My High Heel History

[Slingfan]

Hi there everyone. I had been doing a bit of thinking and thought it would be good to write down my history with high heels, how and when things started for me and my experiences with high heels in general. I thought it would be a good idea to share my stories with those who may have experienced similar things, so here goes. I have liked high heels and women's shoes in general since as long as I can remember. The first time I started noticing high heels was probably around the age of 4 or 5. I don't remember a specific moment but I do remember seeing women in black high heel pumps and being fascinated by the way they looked and the noise the heels made while walking. While no one was watching at home I started walking on my tip toes and pretending to make the click clack noise of the heels on the ground. My mother was from the country and so she never, ever wore heels. She dressed more like a tom-boy and in 'practical' clothing, so there were never any high heels in the house or attractive women's shoes for me to try on, but I wanted to know how it felt to wear high heels. After the age of 6 or 7 I started noticing strappy sandals, both high heel and flat which became my favourite. I began to look at catalogues that came in the mail for high heels and sandals, keen to see anything with lots of straps. I remember seeing a pair of strappy sandals in one particular catalogue that were flat and had a zip at the back of the heel. I wondered how it would feel wearing them, and then if I wore them with the zips undone. I also recall seeing women in sandals with straps that ran up their calf. I like these sandals so much that I used to dream about them as a kid, wearing them. I then started dreaming about my straps slipping down my calves as I walked. One dream I recall was about me walking around the local shopping mall, which was empty. I was in the outside part of the mall and it was poring rain and flooded. I was wearing some sandals with the straps tied up my calf, walking in the water. I'm not sure what these dreams meant but I had them before the age of 10 and my attraction to sandals was definite by that age. Just before the age of 10 I first noticed a woman wearing sandals but with the backstrap not on her heel where it should be. I'm not sure on the specifics but I think it was one strap up and one that was under her heel. This fascinated me, it was like the shoe was broken but they kept wearing it. It was like a ether version of the dream where the calf tie straps slipped down. As I lived in a warm part of Australia most women wore some type of sandals, particularly in the summer and as I went to the shops with my Mum every Friday afternoon I saw many, many women with loose and falling backstraps. This became like gold to me, thew most exciting type of sighting, especially if I got to see the lady pull her strap up, or see the strap fall down before they pulled them up. I was only young, so no one knew I was looking but it excited me and made me want to experience the feeling of wearing the sandals. I tried thinking of ways to get out of the house and go buy a pair, but at that age any money I was given was closely monitored. I even tried to slip my foot into sandal at a Christmas party my parents were at. Some people left their shoes at the door, so I tried to slip into someone's sandals quickly to see what it felt like, however I was afraid of being caught so I put an end to the idea. At around 11 or 12 I scrounged enough money up to buy a pair of women's shoes. I grabbed my basketball and told Mum and Dad I was going to the courts around the corner to shoot, ran to the courts, hid my ball in some bushes and then ran the kilometre up the road to the shopping centre. I went into K-Mart and found a pair of probably 3 inch stroppy sandals, one strap over the toe, a strap up the middle of the foot and one strap across the top of the foot, then a back strap with a buckle. They were brown. I didn't know my size so i got size 10, which was the biggest at the time. I was a tall kid for my age with big feet, so size 10 was a good fit. I was really nervous buying the shoes, sweating and losing my voice when the cashier talked to me. I ran back to the court, hid the sandals and went back home. When Mum and Dad left to go to the shops somewhere I bolted around to the courts, got my sandals from the bush and ran home. Finally putting on a pair of strappy sandals for the first time was amazing, I loved the feeling on my feet and the strap at the back of my heel. Although they stayed up at the back, I walked around with one strap under my heel or both straps under my heels, imitating the women I'd seen who had lost their backstraps. Unfortunately, my success was shot lived as my Mum found the shoes. It was incredibly embarrassing. Mum seemed very upset, especially as she was very conservative. I thought Dad would go off, but he was pretty cool about it, saying that when you are going through puberty things like this can happen and that it was a phase. Except it wasn't a phase for me, I was attracted to high heels and sandals and liked the feeling of wearing them. I explained that I thought they looked 'sexy' on women, so they knew it wasn't a 'gay' thing, wanting to wear women's shoes. But it was still extremely embarrassing, I felt like I'd disappointed my parents, particularly my Mum. A month or two later I'd got enough money together to buy another pair. All I could think about was feeling those straps on my feet again and I thought I'd learned my lesson in being caught and would be able to hide the shoes better. I bought another pair of 3 inch strappy sandals. They were black with straps running across the foot and on right up the middle of the cross straps. The backstrap was long and was held to the inside of the last cross strap by a small hook made from the same material as the straps. They were buckle straps too. I got these back home and fell in love with them. A couple of days later I was wearing them while Mum and Dad were out and suddenly my right strap fell off my heel in 3 or 4 steps. That was what it felt like to have your straps fall down! I took my sandal off and inspected it. The hook holding the strap up had broken, so the long strap didn't have anything to hold it up anymore. I walked around, constantly pulling up my strap like I'd seen women do and then having it fall again. I loved it. Then my Mum found this pair too and I suffered the embarrassment all over again, although she didn't tell Dad this time. Around 11 I began having to take Japanese classes at primary school. The teacher was Australian, although she wore Japanese style clothing. Every day for two years she wore a pair of black strap sandals, similar to my second pair although more elegant. She was constantly losing her straps, slowly at first but by a year later she was losing them just walking through the classroom. These were the most amazing pair of shoes I'd seen to this point and she had no qualms about pulling them up in front of everyone. Asking questions at the front of the class she'd lean down, flick her leg up behind her and slide her straps back up with her index finger. I thought this was amazing. Whenever she walked into class her straps would be down under her heels and she'd fix them as soon as she stopped. Every time they slipped low on her heels she fixed them, for two whole years. Even so, she always wore these heels. I wished sometime I could wear shoes like that every day and have no comment. I was very sporty, a real normal, rough boy so this love of high heels and sandals was troubling for me. I thought something was wrong with me because on one hand I was 'normal', a boy who loved playing football, basketball (pretty much any sport), roughing around like normal active boys, etc, etc but underneath I had this secret. ........more to come soon everyone. Every year my parents and I holidayed up north for 2 weeks. At age 13 I saw a pair of uni-sex sandals in a shop and convinced Mum to buy me a pair. Looking back now they weren't attractive at all, sort of like the sandals you see backpackers wearing around, but at the time aI just wanted an excuse to wear some sandals out in public and I knew I obviously couldn't wear women's sandals out in public without being ridiculed! When I got them I set the velcro straps loose so they slipped down. One day I wore one strap done up normal on one loose. It slipped off and my Mum said 'Tighten your shoe up, it looks silly like that' but I didn't. Other days I went for walks and didn't bother to pull the straps up. When we got home I wore them a lot, keeping the straps done tight when around my conservative Mum but loosening them as soon as I was away from her. Around this age I was able to get some more money and bought some more high heel sandals. They were from Target and this time were size 11. The straps stayed up but I loved wearing them when my parents weren't home. I found a good hiding spot and they never were found. However my guilt over this got the better of my and after a year of having them I threw them out. This set a pattern that has continued for years, feeling awesome about buying them and wearing them followed by guilt and the disposal of the shoes. At the age of 15 I tried going without wearing or even looking at shoes for a year. I wanted badly to win a Grand Final at football and I thought by being disciplined and not indulging in my 'dirty little secret' I would be rewarded. For 9 months I did well, not even looking at women in high heels or sandals. We won the Grand Final, which was the best feeling ever and for a month afterwards I didn't even care about women's shoes. I thought it was past me. However, on our holiday's I gave in and bought another pair. I felt terrible. From now on I kept going through periods of abstaining from anything related to heels and sandals, followed by periods where I became consumed by the want to wear them. Around this time a popular pair of shoes was a black wedge with criss cross straps up the foot and a small back strap coming from the bottom of the last criss cross straps. Nearly every pair I saw, and there were many, had one or both straps down which set me off again wanting to wear heels. They looked amazing to me and seeing women fixing their straps, walking with them low on their heels or slipped off their heels was an incredible sight. I bought a pair too and my left strap slipped down. I also bought a pair of elegant flat sandals with brown straps and a backstrap. My left strap also slipped down in these. I loved this pair although I threw them out too in one of my guilty moments. They are still one of my all time favourite pairs, so comfy and the left strap slipped and stayed low on the heel although rarely slipped off, which was good because the way they were constructed it was very hard to walk in them without the backstrap up. By the time I was 17/18 I was fully grown, a touch under 6 feet. I needed size 11 women's shoes, although some ran a bit small and were tight. It really depended on the make. I got my first car and now had freedom to roam about and shop a bit more. I found out Payless Shoes had lots of size 11 and some size 12 shoes. I bought a couple of pairs of black and brown business sling backs in size 11 and 12. When I tried them on my left strap slipped down. I now knew that, ironically, I had a problem keeping straps on my left foot. It seems slightly smaller than my right and ever since I always lose the strap on my left heel. Some straps I have the buckle tied on the last hole on my left and the first hole on my right and the left falls off while the right never does. These shoes from Payless stretched out wonderfully, moulding to my foot and softening. my left strap got looser and looser even though I kept tightening it and eventually I always left it down while wearing them at home. On one pair my right strap slipped on and off after I wore it out completely, which was an awesome feeling for me. I kept buying, wearing for a month then feeling guilty and throwing them out. I'd then go get another pair a month down the track and repeat the process. It must have cost me so much money over the years. Eventually my good hiding place was found and I had to go through everything again with my Mum. I tried to explain what it was but same said she didn't want those shoes in her house. She was upset and didn't really want to understand, although I couldn't blame her I suppose. At 22 I met my girlfriend, who I still with now. I shifted out with her at 23 and subsequently got more freedom. I bought many pairs of slingbacks and pumps I could fit into and I became more active on this site, trying to communicate with others and learn more about this love of women's shoes. My girlfriend didn't know, I wore them only when she was out and hid them when she came home. However the cycle of guilt continued and I kept throwing my shoes away, abstaining and then buying again. I began writing stories, such as 'A night out in my flopping, clopping peep toes sling backs' where I imagined myself wearing slingbacks, sandals and pumps out and getting away with it. I even claimed that the stores were real in an effort to try and make more high heel friends to talk to, because I'd never been able to talk to anyone about it before. Although my feelings of guilt resurfaced when I bought heels, I became more accepting of this part of me in general. I no longer thought it was 'wrong' or 'sick' or a bad part of me, although I still swept a lot of my feelings under the carpet so to speak and just tried to move on with things. In general, I don't like dwelling on negatives or getting caught up with baggage like so many others. I was bullied a lot as a kid but instead of carrying it with me I developed a thick skin, a quick wit and an ability to laugh at myself and move on with confidence. This 'toughness' and ability to stay confident allowed me to not get too weighed down with my high heel issues, but the downside was I never really explored it, only in dribs and drabs such as occasional posts on this site and trying to chat to people with similar issues. ......still more to come.

[Shafted]

Good read! Looking forward to more.

[Slingfan]

As I said, when I shifted out of home I got more freedom to buy and wear women's shoes. I bought some great pairs of heels, including a pair of cork heel peep toe wedges. I kept these for a long time. My left strap fell from the beginning, however by the end I had it buckled up as tight as could be and it slipped off my heel in 3 steps. I loved walking around my apartment, hearing the slap of my shoes on my heels. We had a full length mirror in the bedroom so I was able to walk and see the straps fall down. I bought many pairs of heels and felt sandals. I bought a pair of size 12 5 inch cork heel black leather sling backs off the internet. These were the best pair I ever owned, I sometimes wish I never threw them away. They had elastic in the backstrap instead of a buckle. I wore them in a park at night time and my straps stayed up, although the shoes still slapped loudly. The leather felt wonderful on my feet and I loved the shoe hitting my heels with each step. After a couple of weeks wear around the house my left strap began to slip. I wore them again in the park one night while my girlfriend was away. I just couldn't keep my left strap up. I fixed it several times before I finally gave up and walked with one strap up and one down. My left shoe made a really loud slap, which echoed around the park. If someone else was around they certainly would have heard me. But as with all my shoes I threw them away after feeling guilty. One thing I could wear in public that women did was Havaianas, so I ended up with a collection of Havaianas flip flops (or thongs as they are called in Australia). I liked to arch my feet while sitting, slipping my feet in and out of my Havaianas. The more worn they became the smoother they became and the thinner the soles became. In the end the straps became looser over the foot and they slapped louder as you walked. I often saw women with attractive feet in Havaianas and then bought the type of flip flops they had on because I thought they looked good. I had many pairs and now even have the slim Havaianas. I wore them while home alone and shoeplayed in them if I didn't have heels or sandals at the time. I also bought pairs of the Rubi flip flop sandals with the backstraps which I've written about in some of my stories. As with all the women I saw wearing these sandals, my straps slipped down easily too, ending up squashed and flattened under my heels. One night after a few drinks I grabbed a pair I had in my car and walked home in them, late at night. It was several kilometres to home and not much traffic was out so I don't think I was seen. I lost my left strap almost immediately. I tried keeping my straps up, pulling them up occasionally for the first part of the journey. Eventually I just left my left strap down and waited for the right to fall. After a while it did and I just walked with both straps under my heels. With about a kilometre to go I hailed a cab and hopped in. I don't think the driver saw my sandals. I discretely pulled my straps up while inside and when I arrived home, hoped out and lost my left strap in 4 steps. I wondered how it would feel being able to wear those sandals in public without anyone looking twice, always being unable to keep the straps up. My girlfriend, again ironically, turned out to have a problem keeping her right strap up on sling backs. I first saw this a few months into our relationship when she was wearing a pair of gold 5 inch strappy sandals. At an event she suddenly reached down and pulled her right strap up. I hadn't noticed it was sipping. The more she wore those heels the more stretched her straps became. In the end she had 9 holes punched in the strap instead of the original 5 and yet they still slipped in several steps. She said one night that she should cut them off, but I said I liked it, although I don't think she took me all that seriously. I bought her a pair of wooden stack heel inch black leather peep toe slings for Christmas one year. 6 months later I saw her at an event walking one her left strap up and right strap down. It looked amazing, especially since it seemed not to bother her. Again, these heels got looser and looser and I saw many memorable loose slingback shows. I felt bad every time I wore heels and need up throwing them out, but I never felt bad seeing my girlfriend in her heels, she looked amazing. This year I decided to tell her of my love of high heels and in particular slipping slingbacks and heelpopping. I wrote everything down for her as it was hard for me to say. She took things hard at the beginning, however then warmed to the idea. She said she didn't feel good about me wearing heels and that she didn't want to find any around the house, but she said she would like to wear high heels more for me as she liked that. She even was accepting of my love of slipping sling backs, wearing some i'd bought her and enjoying the fact the I liked it. I am now more accepting of my passion for women's sandals and high heels, although buying them still makes me feel bad. Without my girlfriends acceptance of me wearing heels I probably will always feel that way, however she is such a good girlfriend and is keen to wear heels for me that it is OK. I don't know how to give up wearing heels. Every time I feel it is possible I get the old urges back again and go buy a pair, wear them and then feel guilty. the cycle continues. Sometimes I really want to wear some of my sandals out in public, losing my straps like I see others doing, however in my position it is not possible and would be silly for me to do so. I'm all for others doing it, however for me I couldn't do it. Wearing my Havaianas is enough for me, and I can get away with that.

[Puffer]

An interesting and literate account, Slingfan; thank you for sharing it with us. Like you, I have long admired women in sandals and slingbacks (slipping or otherwise) and I myself like to wear sandals that are unisex or will pass as such. Men's sandals are usually so ugly and heavy, which really defeats their purpose when something light and open is called for.

You say above that: "I began writing stories, such as 'A night out in my flopping, clopping peep toes sling backs' where I imagined myself wearing slingbacks, sandals and pumps out and getting away with it. I even claimed that the stores were real in an effort to try and make more high heel friends to talk to, because I'd never been able to talk to anyone about it before." Is this in fact your admission that, whilst the above account of your life is correct, your various stories have been essentially fictional, albeit no doubt including some of your real sightings and experiences? (I am not criticising you for writing fiction - that is what this forum is for - but I prefer not to see it passed-off as being the truth, as otherwise a member's credibility can be completely undermined, which is why I now ask for your clarification. For the same reason, perhaps this 'personal history' account should really be in the men's forum; do you agree?)

By the way, please re-post your old avatar - that pair of slingbacks is almost my ideal choice of female footwear, although even better with a higher stiletto!

[Slingfan]

Hi Puffer, The only stories that weren't true were the ones where I wrote about dressing up en femme and going out. I found it difficult to find people to talk to about my love of slipping straps as it is a quite specific and different thing to like. I found a lot of negative opinions about the things I liked. I began writing the 'Night out in my clopping, flopping peep toe slings' stories as a way of expressing my love of sling backs and pumps, etc. When I found some people were interested in these stories and asked if I was dressed en femme I said yes, because I thought it was easier to explain. Personally I now wish I hadn't said this because it does undermine my credibility somewhat, however it was all part of me wanting to make friends to talk to about my passion for heels. All the other stories I've told are true, including ones where I've walked alone in the park in heels and sandals and when i walked home after a night out in slingback wedges. It has been hard for me, trying to understand why I like high heels and women's shoes and with my particular peculiar passion for slipping straps and heelpopping it has been more difficult as I've found many others find that unappealing, so until recently there hasn't been too many people to share stories, etc. With regards to my avatar picture I don't have the old one on my computer anymore so unfortunately I can't re-post it, however I'll try and find something similar as my avatar pic. I agree, that pair were amazing! I wished I'd owned a pair actually!

[Puffer]

Here is the avatar, Sligfan (along with those of a load of other members): http://www.google.co...iw=1024&bih=636

Whether you can retrieve it and re-post it I don't know. But I do recall seeing that shoe on Zappo's website (which is presumably where you found it originally).