Thighboots2

Barney,

Good find. I'd like a pair of those too. I am just a little concerned about the UK/USA sizing thing, especially as exchanging will be a lengthy and costly process. I usually take a UK10, Next's latest range runs to UK9 and I find those fine, but then toeboxes are a lottle longer in current fashion. Would be interested to hear your comments on sizing, toebox room and so on when you receive the shoes.

dr1819 wrote:

You know what I'd love? I'd love it if ANY manufacturer decided to offer a lace-up court shoe in a 3-1/2 to 4 inch heel with a rounded, instead of a pointed toe, and in real leather, which conforms to your foot, instead of patent leather pointed toes, which simply lead to serious foot problems.

That's exactly what we had in the 70s. It is certainly time that fashion trend returned.

Nick:

I add that its nice to see you back around too. GL with the venture. You said

and it is nice to have an ear to the ground of the deigners

remind them about the early 70s fashion, some of the Italian designs from those days were just superb.

Regards,

TB2

A little while back Kneehighs wrote:

But when a man (part of the group in power) seeks to assimilate with a woman (the group not in power) by wearing heels, society views that as scary.

So what was it all about in the early 70s. I, and almost every male were strutting our stuff in heels daily. Indeed 3" heels were considered LOW

All that is needed is for a designer in the upcoming London Fashion Week to put stylish heeled shoes with regular guy clothes, a celebrity or two doing the same, and bingo, we would have nothing to talk about.

It has been tried having male models strutting the catwalk in stiletto heels, but that is never going work. Shock tactics like that are to draw attention to the designer who is trying to get noticed.

People generally hate change, however, it is our nature to change, but usually change is steady and progressive. The re-introduction of heeled shoes for mens has to be a steady process, like the total acceptance of men wearing earings. It takes time.

I just hope, not too much time.

Someone else said earlier that some teenagers laughed at his quite appropriate heeled "work" boots (very nice BTW). I would have said to them that as a teenager, that was normal footwear for girls and boys and it's what I grew up with, and anyway, wearing a jacket or coat off the shoulders so far its half way down the back, wearing jeans so baggy that an entire football team could wear them at once, trousers/jeans so long that the hem is all frayed and scruffy, holes punched through various bits of their anatomy, all looks completely ridiculous to me and I would never be seen dead in such a state.

What on earth to the teenagers of today think they look like!

In the meanwhile, be yourself, be comfortable with what you wear safe in the knowledge that either you are a fashion leader, or like me, been it, seen it, got the T-shirt.

Happy heeling.

Joenj, Good choice. They will go totally unnoticed. Have fun in the village. TB2

Firefox: "English" humor, nice example. TB2

Nigel,

www.tallgirls.co.uk

Have cowboy boots. Have a look. I have a black pair and should get myself a brown pair too. 2.25" heel. The heel is solid "chipboard" so there is no hollow sound to it. The supplied rubber heel material will wear out quite quickly, however, the shoe menders will put on a proper thick rubber heel for you in minutes.

Highly recommended, and Tallgirls give a good service too.

This is heeling, albeit low, that ANY guy can wear with jeans and NEVER raise an eyebrow. Now put on a cowboy hat and people will stare (in the UK that is). Wear spurs with jinglebobs to complete the picture

Enjoy.

TB2

Well there is certainly an outbreak of boldness in this thread, so let me add experience.

Sunday, I was going to a company reunion BBQ so jeans and cowboy boots were the order of the day. I got my boots from tallgirls and they have a 2.25" heel. With me I also had my trouser boots and when I left home, I changed into them to help in the wearing in process whilst I drove. I had a 3 hour or so drive to the party.

I needed to stop off for some beer and food to cook at the BBQ and stopped at a large supermarket. I had a quick debate with myself about changing back into my cowboy boot (which no one has EVER commented on except to say they like them even if they are not current mens fashion). The very recent postings on here flashed through my mind, so I felt it was time to test it out myself. My jeans were long enough to look right in the heels. The hem finishing just 1" above the ground.

So I got out of the car and found myself a trolley and headed formt he store. The store was busy, not overly so, but busy enough. I made my way through picking up the things I needed for the party and through the checkout. Took about 20 mins in all, then back to the car to unload.

Nice thing about supermarkets is they have nice big windows that are perfect mirrors, so I could see what the heels looked like from the side as I walked. When standing, my jeans would leave about 1" of heel showing, but as I walked, the heels were nicely visible. Best of all, I didn't hear any comments.

Round to fill up with petrol and still no comments or looks I could detect. Amazing. So I carried on my journey. I had to stop for a call of nature at a service station and repeated the exercise again with no apparent reaction.

All this is happening in broad daylight between 12pm and 3pm.

For those of you who have not tried this, give it a try. It beats the lonely midnight walks.

TB2

Gang, Glad u like the boots. I agree with Ionic that the first pair with the slightly tapering heel are very unisex and I have no problem with wearing them out and about. When u look from above, the sole also projects from the upper and fake stitching is moulded into the top surface giving and even more "Guy" shoe look. This is plainly visible from the top shot in my photo kink in my first post on this matter. Ionic, to answer your question, yes I find the size 43 to be generous as I would normally be ordering size 44. The width of my choices is OK for me, but I may just try one of those that are offered in a wide fitting. Lets hope that where Next lead, others follow with size 43 and even size 44 as there are many women these days who have feet this size (my niece for one). The second pair are still nice to wear, but already I have had to replace the heel tip . The plastic they were made from was very soft and so wore and deformed easily. I hope the next set wear better, but with 13.5 stone or 187lbs bearing down on them instead of the usual lady weight of 10 stone or 140lbs (being cautious here), I guess its not surprising. metal tips would be sensible to get longevity, but then they are not so quiet. Doing stiletto heels in public is one thing, but that lovely metalic sound just doesn't help you blend in. Happy days. TB2

Well in the 70's when every man was street-heeling I bought a super pair of Italian black shoes with a 3/4" platform and 3.5" heels. I walked down to my friends house a mile away from mine with about a 200ft drop in the first 1/2 mile, a gentle slope realy. However, I do remember that I felt that was hard and much easier coming home again afterwards. Mind you we had beeen in the pub in between :drinking:

I had a second brown pair of heels and between the two pair, I lived and died in them. Never had enough money left after going to the pub :drinking: to buy any more.

As I posted in another thread (lunchtime shopping) I just got a pair of shoes from Next in size 9 and will wear these now for social work. They go nice under trousers or jeans and no one will care, and if LuckLad is lucky enough to have feet no bigger than EU44, they will work for him too. Jeans/Trousers 2" longer than usually worn with the shoes sold as mens will look super and be totally normal to the rest of the world.

Happy days.

TB2

LuckyLad,

Well done for going out. You'll enjoy it even more next time. Don't be surprised that you see more wear on the soles and heels of the boots as the sole is smooth adn the heel small in diameter. I see your in the UK, so goto http://www.stiletto-heel-tips.co.uk and you can get some replacements to fit yourself. Probably would steer clear of metal tips for the noise issue.

TB2

Jim & Dawn, Indeed the first pair are very suitable for being out and about in. As I say, I am looking forward to the next time the UK heelmeet comes to London and I can take a long lunch and join the guys for a bite too eat. The second pair are also nice to walk in, but you do have to watch out for inperfections in the surface, ie gaps between the paving stones on what we call the pavement (aka sidewalk). The heel on them is 8mm D shape. I did think the heel being so much further forward would make them strange to walk in compared to the block heels, but actually, it is just fine. They'll be in for new heel tips long before the block heels TB2

BootBoy09. Agreed, that is what attracted me too them in the first place. The slacks are 2" longer than I normally wear with standard mens shoes. Now should this sort of styling be introduced in mens fashions shows, I think it would easily take off. Walking in the boots is very comfortable. Wore them home last night and the block heel is nice and stable being 1.25" wide. I just wish some of the up and coming designers would look back to the 60s & 70's as there were some nice shoes specifically designed for men and our wider feet that would be just super to have today. We live in hope. TB2

Guys,

Seeing at Next crops up quite a bit in this thread, and I can't remember if this has been said anywhere else, however, it certainly won't hurt to mention it again.

Next are now going upto size UK9(EU43). I take a size 43.5-44 shoe, so as they have a nice free try at home service with free carriage, I though I might order these

and whilst I was at it, I thought I might try these too, after all the returns service is free,

Next also have a next-day delivery service, gotta say this is impressive. So they arrived lunchtime today. I was a little apprehensive that they would be too tight and I would have to send them back. To my delight, they both fit beautifully without tightnesss. Both are made of soft, suple leather. Joy, I have found a source of shoes that fit and are not from a fettish source.

OK, here is a quickie photo album showing the two pairs of boots

http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/thighboots2@btinternet.com/my_photos

The first pair are ankle length boots with side zip. Plain leather without any detail. A nice rounded toebox and worn with correct length trousers, ie just breaking as they touch the shoe, look as if they are perfectly normal gents shoes sticking out of the trousers. The length in the toebox is generous, so my toes don't come near the front at all. You want a 3.5" heel that is comfortable, look no further. Bonus is they are Italian made.

Turning to the Trouser Boot. The heel is much further forward that the Next photo suggests, however, they are still nice to walk in. Again nice soft leather, but this time they are from Vietnam. The heeltip is plastic, so quite stealthy on hard surfaces. The toebox is current fashion, long and pointed, and has a centre seam detail. Again, there is plenty of room in there for my size 43.5 feet. but the "winkle-picker" style for men has yet to come around to be common. However, they will be nice for the next heel-meet in London. I expect that Next will be on the route somewhere whenever the London heelmeet gets arranged.

So there you go. Two super buys.

TB2

Go to http://www.stiletto-heel-tips.co.uk they should have what you need.

Have used them myself, excellent service, and I need to go back for another set.

TB2

Nice one JeffB. I wonder what shoe size you are as the effective height of the heel will change as the foot gets bigger. Perhaps your supervisor is not remembering that. 5" for you would be similar to a 4" for her perhaps. From her reaction, sounds like you could be on for a "Girle" night out. Your Renetti pumps look to me to be a comfortable heel height. Keep up the good work. TB2

Wow,

I know I sgtarted this off, but I certainly didn't mean to see flames.

Mornington Crescent for the uninitiated should go to the central resource, namely the BBC Radio 4 program website for "I'm sorry I haven't a clue"

Heres the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/comedy/clue.shtml

THis program keeps me sane on m commute home on a Monday evening. You can listen to the lst edition at the click of the mouse, and maybe they will play MC.

Enough of that, Aldwych

Camden Road

Nhoj: canny play. The Bartlett-Smyte rules eh?

So The as DLR is now in play I will play - York Road

(If you don't know where that is, click on this LINK

Bank

Notwithstanding Gene's excellent advice above, if you do want to do it yourself and your UK based, then follow this link

http://www.stiletto-heel-tips.co.uk/

Baker Street

Orange

If the Shoe fits, Why not.

Guys, Glad you had a good day. Very sorry not to have made it tot he meet for lunch, but work made it impossible for me to attend. I dig my own ditch, so to speak, and therefore if I'm not weilding the pick, nothing gets done. Hopefully next time.

Guys, I'm watching the thread to see what pans out. I can certainly hop onto the tube to catchup with you once the schedule is set for the day, so just keep on planning and when the dust settles, so to speak, I will know when and where and lunch can be done :drinking: etc. Simon.

Don't know what your schedule is as no one has yet to suggest anything, BUT, should you follow a similar pattern to the Nov 6th meeting, then I will meet you for lunch as before. Work is still too hectic to allow me to go shopping but I can ALWAYS do lunch. BTW, 1st July is perfect for me. Simon.