Alexa

Perhaps an equally interesting question would be how long you've gone without putting heels on. I think over the past year the longest I've gone without heels is around eight hours whilst I'm in bed. As I've said elsewhere, I tend to slip my shoes off when I'm at my desk, or occasionally I wear flat boots when walking, but my feet are seldom out of heels for long! Alexa

Twenty seven celsius sounds very warm for boots to me! And I consider myself to be something of a boot addict. I tend to find that in really warm weather boots are OK for a couple of hours socialising in the evening but would be a bit hot and sticky for all day wear. Maybe if I was working at a desk and could unzip them for part of the time it would be easier. In fact, I've got a pair of boots here in the office in a drawer, just in case I feel like wearing them for a particular appointment or event. That way I can be booted when it really counts and yet keep my feet reasonably fresh for the day. Alexa

Ha ha – I work in an office, and spend my time in front of a computer screen and going to meetings, so it’s not exactly dirty work! However, there is a toilet on our floor which is like a self-contained little washroom. You can lock yourself in and enjoy having your own washbasin, hot air hand drier and paper towels. So I sometimes pop in there for a bit of privacy if I need to freshen up. The washbasin is really low so you can get your feet in it if need be. There’s even a bunch of flowers in there sometimes, so it feels quite homely.

Alexa

No, no socks on Saturday. I don’t like anything between me and my beloved shoes! Incidentally, perhaps because of the salt water, or the amount of padding they have, they’re taking a long time to dry out. I checked them just now and they still feel a little damp. I did wear socks with walking boots on Sunday but we didn’t play in any water along the way. As I’ve mentioned in another thread, I think walking boots are a bit too ‘flat’ for me now that my feet have become adapted to high heels – my calves were aching on Monday and Tuesday. So those platform trainers will be getting a lot more use whenever there is walking to be done.

Jane, that would be a fantastic achievement, getting wet in a pair of creations from Christian Louboutin. What a thought to conjure with!

Alexa

I find myself echoing Leigh’s sentiments here. I find with many high street styles the manufacturers have spoiled the visual appeal of a perfectly good shoe with diamante details, Swarovski crystals, buckles and bows which mean that it’s hard for me to find them attractive. Generally, I tend to like things that are plain and black, so you can appreciate the aesthetics of the heel and the line of the foot. Consequently, I find myself doing a lot of my shoe shopping online. There are a few decorated styles I like, but these are very rare.

Alexa

Yes, we were in quite deep, up to our thighs at one point, and were splashing each other too. I did wonder whether to go the whole hog and get my top and bra wet too, but we were at the coast and it was breezy so that would have been a little too chilly, despite the sun being out.

I’m pleased to hear you’re experimenting with higher heels Heidi. Practice makes perfect!

Alexa

This weekend I had two long walks, and the results have convinced me that I am indeed stuck in high heels. On Saturday my partner and I had a long beach walk for which I wore some platform trainers, which don’t look as bad as they sound, and hold my feet at an angle so are kind to my shortened Achilles tendons and calf muscles. Here they are:

http://www.newrockdirect.co.uk/new-rock/new-rock-cyber/new-rock-cyber-cib010-c1.html

This wasn’t too bad, so when we went out again on Sunday I wore my usual walking boots and we went for several miles along cliff top paths. I wish I hadn’t now, as my calf muscles are really aching today!

Alexa

I went over to the east coast this weekend with my partner and had a long beach walk along the coast north of Saltfleet. I got some platform trainers like this recently

http://www.newrockdirect.co.uk/new-rock/new-rock-cyber/new-rock-cyber-cib010-c1.html

and I’m pleased to say they got a thorough christening. I had great fun steering us towards the sea, and trying to ease my partner gently into the water. There were a couple of places where streams run out down the beach which we waded through too, so all in all a good day. My jeans were soaked too, but it was warm enough to ensure that I‘d stopped dripping by the time we went back to the car, and were OK later in a quiet restaurant we stopped at in the way back to the hotel. My shoes squelched a bit, but not too loudly!

Alexa

Heidi, you’re a performer! How splendid. It’s great to hear you get up to things like this as well as working in an office. I hope it went really well and there were no unexpected slips and trips. How did you get on?

I trod the boards once or twice myself when I was younger. Amateur dramatics as a student, plus being with some friends in a band. It’s scary being on stage, but exciting too. Plus it’s a chance to be someone else for a little while – a character in a play, a rock star, a performer. And the sheer joy of being the sourced of people’s pleasure - that''s something else altogether.

Alexa

It takes effort, but it's rewarding effort. I think of it like playing a musical instrument or practicing a craft skill. The key is practice, practice, practice. But it's so worth it! Alexa

I like the noise shoes make when I slip them on. The sound of the heel cup sliding over the ball of my heel. It's very subtle, but sounds somehow like they're fitting snugly and that I'm fully armed and ready to face the world. Alexa

They were my Demonia Stack platforms. Only calf length, but I wore them with a long skirt so all that was showing at ground level was the platforms of the boots. That's a look I really like - it implies your shoes are really high. Alexa

Well, I wouldn't want to get dirt in the lining of a favourite pair! I have slipped really cheap shoes off and on outdoors, but that's for budget varieties that I tend to think of as more or less disposable anyway. Alexa

I've just had an evening out wearing a pair of platform boots and didn't get too hot. Not bad for the middle of July. I popped home after work for a quick shower and a respray of antiperspirant, zipped myself into my boots and went out again. It just goes to show you really can do boots all year round, especially for short periods. Alexa

I usually keep my eyes open when I go past a public water feature where people are playing. You very rarely see high heels in the water; it's usually plimsolls, ballet flats and trainers these days. I did see a couple of women one hot Friday afternoon a few weeks ago who looked like they were on their way home from work having a bit of a splash in Nottingham. At least one of them had office type shoes on. Sadly, I wasn't able to join them as I had to hurry away. Post yourself by public water features and drink a leisurely coffee or somethig on hot days (assuming there are any left this summer) and I'm sure you'll see something to your liking Jane. Alexa

It's not quite shoeplay, but today I was sitting in my office painting my toenails. It helps me think when I've got proposals to write. A couple of people came in and we had conversaations about nail varnish, pedicures and the like. When I'm working, or in meetings, I often find myself slipping my shoes off and putting them on again, but I've not noticed it attracting any more attention than my shoes do anyway. People who see me regularly at work tend to know I'm a shoe fiend anyway, so there are usually a lot of quick glances under the table to see what I'm wearing. Alexa

It’s good fun having different shoes under your desk, just for the pleasure of changing them over the course of the day. I even made a little display on a side table near my desk of a new pair a little while ago – just the shoes side by side with a desk lamp over them so that they looked like they were in the spotlight. It worked quite well and looked very sculptural. It’s great having sculpture you can wear!

I've no idea if it has helped my career, but it brightens up the office

Alexa

Yes, I certainly have taken my shoes off tom cross uneven or soft surfaces in the past, but as I’ve said on here, I’m getting more uncomfortable with walking or standing in a flat footed position now I’ve been wearing heels for so long, so it doesn’t happen as much now. In fact, I don’t know whether I’m just getting better at choosing my routes, but I find I’m less often confronted with grass and cobbles as I wander around. I’m mostly walking on what my boyfriend calls ‘engineered surfaces’. For going off the beaten track I shall be getting some platform trainers or wedges sometime soon.

Once I’m barefoot outdoors I tend to stay that way for a while. I don’t like putting dirty feet back inside my shoes! So I try to wait until I get a chance to wash them.

Alexa

Yes, it was great fun in the fountain at Nottingham. I did get a little wet, but it was only my skirt, and as it was a black Gothy number it wasn’t obvious it was wet. Yes, I was just wearing shoes, no tights or stockings. I prefer to be that way, especially when getting wet. When I was at school and wore unattractive school shoes I could hardly bear them touching my bare skin, but as an adult, now I choose my own shoes and select the most delicious styles I can find, I like to be as close to them and as connected as possible. I was in Nottingham again yesterday on a different project, but came by car instead. There was a bit of a downpour just coming to an end when I arrived. I just missed it unfortunately. I enjoy walking in the rain in the summer. Yes, it's good fun watching other people get wet too. If I'm not in the mood for water play myself I can quite happily sit and drink a coffee and watch other people playing in fountains.

The children's splash pad has a lot in common with the fountains in Nottingham city centre. So in a sense I already have done this!

Alexa

Forgot to add - congratulations on your little adventure, Jane. It's good to make use of a decent puddle. Alexa

One thing I hate is those knobbly bits of paving you get near pedestrian crossings in the British Isles. In platform pumps epecially, they can tip your foot sideways. Alexa

I got up to mischief yesterday. After my meeting was over I got a taxi to the city centre. It wasn’t particularly hot – rather overcast in fact - and there were only a couple of little girls paddling in the water feature. I went and got a take away coffee at a nearby café, balanced it on some ornamental railings by the fountain and set to work. This water feature has a number of jets that rise and fall, and whilst there isn’t a pond as such, there’s ample opportunity for getting wet. I went and stood by one of the smaller jets, knowing that it would soon rise again. I shut my eyes and heard the water spattering towards me and felt a sudden shock as it drenched my shins and filled my shoes. At the apex of its cycle, the jet of water soaked the front of my skirt, but as I’d worn a black one with a kind of diaphanous gauzy overskirt, it didn’t show too badly. After the water jet had risen and fallen a couple of times, I turned round and revelled in the feel of the water splattering on the backs of my calves and filling my heel cups. I was wearing my Pleaser Teeze platforms, which narrowly escaped a soaking a few days ago. I thought I might as well try them out in the water because they’re a budget shoe and it wouldn’t be catastrophic if they were damaged. Because they have three straps across the top of my foot, I didn’t undo them straight away and tip the water out. I sat on a little wall and squidged my feet around in the water in the toe boxes and drank my coffee which had cooled down by this time. I squelched my way through a shopping street, an indoor precinct, and on to the station, where as luck would have it, a train was just about to leave for my home town. Once on the train I undid the straps and laid my shoes on their sides to drain out on the carpet. Naughty, I know, but it’s certainly no worse than if someone spills a drink. They felt cool and clammy when I put them on again, which was a nice change from being warm and sticky after my meeting, and now they’re drying out on the spare bedroom windowsill. They don’t seem to have come to any harm, fortunately. Maybe the patent effect is a little less shiny, but the glue and stitching look like they’ve held up nicely. They look cleaner inside too, so hopefully this little adventure will have freshened them up a bit.

So that was my day yesterday.

Alexa

I have a meeting in Nottingham tomorrow (Monday) which should finish fairly early and give me an opportunity to visit the city centre with its fancy water features. Maybe with Jane's encouragement I might get up to mischief. I shall let you know. . . Alexa

I certainly find myself walking consciously in high heels. It is as if every step involves striking a pose in its own right. That’s why I think about myself as ‘strutting’ rather than walking when I’ve got my favourite shoes on. I have many friends who say things like ‘I can’t walk in high heels’ and I can’t help feeling that this is because they expect to be able to walk the same way as they would in trainers – shuffling, stomping and letting the padding in the shoe compensate for their technique as they slam their feet down. With high heels, every step is a masterpiece; a precise, controlled movement that’s as much about the aesthetics of how you walk as it is about getting from one place to another. The way you place your feet, the way you shift your weight from one leg to the other, your posture, all of this becomes more accurate, poised and graceful. Every step is a little pleasure, a minute frisson of excitement that lifts your day. I love the feel of my favourite shoes on my feet too – the caress, if you can call it that, of lining fabrics and leathers, the secure hug of straps as you adjust them and as they hold your shoes on, the way shoes lift you up and point you forward, enhancing the definition of your figure, it all helps make you conscious of yourself in a good way. Certainly, you might not get there as fast as your compatriots yomping along in misshapen Uggs or ghastly trainers, but it’s better to get there in style, with poise and meticulously placed movements that show you off and ensure that you’re feeling a whole lot better about the world when you reach your destination.

Alexa

I’ve been over to Birmingham this morning for a quick coffee and trip round the shops with an old friend. It was raining and I had some strappy platform pumps on – the Pleaser ‘Teeze’ style, for those of you who are interested – and I certainly felt the tops of my feet getting wet and the rain water working its way down inside my shoes. I didn’t go paddling as I’m unsure how these shoes would stand being soaked and I don’t want to damage them; plus my friend is rather more straitlaced and older than me. The platform under the balls of my feet kept me clear of the surface water. Mind you, they’re well over a year old now, so maybe I could start experimenting with them. They’ve got a harder sole and a smaller heel area than my New Rocks, so they’d be more of a challenge to stay upright on in the water. But on a hot day maybe that could be even more fun.

Regarding Jane’s experience, I’ve found that not all shoes squelch to the same extent when wet. Some of them, especially a few pairs of ballet flats I’ve owned, are more or less silent. In a quiet office it might be conspicuous, but outdoors with the background noise of people and traffic, it’s hard to tell. People’s shoes make all kinds of noises anyway – the slap of flip flop styles against the wearer’s foot, the clatter of hard high heel points on tiled floors, the various squeaks, squelches and farting noises that people’s shoes make even when they’re perfectly dry. So in the grand scheme of things, a little mischievous squelch here and there probably isn’t too much of a problem.

Hope this doesn't show up in capitals too!

Alexa