleagues suggested that we should be sensible and walk on the road, but they did not know about us getting highly aroused and damp underneath. Lillian soon got steel tips fitted and then we found the hill even more exhilerating and difficult since we were not supporting each other, and caused us to fall several times when coming down the hill. Those early days were the only ones I did my stuff in public, as the general reaction was "You are mad, stupid or silly!!!".

I always cover my heels. I feel if men can see the height I am wearing, they follow me around as though they were waiting for me to fall off them so that they could help me up to break the ice of conversation. I like to show my heel height only to the men I choose!

Seriously though, there are places that we should not wear heels for our own safety - but we know where these places are and act accordingly. Why should men decide what we should wear?

So let them ban heels. Then we could all go to work in micro-mini-skirts and wearing roller skates. Running rings round these sexist, jealous men at high speed on skates could soon change their minds!

I got a private message asking if I had walked in heels on ice, snow or antwhere slippery and I thought I should share my reply to see if anyone else out there is as mad as me:-

Seeking thrills and spills.

In the 1980s when working in Aviemore, I owned a selection of high stilettoes, mostly in the 4 inch to 5.5 inch without platform and up to 8 inches with platform.

In the spring, summer & autumn I was experimenting with the high-heeled skates, but in winter, I needed something different(this was before I thought about high-heels on quad roller skates on ice). Scotland has much more severe winters than England and in the Cairngorms above 1500 feet can be very severe. I had several sites of varying steepness where sheet ice would regularly form. I found that stilettoes with rubber or plastic tips were totally uncontrollable and I spent most of the time either sitting down or trying, without success, to get up. Steel heel tips when new could be used, and they would slide sending little showers of ice flakes up as they searched for grip. The best grip was with steel tips that had been worn or ground to a point. These almost made walking possible, especially when a high wind was blowing which I had to fight against to stay upright. I always used protective padding (Skateboarders knee & elbow pads and wrist guards) and I have never, over hundreds of falls, suffered so much as a bruise.

Going up hill was difficult especially if steep and I usually ended up on my knees sliding back to the bottom, only to try again, whilst getting very aroused. If I did manage to get to the top, I would then turn round and try the more difficult/dangerous descent. The heels would dig in but the soles would swing and slide in all directions. Sometimes I would use stick-on commando soles which did not slide as much but would grip and then without warning launch, sending me flying, usually when taking a step. I usually used stilettoe boots as they provided better ankle support, and I was less likely to damage an ankle due to a sudden launching. Sling-backs or courts were much more difficult to handle to the point of being dangerous to my ankles, because on steep hills on ice the heel would rock and wobble causing it to lose grip.

Another hair-raising exploit I had on high stilettoes was on the beach. I knew of several boulders fields on beaches, and I found that wearing high stilettoes while trying to walk across numerous stone boulders was quite exhilerating, with the sole sliding off the rock tops where they were wet or slimy and the heels, often on very steep-sided rocks, grinding and sliding while looking for grip and sometimes launching unexpectedly. On rocks I needed slingbacks with any sort of tip. Rubber gave the most grip. Plastic was unpredictable, getting more so as it wore down, but new steel tips gave the best safest feeling grip. It was great to be able to stand still and vertical while the heels slowly moved down a rock threatening to launch at any moment. It is on rocks such as these that I have had most injuries -- But I always go back and try again.

To me snow is uninteresting unless wet with ice underneath.

If you mean these, I don't believe that they are made anymore. There was an issue with the fixing of the platform to the sole. I heard one more than one occasion where the plate had crumpled or the weld had gone.

Yes, thanks, those are the ones. Pity if they are not made anymore. I wanted a pair as they look awesum.

With the curve of the front of the sole, it looks as though they would be much more comfortable to walk in for long periods than the modern high-heeled flat-soled with pointy toes types.

A few years ago in Germany there were girls wearing metal shoes with high heels. They seemed to have a small area for the balls of your feet & toes then a gap until there was a small area for the heel. The body of the shoe was a narrow vertical sheet of metal with holes cut out of it. They had a curved sole and a narrow heel. They looked lke great fun. Does anyone know if they are still available, or where I can get a pair please?

My highest heel without platform is 5.5" which are very old "east of Eden" red lace-up stillettoes with a steel tip. I got them about 20 years ago and have had them re-heeled many times. I love them and they are great fun on ice and wet round topped cobbles. With platform my highest is an 8inch narrow heel with a 2.5inch platform, also great fun. But my highest heels are a pair of 3ft chinese peg stilts that I use to perform on which are great fun if a little precarious on certain ground surfaces

There is talk in one of the other forums comparing skating to wearing heels.

Here's a poser for you people out there, has anyone skated in high heels?

quote]

I have skated in high heels. I used wedges with wide heels. One pair a 8 inch heel with 3 inch platform. The other pair 6inch heel with 3 inch platform. They were screwed to alloy skate plates with high re-bound polyeurethane wheels. I tried very short childrens skateplates that just fitted the heels but found them too unstable and had many backward falls when trying to skate forwards. So I bought some longer skateplates and screwed the heels on so that the back of my heel was slightly forward of the back axle and WOW - I had great fun. I was able to roller skate on these quad skates with very little difficulty, and get up to a good speed.

I also tried the combination on sheet ice. I found that skating forwards was almost impossible, but had great fun trying to stay upright while the skates slid in all directions - really got me aroused.

Thanks for your help. I am now sorted out. I will order boots with 15 inch heels and 8 inch platforms.

Tezza (Sue)

It is not the heel height that you should worry about, it is the platform height. Every extra inch of platform height increases walking difficulty by 100%. An 8 inch platform will be very unstable on all surfaces except ultra smooth and level indoor flooring. Any slope in any direction except uphill will be very unbalancing and anything lying on the ground that you step on could make the platform wobble so much, that unless you have very strong ankles, it will cause you to fall over or break or strain your ankle.

Be very, very careful with ultra-high platforms. Take plenty of time to get used to them and let us know how you manage with them.

Good luck

I have a copy of the magazine, and it is a great article. Unfortunately, I can't find anything of an update as to whether she made her trip or not.

I would like to bet that she did not make it. The axles are so close together, I would think it took super-human leg strength, balance & poise just to show the cameras what she could do. I would think that actually skating over distance would be very tiring on all the balance muscles. I do not think she could have managed more than a couple of miles a day

The full house 8inch MJ's. I'm not 100% sure on the thicker strap and they look real ankle breakers. Will they be much hader to walk in than the 7inch ones?. .

Yes they will be very much harder to walk with. Of course there are many factors to consider.

1. What "lift" (height difference between the balls of your foot and the top of the heel) is your maximum comfort zone?

2. How well practiced are you with platforms?

3. How good is your poise & balance?

4. Do you realise that for every extra inch of platform height, the walking difficulty increases 100%

5. If attempting to walk on these huge platforms make sure the ground is flat, smooth and dry. If the ground is outside, something as small as a matchstick could cause you to fall off them. Deep pile carpets can be very difficult. Other things that cause my adrenalin to pump hard and cause me to get very wet when walking in mine are trying to go down a steep hill, uneven ground, ground sloping sideways, slippery surfaces, ice & snow, round topped cobbles are especially difficult and the nobbly pavements at road crossing points here in UK which should be avoided, as should walking outside at night if you cannot see where you are about to step.

Extra long trousers to cover all the heel and platform are recommended, because if you are having difficulty walking, if other people can see your heels, they will stare at you and that often makes you self-concious and even more unsteady.

But good luck with them and let us know how well you manage - or are they really ankle-breakers?

Hope that helps