blackslide

Often plastic zippers can be replaced by squeezing the runner with a plyers. The runner does not close the zipper all the way. I had a local shoe repair guy show me that. He repaired a zipper at not charge, and it took 30 seconds with a pliers.

Probably close to 200 pair. Like Dr. Shoe, I only buy something that is unique and high quality of a style I do not already own. Am lucky we have a second hand store where shoes are $3.50 and I wear size 9-1/2 - 11. It is not unusual for me to buy 2 or 3 pair at a time. I always wear women's shoes and have since high school (1966). Flats, heels, sandals, boots, winter boots, athletic shoes, and even safety boots.

I did a house foundation inspection wearing some clunky heeled mules from Payless. They have a heel that is as wide as it is tall, which is about 2-1/4". The owner of the house thanked me for the advice on his concrete problems, then asked me where I bought my shoes. He said he always likes new ideas in fashion. Unfortunately they were so old, that Payless no longer carried them. I did not mention he would have to look in the womens isle.

I went Christmas shopping for my wife today, so she was not along. I decided to wear my red stiletto boots, 3" heel (I know this is a wimpy heel height, but you don't come across any red heels very often, so I bought them - they look really cool), purchased from Payless last January. These boots have been hidden away since January and my wife has never seen them. I have only worn them at home after she goes to bed. Today I wore jeans, a bright red sweater and a genuine black derby hat, and an Adidas black letter jacket. I was thinking the hat may divert attention away from the boots, and if someone I knew commented about the red shoes I would jokingly say something about being Santa's elf today. This is a big step for me since I had never worn stillettos in public, much less red ones which scream "Hey look at me, I am wearing red." The jeans were long enough to completely cover the heel unless you bend over, sit down, or take long steps. All that I could see was the pointed red toe. I wear a size 9-1/2 to 11 depending on the style of shoe. For pointed toed shoes I usually buy size 11. These are 11s and are large enough for thick socks, and Dr. Sholls gel footbeds. They were very comfortable to walk in. We live in a town where if you drive a convertible sports car instead of a pickup truck, people suspect you may be gay. I have both so I keep them guessing. I have never seen any other guy wear women's shoes or any other item of female apparel. I started at an audio store to look at Sirius Radio stuff. That was the worst situation to start with. There were 3 guys standing around with nothing to do, and no other customers in the store. I was fearfull of a 3 on 1 laughing ridicule party, but there was not a comment and not even any stares. They were very helpful and polite. The world did not come to an end. I next went to the mall. The mall is tough walking the parking lot and walking down the inside past the refreshment stand where people are sitting down watching people walk by. I had a few long stares in the parking lot, but no comments or laughs. There were some teenage kids at the refreshment stand, and I heard them say "Hey look at that." I walked by quickly. I stopped at several stores including the women's shoe department at a department store (of course) where I bought a pair of shoes for my wife (she wears size 6). The checkout lady asked if I wanted the mate for the shoe I selected or a larger size. She must have noticed the boots. I just needed the mate. She was fine during the entire transaction, and I did not notice any looks from other customers while I was standing in front of the cash register. Three more stores, several purchases, and no incident. One guy walking towards me noticed the boots and stared at them as he walked by. It was like his gaze was glued to my boots. The look was puzzlement or disbelief. Next stop was an adult store - this is not a porn shop but a place to buy sexy party favors, naughty underwear, shoes, and many sex devices. In a small town like mine a store like this has to be tastefully done, and this one is. There were 3 young good looking sales gals, and they all greeted me on the way in. To my surprise they had fetish type shoes and boots scattered around the store and most were on sale (as low as $13). The hat trick worked or maybe the sales gals were patronizing me. They made a big deal asking about my hat and said nothing about my shoes. This gave me some confindence, and I asked one gal if they had baby doll pumps. She took me around and showed me some styles of pumps including the one she wanted to buy for herself in the worst way. In doing this, I overheard another sales lady and a woman customer who was trying on heels, talking about a new 40's style high heel oxford type shoe at Payless. I had just bought a pair of those last week. It was neat to be looking at women's shoes with a woman, and listening to other women talk about shoes that I owned. It felt right. I was tempted to buy some of the sale shoes, but the only ones in my size were some sleazy looking high boots with buckles all over them, and some 6 inch heels with 2" platforms. I am 6' 1" and do not need to be 6" taller, and I did not particularly care for the style of the platforms, and I generally do not like platforms. I won't say what I bought at that store, but it was a great experience. Next was the auto parts store for a case of oil and oil filters. Then to the grocery store for an anniversary card for my wife. All in red heels and no incident. I could not believe it. Valentines day next!!! Just for the record, I did all of my Christmas shopping in 1 hour and 40 minutes, and that includes buying oil for the cars. Also, I walked over a mile in these shoes today. I could have walked more miles, but they are only 3" heels. After this experience, I would feel more confident wearing stillettos in the future, but black instead of red. Red is really a come-on color for women. It works on me. I go bananas seeing a woman in red heels. I certainly do not want that kind of attention (from men). I am not sure if women go bananas seeing a guy in red heels or do they get turned off. I know my wife would be turned off - big time. I think red shoes at Christmas time makes a different kind of statement.

Well, Jeff you are certainly the hero on this site when it comes to being bold and up front with your heels. I hope you are not wearing MEN"S shoes??? There are many great styles of women's shoes that are more casual. The college kids around here wear heels with white socks and jeans. It is kind of a campy look. I try to wear at least a 2-1/2" heel every time I go out. I have some mocasin type shoes with higher heels that are pretty comfortable and look great. With your boldness, why not wear low cut flats for a change of pace? But please, don't wear men's shoes. How ugly that would be!!!

I went shopping for some winter boots at Famous Brand Shoes wearing 3" small heeled penny loafer syled shoes. I took my heels off to try on the winter boots, that were Sporto man made material boots that had about a 2" heel. There were women looking at shoes. None of them seemed to pay any attention. When I checked out, the gal asked if the boots were a gift. I said "No, they were for me." She immediately changed the subject and asked if I needed leather oil for the boots. I then pointed out the boots were not leather. I kept my cool even though I was wearing the highest heels of anyone in the store. It was very satisfying and felt cool.

Just bought a pair similar to these at Payless for only 14.99. With Dr. Sholes foot beds they are pretty confortable. Jeans cover them well because the heel tucks under the shoe. I can get out of the house without my wife noticing. I think Payless goes to size 12. Mine are 10's.

Thanks to all of you for your moral support and comments. Johnieheel, I have pointed out to her all the things she (and most other women) do that has been borrowed from men, such as wearing pants, ties, clunky boots, etc. As Boylegs so aptly pointed out, you cannot apply logic when dealing with women. For example, I have a beautiful original gold metalic Volvo P1800ES like the one Roger Moore drove in "The Saint" TV series. She says it is an ugly brown station wagon and I should get rid of it. It is ugly to look at and it may offend the neighbors. The common theme with her seems to be how she is percieved by others, by my actions, or possesions. We have to accept that anything goes with women. We have to live up to their dream of prince charming that they had when they were 10, and we have to be just like her dad. Her dad never wore womens' shoes (How many times have I heard that one?). JNR - You have summed up the situation. I do love this woman and we have a lot of fun together. In our last fight about shoes where she was throwing around the "D" word, she finally came to her senses and recognized all the good things we had going for us. I have many positive attributes, which I will not mention, but only to point out that I am a pretty good "catch" for most women except for one minor flaw, that being I wear the wrong kind of shoes. It is like the idiot who at a car show is looking at a beautiful show quality 1965 Corvette convertible. Inevitably he ignores everything that is right about the car and zeros in on the tiny little paint scratch next to the gas cap. In response to her demands about what I wear and not wear, I have pointed out that if what I wear makes her feel bad about herself, this is her problem and not mine. She cant' be running my life, to make her happy. It does not work that way. Will Rogers said it best: There are two theories to arguin' with a woman. Neither one works.

My wearing women's shoes (All my shoes are women's, even the ice skates) is a big problem for my wife. Her objection is how she feels when I wear them. She says she is embarassed. If someone makes a derogatory comment about my shoes, she says she feels like throwing up. In the past 6 months there were 3 comments by our "friends". "You look like twinkle toes, how big are your feet anyway?" (I was wearing black and white canvas shoes, and I do have small size 10 womens feet for a tall 6'-1" guy) Another comment was "I see you wore your dancing shoes." (I was wearing some womens oxford work shoes like a waitress would wear, navy blue, 1/4" heel.) Another comment "Your husband is wearing pink socks" (I was wearing same navy blue oxfords, the socks were more red than pink). After each derogatory comment we got into the big shoe fight, and life was miserable for days. I showed her my closet before we got married. She was OK with my women's shoes, but after 9 years of marriage she says I am getting worse (whatever that means). She is worried that I am turning gay or going to have a sex change which is not the case. She wishes that I would be "normal". We have had a several compromises. It used to be no higher than 2" in public, anything goes at home. The next one was she selected 3 or 4 pairs of heels that she felt comfortable with for me to wear in public. Now after the 3 remarks, it is "Don't wear anything that would embarass me in public. I dont' want to see you in high heels at home, and hide your shoes in the closet so anyone who tours the house will not see your shoes". It has become pretty restrictive for me, at a time when people seem to be more accepting of differences in people. My courage in wearing high heels is quite high since I have been wearing women's shoes since 1966. Since joining this forum, I have had much more courage wearing heels in public. Now I can wear stelletto boots to the bar, and no one has said anything....yet. I obviously cannot wear what I want when I am with my wife. I dug out a pair of men's shoes from 1992 and wore them at Thanksgiving. I could not wait to get out of them, but it pleased my wife immensely. Maybe there is such a thing as having high heel credits in her mind. I wear men's shoes, and that is good for one wearing of heels. Who knows? The thing about IQ and acceptance. I have been married twice. One wife was extremely intelligent, but it did not make a difference. She did not like me wearing high women's shoes. I think emotion kicks in and over rules intelligence. Maybe I really look like shit in women's shoes and no one likes it. My advice and what I have to work on myself, is to be considerate of your wife. She is what she is and I am what I am. Sometimes you have to put your wants and desires aside, to please the S/O and keep things together. My marriage is important to me. But so is being who I am. It is a delicate balancing act.

Great outfit Newfieguy!! Went to bars this weekend, one Friday and two Saturday. I have a great wife, but she is not into my heel thing nor is she into dressing up on Halloween. Friday night I dressed as Frankenstein with large wool pants, a long sleeved black t-shirt, and an old sport coat that was too small for me. I used green makeup on my face and hands. I put on black nail polish (the wife hated that, but tolerated it). Then I had a black wig with hair that went all over (to cover my bald head) then a green Frankenstein mask. The disquise part was Groucho glasses over the Frankenstein mask. On my feet I had some huge mud boots probably used in concrete construction. They were so big I wore shoes inside of the boots. The shoes I chose were 4" platform heel boots. They made me look taller, but with the construction boots and pants, it looked real. You walk into the bar, take off the glasses and act like everyone should recognize you. Take of the mask (it was hot and you can't drink beer thru it) and my face is green. It was a 3 way disquise. Had a great time, some gals asked me to dance. It was hard to dance, not because of the heels, but because of the construction boots that were 10 sizes too big. I did manage to twirl her around a few times and she was happy. Saturday night my wife did not want to dress up again, so I went to the local bar to watch 3rd game of the World Series. Boston 10, Colorado 5. I left the house in my new 3-1/2" stilletto heeled pointed toe boots with jeans. They were quite obvious when I was sitting on the bar stool. No comments. I was prepared with "Well, it is Halloween", - but not even a glance. It was great. Makes me think I could wear those boots to the bar anytime. Maybe people are getting more accepting. (nail polish was off - not that brave yet.)

I live in a redneck area of the west where minds are still very narrow. My wife is also dislikes what I wear. I have a fine line to walk in my narrow heals when I wear them. Dark bars at night are usually OK but lookout if some drunk sees your women's shoes. He (or she) can make a real scene. The ususal comment is "I see you are wearing your dancing shoes." There is a new style that is like a penny loafer with a narrow 3" heel. This feels great under jeans, and is not too noticeable. I find myself wearing these often going to the store or out on errands, and don't think twice about it. I have a brown pair and a black pair. It would be nice to be as free as Jeff B. He has a unique situation.

I usually try on shoes before buying especially if they are expensive. I have owned too many shoes that were not comfortable, or the look was not what I expected. One trick I used to do is to put the shoe on the floor (my left is the usual problem fit) and then try on the shoe while looking at a different pair on the shelf. If someone comes by you can kick off the shoe and keep looking at the one on the shelf. Now I just try them on regardless of who is around. One lady at shopping at Famous Brand Shoes walked around the corner while I had on a very feminine high heeled pump on my foot. She did not even blink. It was like I belonged there. I try to make small talk when checking out. A good opening line is "I bet you don't get many guys buying shoes like this?" The answer is sometimes surprising. I had one male clerk say they sold more of a certain style of boot to guys than to gals, and this was in a store that sold only women's shoes. A Payless female clerk told me a lot of guys buy high heels, some just to have them and some to wear them. It thought that was interesting. If there is a red-neck looking guy around (shopping with a wife usually), sometimes I will take the shoes and a pair of jeans into a changing room and try them on there. I had a tough experience last week. I was in a second hand store and had found two neat pairs of shoes (Bass red 3" heel mules, and some low slides in blue jean colored fabric) when a good male friiend of mine walked up to me in the women's shoe department (he was not shoe shopping, just walking by), I with two pairs of size 10 very feminine looking shoes in my hands, and proceded to start a conversation with me. As we talked he glanced down at the shoes several times but did not say anything. Finally he gave up and I went to check out, and another of my buddies walks in the door and starts a chat. He was good for 5 minutes, all the time I had these shoes in my hand and was waiting in line to pay for them. Again there were some glances at the shoes, but no direct questions.

I am getting in very late into this discussion, but I thank you for sharing this. My wife has very similar feelings to yours, and your post reminded me to consider her feelings. It is easy to become wrapped up in heel wearing and totally igore what the wife is feeling. I think you have acurately described what may be going on in our wives heads. It is also interesting that my wife's desire to wear high heeled shoes seems to have diminished, partially because she has worn them for over 40 years, and partially because she does not want to compete with me. I think she is disgusted seeing me in womens' shoes, but she puts up with it in return for me putting up with some of her quirks. Sometimes it becomes too much for her, and we have an argument which is a sign for me that I am getting too involved in my high heels. This may sound corny, but I give up purchasing any new shoes during Lent. It really helps cool things down between my wife and I and it also helps me get my own head back into persective. After Lent is over, the desire is definately dampened. I know the desire will never go away, but this is a way to keep it in check. I may give up visiting this site for Lent too, since visits here just feed my high heel desires. Just some thoughts.

I lived in New Brighton, Minnesota from 1960- 1975 and wore women's shoes the entire time. Will be back for a high school reunion and will have my 3' high heeled boots in October. That would make 3 in a city of over 1,000,000 people.

My wife despises my shoes and will never buy a pair for me, nor will she particiapate in shoe buying. But she loves sailing, and this year is urging me, URGING ME to buy new sails for the boat so we can be more competitive racing next season. I could rent her out!

I saw Oprah on the David Letterman show tonight, and I take back anything bad I said about her. This woman has her head on straight. She may not understand gays, but she certainly understands human needs and is doing something about them. I was impressed she is starting a school in Africa to educate young women so they can rise up from their poverty. She made the point that there are a lot of kids starving in this world, but if everyone with money got off their butts and did something about it, poverty would go away. She is leading the way in this effort. and I applaud her for it. I suggest the next time we get an urge to spend money on a new pair of boots or shoes we don't need, we instead send the money to Africa, or India, or to Lutheran World Relief or whatever charity will get the job done. It is a little thing we can all do, just once a year, or more often if the spirit moves you. I am going to do it. I challenge the rest of you on this board to do the same. Maybe you or I can make a small difference in one child's life.

My wife is a very conservative close minded gal raised in a rural area with rural values. I don't think she will ever support my heel wearing. She wants men's shoes or at the very least women's low shoes that look masculine, like penny loafers. We have a sort of compromise, I wear 2' chunky healed boots (White Mountain) that can almost pass for men's motor cycle boots. I wear men's cowboy boots occasionally because she likes it. She had quite wearing heels, says she has had enough of it and wants comfort now. She exists in flip flops and white athletic shoes. Not very sexy for me. My advice is to be considerate of your wife. Wear what is agreeable to her, and be more daring when you are alone. Your relationship with your wife is more important than what you wear on your feet, right? You also have to be you . A difficult balancing act.

All the more reason to educate her. I am tired of hearing "he must be gay" about anyone who doesn't fit into societies little boxes, no matter what reason. Driving a sports car is considered "gay" around here. "Real men" drive pickup trucks. Right? I would be glad to pen the letter, but it must come from the group, not an individual. I would not want freestyling to get on the Oprah show and have my wife find out I was behind it. She would freak.

Mr. Stilletto, I have the red heels and also have a pair of neat boots. It is my families and wife reactions I could not endure. My father in law is a very conservative farm boy who just would not understand nor approve. Best not fight this battle. Penny loafers will be ok. I can wear the red in the eveing after everyone has left.

My wife watched Oprah the other day and from the show she learned that gay men are attracted to guys with shiny fingernails, or that display other feminine traits. After which my wife laid into me asking me if I wanted to be gay or be picked up by gay men? What a bunch of crap!! We should write to the Oprah show and tell her about "Free styling" and that men who prefer feminine apparel are not gay necessarily, usually not. The other point of view needs to be heard. Oprah dealt us a low blow.

What I would like to wear and what I actually do wear are usually quite divergent. I would like to wear a pair of sculptured heeled black suede pointed toe shoes that are 20's styled, but what I actually wore were my 2-1/2" heel White Mountain ankle boots, that are pretty well accepted by my wife and no one else has ever said anything about them. For Christmas, my fantasy is always a pair of red classic pumps or high heeled stilletto boots, but the reality will most likely be my old reliable Bass penny loafers (womens). They are pretty generic.

I have over 200 pair. I have several "collections", high heeled boots, snow boots, vintage shoes, flats, heels, wild shoes, and many women's shoes that are similar to men's that I can wear anywhere without embarrassment.

I am interested. I have a closet full of low shoes too, although low to me now is 2". I started wearing girls penny loafers in high school. The styles are very similar, but womens are more sleek looking. My wife is more accepting of my low styles than of my high heels.

Men and women are wired differently. I recently was upset that our 3 year old grand daughter had only care bears and a toy stroller to play with. Three years old and she was being trained to be a mother already. I brought up some trucks and a bulldozer from the basment that my boys used to play with. She liked the truck, but put one of her bears in the dump bed and covered it with a blanket! What can you do?

P.S. And I am 57.