Dance

[hanna]

After reading some of the posts by the other girls here, I have to say I am duly impressed. So many people here are able to walk in 5" heels and keep them on for very long periods of time. How do you do it without tiring and / or injuring yourself? Is there some sort of workout you do for your ankles, calves and knees? One of my favorite hobbies is dancing. I have many dresses which I bought specifically for dancing. It is very common for people to wear 3 inch heels when doing dances like the tango. Naturally, I tried wearing 3 inch heels for tango as well but I get exhausted pretty quickly. My dance instructor suggested I get additional padding so my joints and muscles do not get so tired when dancing for hours at a time. After a lot of searching, I found a pair of black BCBG boots that are knee high with a side zipper. It has a thick fur lining inside which is excellent padding. It has a small platform and a thin but relatively stable high heel which I think looks very elegant. I wear thick dancers pantyhose as well as a pair of thick socks inside the high heeled boot for additional padding. Now I am able to dance for a lot longer in the heels without getting tired since I have three layers of padding, thick pantyhose, thick socks and a fur lining. I try to wear heels to work everyday to get used to walking in high heels without getting exhausted too quickly. If the pair of heels I wear to work has a 3" or higher heel, I still would wear a pair of fur lined dress boots with thick socks and dancers pantyhose for padding. If the heels I wear is between 2" to 3" I can get away with just leather boots with a gel insert and pantyhose. If the heel is 2" or less, I can wear pumps or boots. Is this a common problem? How did others manage to wear 5" heels all day if you have to walk?

[heidi.bier]

It does take time to learn to walk in heels as it is not the natural human gait. Dancing requires a different set of more advanced skills when compared to walking thus the difficulty level is even higher. Dances such as tango, cha cha, waltz, rhumba, foxtrot, swing and lambada have moves which require significant spinning, stabilizing and directing shift on a dime skills. Such skills require a lot of time to acquire, especially when done on tall heels. You might want to try these skills wearing sneakers or flats first if you have not already done so. Many dancers use a lot of padding to offset doing all these moves in heels. Gel pad inserts are common as are using padded boots to hide thick nylons and several layers of thick socks to cushion the tall heels. I like your idea of wearing fur lined boots as the fur lining will provide excellent padding on top of what your thick socks and dancers pantyhose give you. The three layers combined should be a lot of padding. I will try the fur lined boots, thick socks and thick dancers pantyhose when I go dancing in 3" heels as well.

[karen]

Hey girls, as for me, I never had any complications walking in high heel shoes. Even long time ago, I use to wear 3" on occassions with ease. WHen I started working for my new job awhile back, there was a dress code for wearing high heel shoes. So of course I started out wearing 3" heels everyday to work. My feet has grown accustomed to it. Over time, my love of high heel shoes expanded and went into higher heels. Jumped right into the 5" heel scene. Then 6". You see, I'm not on my feet all day. I sit a lot. When I do walk, it's on carpet. The entire floor where I work is carpeted so that provides padding already. At my desk, sometimes I take off my shoes to let it breathe. Don't want my feet to sweat, lol. Even when I go out shopping and such, I would find time to sit down and rest like at a Starbucks or something. You'll find that the longer you wear your heels, the more your feet will grow into them. Even if you have to start out wearing lower heels and gradually move upwards in heel height, you'll get use to it as I have.

[heidi.bier]

Hey girls, as for me, I never had any complications walking in high heel shoes. Even long time ago, I use to wear 3" on occassions with ease. WHen I started working for my new job awhile back, there was a dress code for wearing high heel shoes. So of course I started out wearing 3" heels everyday to work. My feet has grown accustomed to it. Over time, my love of high heel shoes expanded and went into higher heels. Jumped right into the 5" heel scene. Then 6".

When you wear such high heels on days when you need to do some walking or even standing up for an hour or so to do a presentation at the office, do you ever try to cheat by using gel inserts in your heels or padded socks and thick pantyhose inside your boots for extra padding?

I find that without the extra padding, it is extremely tiring to dance in such high heels for any length of time. I admit, it gets hot when dancing in 3 inch high heel, fur lined, leather boots for several hours straight with thick socks and dancers pantyhose but the alternative is to dance in kitty heels or ballet flats and that just does not look as nice with my collection of dresses ......... You are an amazing girl Karen to be able to go so long on such high heels!

[karen]

I'm usually light on my feet so I don't feel a lot of pressure when standing in heels. I'll sit down whenever I can, despite of that. I like to roll my ankles around to take off some stress of being in the same position all the time. I never wear padding or gel of any kind before. Just natural bare feet in my heels. Yes, wearing heels can get hot, but more so in boots. Thta's why I don't wear boots too often. Just when it gets cold out. At least when I have my heels on, I can take them off when I'm at my desk at work.

[heidi.bier]

I'm usually light on my feet so I don't feel a lot of pressure when standing in heels. I'll sit down whenever I can, despite of that. I like to roll my ankles around to take off some stress of being in the same position all the time. I never wear padding or gel of any kind before. Just natural bare feet in my heels.

Yes, wearing heels can get hot, but more so in boots. Thta's why I don't wear boots too often. Just when it gets cold out. At least when I have my heels on, I can take them off when I'm at my desk at work.

Taking off your heels when you are at your desk does relieve a lot of strain. How many hours are your heels actually on then when you are at work? How many of that is standing up in them and how many is sitting down with them on?

I love to wear really high heels, which for me is over 2.5" without platform. However, I do presentations and tend to do a bit of walking between offices, photocopying room, other co-workers offices, cubicles, mail room, cafeteria, washroom, meeting room, etc so I can't exactly go barefoot like you.

I still do wear my 3" heels on most days but I get away with it because I cheat by wearing knee high boots with a padded fur lining, thick socks and pantyhose inside for padding to offset the stress of the high heels. It was something I, like Hanna, picked up from dancers in class who had to dance for a long time in heels. Padding helped them offset the stress.

It is June and I am still wearing my knee high boots with 3" heels to work everyday as that is the only way I can hide so much padding to offset walking in such high heels. The weather is warm but if I switch to pumps, I will have to switch to really low heels which I do not want.

[karen]

I really don't know. I don't keep track of how long I stand up in heels. I do know that I work 8 hours a day and have heels on after I wake up and before I go to bed. I usually wear my 6" mules when I come home. Sometimes, I have an old pair of 5" pumps I wear around. You see, I've worn high heel shoes for such a long time, that my feet just got use to wearing them. That's how I'm able to wear them all day. It's funny though because if I were to walk barefoot or in my ballet shoes or any other flats, my feet will start hurting within the hour.

[heidi.bier]

That is incredible Karen, I wear 3" heels at work and the heels you wear at home for casual wear are double the height of mine for show. At home, I wear either sneakers, Uggs, Moonboots or riding boots. They are all flat with a maximum .5" heel on my riding boots. Are you also like me in that you feel strange if you don't have shoes on, even at home?

[karen]

I always wear shoes when I'm at home. My carpets are dirty and needs to be steam cleaned. If I don't wear heels, I'll wear my sneakers for a little bit, relax on the sofa or bed. I've got a giant bean bag that I can sit on for relaxation.

[heidi.bier]

Karen, I take it the shoes you wear at home are the kind you can slide off in a second?

[karen]

Yes. Today I wore a Steve Madden black pumps to work. At my desk, I could slide my feel out of my shoe as quickly as I can say "Hi".

[heidi.bier]

That just makes me think of my chocolate brown, pull on, knee high Steve Madden boots. I wore then on a date and had on my dancers pantyhose as well as a pair of thick wool socks on inside the boots. My date was playfully pulling on them but he was no where near even getting them loose, let alone pulling one off hahaha

[hanna]

It does take time to learn to walk in heels as it is not the natural human gait. Dancing requires a different set of more advanced skills when compared to walking thus the difficulty level is even higher. Dances such as tango, cha cha, waltz, rhumba, foxtrot, swing and lambada have moves which require significant spinning, stabilizing and directing shift on a dime skills. Such skills require a lot of time to acquire, especially when done on tall heels. You might want to try these skills wearing sneakers or flats first if you have not already done so.

I can see you are knowledgeable about dancing.

The good thing is that I am able to do all my dance moves in heels, the challenge is to not let the heels tire me out when dancing for a significant amount of time.

Many dancers use a lot of padding to offset doing all these moves in heels. Gel pad inserts are common as are using padded boots to hide thick nylons and several layers of thick socks to cushion the tall heels. I like your idea of wearing fur lined boots as the fur lining will provide excellent padding on top of what your thick socks and dancers pantyhose give you. The three layers combined should be a lot of padding. I will try the fur lined boots, thick socks and thick dancers pantyhose when I go dancing in 3" heels as well.

I find the more padding I wear when dancing for a long time, the less tired I am. This is not only me. Many other girls in my dance class have come to the exact same conclusion.

The past weekend, my friends and I attended a social dance with others from my dance class. It was great fun, there was a live band, the dance floor was spacious, drinks were reasonably priced and there were a lot of guys to dance with. I had a lot of fun practising the dances we learned in class and incorporating new moves I learned from my dance partners.

I had started out dancing in my black knee high fur lined boots with 3" heel. I had on pantyhose and one pair of wool socks. My feet started to get tired and it got a little painful after dancing for 2 hours. I did not want to leave yet as I was having a great time. I got my spare pair of wool socks out from my purse, layered it on over my pantyhose and first pair of wool socks and squished my fur lined high heel boots back on. Dancing in heels now was less painful with so much padding although it got a bit warm. Maybe next time I should buy my boots a half size larger to accommodate the padded socks and pantyhose I need for dancing?

[heidi.bier]

I can see you are knowledgeable about dancing.

Thank you. Like yourself, I have done modern dance and a dash of mambo and rumba.

Do any of the other ladies who dance care to voice their opinions here?

I find the more padding I wear when dancing for a long time, the less tired I am. This is not only me. Many other girls in my dance class have come to the exact same conclusion.

The past weekend, my friends and I attended a social dance with others from my dance class. It was great fun, there was a live band, the dance floor was spacious, drinks were reasonably priced and there were a lot of guys to dance with. I had a lot of fun practising the dances we learned in class and incorporating new moves I learned from my dance partners.

I had started out dancing in my black knee high fur lined boots with 3" heel. I had on pantyhose and one pair of wool socks. My feet started to get tired and it got a little painful after dancing for 2 hours. I did not want to leave yet as I was having a great time. I got my spare pair of wool socks out from my purse, layered it on over my pantyhose and first pair of wool socks and squished my fur lined high heel boots back on. Dancing in heels now was less painful with so much padding although it got a bit warm. Maybe next time I should buy my boots a half size larger to accommodate the padded socks and pantyhose I need for dancing?

I am relatively new here but of the very few ladies who I have talked to, Karen, Alexa to be specific, they have the ability to walk in very high heels but they take them off whenever they get a chance and never wear them for any length of time.

For people like you and I who not only need to walk but to dance in them, well, padding seems more like a necessity then a luxury. I too bring a spare pair of pantyhose or thick padded socks when I know I need to stand or dance for a significant period of time in heels. If it is a more formal event, I would usually go with multiple pairs of pantyhose under my high heeled boots. I also buy my certain boots a half size larger if I will be wearing layered pantyhose or one size larger if I will be wearing thick wool socks with pantyhose inside my boots. Then I know I can go all day or all night

The thing is, how to keep from getting too warm when wearing pantyhose and socks inside a pair of fur lined high heeled boots?

[hanna]

Thank you. Like yourself, I have done modern dance and a dash of mambo and rumba.

For people like you and I who not only need to walk but to dance in them, well, padding seems more like a necessity then a luxury. I too bring a spare pair of pantyhose or thick padded socks when I know I need to stand or dance for a significant period of time in heels. If it is a more formal event, I would usually go with multiple pairs of pantyhose under my high heeled boots. I also buy my certain boots a half size larger if I will be wearing layered pantyhose or one size larger if I will be wearing thick wool socks with pantyhose inside my boots. Then I know I can go all day or all night

The thing is, how to keep from getting too warm when wearing pantyhose and socks inside a pair of fur lined high heeled boots?

I agree, unlike some of the others here, we do not have the luxury to take off our heels when on the dance floor. I find that in order to accommodate the extra padding for dancing in high heels, I order my boots one size larger then my pumps. You should consider that too.

I attended the governors ball at the Grand Lincoln Ballroom recently. It was a huge event with the largest dance floor I have ever seen. Several of my friends from my dance class was there as well. I wanted to look good for this semi-formal event so I bought a new dark purple party dress with silver highlights. It has the cutest poof skirt I ever saw. The glitter in the dress really sparkles when exposed to a light source. I didn't have a pair of purple boots to match the outfit but I did have a pair of black leather knee high boots with a 3.5" heel. I wore that along with a pair of glittery purple pantyhose. I knew I was going to be dancing for a long time so inside my boots, I wore two pairs of thick wool socks for padding along with the pantyhose. 3.5 inch heel is very high for me but the padding worked and I managed to dance all night before going home and collapsing at 1am.

Just for the record, 3.5 inch heels are the highest I have ever tried and even two layers of wool socks and pantyhose was barely enough padding to allow 3 hours of stop and go dancing in such high heels! My legs were very warm though.

[Alexa]

Well, I don’t want to overstate my abilities. My high heeling is aided and abetted by platforms. Karen seems to be more of an expert than me, with her 6 inch heels without platforms. My social dancing, although I enjoy it, is rather like what Ami described in another post as ‘shuffling and jiggling’. Yes, if I were doing a lot of ‘proper’ dancing, I’d probably want to rethink my footwear and foot care regimes a little.

Alexa

[heidi.bier]

I agree, unlike some of the others here, we do not have the luxury to take off our heels when on the dance floor. I find that in order to accommodate the extra padding for dancing in high heels, I order my boots one size larger then my pumps. You should consider that too.

Just for the record, 3.5 inch heels are the highest I have ever tried and even two layers of wool socks and pantyhose was barely enough padding to allow 3 hours of stop and go dancing in such high heels! My legs were very warm though.

First off, congratulations on being able to dance for such a long time in skyscraper 3.5 inch heels.

When I find I need to wear heels that are over 2.5", I usually avoid stilettos as I want a thicker heel for better balance. Spraining my ankle is not fun.

With regards to order boots one size larger then a normal shoe, I agree, that is a great idea. Even half a size larger is not always enough to accommodate the thick socks and/or pantyhose used for padding inside the boots. One size larger is definitely more comfortable. All my new boots with heels above 2.5 inches will be one American size larger. Time for me to go shopping again for heels

[hanna]

There is going to be another grand ball this upcoming weekend at the Panorama Ballroom. It is a very elegant place that will be further decorated for the first ball of the summer. Although salsa is more my strong suite and this ball will feature dances like foxtrot, waltz, tango, cha cha, quick step, swing, I feel I can more then hold my own, especially for dances like the foxtrot, cha cha and quick step. After spending some time at the boutiques, I have selected a pink dress with black accents. It has an open back with a thick lace cinch at the waist and a long, free flowing skirt. I plan to dance very a very long time with a lot of the handsome young guys at the ball. To go with the nice dress and to give myself a good posture, I plan on wearing 3.5 inch heels. My question is, which pair of heels should I go with? 1) Guess knee high black boots with a thin heel. These boots are 1½ US size larger then my regular shoe size as I plan on wearing purple dancers pantyhose and two pairs of thick wool socks inside for padding. The boots themselves have a soft fur lining. I have had a shoesmith add on a suede sole on the bottom so these boots can glide on the dance floor. 2) Dance pumps with ankle strap. Round heel. These purple pumps are once again larger as I plan on wearing non-see through purple dancers pantyhose. Inside the pantyhose will be two pairs of thick socks for extra padding in these very high heels for dancing all night. Will my feet look fat if I wear these heels + padding? Also, these pumps don't have the fur lining so they won't have as good a padding as the boots but pumps are more popular for summer balls.