Steve63130

Great post, HiH! I remember how much fun we had in the Nine West and Baker's stores in the mall we visited! None of the female customers paid any attention to us, but the salesgals were attentive and you found some things you really liked! I'm glad you're still supporting the economy, even if it's in Illinois!

It's all about having fun, and you do that very well! Best regards,

Steve

RonC,

Thanks for the confirmation of my supposition. And yes, I thought the styling of the Naturalizer "Glassy" boot was awesome - and unisex! But I agree the fit was poor. At least I didn't pay full price for it. Back then my cousin, an employee of Brown Shoe Company, got them for me at an employee discount, but they've since discontinued that perk <sigh>.

I guess I'll try wearing them with heavier socks and see how they fit, but I'm afraid they'll be too warm. I get really uncomfortable when my feet get hot.

Steve

My guess is that sizing is all over the spectrum and your sampling is too small to draw any valid conclusions. On the other foot, it's quite feasible that boots are expected to be worn with thicker socks than shoes or sandals, so there may be something to it. I have a pair of women's Size 12 Naturalizer "Glassy" boots that seem quite big on me, and I normally wear size 12 in a shoe. So I hear what you're saying.

Steve

BTBA,

Yes, more specifics please. What heels do you want to wear and what is your experience wearing heels? The last thing you want is to have to take them off because your feet or ankles hurt too much to wear them any more. Wearing takes practice and skill and you can't get those instantly. You have to put in some (many) hours to build up your foot muscles so you can wear heels comfortably. But there are heels and there are heels. Wearing 5" heels requires a lot more flexibility and practice than wearing 3" heels. So where are you on the spectrum? Don't start with 4 or 5 inch heels if you've never worn them before. You'll probably be hurting big time. Start with 2 or 3 inch heels and work your way up. Learn to walk gracefully and you'll be more confident than clomping around like an inexperienced guy in heels.

Steve

W6,

We look forward to your reports on your Halloween parties! Have fun in heels and strut your stuff well! Show them a guy can be graceful and confident (if not downright sexy!) in heels!

Steve

Funny incident! Thanks for sharing!

Steve

I don't often find anything at DSW, but I always enjoy looking anyway. I tend to do better online. I have seen some shoes there in Size 11, but rarely in 12 - mostly in the clearance racks, and for good reason. I can usually wear an 11 in backless shoes (clogs, sandals, slings) but for closed back shoes (pumps, loafers, boots) I normally need a 12.

Steve

I've been to two Nordstrom Rack stores (St. Louis and Columbus) and I was unimpressed with their shoe departments.

Steve

Most of the time we create our own world by what do or don't do. It can be our prison with no way out or our platform to open the doors to access more of life's choices. Life can be like a box of chocolates with all sorts of known possibilities to be involved or it can be like a couch potato viewing the television programs with no personal interaction or input ability to hardly any of the situations. It's our choice whatever consequences and/or rewards we choose to accept. This message is eternal and will not self-destruct at any time.

Why waste your life with television when you can do it with HHPlace? 

Just kidding!

Steve

I agree with Larry. If it weren't for all the encouragement from posters like you, Sleekheels, and others here, I wouldn't have progressed very far in my public heeling either. You guys are all an inspiration.

Steve

The demons are mostly in our heads. As guys we're afraid of what others may think about our masculinity. The truth is, you can never please everybody, so why try? Please yourself and your wife. You look great in both the boots and open toe pumps and if you turn heads, so what? You're educating the unwashed masses!

Way to go!

Steve

Yesterday it was almost 60F in the morning when we left the house. Still sandal weather. Some of you may know that we're downsizing from a large Victorian home to a small cottage at a local continuing care retirement community called Kendal. We are going from six closets to two, so we wanted to make every cubic centimeter count! I wore bootcut women's jeans from Target, royal blue polo shirt, navy blue sweatshirt, and my White Mountain "Terrace" sandals in cognac (brown), like the ones in my first post in this thread. We went to see the rehab progress on our cottage at Kendal, then went to Lowe's home improvement store in Columbus, and walked all over the store.

Then we made a trip to The Container Store to look at closet shelving and we ended up with upscale designs for two closets and paying for the shelving and rods to be installed next Thursday. The woman who waited on us was VERY tall (maybe 6'2"?) and casually dressed in jeans and sneakers. She was an excellent sales person and answered all our questions, made great suggestions, and best of all, was very understanding when I explained that I have more shoes than most men, and they're not men's shoes! She said you're not the first guy who has had me design a closet for a shoe collection like that!

So the good news is that we saved 25% because shelving was on sale this week, and the bad news is that we still spent a lot of money! Whew. I told you she was a good sales lady! Anyway, I had a great day out in my Terrace heels today, and our new closets are going to have shelves which will hold about 50 pairs of shoes and boots for me. YAY! The rest will be in storage boxes in the off-season. I'll still have to downsize the collection, but I need to do that anyway. Now I have a serious motivation!

Steve

Humans have a need to classify things to understand them better. We divide humans into two genders, male and female. But it's not that simple. Everyone is on a spectrum of masculine to feminine, and not necessarily in one or the other pigeonhole. Men have a feminine side and we're usually taught never to let it show, since masculine is strong and feminine is weak. That puts some of us (a lot of us?) in an uncomfortable situation. I happen to like carrying a purse instead of wearing cargo pants with bulging pockets; I enjoy wearing pantyhose or stockings, wearing high heels, wearing women's boot cut jeans, and sporting nail polish. Am I more feminine? I don't feel that way. I feel liberated, as a guy, to be able to wear what I want, and confident enough to do it all in public. I don't go around flaunting it; I just do it, much as any woman would wear jeans, loafers, shirt and tie, and not think of herself as masculine. 

We only go through life once. Make the most of it and be yourself, wherever you fall on the M-F spectrum. Enjoy life and have fun instead of worrying about what others think. Nobody was ever successful in pleasing all the people all the time, so why try?

Life is short. I don't have to be.

Steve

W6,

Great report! Thanks for sharing. Glad there were no bad incidents. Women are much more understanding. Men are so insecure as a rule. It was great that you could be yourself and have fun!

Steve

I was in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for a short vacation with my wife last week (to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary). We attended a convention of antique mechanical musical instrument collectors (music boxes, reed organs, player pianos, large outdoor organs, theater organs, etc.). There were about 200 people attending and we went on numerous bus tours to museums, private collections, and a theater in downtown Miami. I wore hh sandals every day. Many of the people know us and have seen us before, and we have some close friends we see often, but there were strangers we'd never met before, too. So there I was in heels, with manicure and pedicure in a copper satin color - not real obvious but not hidden at all, carrying a black shoulder bag, wearing women's boot cut jeans, and having a great time. I wore my new White Mountain "Terrace" sandals in cognac (brown) on the flight there. TSA didn't care one bit. The next day I wore the same style of sandals in black. Those heels were 3.5 inches and they are fun to walk in. I wore my gladiator black wedge Naturalizer "Tribute" sandals one day (2.5 inch heels), and my brown (rust) Born Belinda sandals (3" heels), and my Aerosoles "Born Free" black sandals (2.5" heels), and ended up with the Terrace sandals in cognac on the final evening banquet. On the flight home Sunday I wore the Belinda sandals. I never took any men's shoes or wore any closed toe shoes (it was almost 90 deg F and very muggy the entire time). It was a great week! I'm sure lots of people noticed, but not one person said anything to me or my wife. The only person who asked anything asked about my finger nail polish, and I just told him the truth - my nails tend to split easily and I used to use clear polish to help prevent that, but I tried color about 3 years ago and I'm having too much fun with it to go back to clear! LOL

Steve

Everybody has given you great advice here; sorry I'm late to the party. But confidence is the most important thing. Exude it and you will succeed. You have a great opportunity, one that a lot of guys here don't have, because you have a supportive spouse. Go for it and be good to her! And let us know how it goes!

Good luck!

Steve

My mother taught me that if didn't have anything nice to say about something (like flatforms, for instance), I should be quiet and keep my opinion to myself. "Better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to open my mouth and remove all doubt!"

There are lots of people here who don't like my choice of heels. That's ok. We all have different tastes. Let's just be tolerant and civil and get along. Let's focus on what unites us rather than what divides us.

Steve

It's a great look, W6, and you pull it off very well! Great job!

Steve

SleekHeels,

Great story about your encounter. If more men got out of their shell and engaged women in a respectful way, the world would be a better place. But these days people read so much more into it than just a compliment, so you do have to be careful and act judiciously.

HappyinHeels,

Yes, it was in Granville. Thanks for your compliments on our lovely town! I hope you'll come back for another visit sometime soon! We enjoyed having you!

Steve

Well, if I saw a guy in that outfit, I'd make an effort to compliment him on looking so sharp! Great job!

Steve

Jerbare,

Glad to hear you're enjoying wearing your Karmen pumps. I have a pair in black, but I don't wear them much. I just don't find the arch support sufficient, and although I've played around with inserts, I haven't found the right combination. But I like how the pumps look.

Steve

Amanda,

You commented:

"You look fabulous in those shoes" is correct!  very good

"Those shoes look fabulous on you" is wrong.

I agree. I'm a fast learner. Sometime back it was discussed that the proper way to compliment a lady is to emphasize the lady, not the clothes.

See? There's hope for me yet! LOL

Steve

Thanks for the positive comments from everyone!

Amanda,

I think your observations are correct. While most of us with the high heel gene look at women from the feet upward, I've never gotten a disapproving glance before. If the wearer sees me looking, I would always smile, and if she were close enough, I would pay her a compliment on her fashion choice. I think it's less creepy to smile and engage in conversation, even if it's just a short "You look fabulous in those shoes!" and a "Thank you!" reply that goes no further (which I've done many times). If we stare, get caught and avert our eyes, then it invites thoughts of "creepy."

Several times I've seen women wearing attractive shoes that I've pointed out to my wife, "I love those shoes!" and then suddenly realize, "Oh I have that exact pair at home!" LOL

Steve

Yesterday I had the good fortune to stop into the office of a professional woman to set up a meeting for Friday, and I chatted with her briefly. She had on a skirt and a very attractive pair of pointy black patent stiletto t-straps which showed a bit of toe cleavage, and I told her how stunning she looked in those shoes. She always wears 3-4 inch heels at work. She thanked me for the compliment and I said that I was an avid heeler also, lifted my pants leg, and showed her my black White Mountain "Terrace" sandals with 3.5" heels and a small platform. She smiled and said, "Don't you feel better in heels? I know I do!" We exchanged some comments and then I told her, "Life is short, I don't have to be!" and she laughed and said I'll have to remember that!

It was a very positive exchange and she obviously is very accepting of men in heels!

Steve

I always thought if heels for men ever gets going, it's going to come from a new company who doesn't haven't any long-standing reputation to lose! Maybe these guys can pull it off! Thanks for calling this to our attention, Kneehighs. It could be a major breakthrough. At least it isn't poking fun at the idea of men in heels.

Steve