Puffer

We go in get a coffee and sit down and I crossed my legs un beknown to me that my jeans had come up my leg exposing one of my brown boots and then it happened. Some woman came up and said "Oh excuse me but are you aware that they are ladies boots!"

The manner in which this comment was made is not entirely clear but it sounds as if the woman was at best intruding and at worst trying to put you firmly in your place, Crushinboots. You might have replied along the lines of: 'How do you know; your intrusion tells me that you cannot be a lady?'

Reminds me of an occasion when, very tired and suffering from backache, I sank with relief into the last seat on a crowded train. A snooty-looking woman of about 60 who followed me on looked down her nose at me and said rather imperiously 'If you were a gentleman, you would give up your seat to me.' I could not resist replying 'And if you were a lady, you would not dream of asking', which brought smiles from other passengers and a look of shocked resignation from the woman - but she got my seat anyway 3 minutes later as I was changing at the next station!

First up I bought some new Cuban Heeled Chealsea Boots.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b202/thighboots2/FW245.jpg

http://www.pennangalan.co.uk/boots/FW245.php

They have a 7cm heel of solid rubber ... Winklepicker or pointed toe design so right in fashion. The elasticated sides are strong and whilst I am a male UK 9 - 9.5, I ordered them in UK11. Great fit and good comments from both M&F.

I've only just seen Tb2's posting and maybe he (or someone else) can clarify a couple of points (no pun intended!) as I am interested in these boots too. At 58, I well remember these Beatle styles in the early 60s and wished I had bought a pair then!

The Pennangalan website says that the boots run small and buying one size larger is suggested. Tb2 says that an 11 fits his 9/9.5 foot well so I am wondering if the 12 will in fact be large enough for me as I usually wear a UK11 (or 45/46) in a medium width. I don't find pointed toes a problem (and recently purchased pointed shoes have proved longer than normal and perfectly comfortable) but are these boots very pointed and/or narrow, which might be the reason for the 'one size up' recommendation? The website says that the rear lift is 5cm but Tb2 says the true heel height is 7cm; is the website wrong?

Does anyone else in the UK sell a similar boot, pref with a cuban heel? I have seen some pointed zip-sided boots in Topman which are both stylish and comfortable, albeit with a normal heel. They are not on the website (why not?) but are in the shops at £50 - and maybe will be in the sales shortly at something less. From news items earlier this year, I had expected the cuban heels (with or without pointed toes) to be more in evidence but it doesn't seem to have happened, at least in the UK High Street shops. Or am I wrong?

I'm glad you're fully conscious, Xaphod, (of the pitfalls as well as literally!). Not many folk would think of an accidental battery short as creating an obvious hazard - and the perils of switching on or off any light or appliance when flammable vapour is around ought to be better recognised. I agree with at9 that switching off usually produces a bigger spark (wot, no spark quench on your light switches?) but we only need a small one to ignite the gas! There must be thousands of switches still in use and more than about 30 years old that have poor contacts where a spark is pretty well guaranteed - especially when used with a fluorescent light. I know; I've got some, near the gas meter for example!

You can certainly do as jmc says, Muddypaws, if you do need to quote. But my point was really that, in a thread starting with a story, your immediate comments obviously related to that story and needed no quotation! But of course if someone is commenting on an issue raised subsequently, it may be necessary to quote whatever is relevant to identify the true subject of one's post (which posters often fail to do!).

The genuine Madrid does seem to be made in black (at least) in sizes up to 46 - but where in the UK can one buy them - or, better still, a cheaper clone?

I can now answer my own question: Black Madrid sandals in sizes up to 46 are available from Amazon in the UK. Interestingly, they were listed under women's shoes and I found them by chance! The full price is the usual £29.99 but there is a 25% discount on ALL footwear (male and female) sold by Amazon until 14 Oct 2007 - and free supersaver delivery on orders over £15. So, although our half-hearted summer is now effectively extinguished and no cheaper alternative has revealed itself, I think an investment for next year is called for.

With respect, Muddypaws, you really don't need to keep quoting an entire story when commenting on it! If this was in print, that would be another rainforest needlessly destroyed!

As an experienced leather crafter, I highly disapprove of the use of acetone, keytone, or any sort of alcohol on leather products.

Please don't misunderstand my earlier comments! I was certainly not advocating use of any organic solvents stronger than IPA or similar for leather stretching, merely bemoaning the fact that IPA, acetone, xylene and other solvents are not readily available over-the-counter in the UK although easily found in the US. I have uses for some of these solvents for other hobby purposes, much as Xaphod does, and am aware that they can be bought in larger quantities at sensible prices from trade suppliers - but not in every town.

I'm sure that proprietary shoe-stretching liquids do contain lanolin or something similar to nourish the leather but the carrier must be alcohol, however weak, or some other relatively 'safe' solvent of low volatility as lanolin will not dissolve in water alone. But, when something more than easing a small tight spot in a shoe is required, I'm not going to waste money on an expensive and unknown liquid potentially required in a fair quantity that can probably be made at home if the right ingredients are known. And my experiments with an IPA/water/soap mixture did work up to a point - as does vodka (basically ethanol), it seems!

Yes, Xaphod, you were courting danger when using acetone in a confined space - but as much from the danger of fire as from its toxicity! A friend of mine had a similar experience with a woodworm killer in his loft some years ago; the solvent was trichloroethylene or something very similar: toxic, anaesthetic and carcinogenic but mercifully not flammable. And if the vapour is drawn through a cigarette, highly toxic phosgene is produced - as some have found to their cost when using it for degreasing etc.

It is scarcely surprising that many replies indicate that, whether or not the appearance of pointed toes is preferred, there is recognition that a more rounded toe is likely to be more comfortable and wearable. But then the same could always be said of flat or low heels versus high. Personally, I have always found pointed toes more delicate and elegant and to provide a better balance to a high thin heel (which visually shortens the foot). For the same reason, I definitely like sandals and open-toed shoes but only if they are really open. A peep toe is, to me, little more than a boring round-toed shoe with the end cut off! And a sling back adds further class to a pointed or open toe shoe. It's also interesting to see that, whilst more rounded toes are coming in for women (although not totally replacing points), men's shoes with at least moderately pointed toes have begun to appear in the UK shops. In the early 60s, very pointed shoes were commonplace for men, sometimes with a squared-off tip, and were worn by most of us. I welcome their current revival and, having tried some, find them more comfortable than their ancestors - they seem to be longer to allow for the point (as indeed are the women's styles). In fact, I find my usual size may be too large in a man's pointed toe shoe, but that is probably because my feet are fairly pointed too! Topman has some nice looking and comfortable pointed shoes and elastic-sided or zip-sided boots, but with 'normal' heels. Earlier this year, men were promised (threatened with?) cuban heels too and there are a few around, but nothing too exciting yet. Are you listening, Topman? For those who cannot or will not wear a women's shoe, a man's boot with a cuban heel and pointed toe offers a low-key means of 'joining in'. What do others think?

It is this incident that made me wonder how many times this has happened where a misfortunate foot ends up on the wrong side of a stiletto heel? I could certainly imagine it happening on crowded dance floors, or in confined spaces like in trains or buses, etc.

So, in retrospect, the moral of the story would be; never stand behind a woman wearing stilettos!!!

Way back in about 1960, when it was quite difficult to stand behind a woman not wearing stilettos, I was in the queue at a bus stop in West London on a rainy day. The young woman standing at the front of the queue was suddenly splashed with dirty water as a passing car ran through a puddle and, quite understandably, stepped backwards a pace. Her stiletto came down on the foot of the woman behind her, piercing the latter's unprotected foot just behind the toe box of her court shoe. The woman in front came out of her shoe as her foot twisted and she fell into the gutter, fortunately without getting too wet or run over. The victim screamed, collapsed on the pavement and nearly passed out. Fortunately, a nurse (in flat shoes!) was also in the queue and gave first aid to what was clearly a nasty bleeding stab wound. I didn't look too closely and was rather glad that my bus came along at that point. I can't say the incident spoiled the allure of stilettos for me but it made me cautious of their potential for injury in the wrong hands (so to speak), especially when I later took up ballroom dancing.

well i know that evans shoes always run larger than they should...and their size 10s are indeed true to size...even on that pair

Isn't that a contradiction in terms, bigj3650? These shoes are probably a true 10E but not any larger. Other Evans shoes may be more generous; I don't know.

I agree that the high-cut top of the shoe (unlike a normal court) will not readily accommodate a wide foot and/or high instep without stretching. The consensus seems to be that some stretching to help here is perfectly possible (as I found myself) and will relieve pressure generally by allowing the foot to spread, but that only helps the length problem marginally.

if you sweet talk a high class cobbler he will probably give or sell you some softener.

High class cobblers? There's quite a lot of that generally in my area - but only one of the type you mean! I may try him, but I don't think my shoes will be stretchable without damage. And as I'm not nearly as pretty as your pic suggests you are, Doc , I doubt if my sweet talk will carry much weight - but a modest gratuity might.

I'd still like to know what the active ingredient of softener really is. But if I get some, I can always inhale it deeply and find out (or pass out).

Interesting post, Guy N. Heels; thank you. To respond: 1. Yes, I know that 'rubbing alcohol' and other substances (such as xylene and acetone) are on open retail sale in many US outlets, and at sensible prices. 25 years or so ago, it was not difficult to find them here either. But a great raft of 'health and safety' legislation (largely EU-driven and eagerly adopted by our nanny state) has made it very difficult to buy anything useful, at least outside industrial supplies and quantities. When I was 11 or 12, I regularly bought small quantities of trichloroethylene from the Boots chemists chain (to use as a polystyrene solvent) - but nowadays I could only buy it with extreme difficulty from specialist sources. Yes, it is anaesthetic, carcinogenic and toxic, but so what - I ain't gonna drink it or swim in it! (As an aside - and I for one am not looking for a debate on this - I am also confounded, but by the contrast between the US paranoia about national security (immigration etc) and the freedom with which, once there, one could so easily buy dangerous chemicals, guns and other weapons to kill one's neighbours (or oneself).) 2. Can you (or someone) tell me what the active constituent of proprietary shoe-stretching liquid actually is? If (as I believe) it is IPA or something very similar, I see no reason why a mixture like I used should not be effective. It seemed to work for me and did no harm to the shoes; others have reported similar success. 3. I agree with you about the impraticality of any significant shoe length-stretching. That is why I used only modest pressure and stopped the process before any damage was done. Easing the width did allow the shoes to fit (just) because my feet were no longer compressed, but clearly the limited length was still the barrier to comfort.

Yes, the 10E was the largest size made (as I said before) but I doubt that my pair were wrongly marked, just that the style was less accommodating to a 'one size up' foot than I was led to believe was normal with Essence. I did achieve a stretch in both length and width by my method, albeit not enough. Are you saying, Doctor Shoe, that a proprietary leather softener would likely get better results than my IPA mixture? My understanding is that these softeners are of similar composition - IPA, water and soap - and (as with so many 'branded' products) merely an expensive way of buying a fairly simple substance. Anyway, I've identified a ready source of IPA for those what wants it. (And don't confuse this IPA - isopropyl alcohol - with 'India Pale Ale', an altogether more drinkable stimulant!)

As a ‘toe in the water’ experiment (apt phrase – as will shortly become clear), I recently invested in a pair of Evans Essence loafers (style 6400) in the largest size made, described as 10E (which is UK sizing). These shoes are essentially masculine in appearance, apart from the almost 3” chunky heel, and looked ideal for a cautious first-timer; see pic below.

Although I normally wear a size 11 (45), my understanding is that Evans sizes run large and I hoped these shoes would fit me. Alas, they proved almost impossible to get on at all and I am doubtful that they were even a true size 10. However, as they are of good quality and all leather (apart from sole and heel), I decided to try some careful stretching. Having read the collective (and slightly contradictory) wisdom in HHP on stretching, I was not entirely sure what technique would work but decided to try a water/isopropyl alcohol/soap mixture, together with adjustable shoe trees and extra newspaper stuffing.

Getting hold of isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) in the UK does not seem to be easy. Even the independent pharmacies said that they were unable to supply - or maybe just unwilling. Boots told me that it ‘couldn’t sell alcohol’, which ignores the composition of methylated spirit and surgical spirit, both of which are freely available! Then, by chance, I discovered that Maplin sells IPA in 400ml aerosols and 1 litre cans; made by Servisol, it is widely used in cleaning electronic items, switchgear, tape heads etc. I bought the litre can for £10.99. I don’t know the concentration but it seems fairly high, as one would expect when intended for cleaning purposes.

A few experiments showed that a mixture of about 2 parts water + 1 part IPA + a few drops of washing-up liquid would wet leather nicely and not evaporate too quickly. I duly wetted the inside of the shoes thoroughly and rubbed more mixture into the outsides with a rag. After inserting the shoe trees and paper stuffing, I left the shoes for several hours. They did indeed stretch slightly (length and width) and I could then just get them on. I repeated the exercise twice more and achieved a further stretch in the tightest places but, alas, could still not get them to fit me without significant pain. The shoes were not damaged at all (apart from very slight creasing of the leather, as one would expect when any new shoe is first put on) but I am reluctant to try any more stretching. I think that the very blunt toebox and fairly robust construction militates against much stretching, at least lengthwise. (As an aside, I have found that I can usually get into a 10 in the more pointed styles of men’s shoes; indeed, an 11 is too roomy and certainly too long in the toe.)

I therefore have a pair of brand new, good quality shoes which are slightly stretched and would comfortably fit a medium-width size 10 foot – which is not much use to me with my size 11 feet. So, unless anyone can offer some further advice on making them fit, I shall offer them for sale. Any ideas, please?

I suppose that, logically, it might be easier for a one-legged person supported on one or two crutches to cope with a very high heel. After all, with a little practice, much of the weight can be taken off the foot (especially with two crutches) and the shoe is then almost a passenger on the foot rather than giving it full support. (Having recently used crutches during a bout of sciatica, I soon found out how different it was to walk with them.) An amputee in a high heel can, I suggest, be compared with the woman in the very high heeled (or, more precisely, thick soled) 'chopines' worn in the 16th century, which required her to be given the support of a servant or a walking stick.

Please get a pro to do it. My dad was killed by asbestosis

A sad loss, designer. Your concerns are well understood but are really unfounded in relation to Artex. As already stated above, Artex has not contained asbestos for many years and, even when it did, the component was white asbestos, which is not yet a banned substance and much less hazardous than brown or blue asbestos.

Once mixed, applied and set, Artex became a solid and quite stable coating as the asbestos was bound together with the other components. If then overpainted, the surface would be effectively sealed too. Much the same applies to those solid wall and ceiling boards which contained some asbestos as a fireproofing agent and are still sometimes found as protective coverings behind boilers, cookers etc.

That said, any material that can create a fine dust when handled, cut, abraded or pulverised should be treated with caution and it makes sense to wear a mask. But, if ceiling/wall plaster, Artex or similar coatings are removed 'wet' (e.g. using steam or soaking, then scraping), there will be a messy sludge rather than dust and very little chance of breathing in unpleasant substances. It makes sense too to wet the ceiling etc first even if it is being taken down in pieces as that will keep the dust down.

The place to be wary of asbestos - and engage a pro if it requires removal - is where lagging has been carried out, which usually involves brown or blue asbestos. This will be typically around service pipes and behind ceiling or wall panels, boiler casings and the like. You are not likely to find it in 'loose' form in the conventional home - unless you have a large pile with a boiler room, cold store or similar.

Unless the ceiling or wall is very uneven or badly damaged, it will usually be simpler and quicker to patch repair and skim over existing Artex or similar coating with plaster before redecorating. Whether you DIY or not depends mainly on your skills rather than on any safety issues!

Yes, Richie, I know the feeling. Right now, I'm taking down the third (and I hope final) lath-and-plaster ceiling requiring replacement here. Size is 23' x 15' so I have to put up 12 plasterboards, then ceiling to be skimmed (not by me) and new plaster cornice and centre boss to be fixed (me again!). The lovely Victorian cornice was partially removed by a previous Phillistine owner and I have no option but to replace it all as it will be too costly to copy and fill in missing lengths.

An interesting property, Fog. Is this your Horsham residence or somewhere else? How old is it? Are you doing most of the work yourself? Reminds me somewhat of my wife's former home in East Sussex, circa 1500 and with roughcast plaster walls. When I did some renovation there I found it more difficult to get an acceptable rough finish to match the old work than to plaster a flat wall to a good finish. Now we have a large Victorian house with generally crumbling plaster walls which need extensive refinishing in most rooms. My plastering skills have improved greatly thru practise over the last 7 years but I ain't finished yet! But I don't do ceilings, especially those 10' high - although heels might help there!

Well done, Fog. But I was disappointed to see no pictures of your latest handiwork on your site - only boring ones of heels etc!! If you need more Artex, B&Q at Shoreham had on 4 Aug several large split bags at only 50p each - a very good deal. I would have bought the lot but my current needs are modest and Thistle Multi was the main required stuff that day. (No, I don't live near Shoreham but was working on my son's house at Brighton.)

As already mentioned above, Roger and Sarah did post here in the past but chose to 'go away' as they made it clear that they did not approve of some topics on this board or of male heel wearing. It's interesting to see that the RoSa range has now been extended to include a higher 4.5 - 5" stiletto, despite their original statements that they would stick with their 'medium' heels. If that decision can be overturned, maybe they will also produce larger sizes in the future, but I somehow doubt it. Personally, I like the elegance of these shoes, although I can agree that the toes are extreme. It would be good to see their slingbacks and other styles introduced with the higher heels, alongside the existing plain courts. The videos are worth seeing, particularly that set in the hotel. The outside scenes appear to be mostly shot in Brighton, e.g. the station, North Street, Churchill Square and St. Nicholas's Churchyard. The stills gallery is good too; I wonder who the 'RoSa Sisters' are - they certainly make a stunning team. Has anyone seen these shoes being worn in public yet? I think we should look out for them as they are quite distinctive. I doubt that anyone here who has criticised them would fail to look and admire!

Yes - I have. At a hotel about 10 years ago, I saw a very attractive and well-dressed young woman (about 25) with only one leg. She arrived in a wheelchair and wore a very smart black patent slingback shoe with pointed toe and stiletto heel about 5" high on her single foot. Her male companion helped her out of the chair and kept close to her as she walked confidently into a wedding reception, supported by a single crutch. Presumably, the poor girl had recently lost a leg in an accident (and had yet to receive an artificial leg) but was not going to let it spoil her day. She was certainly a headturner - brave as well as beautiful. I wonder if she carried on with heels after getting an artificial leg - Heather Mills McCartney seems to manage with her very realistic prosthetic limb.

With summer here at last in the UK (but I'm not holding my breath), it is sandal time. These sandals (Birkenstock - 'Madrid') www.natuerlich.de/uploads/Artikel/040793l.gif and close copy styles are very popular with the ladies and widely available from many sources from around £5 upwards; genuine Birks at around £30 seem overpriced to me, regardless of the quality. Why can't we men buy this type of 'neutral' sandal in the UK in sizes above 42 or 43? Flat and boring this style may be - but cool, comfortable and much more flattering to the male foot than most of the (usually heavy) men's sandal styles. But what do others think?

The genuine Madrid does seem to be made in black (at least) in sizes up to 46 - but where in the UK can one buy them - or, better still, a cheaper clone? If imported from Germany, they would cost at least £30 delivered and I am not happy with that!

I am somewhat suprised that the girls mother was not aware of all the different outlets that could have supplied her daughter with fashionable street style large size shoes other than a shop for TS/TV's .

You are quite right, barney - I was equally surprised when I saw the programme. Tara's mother appeared very sensible and caring and I would have expected her to have made a few successful enquiries about sources of large-sized shoes, internet or otherwise. As you suggest, Evans is never far away and some Barratts branches do the large sizes too; both have outlets within reach of Tara in Bendenden. The mother did make a reference to the fetish shop being one of two possible sources of shoes; I wonder what the other was?

On 12 July, ITV1 in the UK showed a documentary about three very tall teenagers. One was a pretty and self-assured girl from Benenden, Kent, named Tara Savage. Tara had just turned 13 and was 6ft 1in tall and was wearing around size 11 UK in shoes. (Medical opinion was that she would probably grow no taller than 6ft 3in – quite a relief to Tara and her mother, who had feared she might end up nearer 7ft.)

One sequence showed Tara and her mother calmly visiting a shop that supplied clothes and shoes for transvestites and therefore stocked shoes in sizes large enough for Tara – almost her only source of shoes to fit her, according to mum. Apparently, the shop was Fantasy Girl in Folkestone and showed Tara being served by a transvestite, whilst another TV ‘customer’ enquired about shoes – although the Fantasy Girl forum suggests that the whole thing was stage-managed and the customer was a drag artist hired by the programme makers. Nevertheless, the sequence came over as sympathetic and without anyone being ridiculed. The shop manager said that stocks were erratic because her main supplier, in Leicester (Hayway?) had gone out of business and another had been taken over by a tutu manufacturer!

Mum said that Tara’s boarding school allowed the girls to wear court shoes although (unsurprisingly) the heels could not be too high. Tara was shown trying courts and sandals with stilettos 3 – 4” high and apparently bought some. It was interesting (and perhaps inspiring) to see that a very tall teenage girl found help from a shop selling female shoes intended for men and was, despite her height, willing (and seemingly keen) to wear something other than flatties. I wonder how often other women buy ‘men’s female’ shoes, whether from choice or necessity?

As mentioned above, Balderdash & Piffle addressed the etymologyof a number of words relating to fashion and several OED entries were updated after viewers provided evidence of earlier usage. Nothing very spectacular but the programme included some interesting archive clips of stilettos and flip-flops. Before the revision, the OED admitted no usage of the terms earlier than 1959 and 1970 respectively (which was clearly far too late in the day); the essence of their revised dictionary entries is as follows:

stiletto heel: ‘a very narrow, high heel on women's shoes, fashionable esp. in the 1950s; a shoe with such a heel.’. The OED cites an advertisement in the Independent-Press-Telegram (Long Beach, Calif.) for 7 Sept 1952 as the first reference, viz. ‘The new 'stiletto' heel Vogue raves about.’. The earliest verified use of the shortened form ‘stiletto’ to mean a stiletto heel was in the Newark (Ohio) Advocate for19 Mar 1953.

flip-flop: ‘A plastic or rubber sandal consisting of a flat sole and straps’, which is now verified by the 1960 diary entry of a lady purchaser.

Bearing in mind that the OED primarily addresses UK usage, some of us might feel that the OED entries are not wholly correct. The apparent origin of the stiletto heel in 1952 is interesting; I for one have my doubts that so-called stiletto heels at that time were nearly as thin or curvy as those which became the norm a few years later. It all depends on one’s view of ‘very narrow’. Likewise, one might argue that the definition of a flip-flop is too precise in that many so-called flip-flops are made of materials other than plastic or rubber and are not necessarily flat. Perhaps ‘typically consisting’ would be a better definition. I would not argue that a flip-flop must have a toe-post (as many people refer to almost any open mule/slide as a flip-flop for the simple reason that it flops up and down when worn) but the basic oriental toe post sandal is clearly the original.

As to the all-too ubiquitous ‘trainer’, perhaps the least said the better. Suffice it to say that (surprisingly), the OED can find no evidence of usage before 1978, apart from a 1968 use by Gola as a trade name (i.e. the name of a particular shoe model)