Spikes

I had a very interesting situation happen this week. I was working out of the office with a few female business associates. We were doing a photo shoot and had asked one of the background models to bring some of her own wardrobe both business and casual attire. Much to my enjoyment, she showed up wearing a pair of red stiletto pumps with 4 inch European cigarette or pencil heels. I was in heaven watching her walk around in those beautiful shoes. Anyway, at lunch I was sitting with my female associates and they started talking about her heels and how hard it must be for her to walk in them. One of the women said that the only higher heels she could wear were the kind that looked wide from the back and narrow from the side.........blade heels you idiot. Then one of the other women said she liked those tiny heels that were only about an inch high.......again, kitten heels you idiot. I obviously had more knowledge about what they were discussing than they did. Although I was enjoying the conversation, I really wanted to jump in and contribute to the discussion, but I kept to myself fearing they would think it strange to have all this knowledge about heels. How should I have handled it?

Black pumps are a favorite of mine also. There is a great Yahoo group that some of you might not know about. It is called Black Patent Pumps. They had their 2000th member join over the weekend. The moderator is particular that only black patent pumps are posted, no slings, no mules, no slides....just pumps.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BlackPatentPumps/

Cheers,

Terry

I'm in total agreement with you Dawn. Classic black closed toe stiletto pumps are by far, my favorite too. I was just recalling an incident that left such a strong impression on me as a child. But I have a question, you said you prefered pumps with 4 inch heels. I thought everything was about 3 inches maximum back in those days. Aside from some fetish heels that might have been around, when did 4 inch heels enter the mainstream of fashion?

Probably my hottest early memory was from a party that my parents had. They would invite the neighbors over on Friday nights, very casual, probably 4-5 couples including my parents. I guess I was about 10-12 at the time. I always wanted to be around the group, but they kept shooing me into my bedroom. I specifically remember this one occasion when one of the women was sitting on the floor wearing capri pants and Springolators. This is probably revealing my age, but Springolators were the first version of mules , except they had this elastic on the sole part that helped keep the heel on your foot. It was great to be around someone walking in them because the slap on the bottom of the wearer's foot was very pronounced due to the elastic, but I digress. Anyway, this particular night I will never forget. These Springolators were made of wood with a vicious metal spiked heel. She was playing with her Springolators by taking them off and on. Someone in the group made a funny comment that I can't even remember, but what I do remember so vividly is her taking the shoe in her hand and trying to jab the hand of the person that made the comment with her heel. Ouch I will never forget that moment, yet it was almost 50 years ago.

Everything you say about Payless is true. The clerks are very friendly, but finding a pair of heels among their selection is almost impossible. The shoes are not that well made either. On this particular trip to Payless, there were only two pair of heels in my size (size 10), the white boots I told you about and a pair of pink tennis shoe type boots with a 4 inch heel and rounded toe. I couldn't imagine myself in them, so I didn't try them on. I have had more success lately with the discounters like Burlington Coat Factory, Ross and TJ MAXX. They seem to have sexier styles and large sizes. In fact, all of the display shoes at Burlington are Size 10's. Are they doing this just for us or what? Burlington also has some great knee high boots with the very skinny heels....and they are very cheap, in the $20-$35 range.

Following the advice of many of you, I ventured out last Friday to shop for shoes. It was the first time at wearing heels while shopping for heels, but so many of you suggested that it really was the best way to let the clerks know why you were there. I went into Payless wearing a pair of 3.5 inch black blade heels from Nine West. Payless does not have the sexiest shoes, but the environment seems to be something I can handle, easy to walk directly from your car into the store and not many people. I was pleasantly surprised to find two female sales clerks in the store and no customers. The prettier of the two was doing markdowns in the aisle that had the sizes I was looking for 9.5-10 so she was with me the whole time while I was shopping. I don't think she noticed the heels I was wearing because I had on boot cut jeans that covered most of the heel. She asked if she could help and I told her I was just looking. Then I asked if she had placed all of the sales prices on these shoes and she replied that she was almost finished. I spotted a pair of stiletto heeled ankle boots with about a 4 inch heel and very pointed toe and asked her if these were on sale. She said that they weren't. Then she asked me what style I was looking for and I pulled up my pants leg and said iwas looking for something about this high. The look on her face was priceless. She asked if I'd bought them at Payless and I told her no that I bought them at Burlington and was she familiar with their shoe department. She said her boyfriend worked at Burlington, so that sort of broke the ice. I told her that I liked the stiletto ankle boot not on sale, but the only problem was the color. They were white and I told her it might attract too much attention. She said she knew they came in black and asked me if I wanted her to check with the other stores to see if they had a pair. I said let me try the white ones on first to see how they fit. I put them on and they felt a bit tight across the top of the arch. When I mentioned this to her after walking around in front of her for a couple of minutes, she said that ladies shoes were different from mens and that this would probably be the case with most I tried on. I'm thinking to myself, do I tell her that I know ladies shoes very well, probably own 20 pair and this problem is not common to all ladies shoes? I decide better of it and don't mention it. Anyway, she disappears into the back while I still have on the shoes and a third female clerk who I hadn't seen before follows her out to check me out in the white heels. She smiles and says hello, to which I reply, I like them a lot, but just wish these weren't so tight across the top of the arch. In the end, I didn't buy anything because there were very few that were sexy enough to even consider trying on, but the experience was positive and I spent probably 10 minutes with them in the store. My only regret now, is not milking the scene and engaging them more in conversation. If only I'd asked her to call around for me, it it would have bought me more time in the store with them. Oh well, I hope to get better at it, but it was certainly a rush.

That style of shoe is my favorite.....classic black pumps. I have a few pair of 5 inch heels and one pair of 6 inch pumps. It is amazing how much trickier it is to manuever when the heel height is only 1 inch higher. Although I have not mastered the 6 inch pumps for walking longer distances, I have learned that if I concentrate real hard on not letting my knees bend, I can do pretty well in them. Work on just locking your knees. It will force some strain on your ankles, but it seems to be the only way to adapt to higher heels.

I finally went to Imagehost and uploaded my Avatar picture there. Guess I was lucky enough for it to be the right size because I don't think I have any image editing software on my computer. As for the 5 inch or 6 inch issue, I'm pretty sure they are 5 inch pumps. They are a size 10. Maybe they just look higher in the arch from the overhead shot that was taken. By the way, I got them at Maya Shoes on Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles before they went out of business. I loved their shoes, but always thought the owner (a mature woman) was a bit pushy about making a quick selection. Maybe she had been burned by guys coming in and just trying on lots of shoes without buying anything.

I've been a member for almost a year now and finally figured out how to add a picture to my profile. Knowing that it will be a while before my icon changes from comfy loafers, I wanted to put in a picture that reflects the type of shoe that I prefer to wear. They are one of my favorite pair of pumps....with a 5 inch heel. Since they are red, they don't see any street heeling action, but I have a black pair of 4 inch leather pumps that I've had to replace the heel tips on twice. I guess that gives you some indication of the amount of foot traffic they get. Hope you like the Avatar.

Having a passion for heels, especially stiletto pumps, I have complimented many strangers over the years when I find them wearing a pair of sexy shoes. All the women have taken the compliment positively. As many of the posters have said, if you are polite and not creepy about it, they will most likely not be offended. My most recent encounter was a couple of weeks ago when I spied this woman going into the post office wearing a black business suit, jet black stockings and black stiletto pumps with little rivets on them. I waited for her to come out of the post office and stood with her at the intersection waiting for the light to change. Here is how the discussion went: Me: I wanted to compliment you on your shoes. She: Thank you very much. I love wearing heels. Me: I sorry more women don't wear them. They are so much more feminine than some of the clunky styles available. She: Pumps are my favorite style. Me: Me too. I prefer them much to platforms. Platforms are so clunky....I call them cheater heels. (I can't believe we are still walking down the street chatting about heels.....I worry because I don't know how many blocks she is walking) Me: Do you wear heels often? She: Most of the time. Me: And you don't find them uncomfortable? She: They are very easy to wear, if they are well made shoes. Me: Where do you buy most of your shoes? She: Oh, different stores. I really like the styles that Baker's has. Me: I'm sure glad that feminine styles are coming back. Did you ever buy shoes from Wild Pair before they went out of business? I always thought they had some of the nicest pumps. She: I don't think I ever did. Me: I guess they're even available on the internet now. Do you ever buy shoes on-line, like E-bay? She: I've seen heels on-line, but never bought a pair there. Me: You know, I was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago and went into Fredericks of Hollywood. They have some great high heels that aren't very expensive. She: Those are too high for me Me: Yea, but they are still very attractive. And besides, those shoes you are wearing are pretty high. (she stops and lifts her foot as if to check out the heel height.....I am in heaven at this point) They look like about 4 inches to me. She: Do you think so? (I wanted to crouch down and measure them, but restrained myself from doing it) Me: They look pretty high to me. Well nice chatting with you. (We have walked about two blocks together and are coming to a point where we have to go left or right...I was hoping she was going left, but she went right) Have a great day. She: You do the same. Bye! What a great experience. I have played it back in my head many times. It confirms these posts that, if you appear harmless and are honest about it, you can have some very interesting conversations about heel wearing. I was thinking that the next time I saw her, I might remind her about our discussion and see if she wanted to continue the topic, perhaps over lunch. It would be great to spend an hour with someone who admires heels as much as I do.

I wanted to relate an incredible experience that I can attribute only the encouragement of this group. I hope this story is not too long for posting, but felt some background before the story is important. I’ve had a fetish for high heels as long as I can remember. There was an episode when I was 7. I was playing hide and seek at my friend’s house and remember hiding in his sister’s dark closet. It was an incredible experience being in there with all of her high heels. The sweet aroma of sweat and leather has been with me ever since. I am now a 50+ married male living in the southwest of USA and have fine-tuned my fetish by admiring, collecting, wearing ladies high heels over the years. I consider myself a crossdresser from the waist down and frequently wear pantyhose and pumps with male clothing. My “public” appearances have been limited to situations where I can control who sees me like post office lobbies and mall parking lots. A man in black 5 inch stiletto pumps and male clothes definitely draws attention. But reading the messages on this board gave me the confidence to venture out into more public venues, if I just toned down the footwear a bit. I found this beautiful pair of Nine West short ankle boots with a 3 ½ inch stacked heel. Although the heel is not a true stiletto, it does have an excellent taper to about 1 inch at the tip. My first try was at the store where I bought the shoes. It is a large major discounter with all kind of merchandise from clothing to bedding. So I just left my “man” shoes on the shelf and walked around the whole store in my new heels. If anyone stopped me, I could easily justify the fact that I was just trying them out. I was tempted to wear them to the register and pay for them, but chickened out at the last minute. I couldn’t wait to get to my car put them back on. Being the holiday season, I needed to by my wife a bottle of her favorite perfume, so I went to Dillard’s, a department store with a large ragrance department, the kind you find with many counters and lots of attractive clerks offering samples. There is an exterior side entrance, so you don’t have to walk through the mall to get to this area. I asked the first clerk where this particular brand was and she walked me halfway across to store to another counter. All along the way, I was acutely aware of the click, click, click my heels were making on the marble floor. It was so arousing being out for the first time in public and not being embarrassed about my footwear. When the woman left me with the new sales clerk at the counter, she turned to walk away, but noticed my shoes under the cuff of my trousers. Standing about 10 feet away from me, I heard her ask another associate to walk over to her. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see both of them huddled and looking at my shoes. It was incredible. I wasn’t embarrassed and at that point, I didn’t care if she invited the whole store to check me out. Well that is almost exactly what she did. By the time I was through with my transaction, she had escorted no less than half a dozen ladies to check out my shoes. As I was leaving, I even heard the phrase “his shoes” being spoken by one of the clerks. What a perfect set-up for my first venture out in public, only women and attractive ones at that. I only hope that future encounters will be is positive and sexually arousing as this one was for me. And to you all, I owe a profound thanks.