The End Of 2012 With A Bang!

[JL]

OK... it's been a really long time since I posted anything here... in fact it's been an incredibly long time since I've bought any new heels nor wore them out...... A couple of weeks ago, there was a thread on HHP discussing the Payless Brash Lunar Wedges and how they're a bit bigger than the marked size. In addition, they're available in a wide width. It ends up that someone I work with wears these same exact shoes almost every day of the week!! So... I go to the Payless site and sure enough there they are!! The only real issue is that I wear a MEN's 13W or a WOMAN's 15/16. After reading through the numerous reviews on the Payless site, I determined a common thread is that people had to get them one to one and a half sizes smaller than they normally wear. DING DING DING DING!! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!!!!! Of course my local Payless stores didn't carry them in a 13W, which is the largest size made for this shoe, so I had to order them online. A few days later they arrived. I tried them on and was able to squeeze my feet into them. Squeeze is the key word here. Did they fit?? yes, sort of. Could they use a little stretching?? Oh yeah. After some Googling, I found one of those As Seen On TV shoe stretching kits ($10 at the local Walgreen's). Using this 'kit' and a heat gun (not a hair dryer), I carefully stretched the width in several places on both shoes. After they cooled somewhat, I put them on again. What a difference!! There were a couple of places that needed a little more room, so I did a bit more stretching. Perfect fit!!!! Mind you... I am still very private with my heel wearing -- translation: my wife doesn't know about it!! I've been on vacation from work for the past couple of weeks and had some opportunities to wear them and break them in a bit. In the beginning, I could only really wear them for an hour or so (ball of my foot started hurting). Then each day, a couple of times each day, I wore them longer and longer. This brings me to today.... New Year's Eve Day... December 31st 2012... (just in case you read this tomorrow or next week). For the past 24 hours or so, I decided that since today is my last day off (alone), I would venture out in my new shoes. My wife gave me a grocery list for a store that had some good sales. The store is a bit out of the area (5 miles up the road) where I didn't expect to run into anyone I know. Here's the thing -- there is an apartment complex right behind this store where I know a LOT of people from work. What are the odds that if they're not off today, that they'd be sleeping in rather than buying food for any NYE celebrations tonight. It was kind of a thrill wondering who I might see if anyone... It was also scary as hell. Last night I didn't sleep much at all... going through the plan in my head a million times and thinking what I would say if I was 'caught'.... BTW, the person at work that wears these shoes daily lives there and shops in this store very regularly. In a sick strange kind of way I was hoping that she would be there and would find me out while she was wearing them too.... It would be a potentially career limiting move, but.......... 7AM came around... my wife was gone for work early. All I had to do was bring my 2 y/o daughter to daycare and I'd be good to go. So, that's what I did. Got back home and pulled out a pair of long jeans that I had in the closet. They're supposed to be a 32" inseam but are more like 36". Bonus. I put on a pair of very black tights (yes tights), then the pants, and the.... the shoes. I adjusted the pants a bit lower on my waist to cover a majority of the shoes and my feet. I didn't give it anymore thought. I grabbed a pair of sneakers (just in case I chicken out at the last minute), grabbed the bottle returns, and headed to the car. Off I went. Driving in them is definitely very different than normal stilettos (last time I drove wearing 4" pumps). After a few minutes, I was used to them and got to the store. The parking lot was fairly empty but not totally. I parked in a normal spot, close to the store. Grabbed my bottle returns, a shopping card, and strutted my way to the return machines. Let me tell you -- walking in these shoes outside of a carpeted house is VERY different. Since my shoe is normally 13" long, the significantly shorter sole of this shoe, only 8.5", makes my stride a bit more obvious but nothing like wearing stilettos. The soles are rubber, so there is not click-click-clack, but instead a clop-clop-clop. By the way, I'm normally 5'11" tall -- the shoes have a 5 1/4" heel -- I can see and reach things on the store shelves now. So... I return all of the bottles/cans and start shopping. I'm nervous as anything, but it's too late now. My feet aren't hurting at all as I walk throughout the store. Before I knew it, everything I needed was in my cart. On my way to the checkout, I noticed there was an older man following me through the aisles. I knew he noticed, and honestly, I really didn't care. Don't know why though. Finally I checked out, got back to my car, loaded it up and was on my way. Stopped for gas on the way home and decided that I didn't need to hide my shoes anymore. Overconfidence perhaps, but WTF. So, I adjusted my pants a LOT higher on my waist and there was a good view of my shoes and feet in them. I felt really good about this!! So now I'm home, groceries put away, and changed into a pair of shorts while still in my black tights and heels. The plan is to wear them ALL day until I need to leave to pick up my daughter. Sorry this was soooooo long to read. I just kept typing and typing. Here are the shoes I bought and wore/am wearing. Oh yeah, the other day I went into the Payless store just to see what else they have in the 13W sizes. There is actually a pretty big inventory. In fact, they had the cobalt blue pair of the same shoes -- on sale for just $20!!!! Yes, I actually picked them up and took them to the register and bought them!!! OK... I'm done... Thank you for reading this diatribe... If you got to this point, you're either shaking your head saying "dayumm he wrote a lot" or "wow, maybe I'll buy a pair of those". Happy New Year to all!!! Please be safe and don't fall off your heels drunk!!

[Shafted]

. The soles are rubber, so there is not click-click-clack, but instead a clop-clop-clop.

Soles have little to do with the sound of the heel. Based on your description you're not even close to walking properly in heels.

Do yourself a favor and learn to walk properly in them or you'll wind up attracting unwanted attention.

[JL]

Soles have little to do with the sound of the heel. Based on your description you're not even close to walking properly in heels.

Do yourself a favor and learn to walk properly in them or you'll wind up attracting unwanted attention.

Thanks for such positive support. I believe that after wearing stiletto heels for several years, AND walking properly in them, that I am indeed wearing and walking in these properly. Until you have worn these shoes, please keep your buzzkill comments to yourself.

[Shafted]

Until you have worn these shoes, please keep your buzzkill comments to yourself.

Actually there are very typical of what I wear everyday, everywhere, except the platforms..

Sorry didn't want to come off as rude, it's just something that I read that that sounded all wrong.

[Dr. Shoe]

Indeed, wedges shouldn't make a clopping sound at all but what the hell. Walk in them any way you want!

[JL]

Indeed, wedges shouldn't make a clopping sound at all but what the hell. Walk in them any way you want!

They don't make a clicking sound either.... what word (onomatopoeia) would you use to describe the sound of this type of shoe??

[Heelster]

I think I'm gonna have to check these shoes out. I've heard a lot of good comments on these. Oh - - and for some reason, tall wedges seem to sound different. Regardless of soft sole or hard. They just do.

[AZShoeNut]

Way to go! I too have the gift (curse perhaps) of many words when it comes to writing posts about a new heeling experience. I find that those wedges do not make much sound at all. The rubber sole really muffles the tone. Today I wore them into a new, more trendy coffee house in downtown Phoenix for coffee and breakfast. Man, the place had a ton of people. I seriously doubt that one person noticed that I had five inch heels on. All the best with your adventures - have a ton of fun. Happy new year, Larry

[FreshinHeels]

Nice one, well done txs for sharing

[SleekHeels]

Wedges certainly do make a more discreet sound than stiletto heels. Those black wedges with opaque black tights and long jeans are pretty inconspicuous visually too. If your objective was a safe first outing to build a bit of confidence then it sounds like you succeeded. If anything you'd have been even less likely to get noticed if the store had been busier. If you're not quite ready to do something similar in stilettos just yet, maybe trying on a pair of heels in the shoe store would be a natural next step. Good luck building your confidence step by step, it's a shame to keep heels hidden away in secrecy.

[Shafted]

Ma bad, didn't realize you were talking about wedges. Sorry. I couldn't view them initially.

[Logjam]

I too have a pair of the Lunar wedges. I'd have to go with a "clop-clop-clop"sound also. (Right or wrong way of walking!) sight aside - I wonder if Payless has any idea how many pairs of those were sold to men? Regards, Logjam

[Guest]

You bring back memories of my early days out. A "spare" pair in the car in case I backed Out or something came up and I had to ditch the heels. Scared to death walking into A store afraid someone was going to see me. Then getting home and changing into something I would rather be wearing like shorts and my heels, then changing when the wife came Home. (My wife new before we got married, but I did not like to do it in front of her, or Just the respect of not doing it in front of her). Here is how your life will go. You will buy more shoes, maybe even throw them away because you feel guilty, but you Will buy more. You will find ways to wear them more without the wife knowing. Then one day, if you are Lucky, or not, your wife will find them. As you get more and more comfortable in public, the desire to wear them everyday will Get stronger because 2-3hrs here and there is not enough. Depending on your wife, your marriage may have its ups and downs be cause of your habit. You may even promise to stop. But the desire still burns inside and every time you see A woman in heels it hurts inside because you wish you could wear those shoes and be As free as she is. Wait, is this my story or yours. I like the wedges, but a better shoe can help you get the confidence to wear in public. I would love to wear pumps every day, but I would rather wear anything that I can get Away with everyday than to not wear womans shoes. Not long ago I actually went up to a woman that had on the same boots as me and Showed them to her. She was surprised to say the least.

[Curt]

I was never guilty of the shoes I have. I've never purged because of that. I've purged sometimes if I don't wear them any more. Don't feel jealous of a women because she can wear heels freely. We can wear them freely too. Who says we can't. Will you get kicked out of a shoe store because you want shoes that women wear. Hell no! I can't wear them at work because I work in a factory. But I wear them to and from work. 3 and 4" high heel boots and plats. People call them hooker boots but I'm sure they respect me for keeping it real. I havnt worn any f**' me pumps to work, they are for formal events. Its a new year now, be proud of the shoes you wear. There's nothging wrong with it, society just isn't used to it yet. Remember the key word is yet!

[ChipsHH]

No worries. When I had stories to tell, they went as far as my mind had imagined telling them to everyone here. But now, I just blog it. Yet, the blog's rather bare on the "heel outing" part of things... Depending on the wedge, but more times than none, there's a huge chance your wedges will make little to no sound while walking (except the sound You here, of course). Yet, I ordered some wedges long ago. When they arrived, I was shocked to find out that they had some of the loudest soles I had ever heard on wedges before. To even more of a shock, the heels were a very distant second. So there are wedges out there loud enough for eyes to turn and see where the sound's coming. But you didn't wanna hear that, didya?