RonC

I think for the most part those of us that wear heels tend to wear heels that fall on the feminine looking side of the scale.  After all, if it was simply wearing something that was elevated at the heel, there are shoes available in men's styles that offer built-in "lifts" which are not at all obvious.  So technically, a man could wear high heels without being the least bit obvious.  True, they are not going to be 4-6" heels, but I have seen some offered that get close to 4". So I think our desire for heels goes a bit farther than the heel alone, as we like the design that is typically classified as feminine.  I think perhaps the most difficult part for the ladies is the reaction of those around her regarding her partner's choice of footwear.  She's going to hear about it from family and friends and it is likely not easy to deal with.  There will most likely be a lack of acceptance within the community at large that she will have to deal with.  It is unfair, as women can wear a pair of wing tips that are absolutely a male shoe style, but they are considered "cute" and "stylish" when a woman puts them on.  They can pretty much wear whatever they want, but men can't.  I don't see that changing any time in the near future.  While there is a trend of unisex clothing among the young, it is not really toward feminine looking heels for men.  Heck, even young women don't wear much in the way of heels.  Yes, there are some men's boots that include a chunky high heel and it seems that is being somewhat accepted.  But not stilettos, low cut pumps, strappy sandals, etc.  If the world does change enough for that to be acceptable for men, I guarantee I will not be alive to see it.  

I'll admit to having owned probably four pairs of plain black patent pumps in my day, but while being the same basic style, none were exactly the same.  They would have a slightly different cut to the upper (more or less toe cleavage) or a slightly different heel shape or height (though all were narrow, one wasn't a true stiletto).

On 5/18/2021 at 12:56 PM, w6ish said:

even though his heels were some basic 3 inch, old woman heels, still, i did admire his spirit!

Though he probably wouldn't care for the "old woman heels" description.  We don't all desire to wear the extreme heels that are your choice.  

I think the pants and shoes look great together.  And for what it's worth, I think the shirt looks fine.

I would have to agree with you.  Those do not sound appropriate for a 12 year old.  I wonder if it was the girl that wants to wear them or a parental influence.  

Nice collection.  The round toe pumps can certainly be a bit more comfortable, especially for those of us with wider feet.

12 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

You don't have to wear heels to be a fan. 

Very true.  They are not for everyone.

12 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

As to the real subject at hand, at first I thought the whole note thing was a bit creepy, but now maybe I am softening my thoughts a little bit. At least it's much better than a nasty note!

Have to say that the way the note was worded did not convey any creepiness IMHO.  I thought it was pretty cool that a woman would want to compliment a guy in heels.  Also, if @chesterx had been a jerk in the driving part of this scene, the note would have either been not left or nasty in nature...lol.

Wow.  That's pretty close to an obsession...lol

1 hour ago, Jkrenzer said:

I've frequented this place often after bowling in heels

Wow, I've bowled for many, many years.  I never tried it in heels....lol.  Just kidding of course, I know what you were saying.

21 hours ago, MMM said:

I’m not also a big fan… but she likes them a lot. She gave me this pair and very frequently chooses them.

Yes, that does change things significantly.  I'd gladly wear them then as well!

On 5/14/2021 at 5:44 PM, Bubba136 said:

Don’t give up on finding a pair of properly fitting shoes with higher heels.  I find that shoes with 4 1/2 or 5” heels are worth the effort of learning to wear because they really enhance the entire experience and feeling you get when wearing heels.

If those boots hadn't had the platform, I likely would not be able to wear them due to some foot issues I have related to medications.  I would have enjoyed the challenge but I have no desire for a 5" heel as quite honestly I do not even like the look of a five incher too much.  Some can be nice, but in general not my cup of tea.

I went to the Shoe Department Encore store yesterday with the intent to buy these:

Penny by Impo.  These are a bit out of my comfort range as the heel is higher than I typically can wear and they have a platform that I'm also usually not attracted to, but I wanted to challenge myself.  Unfortunately, they were not comfortable as something was causing pain on the big toe of my right foot when I was walking in them in the store.  So I thought it best to take a pass as I would not have been able to wear them very long, though maybe they would have stretched a bit.  In the store, I thought I was pretty much by myself in the aisle, but just as I was zipping up the right boot a female sales clerk was asking if I needed any help and just after she said the words she noticed what I was doing and let out a kind of surprised "oh".  I said I was doing fine and she proceeded to walk away while I put on the other boot.  As I was walking the aisle I noticed she had gone to the checkout counter and was talking to the other clerk, probably about the old guy trying on heels....lol.  I do wish they had fit comfortably, as they would have been a challenge to walk in outdoors.  I'd guess the heel in size 11 was likely in the 4 3/4" range, and even with the small platform, they felt fairly high, and were definitely a bit on the wobbly side, which would have added to the challenge.  Oh well, hopefully I find something else.

You are one fortunate guy.  I'm not a big platform/chunky heel loving guy, but hers are cute here.  Yours look a bit high in the platform part for my tastes.  

6 hours ago, Isolathor said:

If i go to the banking/business - district in Frankfurt during lunchtime i´ll see more than enough women in heels every day

Nice to know that some parts of the world have at least some level of taste and formality.  Go to downtown Chicago at lunchtime and you'd be lucky to see a handful of heels these days.

I admit to being rather grumpy when I wrote that last post (happens quite often at this age...lol).  I've lived through the late 50's-mid 60's, which was really the start of the stiletto heel days, and that era certainly shaped my tastes in heels.  Then came the late 60's through most of the 70's when heels were mostly low and chunky, and I disliked most of what was being worn then.  Starting in the early 80's, stilettos began to come back, and for me, the mid 80's to early 90's was what I enjoyed most in terms of shoe styles, and the ladies wore heels most of the time, including with jeans/casual wear.  Then we went to the lower Louis heels for a while and again back to lower chunkier heels.  When stilettos came back again, the height of the heels was on average higher than they had ever been, and we also had platforms as the rule.  I still believe that the higher heel heights contributed significantly to what is now substantial resistance to heels by a large portion of the female population.  So now we kind of have the group of women who want to wear 5" heels or nothing, and those that refuse to wear much anything besides sneakers and flat flip flops, and the 5" group is shrinking due to foot issues there.  I know that most here seem to like the 4" and over heels, and some go for the as high as physically possible range, but I'd rather see many ladies in 3-4" heels than one a month in 5" heels.  Oh well, now I'm sounding grumpy again.  The trend will be what the trend will be, and none of us can do much anything to stop it.  And I really doubt that heels for men (and I'm not talking about the 1.5" stuff they are calling "high heels" on men's shoes) will ever be a mainstream thing.  Yeah, there will be some that choose to wear heels, but the average joe is just as locked in to his sneakers as many women are now.  Heels tend to be considered "dressy", and dressy clothes are just not worn very often any more.  Not needed for work or dining out or going to church, so few times when heels are appropriate.  If we look at clothing trends in the last 100 years, it has constantly been toward more and more casual.

17 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Hold on there, Ron! I think you are giving more credit than what is due! I didn't actually say that I could actually walk in them, I just said that they were somewhat easier than my other D&G. I don't think either pair is going to get a trip to the grocery store anytime soon.

Some of the shoes that you've said you've done 2+ miles in most women wouldn't even consider walking farther than from the car to the restaurant in (or a short distance to wherever they are going.  I doubt there are many woman that walk two miles in any type of heel at all, much less the 4"-4+" heels you've done your miles in.  I wasn't necessarily indicating that you were going two miles in those heels, but that simply being able to be mobile in a heel like that is likely beyond most women of the world.

17 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

so my point was that this may be what the girls are wearing now, but the style has been around for quite some time.

Yes, they have been around for a long while, and I'm really tired of seeing them (of course I already said I didn't like them to begin with).  And the style has gone downhill as in the beginning they were high slim heels as your niece is wearing in the photo to now being low blocky crap.  I'm just really depressed at where ladies footwear is headed.  I know my time on this planet is limited, and it's depressing to think that I may never really see heel wearing return to common practice.  Of course, quite honestly, I doubt it ever will return to be common, every day practice.  The strength of the women's movement to erase differences between men and women all the way down to the shoes they wear, combined with the continued assault on heels due to their supposed horrendous impact on women's health sure seems to be having a negative impact.  Heels will be around, but the frequency of wear will, in my opinion, be severely limited.

On 5/9/2021 at 4:39 PM, Puffer said:

Aren't the shoes (sandals) worn by Melrose's niece almost the same style (with a closed back) as those illustrated by Ron C, apart from having a higher and slimmer heel?

I think that was the idea - same style but different heel type and height.  At least decent looking then compared to current.  And those Jimmy Choo's are smoking hot shoes - though one would hope for a lady with nice looking feet if wearing a shoe that revealing.  I know I couldn't do those justice, but I'd love to give them a try.  Not at those prices though!

On 5/8/2021 at 6:46 AM, mlroseplant said:

They fit perfectly, and for some reason are much easier to walk in than my other pair of D&G mules of similar design and dimensions.

Personally, I can't even imagine trying to walk in those.  Yes, I would try them around the house and probably enjoy the experience, but I doubt I would ever adventure out in them.  Way beyond my capabilities.  But then, I am not the high heel pro you are ml.  You can blow away probably 90% of the female population when it comes to walking in heels.

On 5/8/2021 at 6:21 AM, mlroseplant said:

Do you like THIS version of those heels rather better? Why? Compare and contrast. This is my niece, by the way, from several years ago. Feel free to criticize her as you see fit. I know I do!

Certainly these heels are much nicer than the low blocky stuff, but not a fan of the platform part.  I'm with you on this style.  I can't explain why, but I just do not like the back part of this style.  It seems to rarely fit snugly to the ankle which leaves an ugly gap in the back.  I'd much rather see a traditional ankle strap style than this fugly partial heel design.

I see no reason to criticize your niece in this photo.  Looks like a lovely young lady!

On 5/3/2021 at 5:31 AM, mlroseplant said:

And then I got the, "Oh, I wish I could still wear heels" line. I am convinced that most women in this country have either had foot surgery or had some kind of accident, because I've heard that line so often now that maybe I don't much believe it anymore.

I agree with you on that one.  Big difference between "could still" and just don't bother.  

I was on vacation last week and stopped in the town where Western Kentucky University is located.  We went out for dinner Sunday evening and when we came out, there was a group of 20 or so young ladies waiting to get in to the restaurant.  I guessed that it was some kind of sorority get together as it was graduation weekend in town.  All of the girls were nicely dressed, mostly in dresses.  But of course what I noticed was their footwear.  I would say maybe a third of them were wearing flip flops or perhaps a low wedge sandal, with the rest wearing the exact same shoe style, almost like it was a uniform.  Block heel on all, no thin heels at all, with 90% being in the 2-2.5 inch range, with a couple of maybe 3-3.5 inches.  This is the style, though I'd guess that most were actually a bit lower and blockier in the heel::

Personally, I've never found this style to be particularly attractive to begin with.  But there are many available with a stiletto heel that can look decent.  But not one of them had a thin heel, and I just couldn't believe that they all had the same style.  Doesn't give me a lot of hope for heels for the young ladies.  The other thing I noticed (my wife was having a smoke before she got in the car so I had some time to sit and observe) was the length of their dresses.  I have to say there were a few that I would consider ridiculously short.  If they would have bent over in any way their undies would have been showing,  I enjoy the feminine leg probably a good deal more than the average guy, but a few were what to me was a bit too short.  Yeah, yeah, I know I'm old...lol.  

MinP, what are the heel heights on most?

A while back, Crocs actually made a pair of wedge heel pumps.  Typical low cut pump style with a wedge somewhere near 3 inches I'd guess.  I actually tried them on in the store.  They were quite comfortable, and I could understand why a woman would want a pair of them.  But I've never seen anyone wearing them in public and I don't believe they make anything like that anymore.  Typical clog like Crocs - no thanks for me.

10 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I've been involuntarily participating in this thought exercise for the last couple of days, and if I had only one pair of shoes to wear for the rest of my life, it would probably be something rather close to your Clarks. Except I would probably choose something that same shape and heel height but in an oxford style shoe, since I've got the same problem you have with walking out of pumps. I'm pretty sure I could wear that style in pretty much every situation if I had to, even at work if they would let me.

On the other hand, if we let ourselves slip into fantasy land, I would prefer something like these Maison Ernest mules. I frankly don't know if I could even walk in these, but it's what I'd like to wear all the time if I had the chance. In any case, you have to love the ankle flexibility of the model in this picture!

Well they certainly are hotter to look at than the pretty boring Clarks pumps.  I agree with you on the oxford style being much easier to deal with fit wise.  It goes back to the looks thing again, as I much prefer a low cut pump to a closed up oxford.  But like you said, if you had to wear them all the time, better to choose comfort over style.  But that would be boring....lol.

What you're seeing seems to be the norm, though I must admit to having seen three different women wearing stilettos that I estimated at about 4" in the last week.  I hadn't seen three women in heels in the last four months or so, so it was a surprise and a pleasant one at that.  I just wouldn't expect to see a lot of heels any time soon though.