Worst and Best Reactions to Guy's Public Heel-Wearing

[heel'd]

I must add. What a great post!!! During a time when I have been thinking of giving away my high heels this gives me new inspiration. well. It is tuff to decipher when something as simple as gigles and whispers by mainly women are good or bad. The Bad: well, havent really had any comfortations. Every moment has it's good and bad and I think it is how you reflect on the moment and interpret what has happend. If you go out looking for the bad you will find it. If you go out looking for the good, you will find that too. The good: 1) my girlfriends support and interest in sharing high heel wearing moments with me. she complains a lot about the pain she encounters while wearing heels, but does it anyway. 2) the support of my odd artistic friends who embrace my interest. There are way too numberous stories to share. 3) while on a trip, the girl at Rampage at the King of PRussia Mall in philly. While all the other girls/workers were efficiently passing the "quick, look at the guy over there" while my girlfriend was in the changine room. This ever so happy and smiley young lady talked nicely to me and even checked out my shoes. A great moment. 4) the older mother who scoffed at my shoes to her 18-19-20yo daughter, even turned around 180 degrees to check me out from behind and her daughter never cared. 5) the boy at a nearby sears when the girl at the desk blerted at the top of her lungs, " look at that guys shoes', the boy at the desk mildly passed on the opportunity to add to her inflection. 6) the men with the girl who was trying to make a spectacle of me once again discounted her attempt to make a humiliating moment. 7) the lady who scoffed at my foot attire for quite a while (+/- 30 minutes while following me around a store) and then finally left her mind set go when I stood blatently in front of her (about 20' away), while she looked up at me. I stood there and smiled as if acknologing all her actions. She finally smiled at me too. There is good with the bad. All things on the world live in a balance of opposites. All things of the earth decay by bacteria. Darkness is the absense of light, black is the lack of reflection of everything that makes up white...and so on. So in the world of women in heels, there has to be men in sneakers. In the world of women in sneakers, there may be a world of "men in heels".

[Dawn HH]

Heel'd:-) Boy! What great insight you have. Congrats. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[Jimnj3]

heel'd, I hope you don't decide to do away with your heels!! What were you wearing while shopping at King of Prussia? I spent the day there a week before Christmas shopping myself with 3" blade heel kneeboots without any comments. I did wear jeans but they didn't cover the heel and also were quite noisy walking but then again, so was the mall. Jim

[genebujold]

I don't know if it's the worst reaction I've ever had, but this was certainly one I wouldn't care to repeat: I went to pick up my son from Kindergarten yesterday, and walked into the building like I always do so as to intercept him as he comes out of the classroom. I dislike waiting outside, since there's little protection against a stranger coming along and... I was walking down the hall wearing dark blue jeans, my black leather jacket, and my pair of black, block-heeled (3-1/2 inch) wingtips (my current favorites), when a loud, matronly voice behind me said, "Excuse me!" Since I've walking down that hall more than thirty times in the last four months, I honestly didn't think the voice was meant for me, but it persisted: "EXCUSE ME!!!" I turned and said, "Yes? Are you referring to me?" She didn't answer, but said, in a very loud voice, "You can't come in here unannounced! Get out of this building at once or I'm calling the police!" I'd never seen her before, so I said, "I'm sorry, but I've never seen you before, so I'm going to pick up my son now. Excuse me," and continued towards my son's room along with the other parents. Evidently, she didn't like that one bit, so she marched right after me and got in front of me, blocking my way with her arms. Now everyone was staring at us! I was about to tell her to get out of my way when she said, "We don't allow freaks in this school - leave immediately!" I'd had enough, so I yelled, "Freak! Who're you calling a freak? I'm here to pick up my son, lady! You're the one who needs a straightjacket!" I pushed passed her outstretched arm and she said, "That's it - I'm calling the police right now!" "Go ahead," I countered, "because the moment they get here, I'm pressing charges against you." So, she pulled out her cell phone to dial 911. Just then, one of the school administrators who knows me well hollered the ladies name and said, "Stop that! He's fine - he's ***'s dad. Put down your phone right now and come with me!" The look on her face was classic - flabberghasted. She looked back and forth between myself and the administrator, then looked at my shoes, and gave me a dirty look, to which I responded with a curt, "in your face" smile and said, "good day, madam." The throng disbursed without comment, although one parent did look at my heels for a few seconds. After picking up my son, the school administrator pulled me aside and apologized for the woman's behavior - then had the woman come out and apologize as well. Of course I accepted her apology, then remarked, "You know, fashion changes every decade. At the turn of the century, most men wore full-length coats. Now most men wouldn't think of it. A third of the men around the world wear what we Americans would call a skirt. Some men wear shoes or boots with heels that are higher than what most men wear. Some women wear pants. One's choice of fashion doesn't make one a freak." She said she understood, and apologized again, before I said, "I know you were just thinking of the kids. However, most people who harm kids look quite ordinary." The administrator reassured me it wouldn't happen again, and I left with my wonderful son in tow.

[Jimnj3]

genebujold, Wow! Now that was definitley a bad reaction that attracted attention no one would want. I'll bet there was a lenghtly discussion in the administrators office after you left. Sounds like she was trying to protect the children with what she had in mind as a threat. You handled it well and I'll bet neither of you forget this incident for a while.. Jim

[Bubba136]

I always believe part of the "back-peddling" on the administrator's part, no matter what they personally believe about an issue, is "lawsiuit" advoidance. Not that there is anything wrong with the way you were dressed. But, unusual occurrences demand explantions. And, with children that young, not many adults want to delve into controversial subjects with them. (Perhaps the school's administrator should put a pagein to their "policy book" which requires every newly hiredemployee to be briefed that "the guy that wears heels is OK" to prevent re-occurrances. )

[Dawn HH]

Genebujold:-) Boy! What a story! You held your cool and thank goodness everything came out all right. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[heel'd]

Heel'd:-)

Boy! What great insight you have. Congrats. Cheers---

Dawn HH

Thanks.

PS: I'm an eternal optimist.

[heel'd]

heel'd,

What were you wearing while shopping at King of Prussia?

Jim

Pair of chunky heeled (3") ankle high, lace-up oxford shoe/boots.

Me too with the jeans and noise.

Ever go to Nordstrom wearing. Sometimes I think the gents are about ready to burst out of their clothes.

[Jimnj3]

Ever go to Nordstrom wearing. Sometimes I think the gents are about ready to burst out of their clothes heel'd Actually yes, I park outside Nordstroms and walk throught the mens dept to get to the mall. Also have to pass the womens shoe dept and check out whats displayed. Unfortunatley I couldn't stop to browse the last visit since I had a friend along and although I had 3" blade heel kneeboots on he thought this was uncomfortable. It was so busy nobody in the mens dept noticed or said anything.. Jim

[genebujold]

Genebujold:-)

Boy! What a story! You held your cool and thank goodness everything came out all right.

Cheers---

Dawn HH

While everything came out in the wash, I wouldn't exactly say I held my cool! After all, I did yell at her...

[genebujold]

I always believe part of the "back-peddling" on the administrator's part, no matter what they personally believe about an issue, is "lawsiuit" advoidance. Not that there is anything wrong with the way you were dressed. But, unusual occurrences demand explantions. And, with children that young, not many adults want to delve into controversial subjects with them.

(Perhaps the school's administrator should put a pagein to their "policy book" which requires every newly hiredemployee to be briefed that "the guy that wears heels is OK" to prevent re-occurrances. )

Hi, Bubba - I agree with you in principle. I think a more appropriate entry for the employee handbook would be "never discrimate between parents based on age, sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, or attire.

In addition, employees should have to pass a test that shows a typical businessman in suit an tie and a long-haired hippee wearing a skirt, with the question: "Which of these two is considered more of a threat to the children?

A. The typical businessman.

B. The hippee.

C. One cannot discern the answer to this question from a person's attire.

Correct answer: C

If they get it wrong, make them repeat the ENTIRE test until they get 100%!

The reason I say this is that half the fathers in this school are sprouting at least one earring, a third wear their hair long, and one of them (other than myself) likes to wear skirts on occasion. Then again, he's Indian (from India), and it's his traditional garb. As far as I know, I'm the only guy who wears heels.

Then again, when I'm dressed as I was, I look a lot less threatening than do some of these parents, sometimes sporting multiple piercings, tattoes, and long hair. Having involved myself in the community to some length, I know that a lot of these manifestations have nothing to do with the Hollywood perception of degeneration, but rather, with the common, fairly pacified act of non-conformity, usually caused by a general feeling of not being accepted while growing up.

Bottom line - these are usually the last people you need to worry about, as they've found their out.

It's the people who've repressed their negative emotions, burying them behind the commonly-accepted facade of successful businessman, police/military, or friendly-neighbor-without-any-problems that you should worry about. That repression is like a worm, and it channels itself through their souls to SOME outlet, in some way.

You know - like Timothy McVeigh.

I was going to say, Michael Jackson, but there does a exist a point of rational judgement beyond which no one escapes notice - regardless of how innocent or guilty one might be!

[genebujold]

Actually yes, I park outside Nordstroms and walk throught the mens dept to get to the mall. Also have to pass the womens shoe dept and check out whats displayed. Unfortunatley I couldn't stop to browse the last visit since I had a friend along and although I had 3" blade heel kneeboots on he thought this was uncomfortable.

Jim

Should have tried the ladies dept - they're probably as busy, if not busier.

To date, I've shopped at Nordstroms here in Vegas for heels, while wearing heels, three times.

To date, I've received one half-second look from a man, one one-second look from a woman, and one polite inquiry from a saleslady, which amounted to, "would you like these as is, or gift-wrapped?"

And she was the one who helped me try on three different pair!

"As is, thank you Ma'am."

Not a big deal. You should try it sometime - real confidence booster!

[bluesman]

Well, here's a good reaction for you: Wore my black No Boundaries block heel boots into the office today. Nothing dramatic: 3" block heels, 3/4" plats, rugged sole design, under black jeans. These look a bit like they could be Docs, or Harley. Really pretty subtle. But, first time I've worn women's boots into the office. Usually there's only a couple other people in, all women. Today, however, a couple of extra ladies in. I stop by the Office Mgr office to say "morning", and due to network issues the sound of my voice brings several others out into the hall (I'm the IT guy). No place to escape, so I make the best of it. First comment is "Cool shoes!", and we proceed into a discussion about them being my stompin' boots. They want to know if they're boots or slides; let's see those heels...etc. Compliments all around from the 40-50 year old ladies. Wow! What I thought was going to be total embarrassment turns out great!

[Jimnj3]

Well, here's a good reaction for you:

Wore my black No Boundaries block heel boots into the office today. Nothing dramatic: 3" block heels, 3/4" plats, rugged sole design, under black jeans. These look a bit like they could be Docs, or Harley. Really pretty subtle. But, first time I've worn women's boots into the office.

Usually there's only a couple other people in, all women. Today, however, a couple of extra ladies in. I stop by the Office Mgr office to say "morning", and due to network issues the sound of my voice brings several others out into the hall (I'm the IT guy). No place to escape, so I make the best of it. First comment is "Cool shoes!", and we proceed into a discussion about them being my stompin' boots. They want to know if they're boots or slides; let's see those heels...etc. Compliments all around from the 40-50 year old ladies.

Wow! What I thought was going to be total embarrassment turns out great!

Glad to hear it worked out for you at the office. Now you will feel at ease wearing these boots to work. I have a similar pair that I also wear to work and have on today. They also have a 3/4" plat with a 4" block heel. I haven't had any negative comments and a couple of the women here have also stated they though they looked good.

Keep up the wearing and have fun..

Jim

[Dawn HH]

Congrats fellows on being able to successfully wear your heels to work and gain such great comments from your co-workers. Keep up the good work and enjoy your boots. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[HeeledMarc]

Yop, congrats on working on heels... That's a step! I can remember one of my first time with 3" boots visiting some customers, I was almost shivering, but in fact nobody took notices (or at least did not show it) and it had never had a negative impact afterwards... Let's continue changing the heel wearing attitude! Marc

[newbie2heels]

I am still new at wearing heels out (4 times, but only once in public view), so I don't have any bad expirence. For my first time in public, I had to work my courage up and walked around at a shopping center up the road from my house. Being that it was 11 o'clock all the shops where closed. When I was ready I went to a nearby IHOP *Int. House of Pancakes*. It still took me another 10 min. to get out of my car and go to the door. I walked inside and there was the Manager at the front register, as my heels clicked on the floor he looked up from what he was doing and his face gave a quick look of "hmm?" *best that i can describe*. Then he asked how many and lead me to a 2 person booth. In the booth across from me was mother and two kids about 4 and 6 years old. I tried to rest my feet in a way to hide the heels under the table. They never said a thing. My waitress took my order and left, thou thru the night there it looked like she was trying to sneak a look at my boots. So far so good, right?

Well, that night happen to be Homecoming for a near by High School. Talk about fear, i was almost finished when about 10 couples came in and are waiting in the front where I would have to pay at and walk thru. I slowed down eating to see if it would clear. Then I got interested in what the woman was wearing when they where all lead past to their group of seats.

I turned slightly and watched the go by, My god the horror. Most where wearing flip flop type sandels. Here they are in Nice dresses and are wearing sandels that looked like the same everyday shoes worn around here. Only on woman was wearing heals. She looked to about 5'10 in flat shoes but was almost 6' in heels, but the heels accented her, not made her look tall.

ok, back to me. By the time i got the check it had cleared. I had prepared myself to have to walk a gauntlet. I went up and paid and was out the door with no problems. I know some people saw me but nothing was said.

I was wearing a polo style pull over with black denim jeans(black blue jeans?) and my white heels. Here is a link to a pic of the heels, the jeans stopped just under the top of the arch.

http://img32.exs.cx/img32/5158/inboots3ym.jpg

[HeeledMarc]

Nice story and nice shoes... As for the flip-flops, yes, I see it's coming back, the kind of "cool" Hawain style... This is not good for us heel wearer, but after all freedom is in the shoes as well. May be consider buying a pair of black or brown shoes. They will be less noticeable but still great to wear. Keep walking on heels. Marc

[Bubba136]

Yes, those shoes, in white, are quite attention getting. Besides, they do look rather feminine for a man to wear. But, since you've already broken the ice and put yourself into almost the most disconserting situation, if I were you, I'd keep wearing them in public. Your apprehension couldn't ever be grater than the situation you described and you lived to walk in heels again. Full steam ahead and enjoy your shoes.

[Thighbootguy]

newbe2heels

Great story

I have a pair of those boots, also in white. I had a great time with them.

See High Heeled Sneakers

[Dawn HH]

Newbie2heels:-) That's a great story that you related to us all. Welcome to the HH Place Forum. It sounds like you have a good start on your street-heeling. Cheers--- Dawn HH

[shakedown]

I'm still waiting for the day I actually get a reaction or expression.

[shakedown]

I'm still waiting for the day I actually get a reaction or expression.

Got one! One of my housemates said I was weirder than she thought :rofl:

[genebujold]

After finishing up some consulting work this morning, I drove to Little Rock, Arkansas' River Walk area, and did some sightseeing.

Cold, wet, and wonderful! Having spent some time up North, I really grew to love the low, overcast clouds and wet weather - makes one appreciate that bowl of hot chili just THAT MUCH MORE!

I found an indoor market place where one store served the best Reuben sandwiches on the planet, and the other store the best chili on the planet. I could deduce how they built the rueben, but had to ask the chili lady for her recipe. I was quite amazed when she printed it out and gave it to me!

Then again, here's the conversation that transpired immediately prior:

Me (after tasting her chili and wandering up to her counter): "I haven't tasted chili this good since college, more than 22 years ago! Back then it was a recipe that'd been in my girlfriend's roomate's family for nearly a century - what's your secret?"

Her: "Oh, a bit of this and that. Actually, it's got a whole bunch of things in it."

Me: "That's ok - I've some recipes that have more than thirty items. Is there any chance at all I can get a copy of your recipe? I'm from Vegas, so I'm not likely to spread your secret to your competitors! I'm not in the restaurant business, anyway - I just love chili, and like I said, this is the best chili I've tasted in more than 20 years!"

Her: "I can print out a copy. But first, you have to swear to me two things."

Me: "Ok - shoot."

Her: "First, promise me you'll never share my chili recipe with anyone other than your wife."

Me: "Done! I promise! Oh, I'll probably serve it up to my son, but he's only five, so I don't think he'll be making off with the recipe anytime soon..." (laughter).

Her: "Second, please tell me why you're wearing a pair of women's shoes..."

Me: "Uh... Well, ok. I could give you the short story or the long story - which would you like?"

Her: "Well, it's my lunch break, so how about the long story?"

Me: "That's fine by me - how about my table? Ok by you?"

Her: "That's fine - let me grab my lunch..." (her lunch turned out to be a sandwich and bowl of her own chili).

When she joined me at my table, she handed me a copy of her recipe, which I thought was pretty daring for a sole proprieter who served the best bowl of chili I've found in 45 states. But I'm a man of my word, so if you feel like you have to ask - don't. Ain't going to tell.

Back to the heels...

Her: "So why're you wearing those heels?"

Me: "These? They're not really heels."

Her: "Sure they are - you're probably wearing a four-inch heel. Those are heels."

Me: "Ok - you got me. I'm wearing a pair of heels."

Her: "But why? Is it some kind of fetish, or just personal choice?"

Me: "Actually, I wear heels because I severely injured my ankle playing soccer about eight years ago, and I find it a lot less painful walking in a moderate heel than in men's loafers."

Her, after pondering it a bit: "Ok, I'll buy that. But why not an elevator shoe?"

Me: "Well, to tell you the truth..."

Her: "Please do!"

Me: "...most men's elevator shoes either cost too much, or are very uncomfortable, so I usually wear a pair of comfortable, but conservative, women's shoes when I'm not in the office."

Her (somewhat incredulously): "Really?"

Me: "Yep. And what's more, I'm hardly alone."

At this point, I proceeded to tell her about www.hhplace.org/hhboard/, and many men around the world wore heels.

The cool thing about all this was the more we talked, the more open she was to the whole thing.

At first, I was very surprised, this being Arkansas. Then again, things have changed in the last decade since I was here. For one, gone are the macho swaggerings of yonger men. They've been replaced by genuine concern for the customer, as well as a variety of jeweled adornments, including earrings, lip rings, and a variety of other piercings. Long hair is coming back in style, and dress outside of the work environment is radically different - even saw a guy wearing a skirt this evening at dinner.

In short, it may be the South, but TV and other media have accelerated it's cultural progression into the mainstream.

For the last three or four minutes, Ms. Chili and I talked shop about the wear and care of heels, particularly in light of the current wet weather.

Very interesting! Particularly so if this kind of experience and open-mindedness becomes the norm!

[Thighbootguy]

Genebujold -

What a great encounter. As I read I it a couple of questions came to mind:

Saying great chili is like saying great heels. It generates a different image for each of us. What kind of heels were you wearing?

Now the important question - what kind of chili was it?

I live around Cincinnati and there is (almost literally) a chili parlor on every block. Around here the standard is Greek chili (the Cincinnati variant has a little cocoa in it). One of the most popular brands is Skyline Chili. We once had some friends in from New York and had a chili tasting for dinner with five completely different versions on chili (but I had only gone out chili shopping for 45 minutes).

Chili Recepies

[Bubba136]

Chili! What a wonderful topic. In fact, I believe it deserves it's own thread. Now, believe it or not, second to my wife's chili, I really like the chili that is served at Wendy's.

[genebujold]

Thighbootguy: It was the best chili - straight up ground beef (not hamburger) with onions, garlic, tomatoes, ground chilis, cumin, salt and pepper, and a couple other things. What's in it isn't as important as the proportions, or how it's prepared, which in this case was moderately, but not uncomfortably spicy, aromatic (you could taste/smell each and every ingredient), and slow-cooked to perfection at low temp (heat kills the flavor!). Bubba - What? Wendy's chili? Leftover burgers, salsa, and a few spices? Say it isn't so!

[Bubba136]

Hey, when you're used to eating "beanie-weenie" (canned food from 7-11) at 30,000 feet -- Wendy's chili is gourmet - and, once appreciated it's hard to lose appreciation (kind'a like SOS) ) Now, if you really want to start a intellectual discussion, we could discuss pit cooked pork bar-b-que -- there's a subject closer to my heart (cholesterol and all)

[azraelle]

I agree with Bubba on this one--Wendy's chile IS pretty good. Although I'm partial to Popeye's dirty rice, myself. As for fond eating memories, nothing can compare to the disgusting-looking, but indescribably delicious boudin sausage sold in fly-encrusted roadside stands in Louisiana back in the early '80s (don't know if they're still there, or if they have been shut down as "health hazards").