Finding Discreet Street-Heels for Guys

[Heelfan]

Time after time on these forums I read shy-guys and beginners and would-be heelers saying that they would love to venture outside in heels, but they are scared sh**less! I can only think that it is because their only heels are embarrassingly inappropriate, such as bright crimson glittery 8" stilettos with huge platforms, or something equally outrageous.

Usually, the best answer is to start with some discreet black or dark-brown shoes or boots with a wide, square, 'masculine' toe-box and a high but chunky block heel. These will look like a perfect 'normal' man's shoe when worn under suitable long trousers, and enable even the shyest guy to go out for some instant street-heeling (Oh the bliss!). Then, later, when confidence has built up, you can graduate to higher, thinner heels and shorter trouser-bottoms in gradual but exciting stages.

"Ah yes" you cry, "But where can I get these discreet heels? Huh?" In fact, I've just received a private message from one member, so I'll post my reply here as the information will be of general interest to the guys:

Well, it's quite easy for guys wearing a size 7UK (9US) or smaller, because you have luxury of simply shopping around in any ladies' shop or store. It's a lot harder for guys wearing size 8UK (10US) and over, because almost all of the ladies' shoes don't go large enough, whilst the on-line fetish shoe suppliers go up to largeish guy's sizes but only in outrageous spangly garish spike-heeled styles that are fun in the bedroom but ridiculous in the street.

However, much patient searching has revealed just a few sources of discreet streetheels in men's sizes - all from specialist suppliers to large women:

1. I have just ordered a black leather high-chunky-heeled loafer called 'Vivian', available in many sizes - see photograph on their site:

http://womenshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html

2. A similar shoe but with a higher 3 1/2" heel is called 'Oblige 2' No. 407500 and is pictured on Faith shoes' website under 'Study Time':

(Update Summer 04: This was only sold in last Autumn's "Back to School" range, but mybe it will be repeated this autumn).

3. I have just bought a very similar shoe with a slightly slimmer heel from my local branch of Brantano. It is called 'Principal' (No. 261942101115) available in sizes 3 to 9 UK and costs £35. Brantano's website does not advertise individual shoes, but gives to locations of all their UK stores:

http://www.brantano.co.uk/

4. A very similar shoe is sold by NinetoElleven (Tallgirls) as their "High loafer" . See under their "School" shoes section:

http://www.tallgirls.co.uk/

5. See the list of street-heel suppliers that I recently posted in another thread on these Megaforums:

www.hhplace.org/hhboard/viewtopic.php?t=1931

]

This is a terrific style for male streetheelers who want lift without going "girlie". Highluc illustrated it in his story "The Poor Boy":

Chainstores & shops where you can try-on ladies' size 9s:

BRANTANO (although summer sale lines currently very depleted) and autumn fashions, boots etc. not yet in. Will improve by early autumn.

EVANS (ladies outsize chain) mostly frumpy styles, but occasionally something more sexy.

TXX(?) Maybe worth trying if you're passing, but virtually nothing as large as size 9.

BARRATTS Ask for their 'Tall & Small' Corner. The 'Tall' range goes up to size 9 or 10. The summer 2003 range only includes about a dozen styles, mostly frumpy, but I've got some good heeled boots up to 4 1/2" from them in the past, so maybe the winter selection will be better again.

"NINE TO ELEVEN" (also known as TALL GIRLS) Use Google to search either of these names on the Net. Two or three branches in London - means going up there to try them on. Study their shoes on the screen.

"BIGFOOT DIRECTORY", Croydon. Run by a lady called Kenny with size 12 feet who caters for big-footed women but very amenable to serving heely guys. As with the shop above, study Kenny's website.

THE LITTLE SHOE BOX, London Makes custom-made high heeled shoes

in many designs, but also stocks some ready-made 'Off the shelf' pairs for instant trying-on and purchase. Study their Website.

COVER GIRL, London. Retailer of high-heeled shoes for guys. Usually good selection in stock.

For custom-made shoes or ordering on-line:

THE LITTLE SHOE BOX as above.

DIVINE SHOES, near Northampton, UK. Similar firm to Little Shoe Box. Study their website.

LEATHERWORKS, London. Same comments.

LA PIAZZA SHOES, Germany. Same comments but amazingly high styles, quality and prices!

Some of the specialist high-heels-for-guys websites like Andrew's,or Joak's or Megaforums(here! - see heading at top of site) or Firefox's give whole long lists of high heel suppliers in large sizes, but for UK heel-guys, I think my list will give you a good working start.

6. All of you would be MOST welcome to attend some or all of our three proposed 2004 Heel-Meets in Guildfard, Bristol and Leicester Heel experts such as Firefox and Xaphod will probably be there, and are happy to chat about where to find the right heels etc. - see on these Megaforums under "Real Life Shopping and Fun Meetings".

I hope this will be of useful assistance to all shy-guys and budding street-heelers!

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

Note: the above URLs edited by Heelfan on 11th September 03 to include

correction of errors pointed out by members below.

[Firefox]

Excellent post and research HF. I would add that most street heel styles are available in a UK 8 (US10/EUR41) and some in 9 (US 11/EUR 42). The larger sizes often run big and if you buy in leather, a shoe maker or repair place will stretch them up a size. Please, please don't cram feet into poorly fitting shoes. But if you don't want the hassle of stetching, then try the links provided. Once you have done it a few times you won't need long trousers. Try it and see.

[J-Nation]

some useful advice, Heelfan; however one of your links didn't work, though a little educated guesswork came up with...

http://womenshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html

Emma

[Heelfan]

Thanks Emma - that will help everyone. In fact though, I DID type-in the correct URL including the little underline in the mid-way gap between the letters, but the Megaforums system automatically put a continuous red underline beneath all of my quoted URLs, thereby obscuring the intended short one. I cannot undestand why the systyem did that to my URLs and yet it has left yours alone! Very odd! Incidentally Emma, did you find any of my streetheels-worn-under-guy's trousers to be of any practical interest to you, or are you in glamorous skirts and stilettos 365-day-a-year? What is your profession of "Penguin wrangling"? Any chance of meeting-up with me and the rest of the little gang at any of the forthcoming HeelMeets (see 'Real Life Shopping and Fun Meetings') -maybe the Birmingham one? Cheerfully Yours, Heelfan

[Bubba136]

Shoes like these can be worn with trousers by men just about anywhere without the slightest concern about adverse reactions from others. Actually, the fact that most people are more interested in what they are doing rather than what is going on around them, is true. This style is a great way to "break the ice" and gain confidence that will lead to wearing more feminine styles with higher heels, if that's the person's ultimate goal. Besides, in the begining, they are more comfortable to wear for longer periods when doing a lot of walking.

[jo]

>> I DID type-in the correct URL including the little underline in the mid-way gap between the letters, but the Megaforums system automatically put a continuous red underline beneath all of my quoted URLs, thereby obscuring the intended short one. <<

That wasn't the problem. The underscore is in both addresses. The problem was actually (a vs. e):

http://womanshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html vs:

http://womenshoesplus.com/Detail_Page/Vivian.html

This link to faithf (remove the f and * both):

http://www.faithf.co.uk/catalogue/style.asp?range=7&*style=407500&CurlPage=1 should be:

http://www.faith.co.uk/catalogue/style.asp?range=7&style=407500&CurlPage=1 instead.

[Yamyam]

Likewise, plain black ankle boots go well with trousers. Some of them come with blocky heels or with wedge heels, and they're also quite subtle. I have a great pair of Chelsea boots with a 2.5" block heel, and I've worn them under jeans without anyone batting an eyelid. A good way to start on the all-day wear thing.

[Heelfan]

Thank you Emma and Jo for pointing out my errors! I am afraid I am a teeny bit dyslexic where things like telephone numbers, domain names and email addresses are concerned - sorry! However, with your help, I have edited my original posting accordingly so that readers will now have all of the URLs correctly given on the one list. I hope this might help a whole swathe of new, shy would-be street-heelers to break the ice and get heeling. After that, it's usually enjoyable plain sailing all the way to high and bolder things! Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

[Firefox]

I prefer ankle boots with thinner heels. These boots go very well with all manner of jackets, waistcoats and trousers. The best look I think is to have most of the heel showing, just hide the top inch to give a sense of mystery.

[Heelfan]

Yes, I know Firefox, higher, thinner heels are my ideal favourite taste too. However, let's remember that I started this thread to give a little initial confidence to shy-guys and would-be beginner street-heelers who have hitherto been to scared to go out AT ALL! The shoe illustrated above by Bubba was recommended by me, and Bubba agrees that even the shyest new street-heeler ought to be able to gain confidence in those. Then, of course, given time and a sufficient build-up of his confidence, he can (we hope) graduate gently up to the sort of heels that you wear everwhere and every day with such panache! Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

[B-booted]

Can recommend the black ankle boots, but then I would! Two inches easy peasy - honestly, if you have not tried going out in there it is a good start. Once YOU are happy work upwards. If you are new to going out, go out with a purpose - to buy someting, go to the library, anything - as you would normally. If you really want to "force" yourself here's an idea that I used. Had to go away overnight on business - dressed up with my 2 inch heels on, put a pair of 3 inch boot in the bag and that is all I took. Whatever happened, whoever I met, there was no choice but to keep going - it worked. As you go out more so your confidence builds - believe me! B-booted

[Firefox]

I knew you might say that heelfan But seriously boots and trousers are discrete, even stilettos. It's not "in your face" fashion. Take it easy when starting though as you and B-boot say. Indeed that's the advice given on http://heels.cjb.net

[sohoboot]

A couple more:

I was wearing a pair of these under kakhis early today. Even when I was sitting at the food court eating with them completely exposed with hundreds of people around, nobody batted an eye

Lot 26892 from payless

Also, These look like the work boots posted in another thread

[Dr. Shoe]

Most men can get away with chunky heels. If you have small feet (up to 7UK say) then wearing anything up to 3" should be fine (as long as they're black, but see note below). Larger feeted men can get away with chunky heels up to 4" depending on size. The idea is not to make the pitch too extreme, obviously the longer the foot the more "gentle" the instep is going to be for a given heel height. Note: You could get away with other colours such as tan, brown, camel, burgandy etc as long as the toe and heel shape is like a cowboy boot, i.e. tapering cuban heel and tapered toe. Of course if you have the confidence to wear 5" stilettoes then the above does't apply!

[Van]

I've been wearing boots with block heels in Brussels and many other places, including my own neighborhood and by friends, they are really accepted. It is obviously the best starting point for a newcomer. Vanessa

[J-Nation]

Incidentally Emma, did you find any of my streetheels-worn-under-guy's trousers to be of any practical interest to you, or are you in glamorous skirts and stilettos 365-day-a-year? What is your profession of "Penguin wrangling"?

Any chance of meeting-up with me and the rest of the little gang at any of the forthcoming HeelMeets (see 'Real Life Shopping and Fun Meetings') -maybe the Birmingham one?

Cheerfully Yours, Heelfan

I'm in 'boy-mode' during work time but a mixture of heels/guy trousers or more glamourous stuff outside of work, so yes, your post is of interest to me. I'll have to see how things are time-wise though I may well come to one of the meets.

Emma

[sscotty727]

Hi,

I took your advice and got a pair like these except in black.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-6421628-9428927?asin=B000066T8J&alt%5fview=images#images

What do you think? I actually got them and checked in and unloaded my car in these. Atleast it is a first step, felt great!!!

[Yamyam]

Well, they're certainly quite subtle, and if they've given you the confidence to start street-heeling, then go for it.

I've been out and about in my Chelsea boots quite a lot of late, including three days out working, and a walk over to a local pub last night. These are about a 2.5" heel, but nice and easy for all day, and certainly I didn't attract any attention in them. I'd say that these are a good place to start.

For me, this is going from an occasional trip round a strange town to more and more everyday wear. I didn't think I'd ever manage to go to work in heels, but here I am.

[Bubba136]

Scotty, nothing wrong with those. They're a good pair to start with.

[Shiela Ann]

Here are some chunky high heel loafers listed on Ebay that would be great for street wear.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2858511965&category=11629&rd=1

[Firefox]

Any chunky heel up to 4" can be worn anywhere without much comment or problem. Just try it and see. And ifby chance someone (eg Boss etc) did object tell them you have really painful arches and you need to wear higher heels sometimes, or even frequently, for medical reasons. However you will always wear high qualilty dress boots with suits to maintain a smart image. That should shut them up and get them the fuck out of your personal business.

[sscotty727]

Someone on here mentioned they wear heels cause of a bad back problem. I actually do have back problems, so I was figuring on using that excuse as well (my Doctor told me to wear higher heels to help ease my back problems).

[Firefox]

Exactly. Most non-sensical prejudice can be neatly circumvented by wheeling out some medical or religious argument. The system is a game so play it. Once you've worn them a couple times, and still do a good job, nobody cares anyway.

[Yamyam]

I agree. I'm sneaking my 2.25" Chelsea boots into my working life at the moment. I've worn them to a customer and had no comments, so next I plan to see how they look with my suit, and take it from there. After that - well, with Julietta's help, I bought a suit with longer trouser legs that might go well with my 4" wedge boots

[Ionic]

Lunch time BBC news report featured research showing that heels are NOT bad for your knees after all (no claims about the feet though!). A really good report at length with terrific footage to go with the voiceover of real 5"ers in various top designer shops. Bet the cameraman enjoyed the assignment. Mind you, my knees are a bit dodgy and I do feel them sometimes. /I

[Highluc]

To revert to the original topic I would like to point out I have many street wearable heeled shoes and boots for sale for a sensible price on my webpage http://www.highluc.net/highlucs_for_sale_shoes.htm

Unfortunately only in roughly size 41, UK8, US fem10B. Most have been worn but still have sufficient life in them to make you a happy 24/7 heeler for years to come.

[Heelfan]

For those looking for a discreet street-heeling boot with a masculine toe and a chunky 3" heel, have a look at these:

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/119921.html

They won't fit everyone though, because note that they only go up to size 11(US).

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

[Firefox]

Nice choice of boot. From what have seen of Zappos, their heel measurements, like payless, seems to be on the conservative side, either up the front or middle of the heel, so these may well be 3.5 to 4" on the larger sizes. Don't let that put you off though, it's a very well proportioned boot and looks natural from many angles. Check out the Zappos multi-view function.

[unknown]

Here are some chunky high heel loafers listed on Ebay that would be great for street wear.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2858511965&category=11629&rd=1

Hmmm...Payless. That style is long gone but there is a very similar model there.

[Heelfan]

The guys posting on the "Walking in Public" thread should be interested in this thread too. In fact guys, I originally started this "Finding Discreet Heels" to help guys find heels that would not be too embarrassing for the early stages of street-heeling. Could you guys duplicate the shoes from "Walking in Public" on to this thread please? Because on here we're trying to build up a good cross-section of discreet styles for street-heeling guys that are currently available. Cheerfully yours, Heelfan.