Thighboots2

Logic dictates that womens jeans are made/cut to work with heels. Same goes for more formal pants/trousers. Simon.

^ and here's the link to the blog concerning Voctor and friend, and this is another. Googling reveals all.

Good find KH. Guess you saw them too. You coming over for London FW this year?

Simon

I second Dr Shoe's advice. My friend's daughter was allowed to wear 4" heels at 13 and now she has bunions at 15!! THe feet are not ready for the constrictions imposed by fashion shoes, let alone high heels at this age. Its hard being a parent, but controlled access is the key. Simon.

Jeff,

You are bang on the trend - read this from Luxemag.

Simon.

Histiletto, Whilst I can see your point concerning stilettos not being purely feminine, and you back this up with the other fashion examples such as long hair, earrings and so on. However, look at how those are applied by men. Earrings are plain and small. Big hoops and dangle earings are rarely seen mainstream. Long hair is left plain and not styled like women do, the list goes on. What do I draw from this, well that whilst there is a lot of common ground, the masculine application always seems to be muted compared to the feminine application. I feel this is true WRT stiletto heels. The more muted styling would be a cuban heel and that is the style you find on the very few offerings available to men. I don't say that men should not wear stiletto heels, far from it, they are great to wear, as are all things below the waist. Society can and does change/evolve in its thinking but it isn't an overnight thing. Simon.

Hi Willi, Ah the old night time walks. You gotta be careful with those. Do tells us your experiences. I find the best time of day for a walk is between 8:30pm and 10pm. Pick you area carefully and avoid lonely places. It really doesn't matter if you see some people as at this time of day they are still sober and whilst they may look, they keep themselves to themselves. A whole different matter is its after midnight. Simon.

^ and therein lies the rub. Stiletto heels, pointed toes are such feminine icons that men can't bring themselves to wear them outside of the privacy of their own space, but the overwhelming desire to do so remains. So what can you do about it? Having read the various posts from those who do there are a couple of options. 1. Go en-femme and then you can wear what you like. This may not be what you want to do. 2. Don;t just concentrate on the footwear, consider very carefully your whole look. Blur the gender lines carefully and above all stylishly and then you can work stiletto heels into the mix. To my mind you should ALWAYS consider the whole look regardless of the footwear as you are often judged on first appearances and how you look is essential. Consider carefully the places where you would go and also the time of day. You will find it far easier to wear stiletto heels to a nightclub than a mall. Take your queues from women. They almost to a woman will wear high heels when clubbing, but when shopping the comfort shoes rule. It is rare to see a woman shopping in heels above 3" stiletto or otherwise. Kneehighs has perfected this and his numerous postings back this up. I may be wrong, but it seems that he reserves his heels for socialising/clubbing and wears low heels at other times often emulating the female styles such as boots over skinny pants (which he carries off well 'cos he's got the right shape - lucky man). JeffB is taking a slightly different route with his skirted experiments, but note that as a daytime wearer, his shoes fit the conservative mould, not extreeme - as would a woman's choice be. You can do it, but there is a price. For me, I stick to cuban heels for male mode. Simon

Looking at the stuff on feebay, it sems a lot of people goto the outlet stores, such as freeport in Braintree, where they pick up the previous season stock and then flog it on. You might have a chance as the stock is usually very cheap as the likes of M&S & NEXT just want shot of it. Research essential of course, but maybe a better avenue to explore. There is really too many others doing what you envisage. Too much required to invest IMHO. The retail outlet thing has a better chance of working for you if you want to use feebay, but do check the fees. Not to say there isn't money to be made as plenty do. Simon.

Always been a fan of peep-toes, shows a good pedicure off nicely. I also loke the buckle detail. The plat is not too obvious and the current style of hidden plats as long as they are not too thick don't detract from the lines of the shoe. Nice. Simon.

Here in the UK we have "high street" retailers who do both mens and womens suits in the same fabrics (I'm sure you will have similar retailers in the US). This way you can obtain a mens jacket and a matching skirt from the womans range. Personally, I would go for a knee length skirt rather than over knee. Too short and it will look wrong. I also liked Heel-Lover's use of a waistcoat. I just felt his choice of skirt was too short, but that is a matter of my opinion only. You should steer clear of jackets for women because your man shape torso is just wrong for the cut. You are investigating the juxtaposition of male/female clothing in general anyway, and this is just a more formal example. Ladies suit pants, if you want to try these too, work so much better with heels than mens pants do. The slightly bigger cuff just sits better over the shoe. I do like the cuff on ladies pants anyway just for the freer look and how it hangs so much better, even with regular shoes. Do you have a nice leather messenger type bag? I think I would prefer to see you use that rather than those I have see you in the pictures. Again this is becuase of the juxtaposition of gender identity clothing you are working with. Having a male head poking out too much of a feminine look doesn't quite work for me. You do not need to cloud the masculinity statement with too much femininity. A delicate balance indeed. Simon.

Jeff, Well I see a lot of similarities, although I prefer the plainer skirt. Dale always seemed to be pictured in pleats. Not really sure he had the legs for shirts either. Perhaps you should try the skirt suit look, as our friend in NZ, Heel-Lover has done. That may be an interesting look and one that you may well carry off well. It may take a bit of courage to go that next step, but it could look very good indeed. You do not seem to overdo the height of the heel, and that to me is key. High heels, stiletto or otherwise, smack of fetish regardless of gender, and as you are moving trying to move the goalposts, avoiding that label is key. So far, I don't see anything you have done as attracting that label, but if I did, then I would say so. Simon.

Jeff, Your fast becoming the new "Dale Miller". Simon.

They can be pricey. My YSL Johnny boots start at £400, and go to £4000 for the real exotic leathers. Are they worth it? To me - yes, or I wouldn't have bought them. Means i can heel day in day out, whenever I want. I find 7cm heels just right as I get almost all that in elevation (foot mechanics mean the higher the heel, the less elevation is achieved), the cuban heel is wonderfully stable on most surfaces, beautifully made being soft and supple in the way no regular priced shoe is, and they are something no woman would wear - key point this - they are mens heels. I must admit I did have to think long and hard about the purchase, but it is something I have not regretted. Ask any woman about her Loubies and she will agree. However, they are not to many's wish to wear because thet are neither womens shoes nor stiletto heeled. I personally don't get it. If I want to wear stiletto heels, then I do a Dr Shoe. It looks just so much better and not out of the ordinary. Just wish I could do it as well as Tara Simon.

MIH,

I wondered why you ask broadly the same question as posed in the For Everybody section. However, since you have it would be a refreshing change if the male members would refrain from voting. How else can we get a proper answer to this question.

Lets face it, no lady in her right mind will want to give up her louboutin Pigale to a man, and I wouldn't want them too either. They are the very definition of the feminine high heel, but what would be the very definition of the male high heel. Only the ladies can define this for us as we men are just too focused on the most feminine styles.

Perhaps one of the girls would do the poll in the ladies section, but with a better phrased question as the term "heels" is just too broad. I for one would like to know where the ladies limit lies. Height of the heel also is a factor, not just it's name.

Simon.

This poll is still being voted on, yet I wonder just how many voters are women. Seeing as the question is aimed at them, it seems to be unfair that men vote as I don't think the male members here will be objective enough. Hence I have not voted.

Yup the sound of a metal tipped stiletto is music to the ear. I also enjoy the sound of a plastic/rubber tipped stiletto once they wear down to just exposing the pin. The you get the occasional metalic click thrown into the mix which I think is rather fun. It serves as the warning to the wearer that new tips are required as well - if they notice the sound which I am sure most don't.

GG, Those boots for a £1 are a steal. Nice spot by JA. Best part too is you can replace the heels. They usually screw on with a 7mm x 1mm pitch thread and are typically brass. You cna have a pair of super spikey heels turned up if u facny it. I did for a pair of Fuss I own, just for fun. 3mm is the smallest you can get away with in brass and it not suffer but it does wear quickly. Simon.

Hiline, Obviously he likes the cut of your jib. The phrase "Every cloud has a silver lining" springs to mind. Also proves that if you don't ask, you don't get. Fingers crossed it all works out or you. Simon.

Puffer, Whilst I do agree with your sentiments, Amanda's friend will almost certainly have equated the term heels with stilettos. Although I wouldn't use the stong term of "disgusting", I find it very hard to think that they are right aesthetically and proportionally to ythe normal male body. Kneehighs has often said that there is a world of difference between the idea of a man in heels and the reality of a man in heels, and perhaps had Amanda and her friend seen a gent that evening, nicely turned out and wearing YSL Johnny boots that have a 7cm cuban heel, the answer would quite likely have been different. Much as I like stiletto heels, I wouldn't consider wearing them as part of my male attire, cuban heels are a totally different matter. The male has become a pariah because of the multitude of sexual scandals that nowadays seem to be reported daily. A man has, because of the actions of a very few sick individuals, to be extreemly careful in is deeds, and spoken words as anything that is out of "normal" bahaviour is liable to land him in a lot trouble. Years ago it would be been expected that if, whilst shopping say, you came across a child obviously alone and distressed, you would do something about it. Nowdays, I am afraid to say, I wouldn't do a thing other than try to find the nearest figure of authority, unless my wife was with me. Again, years gone by, if I saw a woman by her car on the emergency lane of the motorway, I would stop and check she was in control of her situation, now I just note the details as I drive past in casethere is anappeal for witnesses later on the radio. What a sad state of affairs we have descended into. Finally Amanda has just reinforced the result of this poll. She is at least open minded and can see the concept that there are many men for whom heeled footwear is just that, and not a fetish item. If only the feminine side of men was more encouraged, then perhaps the world would be a better place rather than all this macho cr*p we have to live with every day that causes so much trouble all round the world. Sometimes I am ashamed to be male. Simon

Hi Shoemaker, and welcome to HHP. I hope you enoy your stay. Genuine men's heels are hard to find, but YSL have the Johnny Boot and Archie Eyebrows are all for men in various styles with cuban heels. Cheers or now, Simon

Good info, thanks, but you gotta go the whole hog for a Rocky evening, not just heels.

FXHH, Nice tale. Good your wife is OK with you and heels. Did you only go to the autoteller? what happened at the shopping centre? Simon.

Puffer, Likely to be the difference between versions of english. Such a wonderful language and one that has evolved differently depending upon where you are yet still you understood the meaning. Simon.

Pata, Thanks for posting. I agree with Benno in that the shoes and nails are not to my taste, however, the girl, location and photography are wonderful. Pics #1 & #5 are my favorites. Simon.

Steffy, the perenial problem. Standards are great, but there are just so many of them. This has been a frustration for all since way back when, and I would hate to think of the number of shoes bought over the internet only o find they don't fit quite as expected. Sadly there will never be a resolution to this and it is only experience that will guide you to know various manufacturers idea of what constitutes a size 12. Pleaser is a perfect example as the difference between 12 and 13 is just massive. Perhaps it is the point at which they change from a slimmer female foot last to the wider male last. Italian shoes run small/narrow too. My Archie Eyebrows shoes shown in my avatar are Italian made and I have to go upto a EU45 to get a comfortable fit, whereas I can usually wear an EU43 - go figure. I feel your pain, as do we all. Simon.