jmc

Pride goeth before a fall?

"What have you done?" You have "broken the ice", and in a painless way! Use this experience to build your confidence, go out again in your heels. We have developed a consensus here that you have truly arrived at being comfortable wearing heels when you can forget you have them on and just get on with life. Sounds like you are there now!

. . .

Take for instance, this message board community. We have a board for guys, a board for gals, and a board for "everybody."

Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, PLEASE - but isn't it okay for the women to post in the men's forum, but the men are not allowed to post in the women's forum? I realize that there seems to be a lot more men on here than women, so I suppose they just don't want to clog the girl's board with a bunch of men's post. However, if there was an influx of female visitors, and a large amount of females began posting on the men's board, I think we would welcome it, yes?

Like I said, I could be wrong, but that seems to be the situation. I'll still complacently follow all the rules, but it's "one of those things."

As a member of the website staff I feel like we have explained this until we are all "blue in the face". But here's another go-round.

You are correct when you state that there are a lot more men around here than women. We are picking up a few female members lately but the number of ladies here has always been far less than the number of guys and it is probably not reasonable to expect that to change. For one thing, heels are not as alluring to women as they are to men -- for guys, there's the mystique of the "forbidden fruit" attached to heels while for women they're just shoes. So it seems that women are not as disposed to talk at great length about high heels.

At one time, way back in the golden old days of HHplace, anybody could post anywhere. We started getting a lot of complaints from the women that the men were overrunning their forum -- one of the women would start a thread and she would get 2 female responses and 500 male responses. About half of our female membership became so upset over this situation that they stopped participating and most of those who left have never returned. That's when the "Guys do not post in the girls' forum" rule came into effect.

I was a "lurker" back in those days so I saw the rancor and the mass exodus. I don't want to have it happen again.

Can we not extend this simple courtesy to our female members? Are they not worth it? Most of us red-blooded guys *like* to have some special women around, don't we? The entire staff is tired of the complaints over this rule but it's not going to change -- the alternative is a lot worse. Yes, we're all about breaking some rules here -- arbitrary rules about fashion, looks and what is acceptable for men. But there are some rules you cannot break without serious repercussions.

Now let us get back to the topic at hand and build up our courage to walk tall and proud in our heels!

We mostly operate on the "honor system" here. We trust our members to say who and what they are and conduct themselves appropriately. It's not naivete, we know full well that there are "masqueraders" around here but it's just impossible to fully enforce the gender restrictions on the girls' forum. (Of course, we could demand a certified DNA sample from any member who tries to join as a female. . . ) We have caught members masquerading on a number of occasions and the appropriate action was taken in each case. In at one memorable instance the member de-cloaked himself, causing a veritable upheaval for a couple of weeks. (Oddly, I have no memory of a female member masquerading as a guy. . .) Yes, we watch for overtly "guy-ish" posts in the girls' section but we simply cannot challenge each and every one.

Trying to look domineering? (tough/menacing?)

The domineering image is definitely enhanced by the camera angle. She looks like she positively towers over the viewer.

Wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that heel-wearing by guys **prevents** them from becoming sexual deviants by releasing tensions and satisfying desires? Things in this world often work out that way.

Roz, the most important part is: you came through OK. As far as the shoes, as interesting as they are, you might want to write them off. They failed you in a big way, your feet and legs are far more precious than the shoes. Something is wrong with the balance or the geometry of those shoes -- they just don't mix with your stride and gait.

Welcome to HHplace , pinkytoes!

You can get started on your avatar situation here.

. . . I thought I had a problem or was just plain weird, but find that I am far from unique. . . .

Welcome aboard Super Heels!

As you have already noticed, you are far from weird, and you definitely don't have a problem.

I figure it this way -- if wearing a pair of heels is the worst thing I do then the world really has very little to complain about with me!

As far as the clean underwear issue, I have two observations: 1). If I'm in an accident serious enough to warrant a trip to the E.R., it won't matter how clean my skivvies were that morning. They aren't gonna be by the time I get there. 2). An E.R. staff that spends more than a couple of nanoseconds assessing the cleanliness of my skivvies is an E.R. staff I don't want working on me anyway. As far as the dying issue, I am hoping I have enough warning to clear out the lot before the end. Otherwise, there will be questions. But then, after it's all over I don't think I will have reason to care.

I think what's most important is what works best for you. They're your feet and your shoes and it is entirely your business.

Were they really invented by Leonardo Da Vinci or by mongolian horsemen?

Or someone else?

History may have forgotten who is really responsible for this wonderful innovation, all I can say is "Thank You!!"

Those boots look like they have the "unit bottoms" mentioned earlier. This means the platform and the heel are all one piece, connected together with a curved shank. The uppers are stitched together and then fastened to this unit bottom to make the whole boot. Replacing this type of heel is not practical because removing the "unit bottom" would effectively destroy the boot. As "onyourtoes" suggested, it might be possible to build up a more substantial heel around the existing stiletto using the epoxy resin he mentioned. Autobody filler such as "Bondo" might work here too.

Moreover, much like ancient Rome, the typical Russian response to any situation is to send tanks and military force. . .

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks a lot like a nail. . .

How shall men walk in heels? A little taller . . . To be a little less flippant, since women's hips tend to be wider, the hip sway is probably more pronounced in women. Most of the rest of the physiology is pretty much the same, just generally more "beefy" in men. I remember one thread around here where a guy was told he "walks like a woman" when he wore his heels. This was from a female observer and was more in the vein of an observation than a swipe at him. The poster observed that he "walked like a person in heels" while wearing heels (logical). Further, to most people "walking like a person in heels" and "walking like a woman" are synonymous because so few have any experience with a man wearing heels.

. . . Why is that supposed to be so superior?

Funny!

I don't know about the ladies' rooms but the mens' rooms in gas stations can be pretty disgusting. I certainly wouldn't want to have to sit on one of those "thrones".

Kind of looks like what you would get if the folks who make "Lego" spun off a shoe business

You will need to have that pin strong enough that it will not bend if the heel strikes a hard surface at an angle, such as during a mis-step. A bent pin will most certainly bind inside the heel tube and this will disable the pump. Another thing to think about -- pumping air into enclosed spaces between the shoe sole and the foot might result in obnoxious noises (i.e. "farting sounds") as the air escapes. Using multiple air outlets might help this. The idea might have merit.

Shoe shopping is a lot like fishing, a lot of times you come back empty-handed. (And don't get me going on "the one that got away".) We call it "shoe shopping", and it is not necessarily "shoe buying". It is best to buy when you find that perfect pair that you would actually wear, not just buy because you want heels so badly and you just found a pair that you can get on your feet. Keep at it, perseverance pays off in the end. You have made a start.

Words, whether written or spoken, are always so empty at times like these. No words, no matter how eloquent, no matter how sincere, can fill the gaping void left by the loss of a loved one. We wish -- and dare I say "pray" -- that you can find comfort.

Well-said, roniheels. That's where I was going but you got there much more succinctly.

Nick, we hear you. There is no need to yell in each and every post.

Further, if I may quote member "Marion":

But you are not me, so enjoy them if you love them !

It is quite clear that none of your rights have been violated in any way.

Let us please try to keep everything civil, shall we?

. . .My desk in my home office has a big wastepaper basket beneath it that has (surprise surprise) several pairs of shoes in it hidden beneath the papers. . .

Welcome to HHplace!

I just hope your wife doesn't succumb to an urge to clean everything and discover your hiding place in the process!

And once again a major media outlet takes the opportunity to paint heel-wearing men as weirdos, crackpots, off-their-rockers, etc.

Yes, I agree!!! . . .

Try these for Fugly!!!

http://www.hhplace.org/discuss/attachments/everybody/2885d1215952491-most_horrible_shoes_ever-sandalastro-34.jpg

What the heck are those things? They look like some kind of a brace one would wear after an ankle sprain or foot surgery!

http://www.hhplace.org/discuss/attachments/everybody/2869d1215853788-most_horrible_shoes_ever-20179_1_468.jpeg

At least the rack "shoes" do elevate the heels even though they look like some kind of outer-space scaffolding!