The Happy Feats of HappyFeat

[roniheels]

Another great set of outfits and high heels and I enjoyed reading about your outings. I have walked through our mall in high heels and it turned out to be an unexpected pleasant experience. As I have said many times, I thank you for being one of the many here that inspire me to try new outfits with my high heels and go to different places in public in high heels.

[Dawn HH]

Happyfeat:-) As usual your outfits are great looking on you. I also liked the Saturday outfit the most. It has been some time since I walked our local Malls in heels, but the great memories are still there in the minds eye. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[HappyFeat]

During the last few weeks, I have been exceptionally lucky to have a lot of time to heel. Though most of my outings are seldom over 2 hours, I take what I am given. The most wonderful thing is that each outing, however short, has been very enjoyable and relaxing. I am seeing more of the same people over and over, who remember me in a positive light and I seem to continue to find new firsts. Even after several years of wearing heels, and quite a while keeping this thread up to date, I am amazed at how many new experiences and fun heeling remains.

Tuesday February 23 - Recently, I have noticed a pattern in my heeling life. Over the last few weeks I tend to go to the same places and do the same things on the same day of the week. Its kind of like the old joke about school lunch...if its meatloaf, it must be Wednesday. Tuesdays seem to be my day to go to Barnes and Nobel and Starbucks. I go to Barnes and Nobel because a young woman works there who always wear fantastic shoes. She is friendly and helpful and I have complemented her on her shoes on many occasions. She never says anything back to me about mine but always seems to want to talk a little, which is nice. She helped me find some digital photography books that were moved since my last time in. Her tan Jessica Simpson slingbacks were very nice. I truly am in awe of any woman who works the floor in retail in 4 plus inch stilettos.

At Starbucks, I got a hot chocolate and talked for ten minutes or so with one of the baristas who knows me by name now. She was telling me about taking an online calculus class in preparation for graduate school. I jokingly said my advice is to get a masters in something that doesn't require calculus, and we had a very nice interaction. I set down in at a table (this store only has a couple of easy chairs, so they are usually taken) and crossed my legs. I did get a ton of attention and the other barista cam out to sweep, and we talked about my job, interests, etc. She kept glancing at my shoes, but again never said a thing.

So far, my outings to this Starbucks have been relativly understated. I wore a black Banana Republic V-neck sweater over a gold mock neck, gray herringbone Lane Bryant dress pants, and black Nine West "Florence" oxfords with about a 3 inch heel. As the weather warms, I may take it up a notch, but for now I like the look.

Wednesday February 24 - Again, another short outing and another understated outfit. I wore a bark blue Geoffry Bean sweater, a yellow mock neck, gray Ann Taylor Loft skinny jeans, blue patterned knee high stockings and blue patent Bandolino "MacDougal" loafers that have a nice covered block heel. My first stop was grocery shopping, where I did attract a minor amount of attention. I noticed three young women working in the front watch me leave through the window. I was pretty focused on my task at hand, so I really didn't look around for reactions, but I did catch a few people. Afterward, I went to the other Starbucks I frequent. They aren't nearly as outgoing (the staff or customers) as the other one, but it is a much nicer store. I ordered a Frapachino this day, and sat at a table in full veiw of people coming in. Several smartly dressed women came in, but they either saw me and were not impressed or didn't even know I existed. However one woman smiled, spoke and and gave me a slight nod of approval. Anyway, it is of no matter, it is just nice to be out feeling good.

Thursday February 25 - This was my best outing of the week. I didn't go understated as the previous two days - I wore Clayborne turtleneck sweater, Limited black velvet jeans (I also have a pair of black velvet Capris I want to work in before it warms up) and black Enzio Angiolini lace up boots. I went to the South Hills Mall, to just heel around. I visited JCrew and Ann Taylor which didn't have anything on sale before I hit Banana Republic. At BR, I selected several items to try. A young man took them to a dressing room for me as I tried on a couple pair of clearnace shoes in a 10. I could almost get them, but not quite. I tried on a skirt (too small) a dress (not cut right) and a couple pair of jeans. I wound up buying a pair of chocolate brown skinny cords. The young woman who checked me out was quite cold to me actually which surprised me.

Afterward, I went to New York and Co. which is a store I had never been in. It is fairly low end for my taste, but they were having a HUGE sale. I browsed the racks looking for out of the ordinary items that might be fun to try. I had to track down a clerk to see if they would let me try, and of course they did. She was even enthusiastic about it. I wound up talking to several people around the fitting rooms, and everybody working in the store warmed right up to me. I was treated like any other customer, maybe even better. I decided on a couple of items and then realized that I left my card in the car and had spent my cash at BR. I asked if they would hold my items until the next day. They kindly agreed and took my name. It turned out to be a lot of fun and I now have a new store to visit.

Saturday February 27 - My last February outing. I actually got out several times in February, in spite of the weather. However, my Saturday outing was supposed to be on Friday, but a fairly strong snow clipped the area leaving about 6 inches and very icy streets. The conditions were not good for driving, let alone heeling. Of course, JeffB will let you know that it was nothing in comparison to what he has been through, but the fresh snow did keep me home.

So Saturday, I decided to wear my new Bass "Berlin" flat riding boots. I tucked them inside of my dark rinse Limited 917 jeans and wore a yellow sweater and white turtleneck. My first stop was the bank. A couple of male customers were surprised and took long looks at my outfit and the tellers were chatty as always. I headed to the mall to pick up my stuff at New York and Company. A couple of the women working were also working on Thursday night and we had a long talk about the weather and the items I bought. I got a pair of gray/blue and a pair of gray skinny cords, a bunch of scarfs, a pair of gray straight leg jeans and a khaki skirt - all for $40! Pretty exciting. When I left, two women said they hope to see me again soon. I plan on obliging them.

I did browse the mall a little more. I went to the limited, which was quite crowded. One clerk, who I find quite attractive despite the fact she has a unique body style - about 6 feet tall, and I would guess a size 12 or 14 was wearing a very cute pair of three inch platform pumps with a round toe and a nice 3 inch heel with her jeans rolled up to show them off. I told her how much I loved her shoes and jeans. She thanked me enthusiastically. When I was leaving the store I told her I would come back during the week when it was a bit slower to get a couple of things, she said that she looked forward to seeing me. Maybe it is small talk or just being nice, but I have found a few people in this outing who seem very accepting and friendly.

All and all I did have a lot of fun this week. And isn't that what its all about?

[danielp6406]

Greetings Happyfeat :-)

Again, great outfits and outings.

Looks like you enjoy each one a lot AND you have fun at the same time !

I like your flat riding boots. They are also fun to wear isnt-it ?

I wear mine when there is snow or ice and I enjoy them a lot.

Well done !

[Mr. X]

Love your outfit with the velvet pants. Those lace up boots are hot hot hot.

[roniheels]

Wonderful outfits and foot wear. I always love reading about your outings. They inspire me and give me ideas for my future outings in high heels. I especially love the lace up boots. I recently bought a pair of lace up boots with 5" high heels. My outing was after it had snowed 4" and I ejoyed every minute walking through the snow in them. Thank you again for sharing with us.

[Bootking]

The sweater, velour pants and laced boots; a winner!!

[JeffB]

Oh, yeah! Most definitely gotta go with the velour pants and boots! Yowsa!

[Dawn HH]

Happyfeat:-) Great outfits and great outings. Thanks for sharing with us all. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[malinheels]

What has happened to Happyfeet I,m patiently waiting for the next installment cheers from australia malinheels

[JeffB]

What has happened to Happyfeet I,m patiently waiting for the next installment

That makes two of us! I hope he's okay as he hasn't been around here lately!

[Bootking]

I heard from him last week, very busy with new home, work etc. He appreciated our thinking of him!

[Dawn HH]

The last posters ask the question that I was about to ask and Mickey just ask me if I had heard from Happyfeat and after answering her then I opened this thread. Glad to see that he is O.K. and I'm sure that when he gets time he will be back with us all again. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[danielp6406]

What has happened to Happyfeet I,m patiently waiting for the next installment cheers from australia malinheels

That makes four of us now !

[JeffB]

I heard from him last week, very busy with new home, work etc. He appreciated our thinking of him!

Well, I'm glad to have read that HF is okay! Hope he'll be back on the forum soon!

[HappyFeat]

Thanks for all of the concern! It is nice to be missed. I have missed you guys a lot as well and hope to be back to posting regularly again soon. There is a lot of exciting things happening in my life right now and I just haven't had much time to keep up with my postings, pictures, etc. However, I have been getting out a lot recently and think that I have moved to a new level of heeling - one that I never dreamed of! In the last couple months, I shed any vestige of anxiety or concern about wearing heels and my "outings" have simply evolved into another day's activity.

One of my milestones was a few weeks back. I hadn't been out to a club for a long time and decided to put on some heels and head out. I wore a white blazer (yes, white), a blue striped sweater, Lane Bryant trousers with a long inseam, and black patent Nine West pumps. Not only did I go out, I went to a club that I had never visited before - a big club with three dance floors, several bars, and a huge deck. The crowd was young, but friendly. I was greeted with "Hey Tom Seleck," or "Miami Vice" a lot because of the white blazer. For me I wanted to be noticed and it seemed to work well.

Near the end of the evening after walking around the club for some time, a really beautiful girl stopped me. It was quite surprising since she was making out with who I assumed to be her boyfriend. She said, "You have to take me shoe shopping! I love your shoes!" We chatted for a while about shoes (she was wearing a pair of ruby Madden Girl pumps), I turned her onto the Nine West outlet, but the whole time the boyfriend was lingering. I would have taken her number but the didn't even want the appearance of moving in on somebody else's woman. The interaction made me feel really great, however. Really great.

When I left, I stopped at a convenience store on the way home for a beverage. I wound up talking to the clerk, a pretty plus size girl with stunning eyes. While we were chatting, a couple young guys came in and one of them said "Man, those shinny shoes are great!" Now I have two post adolescent guys going crazy over the fact that I was wearing heels. "That's so cool, etc." Eventually, one of them asked me where I got my Rolex. Actually, my watch wasn't a Rolex, it just looks like one...I paid about $200 for it. One of the guys told me to come to the jewelery store where he works the next time I was shopping for a Rolex and he would give me a deal. Needless to say, I was pretty excited that my watch could pass...anyway it was a really fantastic evening.

The next week, I posted this ad on the local Craigslist:

Freestying Man Looking for Shopping Friend - m4wI am an attractive man, intelligent, educated, tall, and sincere who would love to find a female friend who likes to to go shopping, meet for coffee, chat, and just have a nice relaxing trip to the mall, etc. I am an "Freestyler," which is a guy who likes to incorporate women's fashion into my wardrobe - mainly shoes and jeans, but will wear the occasional skirt for fun; otherwise I am completely masculine and make no effort to be anything other than a man. Needless to say I have great confidence and really thrive on doing my own thing. Mostly people are accepting and I actually get few reactions. I make no effort to hide in any way. I have a great sense of fashion and love to hear the opinions of others and will gladly share mine with you. In addition to fashion, I am an attentive listener, love to tease, and am a good friend. I am NOT looking for sex, do NOT have a fetish in any way, but would just love to find a confident female friend to share what I enjoy most - shopping and socializing. I am quite real.

If you are an open minded, confident female who would like a shopping buddy who is honest and knows a thing or two about wardrobe issues, please respond. Age, race, relationship status are all unimportant since friendship transcends all. Please put "Shopping" in the subject line so I can sort the replies from the spam. I will be happy to answer any and all questions from serious replies.

Well, I got a reply from a young woman last week and after a week of trading e-mails we finally met tonight. We met at a Starbucks and set on the patio and chatted for 3 hours. I wore a black suede blazer, white dress shirt, Tommy Hilfiger "Hope" boot cut jeans, black patterned knee highs, and black patent Steve Madden Mary Jane pumps. She didn't wear heels, but we did have a very wonderful interaction. I anticipate we will do it again since she seemed to enjoy it a lot as well. Afterward, I stopped by another Starbucks that I frequent and ran into one of the barristas that I had talked to. She was on a break, setting outside and and I just asked if I could join her for a few minutes. She agreed, we chatted about her applications to graduate school, etc. It was so obvious that I was wearing heels, but other than a couple quick glances under the table, she didn't seem to care.

Again thanks for keeping me in mind and I hope soon to be back posting more often. I do miss my fellow heelers!

[tiffany]

It would have never occurred to me to post an ad looking for a shopping partner! What a brilliant idea!

[Bubba136]

Great to see you posting again.

[hhboots]

Glad to hear all is well with you HappyFeat. Sounds like you are still out there leading the way to heeling equality. Awesome inspiration, keep it up

[radiodave]

Far out HF! I would have loved to be the fly on the wall when the lady at the club was talking to you. Nice to see you posting again, and glad to hear you had some success with your ad.

[JeffB]

Welcome back, HF! You were missed around here! Hope all is well with you!

[danielp6406]

Nice to hear from you again HF :-)

A great idea you had about putting an add for a shopping partner.

The girl at the bar: Too bad her boyfried was around.

Hoping you will see her again (alone) next time you go back to this bar.

[roniheels]

HappyFeat ... Welcome back and congratulations on your great outing and the success from your advetisement. I hope you have a nice relationship with your new-found friend. Please keep us posted on how things transpire.

[Maximilian]

Welcome back HappyFeat. Another great adventure story as usual!

[Bootking]

HappyFeat, I must say that that is one of the most original classifieds I have ever heard of! Good luck!!

[RonC]

HF, good to see you back! Sounds like you're having fun!

[Dawn HH]

Happyfeat:-) Good to see that you are back with us again. It s obvious that you were greatly missed. Your last outing and the ad that you posted was terrific for you. Looking forward to viewing more of your posts when time permits. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[Steve63130]

HF, I echo everyone else's warm greetings. Glad to see you posting again. Steve

[malinheels]

Now happyfeat i am becoming increasingly concerned with your level of posting & think that you will have to get those fingers punching on that key board a bit more cheers malinheels

[HappyFeat]

Now happyfeat i am becoming increasingly concerned with your level of posting & think that you will have to get those fingers punching on that key board a bit more cheers malinheels

Ask and yea shall receive! Here is a sampling of some of my recent adventures:

Monday May 17, 2010 - This summer, in addition to many of my other activities, I have decided to take a tour of several Pittsburgh area shopping centers. This day I started with the Homestead Waterfront area, which is a middle of the road development trying to be upscale. I wore my black sued blazer, gray sateen Geoffrey Bean shirt, white Limited 917 boot cut jeans and black Nine West "Gillman" slingback pumps.

I visited Macy's, where I browsed the 85% off rack for jeans, finding a cute pair of Tommy Hillfiger jeans for $7. After spending nearly an hour browsing the rest of the store and drawing some attention, I passed a young clerk in the juniors section who got a good look at my shoes and did a major double-take. Of course I couldn't let that go, so I went to her register to check out. She never said a word and of course I didn't either, but I could tell her reaction was somewhere between shock and amusement. Afterward I went to the makeup counter, still having the goal of having a salesperson apply makeup on me. I chatted about some of the bonus packs and the clerk told me that I should come back for a free gift in June. I will likely do that.

After Macy's I went to Lane Bryant and looked around. This store isn't terribly friendly, but it is huge. Since I have lost some weight, I am heading out of their demographic, but I an still wear their dresses. I found one that had a nice cut, but a very graphic pattern - it fit nice but was a bit too loud. I have attached a picture of me wearing it. (I love my new iPhone!)

Next I went to Ann Taylor Loft, where I find the staff quite freindly, though they only have one area of fitting rooms, and it is often difficult to try things on. Well, it didn't matter much because their sale items were still a bit more than I wanted to pay, though I did get a couple pair of black leggings for $5 each. The clerk when I was checking out was very nice and chatted me up like I was any other customer...which i found wonderful since I was only spending $10.

Heading back to my car, I passed Ulta, which is kind of like a hair salon and a beauty supply store all rolled into one. I saw a makeup kit for $20 and inquired about it. It had been misspriced and was actually $60. The clerk asked if I knew my colors and I said no. She took me to the high chair right in the window and started applying foundation to me. It was very fun. Though I didn't buy anything, she told me I looked fantastic.

Next, I went to Marshall's and TJMaxx to look at the shoes and found nothing that I liked. A quick stroll around DSW also came up empty. All in all, the experience shopping at the Waterfront is fairly limited but I did have some fun. I would rate it a B.

Thursday May 20, 2010 - The wife and I decided to take a day trip to Niagara Falls. She had a couple days off and it was going to be a very nice day. Though I didn't wear heels for touring the Falls, I did wear a pair of new ballet flats she picked out for me. I wore a yellow seersucker shirt, white JCrew matchstick jeans with my pewter flats. I kind of thought the outfit was inspired by HeelD when I looked at it. Just a word to any guys who think that only heels attract attention...I got many more looks from people in my flats than I ever did in my heels. I know they were pretty obvious, but they still are flats. And I cut my feet pretty ban in them as well. I have posted a full picture, including my head this time. When somebody else takes the picture I don't get that stupefied look that always seems to show up in timer fired pics. How I envy you JeffB!

Monday May 24, 2010 - Another shopping outing. This time to the Galleria of Mount Lebanon, just south of Pittsburgh. I wore sandals, black Nine West "Tomcat" sandals, Limited 917 jeans, a black patterned Claiborne rayon shirt and a khaki linen jacket. I wore the sandals for three reasons: 1) Had to show off the new pedicure 2) it was finally warm here 3) the back of my heels were still cut pretty bad from the ballet flats. I threw on a toe ring for good measure.

The Galleria is a small indoor mall with a few stores and mainly restaurants. The stores tend to cater to an upscale, yet more mature crowd. I never seem to have much luck there. I visited Ann Taylor, Talbots, Chicos, and Cache. All of the clerks were well into and many over their 50's and were friendly but distant. I didn't find anything of interest but browsed each for about 15 minutes. Though the center is fairly close to my home, it is not a good heeling venue. I would rate it a D.

Tuesday May 25, 2010 - Back into a skirt for the first time in months! I finished doing some work to my attic (how many coats of drywall mud can a room take!) took a shower and shaved my legs. The weather was beautiful and I just had to go out. I went to the Outlets at the Meadows first, where I have shopped since they opened. I buy many of my shoes there as well as a few other things and have usually been comfortable there while wearing a skirt.

I went with a "Preppy" look, blue and pink oxford dress shirt, khaki knee length skirt, and blue Bandolino "Sneakpeek" pumps with a moderate heel. My first stop was Nine West. I tried on a few pair of sandals, finding one pair that I adored. I didn't buy today, but I may very soon. As I scoured the store for size 11s, the other customers, who usually either ignore me or are engaging were a bit standoffish in my presence. The clerk, whom I have talked to on many occasions spent most of the time in the store talking to and playing with a customers baby. Of course she did talk to me and was glad to see me.

Afterward I went to Lane Bryant which is becoming awful. I couldn't find any dresses that I liked, and their prices otherwise are very high. Jones New York had nothing and the clerk in the Kasper store wouldn't even look at me. The manager of that store, when she is in is always very helpful and will let me try things on, make recommendations, and has even "zipped me up" in the past. My last stop at the outlets this day was at the Lancome outlet. The manager there has sold me lipstick and she helped me pick out a sale bad with some additional cosmetic items. She is also redoing her home and told me that her partner approaches decorating "like a man." So, I found it interesting that she came out to me. I am not sure what it means, but it was an interesting experience none the less. Though this day was not typical, I have found these outlets to be very accepting of me when I am out and about in heels...or a skirt for that matter. I would rate them a B+, but today was more like a C-.

I have attached the pictures from my outings...Its good to post again!