RonC

While I just came back from Vegas and saw many, many women in stunning heels (and did much drooling...lol), I did not see any men in heels. So I'm not sure why you would say that! In response to an earlier post, I receive a reply from Gary at Skyscraper Heels regarding places to go in heels. He said that, other than the parties that a group of customers and friends of the store throw on occassion, he did not know of any lounges, etc., where a guy would be readily accepted if wearing heels. I had hopes there, but alas, no such luck.

I bought these last week. Nice style for street heeling I think.

HappyFeat, certaily, if you are wearing heels or about any type of womans shoe when entering, I would think the sales clerk would readily recognize what you are there for. So that is a great ice breaker I would think! I'm not yet quite ready for traipsing around the mall in heels, so my visit will need to be a bit more low key to start. I will, however, try both of those stores eventually with the intent on trying on shoes. Unfortunately, I really do need a 12 in most styles (and especially the styles I typically like), and I know that the NineWest outlet typically has maybe one or two 12s in the entire store, and the Bandolino retail store doesn't stock larger than 11. And I'll certainly continue to visit the Payless stores.

Guess I should post a picture of the shoes I bought. I was looking for something not quite so spikey that I might feel comfortable enough wearing out and about. These seemed to be a decent comprimise, as the heel is a bit thicker though still nearly 4" in a size 11. Unfortunately, I have found that, while the right shoe is a bit snug, my heel pops out of the left when I walk. I'm going to have to get some heel grips if I want to wear them out.

I believe that it is true that Payless is man in heels freindly. I am not the only one here that has posted good experiences about Payless. I wonder if their store associates are schooled in dealing with the situation? Would be interested in hearing from a Payless employee some time. And yes, I will go back to try and find that clerk and ask her a few questions. Wish I could go right now! I must admit that I am getting much more comfortable with trying on shoes before I buy. One of these days I'm going to try to get to a Nine West outlet, as they typically have many styles that I like, but their sizes tend to vary quite a bit from shoe to shoe, so trying on is necessary. Also have my eye on a new Bandolino store in te local mall. I'll have to test the waters there as well!

If you guys keep this up, you'll have me strolling the Magnificent Mile in 4" pumps quite soon! Probably not, though I certainly may give some heels a try that I would not previously have worn. Maybe...lol

Went out looking at Payless today. Tried to get to the store before 11:00 AM, as it usually isn't as crowded. Wore nylons with my street shoes so I could try on if the opportunity arose. The clerk greeted me on entering, and siad to let her know if I needed any help. The size 12 rack was fairly empty, but I can also wear their 11W, so I looked there. I found a couple pair that I liked and, as there was no one in the aisle, I tried them on. Just as I was slipping into the second pair. I caught the clerk out of the corner of my eye. She saw me but didn;t say a word. One pair caught my eye, but there were none in an 11W. I decided to ask the clerk if there were more. She said that she hadn't yet got to restocking the 11-12 aisle, and that they're were likely some in the back. Off she went. A minute later, she had the box in hand, took out the stuffing and plastic stay from the shoe, and handed it to me to try on. I did say that I need to try them to make sure the fit was OK. By her reaction (or lack thereof), I assumed that I was not the first guy she had dealt with! After trying them on, I decided to buy them and took them up to the register. She saw me from the back and came up asking if the fit was OK. I said it was and would take them. She said that I should stop back later or tomorrow after she had a chance to get more shoes out. I said thanks, paid, and was on my way. I wanted to ask her if men buying was a common occurance, but another customer came up just then, and I didn't have the chance. You can bet I'll be shopping there again!

Interesting idea, Spikes. And your right, it would be a nice clean environment without too much fear of rejection! May have to try that some time.

These posts do make me feel better! At least I'm not the only one fighting to enjoy wearing what makes me happy and excited. You know, maybe if I were a younger man than my quite obvious 57 years, I'd be willing to give the more feminine shoes a try in public. But some old, bald, and a bit overweight guy walking around in a pair of 4" heel classic pumps is gonna' attract a LOT of attention. Soooo, I will keep looking for the more tolerant places in this big city in which I dwell. There must be some place in the Chicago area where a guy can spend an evening in heels without being made to feel uncomfortable! Thanks for the input guys!

I was in Las Vegas last week. If anyone wants to see ladies in heels, you absolutely must go there! Just pick any of the nicer strip hotels (MGM, Belagio, etc, etc) and plop yourself down in the lobby area. You will be in for a great show! And even better, most are being worn with skirts and dresses, so you can actually see the shoes! Many, this was heaven for a guy with a thing for girls in heels! I was wondering who was buying all of those nice heels! Now I know, and also know where they are wearing them! Man, it was great. Wish I had taken some pics!

Well, after becoming brave enough to venture out in heels, I have found out something about myself. I thought that just wearing heels in public would be a great thrill and would satisfy my desires. So I purchased a pair of chunky 2.75" heel loafers and a pair of ankle boots with similar style 3" heels. By my fifth or sixth trip out and about, I found I was no longer excited by wearing those shoes. While I enjoyed the height of the heel, when I looked down at my feet, I may as well had been wearing a pair of men's shoes, as there was no real look of a woman's shoe to them. I would much rather wear a pair of nice low cut pumps (as in my avatar). Now that would be a thrill! But alas, there is just no way I am willing to go out in the public at large with a pair of shoes like that. I'll need to keep looking to find a place where I can wear much more feminine styles with a reasonable level of peace of mind. I guess what I am asking is, am I the only one that has to have a more feminine style to get the sought after thrill of wearing heels? Many of you seem to be well satisfied with the added height and sensation of a heel without the feminine style, but that just isn't doing it for me. I like to know how other feel about the style vs. height factor.

I was hoping to get some additional input from Chicago area guys, but as seems to be the norm, I guess there are very few heel wearers, or, as is more typical of the wonderful Midwest, no one is willing to admit they do! I am not big on wearing spike heels out and about, but certainly have worn some high clunky heels without incident. Unfortunately, I find that the more androgenous styles just do not do it for me. So I was hoping that there may be some city places where the wearing fo a pair of stilettos would be accepted. We did get some repsonses here, but with limited info and no follow up. Come one, Chi town guys, tell us where you go to heel!

Wow, I actually got to wear heels for an hour today! An old pair of strappy patent sandals with about a 3.5 inch heels. Bought at JC Pennys probably more than 10 years ago! Man, I never get to wear stuff any more now that my wife works at home!

Whynotmentoo, as noted, they came from Kohls. I am in the Chicago area, and they have many stores here and throughout the mdiwest, as well as a web site www.kohls.com The shoes are by Croft & Barrow, which is their store brand.

gwl1, they are from Kohls, house brand that I can't recall the name of right now. Kohls has a web site if you are interested.

Platsandals, what do you wear, and where do you go? I know the Halsted/Belmont area is a well know gay area, and I am not gay, so I'm not looking to be somewhere where I'm out of place.

I previously indicated that I thought that the level of tolerance is probably higher now than in the past. Here in the USA midwest, we really are pretty conservative folks, so the level of tolerance is probably a bit less than many places. However, I have recently begun to wear heels out, and have yet to have a bad reaction. Of course, what I am wearing would be difficult to discern as heels unless you actually did look closely. Yesterday, I wore this pair of loafer style shoes while I did some shopping. I walked through several parking lots, into three different department stores, and into the mall, and I didn't notice anyone having a reaction of any type. I am becoming more brave certainly, but I'm not yet ready to do a more obvious thinner heel, though I'd certainly consider a high block heel with no problem.

Interesting, though I didn't see more than maybe, maybe five pairs of heels that I thought even approached decent looking. Just my opinion, to each his or her own, but some were just absurdly ugly!

Just a note to answer one of your questions that I don't believe anyone specifically replied to. Yes, width is a major factor in men wearing womens shoes. Mens feet are much wider on average. Typically, the actual length of a shoe isn;t that drastically different between mens and womens sizes. I wear a mens 10 1/2, and typically but womens 12. However, if I can find an 11 W, that will often be a better fit than the 12. The 12 tends to slip off the heel of my foot, as the length is actually too long. If one stops and thinks about it, a narrower foot can extend further into a shoe, and thus make use of the length provided. Especially true of a pointed toe shoe. So, if you wear a mens 12, if you can find a 13 W womens, I'd certainly give that a try.

Ruby John, I also will vouch for Skyscraper Heels. Shopping there is great. From a personal standpoint, their typical heels are a bit too high for me, as there are few pairs under 4" and most are more in the 4.5+ range. They also tend to carry mainly dancer type shoes, and a lot of platforms. Personally, I prefer a more business type heel, so they unfortunately don't have a lot of shoes that I would buy, though I've purchased three or four pairs there over the years. It is an excellent place to shop though. Now, about those high heel get togethers, can you expand on that? Have you been to one? What is the protocol, etc.?

While I do not rank among the several here that are willing to try on heels in any store, I have been getting more brave as of late. Friday, I visited a local Mashall's store (discount chain) and found a nice pair of black/black patent pumps in an 11. I did slip them on in the store, but I admit I did not walk around in them. Too small in any event. I also went to a Kohl's department store and tried on three other pairs. One was a loafer style with a heel of about 21/2" that was inconspicuous enough that I did walk a bit to find a mirror to check them out. Heel was not quite high enough so I didn;t buy, though I think if I had I likely would have worn them out of teh store. Finally, I went to anoterh store with a self service shoe department and tried on a couple more pairs. Granted, I typically look for an area where no one else is shopping, but at least I no longer worry about store employees, etc, watching on the monitors. I should add that I also did visit a store in Chicago called Skyscraper Heels and tried on three or four pairs, but that is a place that actually caters to crossdressers, drag queens, and strippers, so they are quite used to that and it is no challenge. Theonly challenge there is trying to find a heel that I can walk in, as there is nothing less than about 4 1/2 inches in the store!

Pumpfan, if you should happen to find somewhere in teh Chicago area, please pass the location along. As a lifelong resident of the area, I have never seen a guy in heels (again, with the exception of a TV or a few at the Gay Pride parage, which is not quite the same as an everyday location). I also have been looking for a bar that would have a fetish night, where wearing heels would likely be no problem, but all the fetish night places I've read about deal mainly with leather and SM/DM stuff. So if you find a place, pass it along!

I'm not sure I would think it a blessing, as if I could wear a size 9, I'd be living in a box, but I'd have lots of pairs of shoes! I think it would be way too costly for me! Not many shoes I like come in a size 12, so my buying habits are much less frequent (though if I did wear a 9, I could actually by much less expensive sale shoes!). I must say that if I could get them easy, I personally would have kept Nine West in bausiness the last few years...lol

I'll put in my vote for #1. But then, I'm not much for platforms or wedges, so that is the only one there that's not a wedge, and doesn't have an obvious platform.

I do not have a great deal of experience with Nine West, but I'll through in my 2 cents. I bought a pair of Nine West pumps called Treetoes. They were a real nice stiletto pump in sude and smooth leather, with a small t-strap down close to the toes. I was shopping in an outlet store, and they rarely carry the 12s, so when I saw them, I had to have them. Store was crowded, so I did want to try on, but figured most 12s are good for me, so it shouldn't be a problem. Well, once I got to put them on, I could barely get my feet in them. They were more like an 11 at best! They were sure hot shoes though, but I didn't do much walking in those babies. Hence, I was certainly hesitant to try any other NW shoes. A couple weeks ago, I was out shopping the discount stores and had a chance to try on some heels. The place I was in only carried sizes up to 11 (US). The first pair I tried on was a pair of open toe t-strap pumps by Nine West in a size 11. They fit about perfectly. The second was another closed, pointed toe pump by Nine West that I could barely squeeze into. And yesterday, I tried another Nine West double in-step strap Mary Jane stilettos in an 11 that, while not round toe, would be I guess described as almond shaped, and they were somewhere in between. So, like just about any shoe manufacturer, different shoes in the same size definetly fit differently. I think, however, that Nine West, as has been stated, might run just a bit more on the narrow side than many other manufacturers. The key is to try them on, I guess, though that is not always in the comfort zone!