k6ps Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Hi, Just did it this week -- expanded my comfort zone. I had a class reunion after 15 years in a quite fancy restaurant in the eveing. So i decided that its time to expand the zone again and go there on my 4'' stacked heel booties (http://www.amazon.com/Tommy-Hilfiger-Ruth-Bootie-Black/dp/B000HS1TGY). But it was logical to go there straight after work, so i decided to put on my suit and heels in the morning and go to work in that outfit as well. I did this for several reasons: - i felt like it is time to expand my comfort zone - also i felt like it is not right to hide what i like. I wouldn't be happy to be in my favorite shoes just secretly at home, i want to wear them out, then i'm more like myself. - i knew that it was going to be one of those rare easy days at work where i didn't have anything critical to do - thought that when i'm wearing suit (which i do rather rarely) then the heels are not the very first thing the other people notice, so i don't get TOO much attention (but just enough ) - it is customary for the ladies to wear high heels in our office, and many of them do that. So i thought "why not men too.." - wanted some little thrill and excitement - was curious about my co-workers and former classmates' reactions I had been wearing these heels in public several times before, but only together with my wife when went to shopping, dancing, etc., and for not more than a couple of hours. So, this time it was going to be a full day until quite late eveing, and alone among many people who know me quite well (i have been working in that place for more than 10 years, also have been communicating regularily with some former classmates). So i was wearing a black suite with thin white stripes, a dark red shirt, no tie, and these shoes. I fine-tuned my outlook quite carefully: made sure the color tone of my socks match the shoes and pants exactly, applied some hair gel (ok, actually my wife did that to me ), used perfume (which i'm not doing every day), etc. The pants partially covered the shoes, so the heel height was hot immediately visible when standing. I was initially very nervous and excited. So nervous that i even my lunch didn't taste good that day (but i still somehow managed to eat it) I was complimented about my suit, and asked if i have a wedding tonight , but was not commented about the shoes, until towards the end of the day. My co-workers are used to me wearing 2,5'' block heeled oxfords and clogs at work, so maybe they just didn't notice the height of these heels right away, although these shoes are very noisy. Just by the end of the day they started to realize. I got several comments, all very positive. One guy said he would also like to wear that kind of style (i'm now wandering if he actually will, as he's a very brave and extravert guy, and wears some quite fancy (but low heeled) men's designer shoes anyway). One lady from the finance department (who is usually rather shy and quiet but always wears about 4'' heels at work) came and set her beautiful leg in a cute cone-heeled round-toed pump next to my leg to compare heel heights -- they were exactly the same That's the kind of attention i enjoy most. When i finally got to the restaurant in the evening, my nervousness had totally gone and i was totally enjoying my heels, the company of my former classmates, and the food in the restaurant. Just what was interesting was that no-one commented anything about my shoes there. Although i was sitting at the table most of the time, i still believe they must have noticed, because the heels were especially noisy on the stone floor of the restaurant, and there were not very many people there. But one thing i realized was that my walking on high heels is not so good yet as i'd like to (i'm still a beginner heeler, my active heeling experience is less than a year and my shoe collection is less than ten pairs). I occasionally tended to not keep my back straight, not make some steps carefuly enough, and i almost slipped a couple of times in the slippery stone floor of the restaurant. So i need more practice. What was surprising again was that my feet were not at all tired or painful after the long day on these heels. I did expect some trouble there, but nothing at all. These shoes are really comfortable. Or maybe it was just that for a big part of the day i was sitting. Anyway, i'm sooo happy i did it! Happy Heeling k6ps
Bubba136 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 Wow! Thanks for the report, k6ps. It sounds like you bit the bullet and enjoyed your day in heels. I like your shoes. They are just "male" enough for one glance from the curious and then back to important stuff without reaction. While wearing heels in public does generates some apprehension at first, as you wear your heels out more often, it gets easier and before long, you won't even remember that you are wearing high heels. Just take a look at some of Johnieheels or ThighBootGuy's postings. (As well as Happy Feats and JeffB, among others). Their experiences are what you have to look forward to, should you even want to be as "adventurious" as they are. Thanks again and happpy heeling. Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.
jwhite44 Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 What's the actual heel height? I found a webpage that said they were 3", but your description make them sound like they're closer to 4". Did you get them recently? I didn't find them available anywhere online. Bubba136's comment of them looking "male enough" where my thoughts exactly.
k6ps Posted June 21, 2009 Author Posted June 21, 2009 Hi, What's the actual heel height? I found a webpage that said they were 3", but your description make them sound like they're closer to 4". Did you get them recently? I didn't find them available anywhere online. Bubba136's comment of them looking "male enough" where my thoughts exactly. Just measured, they are 9,5 cm. at the back of the heels, which is about 3 3/4''. There might be different versions of this shoe, as the insoles of mine look different than the ones in Amazon.com pictures. I found them on eBay a few months ago, so they might be some old model not available any more. The main reason i bought them (besides good price) was exactly that -- they look masculine while the heels are still high. And the sound that the heels make is awesome! I really enjoy that Happy Heeling k6ps
Dawn HH Posted June 21, 2009 Posted June 21, 2009 K6ps:-) Congrats on your expanding your heeling horizons so quickly from a couple of hours to an all day event. Very courageous of you and see---the sky didn't fall in on you and you enjoyed it and your feet enjoyed being in heels all those hours. That means that you can do this each and every day if you want or feel like doing it. Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
HappyFeat Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 Congratulations! I am impressed by any guy who wears his heels to work - and also a little envious. It also wonderful that you may have given another guy the inspiration to join the heeling world. No small accomplishments! Thanks for the inspiring report and keep trying new things. Of course keep us informed when you do... Style is built from the ground up!
danielp6406 Posted June 22, 2009 Posted June 22, 2009 Greatings k6ps:-) Very nice shoes and congrats for your first "real" outing in heels The first time is always stressful. Now the next outings should get easier... Happy heeling !
FXHH Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 congrats!! good for you!! great shoes!! great story, and an inspiring one too!! found something similar recently, however not in my size!! happy heeling!!
Thighboots2 Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 K6PS, Good job. Glad you have expanded your comfort zone. I expect the real reason no one paid a blind bit of notice to your footwear was because you had taken care to get the whole look right. The Suiit, colour of the shirt and so on all working together so that even though you were wearing heels, you felt comfortable. If you feel comfortable with your look, then so will all those around you. Your shoe selection was perfect. The shoes do not project say "feminine" because they really cannot be described as "sexy". These are more everyday & practical (if heeled shoes can every have that tag) shoes. Exactly the sort of shoes I would wear if I could find them. Franco Sarto did some a while back. The heeled "Penny Loafer" style is perfect. As Kneehighs says so often now, people being confronted with the reality of a man wearing heels in a co-ordinated way are usually complimentary. Simon (wearing flats today for a change). Are you confusing me with someone who gives a damn?
AZShoeNut Posted June 23, 2009 Posted June 23, 2009 Way to go, K6PS! I too am a bit envious of a guy that wears his heels to work! :-) Larry Life is short... Â Wear the bleeping shoes!
k6ps Posted July 3, 2009 Author Posted July 3, 2009 Hi, Thank you all for giving such a positive feedback! That inspired me to write about another nice outing i had yestreday: Had to go to another town -- Tartu, the university town -- to do some stuff related to my graduate studies. Tartu is a rather small town (100 000 habitants, many of them university students from all over the world) and the university buildings are scattered all around the central area. But they are still so close that it makes sense to walk around and not take a bus or taxi there. Also, it made sense to go there by train. So i had to leave home very early, at 6:00 in the morning, to catch a commuter train to central station and an intercity train to Tartu from there. Thus, the day was going to be long, involve a lot of walking on various pavements and floors, and being all the time in public places among many people. I decided to give some serious wear to my new 3 1/4'' block-heeled wood-soled sandal-clogs --> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=250433386036 because: - wanted some new thrill and excitement, and see the reactions of people - wanted to test if i can do a long day and all this walking on those wooden blocks (just in case i packed my flat leather sandals with me as well). I attempted to give myself a "freaky" outlook to match the clogs: long khaki-colored pants with big pockets on the sides of the legs, a polo shirt with similar color as the clogs, a long dark-grey casual jacked with side pockets somewhat similar to those on the pants, and a few pins attached to the jacket (one saying "More fun!" and another a special golden pin given to anybody who has been participating in the Tartu Running Marathon for 10 years -- which i happen to be ). So i did all this walking fine (never touched the backup shoes), lot of work and study-related stuff, communicated with several people, occasionally slipped my (bare)feet out of the clogs to stretch toes while sitting, and generally enjoyed myself on these clogs. But NOBODY gave ANY reaction. I didn't even notice anybody noticing that my shoes are "somewhat special" for men's footwear. Even though they are quite noisy. By the way, that noise is a special one: its kind of wooden and low, and the sole makes the same sound as the heel. So, its a double-click on every step i take. And this was especially enjoyable in the long echoing corridors of the grand old university main building . I even wished to take some more walks in these corridors just to enjoy that sound, but i had much work to do and not much spare time. When i was on my walk from the university library to train station to catch an intercity train back to Tallinn, Mother Nature threw a brief heavy rain on me. I had my umbrella, but the uppers of my shoes still got wet. But the insoles and my feet remained dry -- that's actually a nice feature of platform soles . The uppers dried completely during the two-hour intercity journey in a well-aired wagon. After that i still had to walk through my office for brief time before taking the commuter back to home. It was late already and there were only a couple of people in the office, and no-one reacted there as well. When i finally got home, it was already 22:00 (so i was wearing these shoes for about 16 hours) in the evening, and i was quite tired. So tired that i almost overstretched my ankle when i stepped onto a small stone just in front of my gate. But i'm very happy after that long and busy day on wood block heels. There are few things i learned or confirmed again: - i CAN walk on these for a long time and enjoy it (they're quite comfortable, i just had a few minor scratches on my big toes, but my feet were not especially tired) - the public seems to take me wearing such shoes as no big deal (that's nice, i can wear them as much as i want and not much worry about what the others think) - shoes with high heels are very much fashion shoes and have to be carefully complemented with fashionable outfit so that all fits nicely together Happy Heeling k6ps
danielp6406 Posted July 4, 2009 Posted July 4, 2009 Nice outing k6ps. I can imagine the very particular noise the wooden clog would make while walking. Glad you enjoyed them all day.
jwhite44 Posted July 4, 2009 Posted July 4, 2009 Nice outing k6ps. Too bad we cannot see the picture of your shoes on e-bay because "Bidding has ended for this item". Do you have a picture you can post ? The picture is there, you just need to scrool down a bit.
Dawn HH Posted July 4, 2009 Posted July 4, 2009 K6ps:-) Thanks for your extensive account of your day out in wooden clogs. I too envy anyone that can wear heels to work. Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
k6ps Posted July 5, 2009 Author Posted July 5, 2009 Hi, Yes, going to work on heels was initially harder than e.g. going to a supermarket together with my wife. I'm still a beginner heeler, but my first impression is that if the shoes don't look obviously feminine (even if they have 4'' heels), and if its an office kind of work, then its no big deal. Of course i got the first reactions and comments when going to work in any of my new pairs of heels, but these have all been positive, and after that i can wear them to work as much as i want. I started wearing heels at work with black 2'' block-heeled unisex Swedish clogs, then brown men's 2,5'' block-heeled oxfords (from the 1970s). These two i have been wearing at work for many times now. And now tried with the 4'' booties and those sandal-clogs, as i've describes in this thread. I'm not planning to wear stilettos at work in the near future (unless they become popular and normal among men). In fact, i have only one pair of stilettos (beige-colored and studded 5'' ankle boots with pointy toes -- just wanted to know how they feel like), i'm currently not confident at all wearing these, and i'm not sure if i ever go to public wearing these (maybe only to a rock concert with a leather jacket of matching color and relatively tight jeans -- that's my only idea so far). But as i've said, i'm still a beginner. Happy Heeling k6ps
HappyFeat Posted July 6, 2009 Posted July 6, 2009 Congratulations on your recent outing! I very much like your clogs/sandals and think they are quite appropriate for a guy. Though when I go out, I usually wear more feminine styles, I am always on the lookout for heels with a more unisex look. They are a very nice choice, especially as you keep looking for shoes that allow you to be comfortable. Style is built from the ground up!
Dawn HH Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 K6ps:-) Have you had any comments from your Boss at work about you wearing heels on the job? Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
k6ps Posted July 7, 2009 Author Posted July 7, 2009 K6ps:-) Have you had any comments from your Boss at work about you wearing heels on the job? We have a rather flat organisation and i'm working in (often international) teams put together for each project. So i have a lot of "bosses", but not really an overall one. The bossest of them is usually the project manager of a project i'm working at. The other ones won't see me very othen. The current project manager is quite funny guy and he usually joins the other crowd when they come to see and comment on any of my new shoes. This has all been positive so far. By the way, we even have a worldwide company policy saying explicitly that no-one should be discriminated based on personal appearance, and this seems to be well respected. Happy Heeling k6ps
gwl1 Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 I have seen those heels before, but they are always a lot more expensive than I care to spend. I like them a lot, though, and I would wear them myself if I ever get a pair. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It was great to read about your day in those clogs. GWL
Dawn HH Posted July 7, 2009 Posted July 7, 2009 K6ps:-) Thanks for the up-date. It seems that you have got it made for wearing heels at work and the envy of a lot of guys here at the Forum. Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
danielp6406 Posted July 8, 2009 Posted July 8, 2009 ...By the way, we even have a worldwide company policy saying explicitly that no-one should be discriminated based on personal appearance, and this seems to be well respected. Happy Heeling k6ps k6ps :-) We also have this kind of policy at work. This is why I can wear heels at work but I don't "push it" to much. Note that I would like to do so sometime...
k6ps Posted July 8, 2009 Author Posted July 8, 2009 I have seen those heels before, but they are always a lot more expensive than I care to spend. I like them a lot, though, and I would wear them myself if I ever get a pair. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It was great to read about your day in those clogs. I got them from eBay US for US$ 25, which is quite little for a pair of shoes of well-known brand, i guess. The shipping cost from US to Estonia was more than that but as you're living in the US, you won't have that problem. So, i'd suggest to check eBay regularily. I have purchased a couple of other pairs of shoes from eBay as well for US$ 20 - US$ 50 or so. Happy Heeling k6ps
k6ps Posted July 8, 2009 Author Posted July 8, 2009 k6ps :-) We also have this kind of policy at work. This is why I can wear heels at work but I don't "push it" to much. Note that I would like to do so sometime... I don't push it too much either. I think i'll generally stick with my 2,5'' block oxfords and the 2'' and 3'' block clogs at work in the near future, and at least once a week wear flats too. The 4'' booties are more for a special occasion when i need to dress up. But luckily special occasions occasionally happen at work too Happy Heeling k6ps
Dawn HH Posted July 8, 2009 Posted July 8, 2009 K6ps:-) I think that you are wise in not pushing wearing heels at work and staying under the radar. Enjoy what you are doing as it seems to work for you. Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
k6ps Posted July 18, 2009 Author Posted July 18, 2009 Hi, Today i attended a wedding of my friend, together with my wife, and on heels. The ceremony was in a small church with a big garden. We decided to dress in a rather formal way: i was wearing a black suite, white shirt, and blue patterned tie. My wife was wearing a short black dress, a white jacket with blue pattern somewhat matching my tie, and black stiletto sandals. The last question i asked her before we went out was: "What do you think, should i put on my classic formal black men's shoes or the heels?" (meaning the same shoes as i was describing in the first post of this thread). She replied: "Heels, certainly." That was a bit surprising, but ok, no second questions about that So we went. My confidence was high this time, and nobody seemed to pay any attention to my heels. Also, i got some new experiences related to wearing heels: - standing still on them for a long time. There was no problem with my feet, but my knees got tired, being in a new unfamiliar position under my body weight. But that was also not a significant problem, just need to get used to. - maneuvering on soft grass. As the weather was nice and warm, a big part of the ceremony was held outdoors (photographing, handing over the flowers and good wishes, etc.). My heels (unlike my wife's) didn't tend to sink to the ground, as they are rather wide, but still it was a new unfamiliar feeling and required some new footwork to handle. Among the quests there was an amazing lady: a tall blonde with very beautiful body, carrying a baby just three weeks old. She was wearing a nice dress specially designed so that she can feed her baby with her breast in a covered way. So she was feeding her baby while walking around in the church garden on very sexy sandals with amazingly thin 5'' stiletto heels, lightly and naturally just like an elf. Just amazing. Overall, it was a nice and enjoyable experience. Happy Heeling k6ps
k6ps Posted July 30, 2009 Author Posted July 30, 2009 Hi, I'm now on vacation and have had some outings wearing my 3 1/4'' block sandal-clogs -- to supermarkets and other stores, to bank, to city government's customer service center, etc. Mostly for 3-6 hours and lots of walking. These woods are getting very-very comfortable, and it is enjoyable to double-click them on various pavements and floors. A few new lessons learned: - i CAN run on these when stepping carefully, at least for a few meters - stiff wood soles with some platform on the medieval round-stone pavement of Tallinn Old Town is a pretty serious challenge for inexperienced heeler like me, especially when its wet (but its no big deal with the Tommy Hilfiger 4'' loafers with no platform, when its dry) - it is not wize to squeeze too many different appointments into a short time and thus be in a hurry when being out wearing heels and fashionable outfit. Better to have enough time to enjoy every step Happy Heeling k6ps
k6ps Posted August 5, 2009 Author Posted August 5, 2009 Hi, THE night was approaching. Madonna's concert tour finally got to Tallinn, Estonia, and we (Mr. & Mrs. k6ps) had tickets already bought more than half a year ago (for the biggest amount of money i've ever given out for any cultural performance). My uncle's daughter agreed to be with our kids and help them go to sleep. So we had a (quite rare, having small kids and a big house) night out together well organized. The weather was also sunny and nice. Ok, you probably got the idea -- i would have considered myself a complete idiot for years if i didn't take THAT night on the best of my heels, and maybe expand my comfort zone again a bit. So i decided to take out my favorite shoes -- rust-colored Cole Haan clogs with 11 cm/4+'' block stacked heels and Nike Air cushioned soles (the attached photo is from the seller. Sorry, i just received my digital camera a few weeks ago and haven't yet got so far as try to make photos of my outfits). I was wearing these with my dark grey casual suit and brown shirt with square pattern. These are the highest heels that i have that still look rather masculine. I have worn them in house for a long time, but never before in public. They are amazingly comfortable and well-fitting shoes. So i wanted to test them in concert: - to see the reactions of people - to know if they still feel comfortable when walking long distances, standing for a long time and maybe even some dancing - to see if my height (i'm 184 cm/6+ ft barefoot, so, add 11 cm/4+'' and i'm one of the tallest persons in any crowd) on those heels is enough to enjoy a better view over the heads of the crowd. Mrs. k6ps was wearing her 4 1/2'' block wedge sandals with 1'' platform. Just in case, we took our sneakers as backup with us. So we went. But it didn't start so well at all. First, it had been a full work day for Mrs. k6ps, and we still had left some minor things unorganized, so we started a bit late. Then i was aware of some traffic jams and some streets temporarily closed, so i took a relatively unfamiliar way around the city. There i had most of my attention on finding the right turns to get to the concert site as quiclky as possible, didn't pay enough attention to traffic signs, and was caught speeding due to that. So, my very first public walk in my all-time favorite shoes was a short one from my car to the police car (just imagine how i felt like on that walk ). The worst part was that i wasn't speedng intentionally but just out of lack of attention. Got my very first traffic ticket in my 15 years of driving history. I tried to be very calm and polite as usual, told my story, and as it was my first one, i ended up getting a small fine. Still the police guys took their time to fill all the papers properly. Now we had a high risk of being late to the show. As anticipated, the show site area was full of cars parked everywhere, and most of the crowd of 70000 was already on site. Found a parking place about 1,5 km/1 mile from the entrance. Here we made the hard decision: to skip that "run a mile on heels" and change to sneakers:mecry: But we took the heels with us, and finally got there into the crowd just minutes before the star of the night entered the stage. Although most people had chosen sneakers, there were lots of very nice high heels to be seen. Quite a lot of wedges, and surprisingly many stilettos too. After about 1/3 of the show, we took a small break and changed back to heels. From that moment on, our feeling started to rise steadily. As it was getting dark and we were among the crowd, i believed that no-one noticed me as a man wearing heels -- until i noticed somebody taking a close-up photo of my shoes with his mobile phone So i guess some people still notice. But i didn't care, i was back in a good mood already -- enjoying a full view over the crowd, taking the music into me, and moving my hips together with my lady's hips After the concert i did take the mile walk on heels. It was a nice walk mostly by the sea. We were feeling good and holding each other in arms. Ultimately, my feet were tired but not unusually, and i only had some minor squeezing on the small toes of my both feet. It was a special event for heeling. We probably won't have another such one for a long time to come. But when we will, then it would be a good time for a first public outing wearing some more feminine-looking thinner heels, provided that they are still rather comfortable, and i'm already confident with more masculine-looking block heels. I'm very sorry for the long story. It probably didn't give much for many male heelers here who are already outing in stilettos with confidence. But the story just wanted to get out of me, in a single breath Happy Heeling k6ps
Dawn HH Posted August 6, 2009 Posted August 6, 2009 K6ps:-) Excellent story that you related to us. If you expand your outings such as that, you will find much enjoyment and happiness heeling in public with your wife. Congrats! Cheers--- Dawn HH High Heeled Boots Forever!
k6ps Posted August 12, 2009 Author Posted August 12, 2009 Hi, Making the first experiments with my new digital SLR camera. Just created a gallery of all my heeled shoes. Never seem to be getting the colors and lighting right... http://www.hhplace.org/album.php?albumid=109 Happy Heeling k6ps
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