The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[Jkrenzer]

13 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

Last week at the big farmer's market, I was getting ready to unload. This particular market takes place on a weeknight from 4-8 p.m., and is on a main city street, which is closed off to regular traffic from 3:15 until it's time to pack up and go home. It's always a bit of a zoo getting in and out of there, and if you need two vehicles, as we do, it can be a bit of a problem figuring out where to put the second vehicle while you're unloading it.

It just so happened that the vendors directly adjacent to my wife were already there when we got there, but the spots across the street were completely vacant. I figured I'd just pull over there, dump everything out of the trailer, and get the extra car and trailer out of there. Wouldn't you know it, just as soon as I got the tailgate off the trailer, this guy in a pickup rolls up and slows down. I gestured to him in the way of asking if he needed me to move, I figured I was in his spot. It turns out that wasn't the case at all. I'm guess he actually was another vendor somewhere, or he shouldn't have been allowed in there, but he stopped, rolled down his window, and asked, "Are those high heels?" My first reaction was, "What a stupid question!" But I didn't say that. I paused just a beat, and said, "Actually, these are low heels for me, but as you can see, I've a lot of heavy stuff to unload. They're more practical."

He also paused a beat, raised his right hand, and I could recognize by his body language that he wanted me to high-five him. I did so, and he said, "That's awesome, man!" and drove off. I really do not know what that encounter was really all about, perhaps I shall run into the same man this week. In any case, I soon forgot about it and went about my business. I wasn't even sure if it was worth a mention here, but it's kind of a slow week, so I figured what the heck.

In case you're wondering, I was wearing the following shoes, which I consider to be my "low heels." I've shown you my super low heels for the farmer's market on the grass, these are my standard go-tos for the street farmer's market. I was wearing them with some light brown (not tan or khaki) dressier shorts. By dressier, I mean that the back pockets are concealed, chino style. They are not super tight, but they are definitely on the short side. I suppose I shall have to take a picture someday. Not today.

I'd take at face value. I expect he has no reservations about it and understands the comfort you have with yourself to be or wear what you want and it's his way of showing admiration.

I have had similar experiences,  althought not so overtly. 

[SF]

Nice experience you had.  It is good to get out in high heels.  I do quite often, and it has been a long time since anyone has said anything, and that's fine with me.  Other than the infrequent "walk a mile" events, I have yet to ever see another guy wearing high heels.  It is a lonely life - ha ha, but I love it.  Smile and have fun...  sf

[Pierre1961]

Yes. A lonely life. I wonder why we ,here,don’t try to meet from time to times. 

[Jkrenzer]

13 hours ago, SF said:

Nice experience you had.  It is good to get out in high heels.  I do quite often, and it has been a long time since anyone has said anything, and that's fine with me.  Other than the infrequent "walk a mile" events, I have yet to ever see another guy wearing high heels.  It is a lonely life - ha ha, but I love it.  Smile and have fun...  sf

It's lonely but not unexpected. SF, don't take it wrong way, but you wear heels, not high heels.

Love the news lately out of. Ukraine, women marching in high heels. Not really, high is over 3 inches and really that depends on foot size. I would like to define high as any shoe with 40 or more degrees slope,  i.e. foot length independent. 

[Pierre1961]

You’re right. 40/45 degrees is the minimum to be in the high heel range. Less is just heel. 

[mlroseplant]

7 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

It's lonely but not unexpected. SF, don't take it wrong way, but you wear heels, not high heels.

Love the news lately out of. Ukraine, women marching in high heels. Not really, high is over 3 inches and really that depends on foot size. I would like to define high as any shoe with 40 or more degrees slope,  i.e. foot length independent. 

 

5 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

You’re right. 40/45 degrees is the minimum to be in the high heel range. Less is just heel. 

I have no idea what the degrees of my shoes were, so I did a little math. The ones pictured above, which are an effective 3 inch heel, put me at 27º. To get 40º, I'd need an effective 4 1/8 inch heel. To get 45º, I need about 4 5/8 inches, which is really pushing it for me. I did this figuring that the distance from the ball of my foot to my heel is pretty darn near 6.5 inches.

Speaking of high heels, I think my patience has finally paid off, and I'm rather glad of it, considering the money I have spent on these silly shoes. You may recall that I bought these D & G mules some time ago. They came all the way from Russia. All the cool shoes are in Russia, it seems. I wasn't disappointed when I got them, but they were a little tight. OK, a lot tight. But, after spending over 100 bucks on acquiring them, I wasn't going to give up so easily. I put them in the shoe stretcher, very gently and gradually, and got to where I could slip them on in less than five minutes, and without soaking my feet in ice water first. When I got them to where they would fit well enough, I then realized two more problems: 1) I couldn't really walk in them, and 2) even if I could walk in them, the stupidly thin leather sole looked as though it would last about 500 meters.

I am happy to report that I have solved both problems, one by throwing money at the problem (sole protectors), and the other by simple practice. I actually took these for a spin in public for the first time yesterday, to the grocery store. Not only did I not feel particularly self conscious, I also found them to be considerably more comfortable than I expected, as I continued wearing them for some time after I returned home.

[Jkrenzer]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

 

I have no idea what the degrees of my shoes were, so I did a little math. The ones pictured above, which are an effective 3 inch heel, put me at 27º. To get 40º, I'd need an effective 4 1/8 inch heel. To get 45º, I need about 4 5/8 inches, which is really pushing it for me. I did this figuring that the distance from the ball of my foot to my heel is pretty darn near 6.5 inches.

Speaking of high heels, I think my patience has finally paid off, and I'm rather glad of it, considering the money I have spent on these silly shoes. You may recall that I bought these D & G mules some time ago. They came all the way from Russia. All the cool shoes are in Russia, it seems. I wasn't disappointed when I got them, but they were a little tight. OK, a lot tight. But, after spending over 100 bucks on acquiring them, I wasn't going to give up so easily. I put them in the shoe stretcher, very gently and gradually, and got to where I could slip them on in less than five minutes, and without soaking my feet in ice water first. When I got them to where they would fit well enough, I then realized two more problems: 1) I couldn't really walk in them, and 2) even if I could walk in them, the stupidly thin leather sole looked as though it would last about 500 meters.

I am happy to report that I have solved both problems, one by throwing money at the problem (sole protectors), and the other by simple practice. I actually took these for a spin in public for the first time yesterday, to the grocery store. Not only did I not feel particularly self conscious, I also found them to be considerably more comfortable than I expected, as I continued wearing them for some time after I returned home.

I would suggest that you wear plenty of high heels, these lovely mules included. This pair pictured is one of two pair I wear at my desk at work, yess coworkers are aware, and as seen the incline is between 50 to 60 degrees. The heel height is right at 5 inches. On my size 10 shoe that may be about 4.75 on your size 8, I'm a bit jealous. I pulled 40 degrees out of air, but the angle is based more on the triangle from the ball of your foot to your heel an back down to the floor. For me a 40 degree angle from the ball of foot to my heel is about 4.2 inches based on 5 inch length.

[Pierre1961]

With 60 degrees ou reaches extreme heels. 

Anyone who is able to master 40/45 degrees outside is already a .... Master. 

Who. Not ou ! Sorry. 

[mlroseplant]

Another urban farmer's market last night. Boy, these farmer's markets sure can take over a person's life. It seems that's all I talk about anymore, but it's by far my biggest exposure these days, heel-wise. I decided to up my game a little bit, and I wore some Diane von Furstenberg wedges, which might not be truly high, but they come in at 35º, with a 4 3/4" heel and 1" platform. I haven't worn them a whole lot, partially because they're yellow, or at least the dominant color is yellow. What do you wear yellow shoes with, especially when you're a guy? The other reason I haven't worn them much is because they're wedges, and we'll get to that in a moment.

I paired them with black Talbot's shorts, which are, like last week, quite a bit more on the tailored side than denim. These shorts say Talbot's Perfect Short on the inside. I disagree with that assessment. For one thing, they are too long and too loose, despite being a size 4P. Must be size inflation, I'm awfully sure I'm not a size 2. I suppose they are meant to be that way, and I suppose my wife probably thinks they look more dignified than what I am usually wont to wear. Inseam is 6", and they are fairly generously cut. I mean, for a size 4. In other words, Mom shorts. The waist, however, is indeed perfect for me. I added a white t-shirt with subtle peach colored stripes and a black belt. I got zero comments and few looks.

I hate to return to this bitch, but after spending an entire evening on display, I dislike wedges. To me they have but one advantage, and that is that you can walk on soft ground with them more easily than shoes with a separate heel. Otherwise, I don't really like the way they look, and I don't like the way they walk. I tried every TikTok girl trick that I know, and I still clomped around, at least from my own perspective, which I realize by nature is flawed.

I swore I was going to take pictures, but when you are in there in the heat of the moment, sometimes you forget about these things, so I will have to provide my file photo of the shoes.

[bluejay]

Mirose,

When I wear my yellow slides , yellow heels or flats, I pair them up with black shorts, capris or caprl  leggings always in black. Then I ad a yellow polo to compliment the ensemble. You can't go wrong with a yellow and black combo.

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

[mlroseplant]

21 hours ago, bluejay said:

Mirose,

When I wear my yellow slides , yellow heels or flats, I pair them up with black shorts, capris or caprl  leggings always in black. Then I ad a yellow polo to compliment the ensemble. You can't go wrong with a yellow and black combo.

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

My thoughts were the same, but I own only one yellow shirt, and when I pulled it out of the dresser drawer, somehow or other it was badly stained. I have no idea what happened, but it is destined to be a shop rag now. I suppose I could have worn my high-viz yellow polo, but it has my company name on it, and I didn't really want to do that. So I opted for the white shirt with subtle peach stripes instead. It goes so well with my orange work gloves! That's a joke. What is not a joke is that neither my wife nor my kid listens to me when it comes to wearing gloves. My wife pinched her finger badly setting up the tent the other evening. There is simply no need for that. We have approximately 5,000 pairs of dexterity work gloves in this house. You can grab a quarter out of your pocket while wearing them. PPE, people, PPE! My 12 year old does wear safety glasses religiously when the situation requires it, he just won't wear gloves.

[SF]

On 7/7/2021 at 7:32 PM, Jkrenzer said:

It's lonely but not unexpected. SF, don't take it wrong way, but you wear heels, not high heels.

 

"Heel height is all 'relative.'"  Albert Einstein... 

[spikesmike]

SF : Does albert Einstein wear high heels ? May-be we should get him to sign onto HHPlace.  Mike

[SF]

Albert Einstein, my Relativity hero.  There are a few pics of him wearing what appear to be gals shoes and sandals, "lightyears"  ahead of his time, even back in 1939.  Smile...

 

[mlroseplant]

21 hours ago, SF said:

 

"Heel height is all 'relative.'"  Albert Einstein... 

To be fair, I have been enjoying my lower height heels this summer, chronicled somewhere up there in the feed. I have discovered that I get a different thrill from wearing my lower heeled sandals, and I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. It is certainly a different feeling from that of simple elevation of the heel.

In other news, our family actually went out to a restaurant for the first time since early 2020. What to wear, what to wear? None of what took place is noteworthy, but I did remember to snap a picture of what I did wear. Ann Taylor shorts in pink, obviously not too short and not too tight. I evidently went on a shorts buying rampage pre-pandemic, then promptly put most of them in a drawer and forgot about them. I'm trying to break them back out as circumstances allow.

I paired the shorts with Nine West "Dancecard" sandals in a sort of dusty rose color, which I thought went pretty well with the shorts. Stats on the sandals are 5 1/4" heel with 1" platform. I seem to have an awful lot of shoes that follow that formula within 1/4". Apparently I must like it. Oh, and that works out to just about 40º steepness, though I might have to recheck my measurements upon which I'm basing that calculation, because it sure does appear to be quite a bit more than 40º in the accompanying photo.

As usual, I tend to worry about what I'm wearing from the waist down more than the waist up, and yesterday was no exception. I've got on a t-shirt from Walmart, nothing fancy, and just a regular old black belt. Absolutely zero comments from the crowd at the restaurant, and while I'm sure there were some stares, I did not detect them, or possibly I just didn't care. Our waitress was cute, friendly, and efficient. We gave her a big tip. I should say my wife gave her a big tip. In a Vietnamese family, the man is never supposed to pay, that would be in bad taste. Don't ask me why, I only know that it is so.

[Jkrenzer]

4 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

To be fair, I have been enjoying my lower height heels this summer, chronicled somewhere up there in the feed. I have discovered that I get a different thrill from wearing my lower heeled sandals, and I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. It is certainly a different feeling from that of simple elevation of the heel.

In other news, our family actually went out to a restaurant for the first time since early 2020. What to wear, what to wear? None of what took place is noteworthy, but I did remember to snap a picture of what I did wear. Ann Taylor shorts in pink, obviously not too short and not too tight. I evidently went on a shorts buying rampage pre-pandemic, then promptly put most of them in a drawer and forgot about them. I'm trying to break them back out as circumstances allow.

I paired the shorts with Nine West "Dancecard" sandals in a sort of dusty rose color, which I thought went pretty well with the shorts. Stats on the sandals are 5 1/4" heel with 1" platform. I seem to have an awful lot of shoes that follow that formula within 1/4". Apparently I must like it. Oh, and that works out to just about 40º steepness, though I might have to recheck my measurements upon which I'm basing that calculation, because it sure does appear to be quite a bit more than 40º in the accompanying photo.

Very nice my friend. Put the protractor at the back of the ball of your foot and line up the center of where your heel rests on the shoe. I think these cold be easily 45 deg. High heels all the way. These are excellent strappy mules.

[mlroseplant]

Sorry to be overly repetitive, but here are some more farmer's market pictures from yesterday. It was supposed to rain all day, but it didn't, instead. Turnout was impressive, my wife was going 100 miles an hour for the entire four hours. That pleases her, but at the same time exhausts her.

No mention was made of my shoes by anyone. I'm sure, as always, that people noticed, but to be quite honest, this is a big enough gathering that there are always several people who are dressed far more outlandishly than me. I did see quite a few heels this time. By quite a few, I mean probably half a dozen, including one woman wearing shorts with her 3 inch block heeled sandals.

My boring outfit: Sandals are Söfft Calvados, shorts are l.e.i., shirt is just a t-shirt, as always. Sunglasses are from Costco, and are equipped with trifocals. That is not a joke.

[Puffer]

Somehow, the sandals seem to blend nicely with the background pipework.   I like the graceful curves on both!

[mlroseplant]

On 7/16/2021 at 3:08 PM, Puffer said:

Somehow, the sandals seem to blend nicely with the background pipework.   I like the graceful curves on both!

Somehow, the wood chips that fell down on that pipe 13 years ago when they bored a hole in the side of my house to install air conditioning are still there, included for free in every photo! If I were to clean up said wood chips, and maybe the cobwebs, you'd feel cheated, wouldn't you?

[Puffer]

Yes!

[mlroseplant]

It's been a while since I posted. I've been out of town visiting family. Also, I've really got nothing to say. Therefore, I will now say more of basically nothing. While I was visiting family, it just so happened that pictures were posted on social media. It's not the first time my heels have made it on to social media, but it is the first time that a picture of me in heels wouldn't have been buried in somebody's album of 43 photos, so it was pretty much front and center of somebody's news feed for a few days.

Also, these heels are very tame at 2 1/2 inches, and you can't really see what they are in the photos, except that they do look rather unusual for a man to be wearing. All I can say is that they are too saxy!

[mlroseplant]

Yet another week of farmer's markets. Last night was different, however, because I actually helped run the stand. I had offered to help before, but my wife seemed reluctant, at one time sort of shooing me away and telling me to wait elsewhere. My son has intimated in the past that she thinks I will scare off customers.

Last night, I just butted in and started taking money and prepping condiments. Soon, my son joined in and started taking orders. Evidently, I did not scare anybody off, because it was a record night for revenue, beating the old record by 14%. To be sure, I was dressed conservatively compared to many times, but my shorts were still too short* and my heels, while only 2" wedges, were obviously a little "off" as well. Still, as they say, "money talks." Hopefully this will bring us closer together as a family. It sure hasn't been that way lately until about 12 hours ago.

*It is true that I have seen more and more shorter shorts on men lately, but they seem to be athletic type shorts and not dressier shorts or denim cutoffs as I wear.

[mlroseplant]

I guess I must have been feeling brave last week. Brave and thin. Somehow or other, five years after I bought them, I am finally able to fit into these little black shorts that have been sitting in my dresser drawer for all that time. At any rate, I wore this outfit to the Big Farmer's Market last week, which did not seem to be a big deal at the time, but in the harsh light of Sunday morning, with the bright sky messing up the exposure of my photograph, I suddenly felt kind of radical. This is what you get when you read too many fashion articles that tell you that your fashion choices are basically trashy looking.

I will say this, however. On that particular evening, I got not one, not two, but THREE compliments on my shoes. All in one night. One of the compliments was a flyby, but two of them were a stop-and-talk-about-it type affair. In one case, I wound up giving a brand and model name, and recommendations on how to go about finding these things, which I am sure are not made anymore. So I guess I must have done SOMETHING right. I will note that all of the compliments were about my shoes, and not about the rest of my outfit. This may mean something, or it may not.

Particulars about the shoes are: Söfft Calvados, they are sort of a pewter color, I guess, if it's not obvious from the pictures, and this is my third pair of this particular model. I have these in black and nude/beige. 3 5/8" heel, 5/8" platform. I can get away with wearing these at the "big" farmer's market, because it's on a city street. I would not attempt these at the other farmer's market we go to, which is on grass. I have my other specialized shoes for that, featured elsewhere. Shorts and t-shirt are from Walmart, nothing special. In case anybody is interested. I am also really bad at posing for pictures.

[RonC]

Those heels look very comfortable  I'd enjoy those as the heel height would be right in my range.

[mlroseplant]

Well guys, it's been a rough couple of weeks. I have developed a condition called, quite descriptively, "drop foot." I have lost some control over my right foot, and am unable to walk normally. This happened suddenly. I woke up one morning, and was like that. The doctor seems to think it's got something to do with a pinched nerve in my lower back, so I'm supposed to get an MRI tomorrow morning. The condition has gotten incrementally better over the past couple of weeks, but still persists. With my luck, I'll come out of it completely by tomorrow morning, and the MRI won't show a thing wrong with me.

Of specific interest to this group is that wearing heels allows me to walk completely normally, at least from my perspective. I suppose it make total logical sense from a physics perspective. Assuming a level floor is 0º, I am unable to lift my right foot off the floor much more than a couple of degrees, with the heel still touching. I am able to push down normally, and can return my foot to 0º pretty easily. Preload the angle of my foot by -25 or -30º, and voilà, I can walk just fine! I was unable to convince the doctor that this was a good solution to the problem. As of this date, I can go as low as a 2" heel to correct the problem. Last week, I needed more like 2 1/2 or 2 3/4" before I could walk completely normally. It IS getting better, but very slowly.

[Isolathor]

Get well soon!

[Jkrenzer]

Now wearing heels is medical. Your doctor fround on you solution, why?

[Cali]

My doctor once told me "No stilettoes", but I love my stilettoes!

Edited September 9, 2021 by Cali

[Pierre1961]

When I was 14 the doctor said” stop riding immediately,if not you will be in a wheelchair at 25.I didn’t listen to him and told my dad my back was perfect. Then during nearly 45 years I used to ride up to 4/6 ( even 10 on some days) horses daily until I stopped because bored 4 years ago. 
So sure I won’t never tell my doctor I am wearing heels as soon as I leave his place. 

Sorry. About myself again. But just for help. 
Have you contacted a chiropractor or equivalent? Most are shit. Some can do miracles 

Looking at the XRay and RMI of my back I should be operated in an emergency!

A nice Osteo who is also a real doctor saved my life. 
 

I wish you to find the equivalent 

Pierre

[RonC]

Hope you get better quick and there's no serious issues.   Ishare your chagrin.