xaphod

as a follow on from quotes about genius in another thread

Berlioz was a genius, not a scholar !

Camille Saint-Saens

Xa

attributed to Wallis Simpson:- You can't abdicate and eat it ! Regarding being excluded from Royal circles after the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936. Xa

Been there .... done that. I started wearing corsets 23.5/7 for some months in early 2000 and reduced my waist to 28". Since it was Winter, I wasn't doing too much in the way of extreme physical activity, but when Spring came and I started sailing, the restriction of corseting was pretty well incompatible with the sometimes very physical work involved with single-handing a 32 foot sailboat, so I took the corset off. More fool me ..... because I put my back out for the first time in my life, and was flat out for a month !!! That certainly screwed up my sailing season and I havn't worn a corset since ..... heels are a different matter though ! Xaphod's method of putting on a corset. My night corset was my previous day corset (1" larger waist earlier on during training). Upon waking, remove night corset and bathe/shower. Loosen the laces sufficiently and evenly on the day corset so that you can only just close the corset at the front. It's best to do this first thing in the morning after you have had a bath/shower, but before you have eaten. Lay down on the bed and engage the bottom clip on the busk. Use this as a pivot to engage the more difficult clips at the minimum part of the waist. Complete fastening the busk. Stand up, preferably in heels so you get a better posture for corset wearing, and pull in the waist somewhat. This will tighten the waist, but not the top and bottom of the corset. Reach behind you and progressively tighten the corset from the top down to the middle and from the bottom up to the middle. You will now be able to pull in more of the laces at the waist. If you have been corseting for a while, the edges of the corset will nearly meet. Now wriggle around in the corset ..... it's difficult to describe, but you need to feel your internal organs re-adjusting their positions and your lower ribcage sitting on the taper of the corset down to your waist. The corset should also be taking the weight of your upper body which you should also feel being transfered to the tops of your hips and your pelvis through the stiffness of the corset. This actually stretches your spine a little and atrophies the muscles which usually support it ..... as I found out to my cost !!! Finally close the corset (say the last 3/4"), again working from the top down and from the bottom up. Pull the laces tight so that the edges of the corset don't open like a pair of lips pouting when you bend over (as far as the corset will let you !!! ). Many people wind the laces around the waist a few times, but to stop the laces chafing your corset, it is best to tie them at the back, then loosely wind them around the waist. A little practice tying a bow knot behind you while not letting your waist expand will pay dividends in corset life ! Part of 23.5/7 corset wearing is keeping your skin in good condition, which means attending to places where the corset chafes, keeping the skin and corset clean and wearing something under the corset if extreme waist reduction is required. I used to wear an old t-shirt under my night corset for comfort in sleeping, but nothing under the day one. Had I continued wearing corsets, I would have had to invest in a corset liner. The use of 2 corsets allows the day or night corset to be washed and dried while the other one is being worn. Xa

oi! you calling me fick or summat?! (and "did you spill my pint?")

Emma

Sorry .... generalisations again, but when I go back to my old northern town, where we used to have girls' and boys' Grammar Schools, and ask old school friends where any young person with a bit of 'nous' may go to get an education, they say that the best thing to do is to move out !

Xa

I'm coming to the conclusion that if you dress well and that your 'internal mental attitude' knows you are looking good, you will be well equipped to attract favourable comments. The negative stuff that is also inevitable then seems trivial in comparison.

I also find that the favourable comments are much more prevalent in the 'rich end of town'. To quote Charles Pellegrino (previously attributed to Carl Sagan, in error):-

Talent recognises genius. Mediocrity sees only itself.

Xa

I've added some more to the original story if anyone would care to read it. Jo, I know the designer store up the hill in Kensington Church St. Usually there is something of interest, but, as you say, it's horrendously expensive for something secondhand. It's amazing how stupid some people are to pay so much money for a name on a label. I still remember that Viv Westwood used to charge £50 for a teeshirt with her logo on it. I get as good quality for £10 from Argos !!! Xa

Since it looks like we are missing out High St Kensington, I went up there yesterday, wearing my spiky Sacha knee high boots outside pants. Diving into Pizza Hut, I was greeted by my fave waitress, "Hi, how are you?" Usual pleasantries passed and I chose their 'eat as much as you like' buffet. While I was selecting from their pizzas and salad bar, I asked another waitress if they still did their black olive pizzas. Returning to my table I found the bill which they usually leave to save them time when the rush starts later. Strange, thought I, what's written on this .... 'I want you', plus some cryptic underlinings on the bit about 'service not included'. OH f.... how do I handle this? While musing on this, my fave waitress (who is about half my age) came over and said, "We've put out a mushroom and black olive pizza for you. Oh, BTW I really like your boots .... where did you get them from?" I told her that they were from Sacha a couple of years ago, so she seemed pretty disappointed that she couldn't get a pair. She had to attend to another customer, so I couldn't continue the conversation. The problem was that I couldn't be sure that it was she who had written on the bill, so when one of the guys came over to refill my pepsi, I asked him whose writing this was on my bill. "It's mine", the guy said, and apologised pretty quickly. I told him that despite appearances to the contrary I was 100% straight and he went away. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Later on in the day I was in South Molton St (a mini version of Rodeo drive) wandering into all the designer shoe stores there. I was half aware of a woman who walked across from the other side of the street, straight into the shop, straight up to me and said, "I really admire a guy who is interested in footwear". We had a brief conversation about why I wore heels, but she had to dash before I could steer the conversation around to anything more personal. Could be I ballsed up again ! .... added later It couldn't have been all that bad, because she said that I was 'looking good'. One day, this way, I might find someone I like and who hasn't got any current emotional entaglements, but, in the meantime, it's quite fun. Jo, I don't normally remember the stores in South Molton St. Generally they are well overpriced £300 to £500 for a pair of admitedly very good quality boots. For that price I can get a pair custom-made. Note for Robert, I dropped into Barrats in Oxford St to see if your 'Jeanes' boots had arrived in size 10 .... no luck, but I'll keep on trying. I always thought that people in shoe shops had a shoe fetish to a greater or lesser degree, but the manageress of Barrats asked me, somewhat incredulously, "do you actually like wearing them". I told her that I had been fascinated by heels since I was about 4 (in 1960). I was just the right height to get an eyeful of stils and in just the right era .... all the girls wore stils then. In Aldo in Oxford St, I met the same girl who sold me a pair of 3 1/2" heeled burgundy knee boots last year. She tried valiantly to sell me something else, but old Xaphod is too canny to pay 'recommended retail price' for anything, unless it's truly exceptional. Outside Aldo I was stopped by another girl who was amazed by the spiky Sachas and asked if I had just bought them in Aldo. A second girl this day seemed quite disappointed that she had 'missed the boat' by about 2 years. Finally, on the tube, a couple of young girls seemed to be having trouble containing the giggles. The two snaps of conversation I overheard were: "I can't stand it, I think I'm going to explode", and, when I rose to get off, coincidentally at the same stop as them, "Ohmigod he's getting off here." Xa

if anyone has grown up in s yorks, you would know that generally people have a very sarcastic sense of humour, and look for nice opportunitiies ti rip the piss out of the ordinary.

Guess why I left that part of the world .... anyone with any brains got the hell out for more civilised parts.

Xa

OK, guys,

King's Cross it is. My train can get me to Kings's X by about 1050, assuming the Northern line is OK.

I was up for a visit to Leatherworks 9/10, but not for LSB 3/10. If we are going to see lots of shops in north London, then that will not leave a lot of time doing the mainstream shops.

Cyprianou is in Bounds Green, but I think he would not be too amused having lots of people invade his small shop. If someone is really interested in buying a pair of custom made shoes (we're talking north of £500 here), then I'll give you his phone number and you can arrange an appointment, but a lot of guys coming just to gawp is not where he's at.

Oh, BTW, I came back a bit early.

Xa

Hi, Daz, Ionic and others, OK, 6th it is. Suggest meeting at 1145 at High St Kensington station concourse. If you are early, there's Marks and Spencers next door to browse (they do some reasonably elegant boots and go up to size 9 sometimes). This is only a suggestion, not set in stone .... I know Daz gets a cheaper ticket if he travels early, so I can appear an hour earlier if required. Leatherworks have some ranges in most sizes, so you can try on these to find out which size last you prefer. The particular style you choose will be made on their standard last (I don't think they do custom foot measurement and modify the last to suit individual feet). If you have kneehigh boots made, they will tailor the profile of the boot to your leg, but I'm pretty sure it's still Hobson's choice when it comes to the last. Stils will be fine .... I feel the need for Fuss 5" courts, but whim may change this. I'm not around for a while so I'll PM a contact phone number to those interested. Xa

Hi, all, Confirmed .... we'll do Thurs 6th. I havn't been to Leatherworks for a while, so another trip would be fun. If you're planning to buy some shoes from there, then it's a good idea to try on a few pairs because their lasts are very narrow. In my case, with size 5EEE feet, I find that I have to take their size 7s. Ususally size 6 is OK from ordinary outlets, but size 7 is just unwearable .... that's why I don't have any Leatherworks shoes. BTW, Leatherworks used to like you to phone beforehand to make an appointment. When you arrived you pressed the bell on an anonymous-looking door which was opened to reveal all the heely goodies inside ! Normally I get up to town around 1130 and eat at Pizza Hut in High St Kensington (as much pizza as you can eat plus salad for £5.50). Suitably fuelled, I then go wherever I'm going. Xa

How about Thursday 6th in London ? Xa

Rock group 'Hell on Earth' has said it will go ahead with an on-stage suicide during a concert in Florida. Local councillors say they believe it is a publicity stunt, but still passed a new bylaw banning suicide for commercial or entertainment purposes. Xa

The classic con like this was Uma Thurman wearing 6" stils in the flyer for 'Pulp Fiction'. 6" stils, in what I thought was an 'also ran' film .... fat chance ! Xa

Only firm evidence that high heels cause lung cancer would stop me wearing them.

Amanda Platell, former Conservative Party spin doctor

Judiciously worn stilettos are remarkably effective in commanding extra help with household chores.

Vanessa Feltz .... writer and broadcater

Xa

Tidying up, I came across a scrap of paper with this one ... She's got a lot of problems at present .... she's having a hysterectomy and she's having a bathroom suite fitted. can't remember where I found it, but it certainly needs repeating before the paper is used to light the fire. Xa

.... hmmm my last post disappeared into the electronic maw, so here it is again parrotphrased. Most of it has been said ..... just one or two things to add. I wore the thigh boots to show that even being outrageous won't get you lynched. Maybe the combination of brown boots and black everything else is regarded as a fashion mistake, but it doesn't break the 'two colours only' rule. Certainly the look is less incongruous than having a pair of brown boots poking out from beneath a pair of black trousers. It was quite fun when the black girl asked us in Oxford St why we were wearing women's shoes, so I said that wonderful line, "they're not women's shoes, they're mine". I can't remember what she said after that, because I started laughing at her .... I think some others did too. It's nice to see those who take the piss get embarassed when they are laughed at. I'll use that ruse the next time I'm on my own and see what happens. I wonder what the pickpocket scumbag thought, having been given grief by a guy wearing girl's boots. BTW, I'm wearing the Bronx boots I bought from Silhouette on Euroheel, in Robert's picture. Xa

Aha .... someone from IOW .... wished I had known when I was there from 84 to 86 working for Plesseys. Xa

They are not answering emails, their phone has changed to something which is 'number unobtainable'. Oh, BTW the sods owe me a pair of custom boots. Thankfully I paid by credit card, so I might have a chance of getting my money back. Xa

They're a few miles away from me, so I went to see them before UK heel 2002. They are very professional, so you should have no problems. Xa

Close-fitting nappa leather knee high boots, say with 4.5" heel plus gorgeous, but insane, bitch from hell. ..... the only thing I would want from her would be the supplier of her boots. Xa

.... one thing I forgot to mention when putting these guys down is 'the internal mental attitude'. All you guys have experienced it (from the wrong side) when you try to chat up a woman who is definitely not interested, no way, no how, you horrible little creep. I call it the 'freeze water at ten paces' look. Now, as guys, we can't hope to get close, but usually, when addressing the piss takers, I have in mind the image of an unmentionable nastiness, such as you may find when cleaning out a blocked drain, for example. Xa

.... you think "hang on, the house looks a bit funny" then you realise that you are walking barefoot and everything is about 4" higher than normal. Xa

There was a young guy and his girlfriend. I suppose he was trying to be cool when he passed some inane remark. I just said that I have been wearing heels for years and why the hell not? He asked me if I was 'going to go all the way', so I borrowed Yamyam's line that I'm a transvestite from the knees down. I think half their fun is if you get embarassed, so don't let it happen !! Xa

Certainly will be worth you bringing your stils. I feel the need to be noisy, so I guess spiky sacha knee hi boots will be worn. If you're not familiar with my jabbering about these, they have a triangular cross-section heel which used to have a nasty plastic tip ..... until I got to work with a bit of stainless steel and an angle grinder .... heh heh heh. Xa