Alexa

I‘ve got some boots with laces that take a while to get off and on, because they have no zips and I’m forced to re-thread the laces every time. I tend not to wear them in to work, because I like to be able to slip things on and off quickly, but if I’m going out socialising or to a party in the evening I’ll put them on because I know I’m going to be wearing them for several hours and it makes the extra time with the laces worthwhile.

Alexa

I try to keep my car reasonably clear of junk, though it’s probably not as immaculate as Karen’s. Let’s see, I’ve got a few makeup items in there, including nail varnish, nail files and clippers, mascara, eyeliner pencil and liquid eyeliner, what Karen refers to as ‘feminine things’ as well as a couple of spare pairs of knickers in case I feel like freshening up, as well as spare shoes and lip liner. I also have some oddments of jewellery, including bracelets, bangles, anklets and other things in case I feel the need to decorate myself a little more, and there are some makeup mirrors to, so as to aid the application. I think I have foundation, blusher and sunscreen, antiperspirant and some of those airbrush legs or spray on tights products. In fact I sometimes joke with people that I’m just popping back into the car for a moment for a quick respray. I try not to keep lipstick in there as it’s waxy and might melt in high temperatures if the car is left outside in the sun. But it has most things you might find in a bedroom or bathroom. That reminds me – I usually have wet wipes or baby wipes, which are good for cleaning hands and face if you haven’t got anywhere to wash, and tissues or a roll of paper kitchen towel. And a toothbrush.

That’s about all I can remember without going outside to check! As I've said before, having a car is a major asset to the high heeled lifestyle.

Alexa

The sun was out this lunchtime as i went for my strut around the town centre, so I got a coffee and sat on the edge of the town square fountain to dangle my feet in the water. I took my shoes off though - I had my Bebe Lizas on and they're too good to get wet! I put them neatly on the parapet next to me whilst I sipped my drink and watched the world go by. As I was about to go, a young woman in a group of teenagers called out 'love your shoes, where did you get them?' I explained that they'd come from the US. She seemed very interested and had a closer look. It's chance interactions like this that really make me feel good. Silly, I know, but it gives me a little lift. Alexa

My car is a kind of extension of my handbag. Well, I'll rephrase that. I've never been a big fan of handbags, so my car is my handbag. I've got it fairly well stocked with persnal requisites. I've even been known to add fragrance by having incense sticks burning in it. Importantly for this board, there are spare shoes stashed in the glovebox and under the driver's seat, just in case I need to change into something sensible for driving, or if my car were to let me down and I had to walk anywhere. Alexa

I think your friends might have a point Heidi. After reading about how well wrapped up you are, and how you only dare undo your zipper a short way, I feel like saying 'Go on, be a devil and take your boots off at work!' The world won't come to an end! I dare you! All the best, Alexa

Yes, you're quite right - most of my ensemble is black. I tend to favour dark metallic shades of nail varnish and either red or purple lipstick. I don't have different shoes all lined up under my desk. In case I havre a situation where I can't possibly wear heels I have some emergency flat pumps in a drawer. Oh, and a spare pair of heels in case the ones I've got on are chafing and I need a change, but that rarely happens these days. I'm sitting here at my desk putting off starting my next task, with my shoes off. I've got dark green nail varnish on my toenails and a couple of toe rings on each foot, so my feet are fully dressed even when my shoes are off! I keep several pots of nail varnish ar work, in case I need a touch up or feel like a change of colour. Alexa

Well, with my daily fidgeting I suppose I'm practicing all the time. But I've never quite had the dexterity to get my shoes upright and on in a single movement. I was in a shoe shop the other day, whiling away my lunch hour and saw a woman doing this as she tried on shoes. Once again i was impressed, especially as she was doing it in the shop with unfamiliar shoes. I usually need to practice with a particular pair of shoes before I can get anywhere near doing it. Alexa

It’s the other way round – pumps are the quickest to take off, followed by boots with a zip, followed by shoes with some kind of a strap or straps, which take a bit longer because of the time spent fiddling with the buckle. Even so, it’s seconds rather than minutes. I don’t possess any ankle boots; I’ve never really fancied them – most of mine are knee length or higher. All the ones I take to work have zips on them, so it’s pretty quick getting them on or off. Some have lace or buckle details on the front but once you’ve got them adjusted you take them on and off with the zip, rather than untying everything. In terms of percentages of time I wear the different styles, I’m not sure, I’ve never really counted it up. It often depends on what the weather looks like. Maybe some old favourites from the back of the wardrobe which I haven’t worn for a while will catch my eye and I’ll spend the day getting reacquainted with them, or maybe I’ll wear the same sort of thing for several days in a row. I’ve never written it in my diary, like some people do!

Alexa

I wish I was better at this. I remember as a child seeing a TV programme about Tina Turner in concert. It showed her just about to go on stage, and with her red nail varnished toes she deftly flicked her high heels upright from where they were lying on the floor and put her feet into them in a single movement. I was so impressed. I take my shoes off under my desk and fidget with them as I work on the computer or talk on the phone, but I usually have to bend down to get them on again!

Alexa

Well, I look like a vampire pretty much all the time, and never had any complaints. Like Karen, I like my toes to be closed in when I’ve got shoes on, but quite like the top of my feet to be open, because I have some tattoos to show. I use those sprays on my legs with brand names like ‘airbrush legs’ and so on to even out the skin tone and give me a bit of colour. As you know, I pad about the office barefoot a lot of the time but I’d be sure to put my shoes back on if there were puddles of drool! Fortunatley my colleagues seem to be able to control themselves, and the worst we have to contend with is the occasional coffee spill.

Love,

Alexa

Well, I suppose there are limits to what we can wear – we couldn’t wear anything indecent; I think people might complain. Equally, there might be objections to anything that was offensive – t shirts with inappropriate slogans or swear words, for example. But otherwise, there’s a certain amount of flexibility. I tend to go for a sort of Goth style usually. This started in my teens and I’ve yet to tire of it. Footwear wise, I’ve been alternating between some Pleaser Teeze strappy pumps, some Bebe Liza pumps, some Office ‘Big Fun’ pumps and a pair of their Paradise open lace ups lately, to name but a few. And boots of course, when it’s not so sunny. In this country we don’t really get that many very hot days, so there’s no air conditioning. It sounds like there’s air conditioning in Karen’s workplace, if it’s cool all the time. In Britain you’re seldom very far from the sea, so it tends to keep the climate cool and damp most of the time. We do get some very cold or very hot days but usually only a handful in the course of the year.

Go ahead and take your shoes or boot off in the office Heidi – I’m sure no one will complain! Anyway, you seem to favour so much hosiery and socks too that I’m sure a little fresh air would do you good once in a while.

All the best,

Alexa

Yes, where I am seems to have a fairly casual approach to dress. There was a senior manager a while ago who tried to encourage a collar and tie approach for the men, but he's not with us any more. However, it does give me the freedom to indulge some of my eccentricities.

Yes, I can appreciate Karen’s concerns about antiperspirant, but it doesn’t seal all the pores shut, it just yields a percentage reduction in sweating. Maybe only 20-30%, but that makes me a lot more comfortable for one! Likewise, with the bacteria – they’re all over our skin anyway, and serve a valuable protective function too. They’re somewhat depleted by the compounds in the various sprays we use, but there seem to be enough left to keep my skin happy. Mainly, the active ingredient is some sort of aluminium compound, usually aluminium chloride. If aluminium chloride compounds are present n the kind of strength you get in prescription strength products (of the kind that you get given for hyperhidrosis ) there are some report of them creating skin irritation. Otherwise, with over-the-counter cosmetic products, they’re unlikely to do you any harm. There are occasional cancer scares about using them under your arms, but fortunately, there’s no solid evidence yet according to the US FDA and CDC, so for the moment i think we’re safe. I’ve tried powder, but it doesn’t slow my sweat glands down in quite the same way, and it leaves a residue. So it looks like I’ll keep spraying for the time being and carry on with my sock free existence!

Alexa

When I'm not in boots, mainly I'm in pumps (or courts as people tend to call them in the UK) or Mary-Jane styles. The former I can get on and off pretty quickly, whereas the latter require a bit of fiddling with the strap. Even so, I can have my shoes on and be ready for action at a moment's notice! Karen pointed out some concealed platforms from Endless on another thread which are the kind of thing I might like (I might even order some myself), so you get the idea. Alexa

Yes, I could wear flip flops, but I don't usually! I have a couple of pairs of those sandals with a strap that goes over the arch of your foot and a kind of ring for the big toes to go through, but I don't wear them often and last time I saw them they were gathering dust at the back iof the wardrobe. It certainly seems to rain a lot here in the British Isles, but over the last few years I've only got caught out in really heavy rain a very few times. Mostly I manage to avoid the puddles and I have a couple of umbrellas in the car too, so that keeps me out of trouble. Alexa

Hi there Heidi, Yes, of course, shoes are different from gloves in the eways you identify, and many more besides. I was just trying to highlight how wearing socks or hose with footwear is considered normal whereas few people would consider wearing an extra layer under gloves. Gloves don't get sticky and smelly because we take them off a good deal, and most people wash their hands several times a day so there isn't the same sort of build up of sweat and dead skin! Yes, people come in my office and find me with bare feet fairly regularly. No one has complained. I always put my shoes or boots on if I have to walk around my building or go to another building, attend a meeting or anything else that involves me being 'on display', so I haven't had any complaints. I work in a university which means there's a certain amount of sartorial emancipation, but most people are very unadventurous. Sometimes I get the impression that they tend to wheel me out when the organisation has visitors rather often, to add a bit of local colour! Alexa

I don’t want to give the impression we’re all a bit grubby, getting sweaty wearing boots on bare feet! I don’t know how other people handle it, but as I’ve said before, my own strategy involves antiperspirant, which is usually fairly effective. As a lot of the grime that builds up in boots and shoes comes from skin that one sheds, I give my feet a good rubbing over with a pumice stone two or three times a week to get any excess skin off in the bath rather than in my shoes. If there’s any residue in my shoes or boots I wipe them out with a wet wipe and let them air for a day or two before I wear them again. Plus, when I’m working from hope I’m either barefoot or change my shoes frequently for a bit of fun between tasks. When I’m at work I often take my shoes or boots off under my desk. All my boots have zips so it’s only a moment’s work to put them back on again if I need to. So overall, they’re probably only on my feet for an hour or two at a time. When you think about it, it’s probably no different from wearing gloves on ‘bare’ hands!

Alexa

Ah, Heidi, that's exactly my point! I wouldn't want to do any vigorous dancing, especially not the kind where you collide into each other, when I'm wearing high shoes. I try and find a place where I can stand and watch the show where people aren't going to crash into me. I have had a few tumbles where people have danced into me at live events, but fortunately everyone's been very good natured and willing hands have hauled me upright again! So no harm was done. Alexa

Yes, I wouldn't want to get wet wearing really expensive shoes. That would be quite tragic. With some of the cheaper ones, like the Pleaser brand that a few of us here seem to enjoy wearing, I don't mind though, because they're only pocket money prices. When I was young I was one of those teenagers whom you see playing in the fountains on hot days, and was usually the first in my group of friends to suggest it. Nowadays that doesn't happen, but I have a little paddle just for fun occasionally. Alexa

I find I get a few disapproving glances from other women, but that’s all just part of the fun. I quite enjoy it when my shoes and I stand out. There are the odd few ‘how can you walk in those?’ comments, but that just makes me feel even better about my choice of footwear. I’ve been getting used to it since I was around 14. I think a major part of it is feeling good about yourself and loving your shoes. Once you’re wearing something you really love it’s not too difficult to manage the practicalities. Yes, I’m on my feet for doing talks and presentations, and for walking around between buildings and along corridors, but as most of the time I’m sitting at my desk, I tend to slip my shoes off and give my feet a bit of a rest. If they’re at different angles throughout the day, it helps a great deal. Many of my shoes have platforms, so the angle at which my foot is held is around the equivalent to a 3 or 4 inch non-platform shoe, but with platforms the actual height is about 5 or 6 inches in some cases. I’m sure if were to wear shoes which held my feet at a very steep angle for long periods I would find it more difficult but the way I work, there’s enough movement and variety, such that I’m only standing or walking around for an hour or so at a time (and usually less than that) and that’s not too hard to cope with at all.

Alexa

Yes, I suppose my dancing style would be described as shuffling and jiggling too! The other thing platform boots are very good for is going to see live music. I can see over the heads of the crowd in a way I never could with flats on. You'd be a bit unsteady for energetic moshing, but usually I'm there to enjoy the show, which is much easier if I can actually see! Alexa

I've succeeded in wearing most of my high heels into work at one time or another. The only ones I haven't worn to work are some Pleaser XTC platform pumps with a padlockable ankle strap. They're about 8" high at the heel and I'm a bit wobbly in them and keep feeling as if I'm about to twist my ankle. Everything else I've managed, one way or another. I tend to wear long skirts a lot, so I can even get away with thigh boots, as no one can see how far up they go. Unlike Karen, I don't have much compentition from my colleagues, but I suppose I'm competing with myself in a sense! Alexa

Speak of the devil. just as I was sending that last post a man came to see me wearing white socks with his sandals. I couldn't help laughing, and looking at his feet Alexa

Yes, I like wearing boots in to work, and I can certainly relate to Heidi's post. They make me feel properly dressed and finished off somehow. I work as a researcher in the education field, so I spend a lot of time at a computer in my office or at a computer at home, so I often take my footwear off when at my desk. I'm in pumps today, or rather I was when I came in but they're lying under my desk at the moment and I'm bare. When I'm typing or talking on the phone i tend to fidget with them with my feet. I put them on for strutting up and down the corridors though - you've got to show off, haven't you? Where I work, there are a lot of people in ghastly sensible things that look like Cornish pasties. 'They're comfortable' runs the excuse. But how could anyone feel 'comfortable' wearing such appalling shoes? Equally, in the hot weather the orthopaedic sandals come out, often worn with socks in the case of the men. As far as I'm concerned sunny weather is ideal for wearing something with a patent finish, because it catches the light better. My colleagues are lovely people, of course, but I couldn't put myself in their shoes, literally or figuratively. Alexa

I know this is going off topic slightly from Heidi's post, but I remember in my teenage years going out in my first pair of lace up stiletto knee boots and discovering that I really enjoyed dancing. I'd never really liked it up to that point, and only danced to be polite, if the people I was with wanted to, but once I was in high heeled boots I was off to the races. There's someting about your posture, and feeling good about the way you look that makes it much more enjoyable. I don't do any fancy ballroom styles, but I still get a lot of pleasure out of it once in a while. I've just realised that anyone reading my posts will probably think I'm obsessed with boots. I do have other things going on in my life, honest! But life's so much better with a decent pair of boots on. It's a shame I've only got two feet and can only wear one pair at once. Alexa

I like wearing boots, but I don't like feeling too enclosed by socks or stockings, so I'm usually barefoot in mine. I like a fairly close fitting so my feet don't move about too muchinside and ideally I like them to grip around the top of my foot so my toes don't become forced into the toe box and get squashed together. A good squirt of antiperspirant in the morning before i put them on keeps the perspiration at bay. If 'm going out in the evening I usually have a shower after work and change into something different, which gives my feet a rest and means that they're not in the same position all day, which helps my staying power! In fact, putting a fresh pair of boots on gives me a little boost - like having a cup of coffee or starting something afresh. It's good if I get stuck with a problem that I'm working on, or can't think wha to do next. A change of boots and it's like getting a new perspective on things. Alexa