The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

9 hours ago, Cali said:

@mlroseplant I'm just playing with you.  We all have gaps or single minded heels., like boots-only @Shyheels. When you have over 50 pairs and no place to wear them (staying home) some do gather cobwebs.

I know that you know that I know that you know that I know.  .  . you're messing with me. Howevahh.  .  . I will not wear knee high boots with shorts. Ain't gonna happen. 🤣🤣🤣

8 hours ago, bambam said:

As A sax player, I'm only faintly aware of the confusing mess of horn types, and I don't envy the complications. As a violin player, I envy the sax player in me. 

I also have a 1957 Conn 10M tenor saxophone. It's a honey. I think amongst several of us on this site, we could probably make a pretty sweet high heeled jam band.

[Shyheels]

I'm totally with you on the idea of knee boots and shorts - not a look I'd ever aspire to.

 

 

[p1ng74]

8 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I also have a 1957 Conn 10M tenor saxophone. It's a honey. I think amongst several of us on this site, we could probably make a pretty sweet high heeled jam band.

If you’ll take a fiddle I’ll join in.  That is my one hobby that definitely suffered in 2020.  I haven't touched the instrument since the summer video project.  I had no idea how low motivation can be when there is nobody to jam with. 
 

8 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I'm totally with you on the idea of knee boots and shorts - not a look I'd ever aspire to.

Never say never, boots and shorts are now well within my comfort zone:

[Cali]

9 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I know that you know that I know that you know that I know.  .  . you're messing with me. Howevahh.  .  . I will not wear knee high boots with shorts. Ain't gonna happen. 🤣🤣🤣

 

8 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I'm totally with you on the idea of knee boots and shorts - not a look I'd ever aspire to.

You both need to give it a try.  The only real  downside (for you) is you might really like it.  I know I do, specially with short shorts, but only in warm weather.

[bluejay]

Cali, I like that look too. To each his own.

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

[Cali]

The "male" version of miniskirt and boots

[bluejay]

Right on, Cali!

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

[Shyheels]

Unless I am cycling I seldom wear shorts for starters.

Knee boots and shorts, to me, smacks of a farmer in gum boots going out to do the milking

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

If you’ll take a fiddle I’ll join in.  That is my one hobby that definitely suffered in 2020.  I haven't touched the instrument since the summer video project.  I had no idea how low motivation can be when there is nobody to jam with. 
 

Never say never, boots and shorts are now well within my comfort zone:

I have experienced the same. My playing should have exploded exponentially last year, but the opposite happened. I tend to do much better if I have a deadline to meet, in other words, a performance that will take place on such and such a date. There was none of that in 2020. And yes, if it were to ever take place somehow, fiddles are welcome!

As far as the shorts with boots thing goes, it's not a matter of comfort zone, it's a matter of I don't like the look. I figure if it's warm enough to be wearing shorts, it's warm enough to be wearing sandals, and why would you purposefully want to pass up a chance to wear sandals? Obviously, this argument won't hold water with @Shyheels, haha.

Furthermore, I have a very good aesthetic argument against the look for me personally. If you haven't noticed, I have extremely short legs. If I were to visually chop my legs in half with a knee high boot, my legs would look approximately 18 inches long. Not a good look. On that basis alone, I can't do shorts and tall boots. For the same reason, I can't do capri pants.

[RonC]

I love shorts with heels, but not overly fond of the idea of shorts and boots.  If it's warm enough for shorts, why the heck would I want to encase my legs and feet in some hot (and I'm talking temperature here, not looks...lol) boots?  Maybe with tights on a cool day I could see it working.

[Cali]

It's a state of mind, different than any other, and it not about hot feet.

@mlroseplant has a good point, knee highs might swallow his legs and I suspect that calf highs might be knee highs to him.

[mlroseplant]

9 hours ago, Cali said:

It's a state of mind, different than any other, and it not about hot feet.

@mlroseplant has a good point, knee highs might swallow his legs and I suspect that calf highs might be knee highs to him.

Very funny. Better be careful. I will go find a 4 foot ladder and bite your ankles.

[mlroseplant]

It is official. My not-quite-12-year-old-son now has bigger feet than me. Too bad for him. Or maybe not. I don't think he really likes high heels for their own sake, it's that he just doesn't care if other people see him in my shoes or his mom's shoes. That will no longer be happening in the future. He's already up to size 11 U.S. Women's, which as most of you are painfully aware, severely limits his choices in women's shoes, should he want to continue to wear them. Just in case you're wondering, he's never worn anything more than about a 2" wedge.

[Cali]

That's great news for you, no chance he can "borrow" your shoes now.

Edited January 16, 2021 by Cali

[HappyinHeels]

Mlroseplant, 

I wonder when your son’s height will catch yours. That’s when it’s so obvious just how fast our babies grew up🤔HinH

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, HappyinHeels said:

Mlroseplant, 

I wonder when your son’s height will catch yours. That’s when it’s so obvious just how fast our babies grew up🤔HinH

I know that he is much bigger in every way than I was at his age. I remember this because for some reason I remember what I put down on my first learning driver permit when I was 14. He is the same height at age not-quite-12 as I was when I was 14. The mystery is where did this height come from? There are no tall people on either side of the family. They don't exist.

In other news, my 81st pair of high heels came yesterday all the way from Russia. I took a big chance on them, but it appears the risk was worth it. I'll have to post them later in the "New Shoes" section, once I have had a chance to wear them a bit.

[mlroseplant]

I ordered my now size 11 son some wedge sandals, and he seemed to rather like them. However, within a few hours, they completely disintegrated (see photo below). I have worn Sofft shoes (mostly sandals) for years, and I have found them to be among the most durable shoes on the planet. Well, for high heels, anyway. I could never imagine this happening to a pair of Sofft shoes. The destruction is widespread, particularly on one shoe. I mean, they broke around where the straps attach, broke across the bottom, broke at the heel. I have since ordered another pair from elsewhere. I hope this is just a fluke. Any ideas on the cause? They appear to have been barely worn when we got them, but that model is bound to be a number of years old.

[Cali]

Looks like he might have rolled his foot to create that much destruction.

[Jkrenzer]

Seeing how the base material actually failed then i expect the glue was correct. Must have had a flaw in the base material. If it happens again, i suggest you leave a not so favorable feedback on the manufacturer's website. 

[RonC]

May have been subjected to moisture and then some very dry conditions, which cause the material and glue to dry out and fail, akin to dry-rot.  Or maybe your son tried to play soccer in them or something?  

[mlroseplant]

17 hours ago, Cali said:

Looks like he might have rolled his foot to create that much destruction.

Even if he had done, which seems impossible given the time frame and the circumstances, I have found in the past that these Söfft unit bottoms are practically indestructible, which is what worries me. Evidently, under the wrong circumstances of age/storage, they become fragile. It's not just the sides, but also the heel area which self-destructed, and both shoes were affected. Hopefully the replacement pair will not suffer from the same problem.

17 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Seeing how the base material actually failed then i expect the glue was correct. Must have had a flaw in the base material. If it happens again, i suggest you leave a not so favorable feedback on the manufacturer's website. 

Once upon a time, you promised me that my Jessica Simpson mules, which had a similar looking material for the unit bottom, would split completely in half underneath the ball of the foot. Your prediction indeed came true. But this is a different type of failure. It is puzzling. As far as leaving negative feedback on the manufacturer's website, I am quite sure that this is a model which is long out of production. We shall see if it happens again.

17 hours ago, RonC said:

May have been subjected to moisture and then some very dry conditions, which cause the material and glue to dry out and fail, akin to dry-rot.  Or maybe your son tried to play soccer in them or something?  

I do have the feeling that the failure was a result of age + environmental conditions, and not of abuse. As I have said before, I have owned many several of this brand over the years, and typically the plastic unit bottoms are practically indestructible, even to play soccer in. What actually happened is that I gave him the sandals when they came in the mail at about 3:30 in the afternoon. He never wore them outside, and most of his time that afternoon and evening was spent at his desk, while he was on his computer. The next morning at 4:30 when I was getting ready for work, I discovered them at the bottom of the stairs in this condition, so unless he took a hammer to them after I went to bed.  .  .???

[Puffer]

10 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

...

I do have the feeling that the failure was a result of age + environmental conditions, and not of abuse. As I have said before, I have owned many several of this brand over the years, and typically the plastic unit bottoms are practically indestructible, even to play soccer in. What actually happened is that I gave him the sandals when they came in the mail at about 3:30 in the afternoon. He never wore them outside, and most of his time that afternoon and evening was spent at his desk, while he was on his computer. The next morning at 4:30 when I was getting ready for work, I discovered them at the bottom of the stairs in this condition, so unless he took a hammer to them after I went to bed.  .  .???

Perhaps, as they are mules, your son found them too stubborn and thrashed them?

[mlroseplant]

16 hours ago, Puffer said:

Perhaps, as they are mules, your son found them too stubborn and thrashed them?

My son is the type of kid who would prefer a good sturdy mule to a horse. Of course, he has experience with neither. But judging from his general personality, he would probably choose the mule.

______________________

I have been trying to walk a little bit more than I have been for the past several months. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been terribly cooperative, as it has snowed heavily in the past week. On the night of the big snowstorm, several days ago, I actually did walk a mile in fairly deep snow, well up past my ankles. I actually wore boots, if you can believe that, my Simply Vera 5" near-stiletto boots (with 1" platform) for about a mile in the snow. That was extremely tiring, and it was snowing hard enough that when I returned home, the footprints I had left on the way out had disappeared under a layer of fresh snow, within a matter of 20-25 minutes. I wanted to take a photo of some footprints, but the snow was so deep that they were not very photogenic, and also it was not really very obvious as to what kind of shoe made the footprints, and what fun is that?

By yesterday morning, everyone had gotten around to shoveling their sidewalks, so it was possible to walk in normal shoes again. I chose some old favorites, Nine West "Sizzle," an oxford with 4 3/4" heel and 3/4" platform. I walked over 2 miles yesterday, but it was not 100% pleasant because of the many patches of ice still lying in wait for somebody to slip on, and the Sizzles haven't exactly got a high coefficient of friction.

This morning, I awoke to find an additional inch of snow on the ground, which is more or less perfect for making nice looking footprints. However, being as I knew there were still patches of ice hiding underneath the new snow, I elected to wear my Söfft Aviano clogs, which have a much lower, broader heel than most of my shoes. 3 3/4" heel, 3/4" platform. And perhaps more importantly, a non-slip sole. I figured, rightly, that the clogs came up high enough to keep most of the snow out of them. With the exception of one particular block where the wind had caused the snow to drift to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, my feet remained dry, and I had no trouble slip-sliding around. I covered enough ground to where somebody is going to notice these rather unusual footprints. There is also a decent chance that somebody will know who made them.

[RonC]

Love the foot prints!  We've had about 10" since last night, and it's still snowing pretty heavy.  A couple more inches projected.  Not much fun for heeling!

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, RonC said:

Love the foot prints!  We've had about 10" since last night, and it's still snowing pretty heavy.  A couple more inches projected.  Not much fun for heeling!

I am lucky enough to have a monster snow blower. I am also lucky enough to be able to help two elderly neighbors with snow removal. I told them “Y’all don’t worry about a thing. I might have to go to work, but when I get home, I’ll take care of you.” It’s the least I can do. I’m blessed with the equipment to deal with this heavy snow. And no, I do not wear high heels when operating the snow blower. That’s impractical. I’m past all of that. 

On edit: I do get a lot of homemade cookies! That’s both a good and a bad thing, haha. 

[p1ng74]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

 And no, I do not wear high heels when operating the snow blower. That’s impractical. I’m past all of that.

Awww, I’m sure we can find you something appropriate, like this:

https://schnees.com/joan-of-arctic-wedge-ii/

[mlroseplant]

I went to the grocery store yesterday. It had snowed a couple of inches, so I wore clogs high enough to keep my feet out of the snow, being loathe to wear boots unless absolutely necessary. While shopping, I saw a girl with her mother, maybe 13 or 14 years old wearing sandals. Ok, they were Birkenstocks, but they were a cute thong style in purple. I won't be shown up again! I have a reputation to maintain. At least I now have enough comestibles to make it through the coming week.

[RonC]

Awfully cold for sandals......

[Shyheels]

Just right for boots though! 😊

[mlroseplant]

It has colder than all-get-out this week. Sometimes the high temperature has failed to exceed 0º F, or -17º C. I have not left the house except to go to work, and for just a few minutes to take this picture. Hopefully, temperatures will moderate soon, and I can get back to heeling in the real world. Perhaps this weekend I will attempt to brave subzero temperatures, but I assure you, it will be in boots. The attached photograph is meant mainly to be artistic. It's also probably some sort of TikTok challenge, I would be willing to bet.