Which came first?

[Shafted]

I decided to post this poll after reading some of the comments about guy buying heels for themselves at a real world shoe store.

[jwhite44]

Buying (from a Payless). I don't remember how soon afterwards I went out in public.

[heelguy]

Wore heels in public before i bought heels at a shoe store. I wore heels out one night when i was living back in the UK, i had a pair of heels my aunty threw out and when nobody was around i rumaged through the bin liner full of the shoes she was throwing out and grabbed them They were black closed toe pumps that fully exposed the majority of the foot with a backing peice and ankle strap. I wore them with a Brown pleated skirt as i went for a walk down a few dark streets in my area! It was actually probably quite a dangerous thing to do looking back on it now.. :/ The first pair of heels i ever bought was when i moved to Aus in 2008, They're my black suede Miss Shop pumps i got from Myer

[CRabbit]

Well purchasing on the internet wasn't an option when I got started and wearing in public only really happened since falling across this forum. I'd bought around 8 pairs of heels in person in a store before building the courage to go public. I honestly find it easier now to shop for heels when wearing heels than in flats!

[LiveAndLearn]

I bought my first (and only) pair of heels from online, on amazon of all the places! They're nitelife shoes, but being a size 12 foot I couldn't really just try on any old shoes in the store or even family members, because none would fit me! So it was kind of do or die. Order the shoes and if they dont fit well i'll just have to keep them . Luckily, they did fit (;

[Shafted]

Well purchasing on the internet wasn't an option when I got started and wearing in public only really happened since falling across this forum. I'd bought around 8 pairs of heels in person in a store before building the courage to go public.

I honestly find it easier now to shop for heels when wearing heels than in flats!

This is interesting as my first purchase in a shoe store was very easy, but I was already out in public. My first purchase online was in anticipation of public heeling. This really seems to be the best way to get started in public heeling.

[AZShoeNut]

Well, my first in store (no internet in 1988 ) purchase was when I was 13 and my first time out in public (on Halloween) was when I was 31 - two years shy of twenty years later. :-) Larry

[ilikekicks]

This has me laughing in my situation.. I bought all these shoes for someone else. Stores and Online.. I didnt realize down the road I would be the one wearing or enjoying them. LOL!

[hhboots]

My first few purchases were well before the internet made it so easy to get anything you want, so yes, bought shoes from the store years before going public heeling. If I was 20 years younger I could pretty easily say it that my answer would have been the other way around.

[Slides 'n Heels]

I started wearing heels in the late 90's. Which was after i bought the first pairs online. Internet was already there. It took a few years more before i started buying them in the shop.

[roniheels]

Buying (from a Payless). I don't remember how soon afterwards I went out in public.

Me, too. It's ironic that the first pair I bought at Payless, I didn't wear those in public. It was a pair I bought through mail order that I wore in public.

[Guest]

I'd previously borrowed but never out. On the decission to get my own the world opened up for exploreing Al

[HappyinHeels]

I bought my first pair of high heels in 1978 but it wasn't until 1995 when I wore high heels in a public setting. Some of that was due to military service and later to moving around as I settled down and began my family. Now I've got land in different spots, know many more people, and have the income and desire to enjoy these things. It is all about expressing yourself and finding your place among the 6.95 billion people on this big blue planet. HappyinHeels:wavey:

[TTOURNIQUET]

I read all I could, and ended up with some useless advice on women's shoe sizes vs mens. Tried buying a pair of size 13 heels off Ebay. Got them, and they were way too big. So, last week, Wife & I were going to a party where there were going to be a few cross-dressers. Wife took me out to buy shoes that fit. Told a sales person that I was going to a party in drag, would she please help? She just grinned and said "Cool!" Turned out I'm size 11 mens and size 11 womens. Wore them with some 40 denier suntan Peavey tights, and I gotta say... it's nice to hear women say that I have nice legs!!

[jwhite44]

It doesn't help that there appears to be a lot of variations in women's shoe sizing to begin with. A "size 9" might be sz 8 for one shoe, or a 10 in another.

[mtnsofheels]

Before I wore shoe in public I had go get my own first, that was the first thing. Mtnsofheels

[hhthglvr]

Bought my first pair of shoes at Target. Bought a pair of high heel thong sandals for her but they were really for me

[PetrKpy]

I chose "Buying Women's shoes in a shoe store." My first high heels was from the shop with oversized shoes. The saleslady was very helpful and when I was leaving, she told me that the high heels befits me.

[Shafted]

I wondering what effect the presence of online shoe stores has on this? I myself wore heels in public before buying them in a physical shoe store. My first pair for street heeling I bought online. Some of the more veteran heelers probably predate online stores so they would most likely vote for buying heels in a shoe store fisrt. Thanks to all for participating.

[Walkonit]

I'm a bit confused here. Isn't it difficult to wear heels in public before you own any ? Or is the poll enquiring only about purchases in a physical shoe shop instead of say an on-line shop ? Personally I bought on-line first, then in a physical shoe shop , and finally started public heeling.

[Aglo]

I bought the first heels I wore outside in a store. It was six months after I had seen the same shoes and gone 'wow!, these are so cool - wish I was able to wear them'. It worked out! To answer Walkonit, I was once in a position to wear women's shoes that I had not bought but, on looking back, and before the days of the encouragement gained from the HH Place, it just didn't click at that time that I might actually do it.

[R_Anderson]

Should be the option of "ordered over the internet first"

[jetheelsfan]

My first pair were pre-internet days in 1970. They were from a Montgomery Ward sale catalog for $3.99 plus shipping. I went with the largest size they had - 10B. They were a very short heel at a listed 1 1/8 inches high - that was the style of the day then. So my answer has to be Mail Order

[seotkrad]

My first pair of purchased heels was over 20 years ago at a mall near where I used to live. The saleslady was very encouraging and offered to assist me in the rear stockroom of the store. She first gave me a pair of thigh highs to put on, then brought in multiple pairs of various styles for my consideration. I had walked in other peoples shoes before this, but this was the first time that I was actually buying a pair for myself. The experience was wonderful, to say the least. The saleslady was extremely helpful complimenting me on several pair and letting me know when she thought that others looked, well say awful. I brought two pair and walked out of the store wearing a more conservative pair in the mall. No one noticed them since they were rather short and had a rubber sole and heel. This was the pair that I gained experience in public outings. Several years later this store went out of business and I had to travel to the next county to find a store to make my purchases. For me, the interaction of the sales clerk and the trying on of the shoes in a store environment is much more appealing than ordering online. However since I wear such a large clunker; a 13, I usually have to succumb to the online purchase procedure.

[wood&metal]

Wearing heels out in the world came first for me... All of my boots, with the exception of a couple pair of mens cowboy boots, have been purchased online... I have shopped for and tried on heels in stores only for the first time in the last few months, but have not made a purchase simply because I either didn't like the shoes or they didn't have my size... I also find that much of the style I gravitate towards doesn't seem to be as readily available in stores...

[stilettopete]

Used to get all my heels online. Still do occasionally. Much prefer seeing and feeling the shoes before I buy. A great feeling to be in a shoe store full of heels. Had no problems buying in stores. Only recently have I street heeled. What a buzz. Will share my experiences on another thread.

[Bubba136]

While I am an avid fan of catalogs and on line shopping (endless.com has one well organized online catalog), and have purchased many pairs on line and in stores over the years. But, mostly I don't get much of a chance to buy many pair by myself since my wife began buying them for me. She knows my sizes and when she sees a pair that she thinks I might like, she brings them home for me to try. The only problem with this is that our taste in shoes is so different that I usually return most of them to the store where she bought them. Don't get me wrong because I absolutely love that she does this for me. I really don't mind returning them -- after I've tried them on, etc. So far this year she has come home with 8 or 10 pair out of which I've kept two pair and returned the others.

[johann62]

I too have started wearing girls shoes in 90 years (1992 to be precise. At 16 years old. ) but I do not wear that in public since 2003. At first I mainly bought shoes high heels to please me only a visual standpoint, but now I enjoy multiple styles of shoes, and I wear shoes all day but with feminine smaller heels. I started by buying a few pairs in the store (not easy in 1992 to buy women's shoes in 45EU - 13US sizes on the internet!) And since I buy mostly by Internet worldwide.