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That would be cool, I'll try to sort something out. When are best times?

I'm quite busy this summer but maybe Autumn? Suggestions, London, Coventry, Bristol. Coventry is big and central. Lots of shops. Have cleared some PMs now so they should work

Hi Tom, nice to see you are still here I haven't been doing so much of the heels in recent years... getting older! But still do when the fancy takes me.

Thanks people Yes, I wouldn't say legend But was one of the two founding members at hhplace when it was hosted back in the NL and I was also on the smaller boardhost set up even before that, dating back I think to 1998 or thereabouts

Ads here are text or low bandwith pics not streaming vids. A decent ad blocker should allow you to unblock certain sites so that may be a solution

I went to Torture Garden in London a few years back, I think after the 2008 heel meet. It wasn't bad. I like dance/trance music so that bit was OK. I wasn't really in tune with all the other stuff going on, but it was interesting to say the least. Probably most clubs you can wear heels if you want, but I guess you have to check out in advance what the dress codes are because some of them are pretty snotty. At Torture Garden you HAVE to wear heels or some kind of off beat outfit or they won't let you in! They accept any "uniforms" so I'd probably do that if I ever went again + heels of course

Ads don't bother me. Why should they? They are discreet and focussed. You either have ads or pay membership. How can forums exist otherwise? There's no such thing as a free lunch. Even if you are on a free host you will have ads served by the host. If you have an ad blocker, switch it off. It is like going into a bar and eating all the free nibbles every day but never buying a drink.

Yes have done this a few times although she didn't really approve. She thought they would hurt my feet.

London isn't bad. Lots of shops, lots to do; good communications. Or Birmingham or Leicester or Northampton. Somewhere fairly central. (By the way, I was never into organising special venues etc, too much like hard work! Just meet in a pub eg The Tottenham on the North West side of Tottenham Court Road/Oxford Street Junction next to Tottenham Court Road Tube... then check out the shops... have meal etc London is good because people are used to seeing alternative fashions. Never a problem there) Dr Shoe... where you living now ?

I think F Private and Simon Stayed at a hotel. Tara and Si at Davina's. I stayed at Davina's but in my motorhome in the car park. Cas lives nearby in Britsol so he stayed there. A load of others stayed in Motorhomes or may have lived nearby. I think we all wore heels everywhere - the people who came tend to do that anyway, but like HF says it's not compulsory.

Yes this was I think the best one ever for variety of things we did although the others all had their moments as well. Met up with HF on Fri afternoon for cofee and drinks in my motorhome. In the evening we went for a meal at River City and listened to the groans of the England fans in the background. Saturday was Buffet lunch at the Marina (Davinas Place) followed by a boat trip up the river Avon, and then a BBQ back at Davina's place. Thanks to Davina for organising all this and she let me stay in the Marina Carpark with my Van. Following on from BBQ we sat down and had drinks. Sunday, we saw the SS Great Britain which is next door to the marina £12.00 but very hands on and well worth a visit. Then I gave Tara a lift back to Wycombe.

Yes I should be coming down for three days. Hope to see you all there!

Thanks for organising this everyone! I'm coming down to Bristol in my Motorhome and staying at the Marina so hope to see some of you there!

Definitely come along Toffee. I'll be there! You don't even need to wear heels it's just like a bunch of guys having a chat over a few drinks about anything and everything.

Hi, sorry I can't make this one. Have a bad ankle from volleyball so it's difficult to get around for the shopping etc and no heels of course! But have a great time

At the moment a red vauxhall cavalier diesel. It's a 1.7 litre, 16 years old, done 180,000 miles. That's just run in for a diesel engine! It goes from A to B very well and does 50mpg on the motorway. I could easily afford something 100x better and newer, but I refuse to spend out on good money on depreciating assets, except if they are shoes

Some interesting points have been made, but without reference to the complete outfit worn isn't this is an unfinished question?

Maybe the question should be rephrased

'Do some women like men that have the desire to do/wear something different and pioneering?'

To me shoes are only part of an outfit.

They are part of an outfit to me as well, but they are quite a departure from normal wear so seem to raise questions on their own.

I'd definitley say the ones who positively want something different or pioneering form the minority. Most take comfort in the staus quo, as has already been discussed.

The reservations the indifferent woman seem to have are 1. Does it mean you are gay? 2. Won't the world fall in if we go out and you're wearing those? Once they've realised the answer to both those is "no" the shoes become pretty much a matter of indifference.

The arguments the opposed women have are 1. Religious 2. Social role play "I want someone strong to protect me" 3. Social norm. "You can do what you want in the house but I want do the same as everyone else in public." 4. Selfish "We women should have something we can wear exclusively."

Religious arguments have no logic so you can't really argue against them. Those people are best left to their own devices. Social role play requires thinking outside the box, and those feelings are strong in some people. It's the caveman type scenario of comfort and well being and even sexual attraction which is hardwired into some people. Amanda Snake mentioned that. You have to respect it, but there is some opportunity for those people to change their outlook a little and enjoy a broader view of roles. I think guys in heels and the right outfits can still be very masculine and strong.

Social norms again requires thinking outside the box. Some people aren't capable of doing that or just want a quiet life so there's not too much to be done there in some cases. The last one makes me laugh. It may have been true in the 1950's, but considering woman have expanded their own choices to encompass wearing trousers, suits, and having high powered careers then it falls flat. More power to the women that have done this; I believe in equality, but they can't have their cake and eat it, so the argument carries no weight in today's world.

While I agree with you in principle that women can be supportive, it's also the women on other fashion forums who've been the most outspoken against heels. Could be that data is skewed, too, as no decent caveman-like, testosterone fueld, irrationally homophobe would be caught dead on a fashion site, right?

Yes that data is definitely skewed too! On many "fashion" boards I've seen the majority of people posting are women, and a large number of them quite ill-educated teenage single mums with a lot of time on their hands. So the responses will tend to fit the readership. It's a massive generalisation I know, but general user profiles go together with many special interest sites.

The best way to get a more accurate impression is to go out wearing heels and meet a broad cross section of people in shops, offices, pubs, family, and social groups. Then you'll form a picture across a wide range of demographics, the same way as they conduct real life polls.

I suppose if we did one in Europe as we did in 2001/2/3 it would go back to being a "Euroheel" meet which we did with some success, but the numbers were more like 10-15 people rather than 20-30. Whichever spin you put on it, they're going to involve travel, shopping, and eating out, all of which cost £/$/E.

I'll add a small rider to my post and say that actually the average woman in the street is more positive about men wearing heels than the man in the street is. It's the women it seems, who are generally better at thinging through the fog of indoctrination on this particular issue. While they are much more likely to be indifferent than in favour, there is not the breadth of caveman-like, testosterone fueled, irrational homophobia you see expressed in many men.

The answers to this topic are somewhat predictable.

And the survey results are as well, skewed as they are by men voting to reinforce their own opinions, or the many TS or men pretending to be women on this site who will again vote to reinforce their preference.

I can tell you what the true answer is, and this is gained from many years ACTUALLY wearing heels in public as a guy, not from a skewed poll on a special interest forum, or some bedroom dreams.

Probably 50% or women are indifferent, 35% are opposed and the rest approve in some small or large way. Results will no doubt vary across countries. I'm quite prepared to believe that in very conservative countries 50-75% of women would be opposed. Probably also opposed to women wearing heels too in some places.

Most people are sheep. They follow the media, they follow how they have been brought up. They follow what they see and what they are told. But most of all they just follow. Many people are incapable of thinking for themselves. Those that can see through the fog, that they have subconsciously been indoctrinated with, are those who are worth knowing.

The media paints a picture of a slim woman in heels and hits you with it every 5 minutes on advertising boards, TV, internet etc etc. This is how babies learn what is "attractive" by taking snapshots of different faces and creating a norm. This process is hardwired in our brains and part of survival to learn to associate with one's own people in order to better survive and/or reproduce in the ape and caveman worlds

Anyone who has advanced beyond this stage of human development to appreciate a slightly more modern world deserves full credit.

Press are not interested in things like this apart from maybe running it as a "freaky" story. If it's not mainstream, then it has to be twisted into a laugh story. This is how they sell newspapers. The best thing you can do is get out and wear your stuff. There's plenty of fashion freedom and liberty to be had, but not enough people with the courage to claim their rights.

Beginning of Feb is a slightly better time, maybe the weekend before Valentines. It's a bit colder but there are still some excellent booted footwear bargains in the sales, if we have a shopping spree. If you get into March they've got the spring fashions out, and not so many of us wear the strappy sandals and wedges.

I don't think there was any problem. Sometimes meet ups are 9/10, sometimes 6/10. It just depends on the dynamics of who was there and how you were feeling at the time. This is the same for any gathering for any type of event whether it be heels or anything else. To be honest, I wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party on Saturday. I'd been working all night on Thursday and Friday was a busy day with lots of beer drunk and stuff done. I still enjoyed Saturday, but Friday was better for me. I think for a future meet over a weekend, we could organise one or two things to do for those that want, other than beer and chat. Ideas may include: 1. On-going Chess or Pool ladder/tournie 2. Best walking in heels competition (we have done this before - quite a laugh) 3. Excursion to play crazy golf or amusement arcade if suitable venue. 4. Street photography competition. 2 hours away from venue to get your best streetheels shot, and then a vote for the winners as viewed on a laptop. 5. Your suggestions etc.

I'm overweight, and it's never worried me wearing heels. I tend to wear thicker heels anyway, but it's just an attitude of mind. If you do happen to feel bad about it, and the heels are important enough to you, then you'll lose weight, I guess. Many women face exactly the same problem.