First time shopping for heels

[The Shark]

After a long time of being curious about wearing heels, I finally started shopping for some shoes. I've always wanted to try some high heel pumps, and after doing much research and reading on this forum, started shopping around a few days ago. I started at the online sites for the big shoe retailers, such as DSW, Famous Footwear, etc. Famous Footwear had a printable measuring chart so that you could measure your foot. I printed out the women's chart and found that I could wear a size 11 - which is good, since it seems that anything size 11 and under has a better selection to choose from. No need for a wide width shoe either - I fell into the standard width range. So I decided to go out & shop in person, but was extremely nervous about being seen trying on a pair of pumps. I wore a pair of mens' clogs so that I could slip my foot in & out of my shoe quickly. Rather than starting out at the shoe-only stores, I decided to start at the nearby Target & see what I could find there. Plus, it's a large enough store that the shoe dept. isn't always full of people. I got there & went to the shoe area - there weren't any people around except a female employee setting up some shelves a few aisles over. So I walked around mainly near the men's shoes - there were some women's pumps (low heel) in a clearance bin on the back aisle. I saw a pair of size 11's staring me in the face - since nobody was around, I quickly grabbed them and slid one onto my foot. Perfect! The 11's fit great! But what I was really after were some high-heel pumps. I like the closed-toe shoes (no peep toes for me) & want a 4" heel. I also like the ones with a 4.5" or 5" heel & the little mini platforms concealed in the toe box. I walked over to the aisle where the women's shoes were & quickly scanned for something that might work. I saw a pair of black pumps & quickly grabbed them & went back to the mens' shoe aisle. I got the shoes out & put them on the floor - then slipped my foot out of my shoe & stepped into the pump. Again, it fit perfectly & was actually quite comfortable! But after taking it off, I saw that the heel wasn't as high as I wanted, so I took that back to where I found it & quickly looked for something with a higher heel. Saw another pair of black pumps, but in size 10 (no 11's). I grabbed them anyway to see if I might fit in them & went back to the mens' aisle. Tried putting my foot into it, but no dice - too small for me. By this time, more people had started making their way in & around the shoe area, so I ended my shoe shopping there & left. The next day I was running an errand & drove by an "adult video & novelty" store - their outside sign said that they now carry women's shoes. So on my way back home, I stopped there & went in to see what they had. There was a display of "Pleaser" brand shoes - mostly strappy "stripper" shoes with huge platforms & open toes. I asked the salesgirl if they carried any other styles & was looking for pumps, but she said no. She then said that she didn't have any size 10's (I guess she somehow knew that I was shopping for myself). & that the largest size in stock were 9's - so no luck there either. But now that I broke the ice, I'll continue shopping around & see what I can find. I'd rather try & buy in person than buy online & have something not fit right - I'll find my shoes soon.

[cowboyboots]

Thanx, Shark. You just gave me a lot of encouragement. I'm in the same boat you were in. I still haven't purchased myself a pair of heels yet. Thanks so much for the tip about Famous Footwear's site. I now know what size (approximately) i wear in a women's shoe. Do you mind me asking what size of shoe do you wear in mens?

[The Shark]

CowboyBoots - I wear a size 10 mens' shoe. The typical rule of thumb is to add 2 size to your mens' size to find the appropriate women's size - but after thinking that I would need a women's size 12, I found out that I only had to wear an 11. That printable chart from Famous Footwear was a real help - you can find it on the detail page for any shoe - just click on the link for "Fit Assistance". However, different shoe brands run larger/smaller than others. My GF usually wears an 8, but some of her shoes are 8-1/2 - which is why I'm sticking to the strategy of trying before I buy - unless you know for certain that a certain shoe will fit you, then go ahead & buy online. Happy to help

[HappyinHeels]

The Shark, Nice to see you're buying heels in-person like I have, and others, have suggested doing. It ensures a better fit, eases you into the experience of buying heels in-person, and helps build rapport between the sales people and you all of which enhance the whole experience. Target is a great place to find size 11 shoes for little expense and a great fit. And Target is, officially a GLBT-friendly store so ALL customers are welcome. I'd recommend just trying on the women's shoes IN the women's aisle, it's faster than moving over to the men's aisle an the worst that could happen is a woman sees you trying on shoes which means 99.8% nothing negative willl be said if at all. You mentioned you had seen shoes at an adult store recently. I went up to my land last month and stopped by an adult store that is fairly unobtrusive and not crowded and decided to walk in wearing the bootcut jeans, woman's style watch, a polo shirt, and some 5" cor wedge sandals with my toes painted turquiose. The girl behind the counter greeted me and immediately complimented me on my sandals and my fres nail color. She had very short hair and was dressed more masculinely than I but we talked to each other as if nothing was awry. She asked what I was looking for and I said I liked the nighties there and she showed me some new merchandise. The point is that confidence carried the moment. A few other customers, some girls and one guy, probably saw me and nothign happened!! Walk with confidence!! HappyinHeels

[Dante]

The Shark, thank's for sharing your experience. I think there are plenty of us in the same boat, which makes it encouraging to read about others first steps. I'm still not sure what type of shoe to be my second (well i own a pair of rahter high platfrom hhs, but bought them online years ago, more out of curiosity). This time I'd definitely go to try them on before i buy, as the one pair bought online is a tiny bit to big. I printed out the chart from famous footware to see that i have about a size 9 foot. Well i already know that i don't have too big feet, cause when shoping for mens shoes (i have 40-41 (european size), which is about an 8 (mens us size)) that's where their range of mens shoes start. This fact should give me the opportunity to find shoes from the womens department in my size in almost any store around - at least i hope so. Cheerz, Dante. Forgot to say, but i even learned a new word "aisle", which i didn't know the right english term up to now. Great

[SF]

Try before you buy is a good policy. Target (also Payless) is a good place for shoes that look nice, are inexpensive and come in size 11 (the sandals in my avatar are fom Target). Nordstrom also has larger sizes as well as the shoe store chain "Marmi", in a few select US cities. sf

[maninpumps]

Way to go! I look forward to seeing what you purchase.

[The Shark]

UPDATE: I finally bought my first pair of heels!! On one of the other threads, roniheels mentioned that he goes to Burlington Coat Factory for some of his shoes (thanks for the tip!) - so Friday morning, I went to one of the local BCF stores to see what they had. I was really surprised at how large their selection was - a lot of different styles of heels & boots to choose from. And even better, they had a lot of shoes in size 11! I first tried looking through the clearance racks, but they didn't have much that I was interested in - so I started looking at the shoes in the regular aisles. Saw some things I liked, but they either didn't have them in size 11, or they cost more than I wanted to spend. After looking around a little while, I finally found a pair that I really liked - and they actually had them in size 11! So I grabbed the box and went to where I could try them on (still a little apprehenseive about openly trying on womens' shoes in public). They fit great! So then I took a look at the price... $17.99!! I couldn't believe my luck - I couldn't take them to the cashier fast enough - I just wanted to go home and start wearing them! What I got was a pair of Bamboo "Office-01" black pumps. (See my avatar picture - that's them) They have a 4-3/4" stiletto heel with a 3/4" concealed platform in the toe box - so it's like wearing 4" heels. The toe is rounded too. I'm actually wearing them now as I type this. They're actually quite comfy for a pair of heels. However, I'm still adjusting to the feeling of my toes being crammed into the toe box - a slight bit of discomfort but it's not too bad. I've only been wearing them around the house a little bit as I learn how to walk in them, but I'm having a lot of fun wearing them! They look great and I'm happy I found them! I always wanted to try wearing high-heel pumps, and I love the new platform pumps - so I definitely got a pair that I'll love wearing. Now I know why women love their shoes - shopping for heels is so much more fun than the boring stuff for us guys.

[hhboots]

Very nice looking shoes you got there and congrats on your shoe buying adventure. After being a public (however, mostly discreet) heeler for nearly 3 years now, I'm still very apprehensive about buying and trying them on in the store. Out of the more than 40 pairs of heels I now own, I have only done the in-store thing about 5 or so times, and it is usually when I find the perfect must have pair and the setting is just right. I have had several additional near miss purchases that I just couldn't go through with, as my heart just races and I almost freak out when I do it for whatever reason. So close and yet so far away... haha

[roniheels]

Congratulations on your purchase. I bought a pair just like those at Burlington Coat Factory and I love them. I tried them on in the store, several clerks and customers saw me walking in them, and when I went to pay for them, a young female clerk said sarcasticly, "I'll bet these look pretty on you." I said, "I think they do. And several of your clerks and customers thought they did when I tried them on and walked around in them." She just gave a nervous laugh, finished the sale, and I was on my way. Congratulations to you again.

[kfsteve391]

Congratulations on your purchase. I always buy my heels in stores. I like to see what I am getting and I want to try them on to get a reasonably good fit. Have seen many heels that I like but when I put them on the fit is not good. Walking around in heels in a women's shoe store is half the fun. Glad you succeeded.

[saudade]

What do you guys think about these?

http://www.ninewest.com/Vanished/5497596,default,pd.html?cgid=1053&itemNum=1&variantSizeClass=&variantColor=GREYLE

I'm not huge on stilettoish heels, but I love lace up shoes laced like so:

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/romanlacing.htm

Also, the shark, you're braver than I am/was at the start. I still don't think I could pull off pumps but if they work for you go for it.

[Thighbootguy]

saudade -

I like the look of that 9 West shoe/boot. Nice heel and the lace will keep anything from moving as you wear them (which is one of the reasons I like boots). Should go great with slacks.

Ian's Showlace Site is an excellent example of why I adhere the K.I.S.S methodologies (Keep It Simple Stupid). I never knew there were so many ways to make such a simple task difficult (stylish but difficult).

[saudade]

saudade -

I like the look of that 9 West shoe/boot. Nice heel and the lace will keep anything from moving as you wear them (which is one of the reasons I like boots). Should go great with slacks.

Ian's Showlace Site is an excellent example of why I adhere the K.I.S.S methodologies (Keep It Simple Stupid). I never knew there were so many ways to make such a simple task difficult (stylish but difficult).

Heh, understandable, to be truthful though, I only use about 4 different lacing systems. I discovered the site back when I was learning to tie my shoelaces for boots in a way that they would stay on more reliably. While the KISS principle is fine in general, at times you need a bigger weapon in your arsenal. In some ways shoelace tying is an art unto itself. I view it the same way as knots. You can't use a bowline knot for everything, or a figure 8 etc... each knot has a purpose and pros/cons. But in general you only need to know a few unless you are into search and rescue in which case you'll know more about knots than most people.

I guess i'm just a sucker for keeping the outside of my dress shoes tidy. Hence why I love the roman method of lacing. To each his own. Like he says, there may be over a trillion possible ways of lacing mathwise, realistically there isn't that many that are actually practical.

In short: If you can think of something that could be taken to an extreme, there is a group of people on the internet that have taken it farther than you would ever have imagined. Be it rubiks cube solving robots, groups of people making their own submarine and using it to tug the largest experimental hobbyist rocket out to sea for a launch by denmark, or shoe lace tying, its out there. But I digress.

>.<

[hh4evr1]

Congratulation on buying your first pair of heels and also trying them on in the shop. The more pairs you buy in person and try on in the shop the easier it becomes.

[HappyinHeels]

The Shark!! The guy with the cool nickname did the coolest thing you can do on this site-----discovered the joy of buying heels in-person and sharing it with us!!! Way to go--we told you it would be worth your time. HappyinHeels

[4 ever heels]

I was petrified the first time I went to the store to buy my first pair of heels well before on line shopping with no face to face contact, they where black and had a 4 inch heel. But I couldn't wait till I got home and tried them on yah they fit. Now I either buy on line or still go to the shops but am now relaxed with buying a sexy pair of heels face to face.