What does "mens heels" mean to you?

[SleekHeels]

Following on from the thread Own more women's shoes than men's? what does "mens heels" mean to you?

[MSpookshow]

"Men's heels" doesn't really mean anything to me. Honestly, I think it's a bit silly that we (humans) put gender labels on clothing. So I don't really see "men's shoes" and "women's shoes", but rather just ... shoes. In the context of the question, I guess "men's heels" would just be heels that happen to be on a man at that point in time. I chose Heels in Men's Sizes anyways, though I'd honestly like for there to just be a universal shoe size not based on gender.

[Majo]

It's true that there are some clothes or accessories that are more feminine than others. I use heels outside that are unisex. But, on the other hand, I wouldn't stop buying footwear or other things that are more feminine. I would still buy Atwood's, Louboutin's -God, those Twistochats are sooo beautiful-, Manolo's, Zanotti's, Lorenzi's, or any of the shoes I posted today which are really feminine. I usually dress in a manly way: my body is not slender at all. So I wouldn't go out on a catsuit or a soiree gown that marks my curves because I feel it's not a style that makes me look better. If I was thin like many guys I know, and my proportions were more straight and not so triangular, it would certainly use outfits like Heelguy uses. If I had a more androgynous appeal -and wasn't married-, my closet would be, for sure, half and half. That doesn't mean I'm a cross-dresser: I don't want to pass as a woman. I like the feel of the fabrics on my skin; and male's outfits are always a drawback in this sense.

[JeffB]

That doesn't mean I'm a cross-dresser: I don't want to pass as a woman. I like the feel of the fabrics on my skin; and male's outfits are always a drawback in this sense.

Couldn't agree more, my friend! The bottom line for me is that I don't want to LOOK like a woman, I simply want to DRESS like one!

[Dr. Shoe]

Men's Heels are really an irrelevance to me these days... I would like to see them in larger sizes though.

[hoverfly]

None of the above, Main stream high heels in large sizes and wide width weather it's masculine of feminine. That's what I would like to see. People you are confusing marketing with gender here, I though we had cleared this up years ago? Oh yeah most here to day were not here 10 years ago. Dr. Shoe, you know better don't you?

[HappyinHeels]

ALL, I answered the question based on the first impulse. After all, I have seen no evidence to date, shoes marketed as "men's heels" would be anything other than shoes with a masculine style to them in the usual range of men's colors. This is not what I WANT to see. Since I don't buy "men's heels" rather I buy women's shoes for use on a man's foot, like Dr. Shoe says the term is rather irrelevant. Isn't this the premise for why most of us buy women's shoes? They provide the unique style, feel, and color range we simply cannot get in the utilitarian world of men's shoes. HappyinHeels:wavey:

[roniheels]

It's true that there are some clothes or accessories that are more feminine than others. I use heels outside that are unisex. But, on the other hand, I wouldn't stop buying footwear or other things that are more feminine. I would still buy Atwood's, Louboutin's -God, those Twistochats are sooo beautiful-, Manolo's, Zanotti's, Lorenzi's, or any of the shoes I posted today which are really feminine.

I usually dress in a manly way: my body is not slender at all. So I wouldn't go out on a catsuit or a soiree gown that marks my curves because I feel it's not a style that makes me look better.

If I was thin like many guys I know, and my proportions were more straight and not so triangular, it would certainly use outfits like Heelguy uses. If I had a more androgynous appeal -and wasn't married-, my closet would be, for sure, half and half.

That doesn't mean I'm a cross-dresser: I don't want to pass as a woman. I like the feel of the fabrics on my skin; and male's outfits are always a drawback in this sense.

I'm on the same page with you based on your above remarks and observations. I have some "men's" boots that have 3" block heels that I have had for years and I wear them into the office at work. But I don't think about them as "men's heels." I do wear feminine hgih heels away from work and in public, and I don't think of them as "women's heels." Labels can get so confusing.

[Steve63130]

This is what "men's heels" means to me and I want no part of it. Yuck!

[ubermick]

To me, it means heels that are built for men, like Cuban heeled Beatle boots:

http://www.bootsonline.com.au/Graphics400/b500cbl400.gif

Or the much publicized Sarkozy heels:

http://thedailypump.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/jeffreywesthighheeledbrogue.jpg

Like it or not, the heels most of us enjoy wearing are shoes that are designed and engineered for women. (There are some companies out there who cater to crossdressers who make stilettos and pumps in guys' sizes, tho.) So regardless of semantics, to me wearing a nice platform pump with a five inch heel is crossdressing of a sort, just like it would be wearing a pair of womens' panties instead of the ubiquotous white cotton underpants or boxers. (which I do in addition to heels, so I have no problem with the label!)

[hoverfly]

Like it or not, the heels most of us enjoy wearing are shoes that are designed and engineered for women. (There are some companies out there who cater to crossdressers who make stilettos and pumps in guys' sizes, tho.) So regardless of semantics, to me wearing a nice platform pump with a five inch heel is crossdressing of a sort, just like it would be wearing a pair of womens' panties instead of the ubiquotous white cotton underpants or boxers. (which I do in addition to heels, so I have no problem with the label!)

No, the mancanics of womens feet are no different then mens. There are three general shapes, nether dominated by any gender. However the one shape I have are not pointed toe friendly. Even women have this shape as well. The only difference is size, nothing more nothing less. Every thing works the same in the skeletal structural system.

Clothing does not identify gender, clothing in reality displays your personality. " Women's shoes" are a marketed item to women, and yet men can just as well wear them. High heels of any kind are really unisex. So if you judge a book by it's cover, you really need to think that over again.

A good example I have experienced is, at one time at a restaurant with at the time was my GF a quick thinking mother responded to her little boy yelling out that I was wearing "her" shoes in front of every body. She quickly replied, "oh no honey, that's what we call fashion."

[Majo]

A good example I have experienced is, at one time at a restaurant with at the time was my GF a quick thinking mother responded to her little boy yelling out that I was wearing "her" shoes in front of every body. She quickly replied, "oh no honey, that's what we call fashion."

Well, well, well... that's a good open minded mother!

I wish there were more of those around -F & M-.

This world would be a better place surely.

[beaztheelz]

Mens heels are heels with a low heel that usually aren't very stylish. I wouldn't call a stiletto heel a "men's heel."

[hoverfly]

Mens heels are heels with a low heel that usually aren't very stylish. I wouldn't call a stiletto heel a "men's heel."

I would not call it a womens heel either.

How about just matching heel stile to body shape. Skinny body stiletto heel, chunky body chunky heel? Mabye... call it a fashion rule?

[Bernheels]

I voted for the 3rd category - feminie heels in the mens separtment. Not really sure where this poll is going or meant to go. I wear womens heels because I love the look and feel of wearing high heels. Mens shoes are so boring. I would wear heels all the time if I did not have to worry about my job. I do not want to look like a women - to athletic build for that. But I love the feminine side of feeling sexy and good in high heels. Bernheels

[roniheels]

I voted for the 3rd category - feminie heels in the mens separtment.

Not really sure where this poll is going or meant to go.

I wear womens heels because I love the look and feel of wearing high heels. Mens shoes are so boring. I would wear heels all the time if I did not have to worry about my job. I do not want to look like a women - to athletic build for that. But I love the feminine side of feeling sexy and good in high heels.

Bernheels

I couldn't have said this any better myself. I admire and respect all those that either take the appearance of a woman or wear feminine clothing along with their high heels. But I have always enjoyed wearing my nicest men's clothing while wearing feminine stiletto high heels.

[Guest]

Bern, Roni I agree 100% Call it enhancement, completing the look and making it work! For me I'm male, I don't want to be or look female but I think the female wardrobe and materials are more interesting at least. Al

[danielp6406]

...For me I'm male, I don't want to be or look female but I think

the female wardrobe and materials are more interesting at least.

Al

I couldn't agree more with your statement !

[SleekHeels]

Not really sure where this poll is going or meant to go.

Good question. The intention was to explore the issues around:

• Is it just a size thing?
• Do we want "masculine" styled heels (or does that just mean ugly)?
• Do we want "feminine" styles to cross into the mens department (or are we happy buying from the womens department)?

Sure in a world with no preconceptions, shoes would just be fashion and have no gender, but is that a utopia or a dystopia? Are we striving for a totally gender neutral world where "masculine" and "feminine" are totally meaningless terms... or do we want to retain some notion of "masculine" and "feminine" as characteristics, qualities, styles and identities that we're free to express regardless of our biological sex?

Personally I don't have a shoe-size issue, I'd be disinterested in clunky "mens heels", and I don't mind if feminine styles don't cross into the mens department as I've come to feel right at home in the womens department (and if there was just one general "shoe department" I'd ignore half of it anyway)

... BUT some people do have shoe-size issues, want heels to appear in masculine styles, or want mens designs to incorporate more feminine characteristics. So far the poll results and comments reflect that diversity, now it's down to society and industry to reflect it too. Our polls are like our own market research if anyone's listening.

[hiheellover23]

My definition is if it fits your foot comfortably its a mans heel.

[Gudulitooo]

Well you are mixing a number of different topics in one single questions. This is just an attempt to organize the thinking. Men's heels are shoes were the heel is higher than the rest of the shoe and designed to be worn by men. Period. When designers are working on a pair of shoes, they take into account : 1) the style the wearer would want to express (they can only guess) 2) how the wearer will use the shoes (how often, where, etc.) in order to know what efforts they should withstand and how they should hold the foot. 3) then the weight of the wearer and its size (or a statistical weight / size matching chart : one for female, one for male, one for each country, one for thin people, one for each age category, etc. 4) ... Go through this analysis having in mind a male wearer, then a female wearer, and see if you find the same design. I mean, everything is possible ? The only limiting step to is point 1) what style the wearer want to express ?

[SleekHeels]

Well you are mixing a number of different topics in one single questions.

This is just an attempt to organize the thinking.

I agree it's a complex issue and for sure reading other peoples responses and opinions on the forum is enlightening.

Men's heels are shoes were the heel is higher than the rest of the shoe and designed to be worn by men. Period.

Personally I have no particular need for heels specifically "designed to be worn by men" as I'm quite content wearing shoes that happen to be designed for women (and expressing that as a man). But I appreciate I'm lucky in that respect to fall within the overlap. The notion of specifically "mens heels" would seem to be defined by the needs of people outside that overlap, and the aim of this poll was to try to understand the balance of those needs.

On the size aspect it's interesting that in the thread Are you happy with your foot/shoe size? almost two thirds voted for "I wish my foot was smaller" which isn't quite the same as "I wish they made (high-heeled) shoes bigger". On the masculine/feminine styling aspect, it's interesting how many "yuck!" reactions masculine styled heels get, but that's the top vote in this poll.

[ubermick]

Clothing does not identify gender, clothing in reality displays your personality. " Women's shoes" are a marketed item to women, and yet men can just as well wear them. High heels of any kind are really unisex. So if you judge a book by it's cover, you really need to think that over again.

Well, I respect your opinion on it, but we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm fully behind the notion that we should be allowed to wear whatever we want - I love heels as well, after all, amongst other "taboo" items of clothing, but I fail to see how a pretty satin wrapped pink pump with a bow on it could be considered unisex?

[Heelster]

After reading this thread, I do have to say that there was/is still a mans heel although it is getting tougher to find in the last few years. 20 some years ago, I could go out and easily buy a pair of Justin or Dingo western boots with a stacked underslung 2 1/2" heel, or slightly higher heel, and it was never an issue. I remember many times where I would be hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains, or the Rockies, and someone would always ask - "How can you walk these trails in those high heels?" And my usual reply would be something like; "Been doing it for a long time - - you get used too it." Nothing else was said. Mens boots were decorated, flashy, sometimes rather colorful, and depending on the maker, you could find your wife a matching pair. Might have a slightly higher narrower heel, but they looked pretty much the same. There was no issue about if it was a masculine boot, and rarely a question about the height. Back to today - When I go to the local malls etc with the family, I rarely ever see a guy in anything but some form of atheletic shoe, or maybe a work boot style. If it's leather looking and polished, it's a formal dress or business shoe, and it a 1/2" above basic flat - if that. If I wear a "Mens Western Boot", everyone can hear it in the Mall, and it does get looks, but when I wear a womens dress boot, it doesn't get any more response. It's almost like they (other mall shoppers) expect it to be a strange crazy dude in cowboy boots. If the consumer is driving the market, and hence the fashions that are presented to the men, then it appears obvious that men in general (Not us who hang out here) don't want anything beyond a sneaker, and similar wants in other shoes. It may be what the fashion designers are pushing, and the men are taking it as it comes, but most men I know don't want much in the way of fasion heels. One for work, one for play, and one the wife can tolerate when going out to the movie and dinner. I didn't vote yet - still thinking.

[SleekHeels]

Well, I respect your opinion on it, but we'll have to agree to disagree. I'm fully behind the notion that we should be allowed to wear whatever we want - I love heels as well, after all, amongst other "taboo" items of clothing, but I fail to see how a pretty satin wrapped pink pump with a bow on it could be considered unisex?

I kind of agree with both points of view in different ways. Firstly, hoverfly's absolutely right to emphasize "marketed"... I mean if we believed the ads on TV men wouldn't use shampoo unless we had chronic dandruff.

However I'd need to take the liberty of re-wording the first sentence in order to reflect my opinion as: "Clothing does not identify sex (male/female), clothing in reality displays your personality, of which gender (masculine/feminine) is a part". In relation to ubermick's "pretty satin wrapped pink pump with a bow on it" I'd say sure, it's pretty feminine and not unigender, but gender (or more specifically qualities that have traditionally defined gender) should be unisex... men free to be nurturing, women free to be assertive, and all free to wear our heels not as helpless submission but with self-esteem and confidence.

Heelster's point about the demise of matching mens/womens western boots in the US is interesting - at least the equivalent in Argentina seems to be surviving a bit better ( http://www.hhplace.org/287728-post118.html , thanks Majo for that perspective). It's a real shame to lose little gems of character and identity like that, but perhaps it's up to us to go against the grain and carve out new identities to replace them.

[HappyinHeels]

ALL, I had to laugh, at least a little, when I read the part about "men free to be nurturing." back in the mid-1980's when my children were born I found myself actively participating in their delivery (I was able to convince the attending physician both times that I had originally wanted to an OB/GYN) and just an hour or so after each one was born I found each of these babes in swaddling clothes nestled in my arms. No problem finding my nurturing mode nor do I suspect with any other father of substance here who has experienced the joy of having kids. I would later rely heavily on that "nurturing" even when I wanted to probably backhand either one of them:) Most guys have the "nurturing" mode, but it may be on the other side of the 3/8" socket wrench. HappyinHeels:wave:

[Addicted2HHs]

All. I have a slight problem with only the 3 anwswers. Most people agree that they do not want to go in public with HHs, as most people stare. (The country also plays a big role) How about HHs in mens fashion, even if they are realy ugly and only come in black and brown, until nobody bothers looking at men in HHs. Then we can all wear heels of all colors and forget the idea of manly or feminine. Personaly I prefer the more pointed look of the stilettos. I bought 3 prs of mens shoes from a Shoes.com. The brand was Stacy Adams, and Giorgio Brutini, Atleast they did not only have the chopped of look that most mens shoes have these days. They have more of a pointed look, similar to heels. They are so comfortable. I just miss the heel feel. Someone mentioned a reason for woman wearing HHs, as being: to look taller, and thus in certain cases more slender. Doesn't that also go for men. Unfortunately I have the oposite problem. I am 2m or 6'6". Wish I were 6" shorter, and had smaller feet. I wear a "womens" size 15 or 16. This tends to make me stand out to the point that nobody will not notice me. Someday men will again wear heels as in the time of Napoleon, before the ladies stole the pleasure for themselves. Keep on heeling, even it is just at home.

[Gudulitooo]

It seems that a number of stores are now selling heeled shoes designed for men.

I don't know if the design procedure they used (that I attempted to describe earlier in this thread) resulted in shoes that match the desires of people in this forum :

These ones are really great :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/vb-HOMME-Mens-killer-Heel-Oxford-Dress-Shoes-Enamel-MoD-/230513384837?pt=US_Men_s_Shoes&var=&hash=item7b6722b600

This store have some shoes of interest :

http://stores.ebay.com/GENTLER/_i.html?rt=nc&_sid=1022390165&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=1

While it seems they have taken into account the interest of men in new colors, I am not sure it is so well tasted... Maybe have to rethink the design procedure ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mens-Hand-Made-Trendy-Boots-Western-Style-2-colors-4714-/150609612294?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item2311084e06

Some of them are confusing the 2011 trend with fashion in the seventies, but why not reusing the old designs, its cheaper, and it was well proven as a best seller, namelly the wincklepicker beatle boot !

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MENS-LEATHER-POINTED-WINKLEPICKER-ZIP-CUBAN-HEEL-BOOTS-/260826942719?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&var=&hash=item82650d309a

I am sure in a few months you can buy a 4" heel beatle boot !

Now for the Louboutin's look alikes supporters, there is the men's equivalent, the Rick Owens look alikes here http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Hand-Made-Trendy-Boots-10-cm-Kill-Heel-Boots-9001-/150605458187?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item2310c8eb0b

And this ones are totally indescriptible (mix between slippers and court shoe), so a ballet flat equivalent I guess :

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MENS-BLACK-SUEDE-SPANISH-MADE-LEATHER-CUBAN-HEEL-SHOES-/270764514224?pt=UK_Men_s_Shoes&var=&hash=item84b7fc9e47

Gudulitooo

[kikepa]

Whether they're made for a woman or a man is immaterial. What makes them "men's heels" is if I can get away with wearing them around town without passersby looking at me as if I were CD.

[benno]

Gudulitooo, Nice finds there. Some great styles to contemplate. I love the first black patent pair and some of the Gentler branded heels are stunning and super wearable. Interesting to note they are from Korea. Asian guys just 'get on it' where fashion is concerned. I have been wearing the attached 'womens' heels by Topshop quite a lot recently. No problems to report. Couple of idiotic laughs from groups of drunks, but the positives have been amazing and inspiring. And all my friends LOVE them!!! Thanks!