The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[Jkrenzer]

Those cheap Chinese heels do look good.

I do agree with your observation. I too often feel like I'm the only wearer of high heels. I've said it before, there must 1000 pair sold for every pair actually worn through its life.

[Bubba136]

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Man or woman, I am noticing lately that I am the only person wearing heels, period. To be fair, I don't get out much these days. Since we lost the "big" farmer's market gig for this year, I really don't get out much. During the summer by nature, church services are even more casual than they normally are, and they're pretty casual these days. There ain't no such thing as "Sunday Best" anymore. That's pretty much gone to "Easter Best" or "Christmas Eve Best." My counterparts in the other band, who play in the service before me, could always be counted on to wear heels, even if they were only 2 1/2". No longer.

At any rate, I have been remiss. I have forgotten to post church outfits for two weeks in a row. Here they are. The pink-ish one features cheap Chinese mules by a company called Bella Marie. Maybe I'll talk in more detail about those later, because there's a story. The purple shirted one features Michael Kors Oksana sandals, which I have owned a very long time, and am barely competent at walking in them now. I wonder how awkward I looked 10 years ago wearing them.

I have noticed that it is mostly the older ones that are more nicely dressed in church these days.  Even the pastor dresses more casually.  It must be the summer heat. I Noticed a couple of articles posted on the internet about the last two days being the hottest ever recorded.
 

I was wondering why we haven’t seen anything about the Farmers Market yet this year. How did you loose the farmers market?

[mlroseplant]

20 hours ago, Bubba136 said:

I have noticed that it is mostly the older ones that are more nicely dressed in church these days.  Even the pastor dresses more casually.  It must be the summer heat. I Noticed a couple of articles posted on the internet about the last two days being the hottest ever recorded.
 

I was wondering why we haven’t seen anything about the Farmers Market yet this year. How did you loose the farmers market?

The short answer is, "I don't know." The long answer is, "I have a pretty good hunch, but I really don't know for sure." Our application was rejected this year because there were too many vendors selling Asian food, they wanted more variety. Why we got cut instead of somebody else is a mystery. That gig was replaced by other, more sporadic things, where I have far less responsibility.

Now that I think about it, a good deal of the reason why I used to see a fair number of heels is because that farmer's market was in the evening, and was in close proximity to several bars and restaurants. Perhaps people do still wear heels in those situations, I'm just not around to see it. Where you don't see heels anymore is at church or at the grocery store, the two places I'm most likely to visit.

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Those cheap Chinese heels do look good.

I do agree with your observation. I too often feel like I'm the only wearer of high heels. I've said it before, there must 1000 pair sold for every pair actually worn through its life.

So here's a thought: Does it even matter whether high heels are actually worn? As long as there is some idle desire to have these shoes, and they are bought, manufacturers will keep making them. There does still seem to be an idle desire among younger women to wear heels, but nobody thinks of wearing them casually at all. They are strictly special occasion shoes. Therefore, there is no need for the cobbler because they don't wear out.

Even in my own collection, the percentage that actually sees wear is fairly small. Nowhere near 1000 to 1, but I bet it's like 10 to 1. I should check sometime. That would be another interesting data point.

[Shyheels]

You can never have too many Asian stalls at a farmers market - aside from the fact that Asian is an umbrella term taking in a kaleidoscopic sweep of cultures. Vietnamese food will be vastly different from Korean or Japanese or Indonesian or Thai. And of course the dozens of varieties of Chinese, and the even greater variety of Indian and Sri Lankan dishes and styles. And Malaysian. I love a plate of nasi lemak. Whoever is sorting out your farmers market is an idiot.

I agree - heels are worn for occasions these days. When I passed through London on Ascot Day a few weeks back I saw loads of heels everywhere, worn by people who were dressed to cut a dash at the races. Otherwise though, heels are fairly scarce - especially stilettos. 
 

 

[mlroseplant]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

You can never have too many Asian stalls at a farmers market - aside from the fact that Asian is an umbrella term taking in a kaleidoscopic sweep of cultures. Vietnamese food will be vastly different from Korean or Japanese or Indonesian or Thai. And of course the dozens of varieties of Chinese, and the even greater variety of Indian and Sri Lankan dishes and styles. And Malaysian. I love a plate of nasi lemak. Whoever is sorting out your farmers market is an idiot.

I agree - heels are worn for occasions these days. When I passed through London on Ascot Day a few weeks back I saw loads of heels everywhere, worn by people who were dressed to cut a dash at the races. Otherwise though, heels are fairly scarce - especially stilettos. 
 

 

Here's where we get into speculation, so I don't like to say, but there has got to be more to it than the explanation they gave in the letter returning our cheque for the annual fee. I don't like to toot my own horn, so I'll toot my wife's. She was a very successful vendor. Even compared to the food trucks (or roach coaches, as I am wont to call them) which cost their owners tens of thousands of dollars to buy, equip, and license, and we're just a couple of folding tables and a tent.  I understand we've got lots of people asking where we are. I have absolutely zero evidence, but something is fishy in Denmark. Maybe they just didn't like my shoes.

Edited July 27 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

Sounds like professional jealousy rearing it’s ugly head. 

[Puffer]

On 7/26/2024 at 10:53 AM, mlroseplant said:

 ... Our application was rejected this year because there were too many vendors selling Asian food, they wanted more variety. Why we got cut instead of somebody else is a mystery. ... 

On 7/26/2024 at 12:29 PM, Shyheels said:

You can never have too many Asian stalls at a farmers market - aside from the fact that Asian is an umbrella term taking in a kaleidoscopic sweep of cultures. ...

Could it be that the (dis)organisers considered that there were too many vendors of the SAME types of Asian food, so some (including mlr and wife) had to go?   (I'm sure that your offerings were in some way both special and tasty, but not necessarily recognised by management.)

As to the decline in heel-wearing, there is a UK website called 'Mumsnet', which may or may not also operate, or be copied, outside the UK.   I had to consult it recently on a matter relevant to my wife and took the opportunity to browse a little.   It seems clear that it has a very feminist membership and the very idea of high heels is (perhaps unsurprisingly) anathema to the great majority of those commenting on any heel-related posts.   And the very many members responding to a woman asking whether she should go along with her boyfriend's request that she wear heels for him (in an ordinary setting, not for bedroom fun) almost universally condemned him, and the footwear, as being outmoded, uncomfortable and fetishistic, with the frequent recommendation that he should be dumped pronto.   A sad world, ain't it?

[Shyheels]

There are lines of approved thought these days and any thinking that falls outside these mob-imposed boundaries is dealt with harshly. We are living in the second Inquisition, with a faceless mob-formed Torquemada 

[Bubba136]

A few will live to regret it.  The rest won’t care

[Shyheels]

They won’t even know

[mlroseplant]

I know it's popular to complain about a certain group of females who are perceived as being overbearing, but it's the internet. All filters are off. You wouldn't get this crap in real life, at least not to that extent. It has not been my experience at all in my real life that women hate high heels. What they hate is when they are told what to do, as far as their own choices. It disappoints me a great deal that we too often devolve into running down a group of people for what amounts to a little bit of nothing.

I cannot say that I haven't been guilty of the same, but I have noticed that over the past decade, I care less and less about what what my wife or any other woman has on her feet. That's because I have allowed myself, and to some extent, society has allowed me, to wear what I want. Yes, I enjoy seeing a woman in high heels, but I don't crave it like I used to because I no longer have to live vicariously through them.

[Shyheels]

Nor is it true, in real life, that women wear high heels to please men. No doubt some do, but the women I know who love to wear heels do so for themselves. They have strong personalities and strong senses of self and are emphatically not wearing heels to try to catch, or please, men.

[Puffer]

Mlrose makes two good points.   

Yes, freedom of expression at a distance by 'keyboard warriors' can easily skew (or corrupt) true feelings and opinions.   (Alas, that can be true of this forum - but we seem to have eliminated the worst miscreants in recent years.)   

And I recognise the concept of living vicariously in terms of heel-wearing.   In my case, my very modest indulgence would probably be greatly diluted if my wife, in particular, humoured me by still wearing heels on more than very rare occasions.

18 hours ago, Shyheels said:

There are lines of approved thought these days and any thinking that falls outside these mob-imposed boundaries is dealt with harshly. We are living in the second Inquisition, with a faceless mob-formed Torquemada 

I am hoping that our Labour government will not turn out to be quite that draconian!

[Bubba136]

In our younger years, when we were first married, my wife wore spike stilettos quite frequently. As years passed and the three children came along, the heels grew lower.  The shoes were still fashionable accessories chosen to blend with her outfit and enhance her feminine appearance. Their was no mistakeing that she was a proud woman that took great pride in looking all woman.  I believe that her entire fashion philosophy was to be the best “feminine” female that she could be. (She was a true southern belle) My two daughters are exactly the same.

[mlroseplant]

I will be absent from this group for a few days. This very morning, I will be traveling by motorbike(s), with my 15 year old son, to visit the wonderful Twin Cities of Minnesota. During that time, I will see my best friend from university, whom I have not seen in the flesh for 34 years! I will try to take some photos to share after I get back.

[Shyheels]

Have a great trip!

[Bubba136]

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I will be absent from this group for a few days. This very morning, I will be traveling by motorbike(s), with my 15 year old son, to visit the wonderful Twin Cities of Minnesota. During that time, I will see my best friend from university, whom I have not seen in the flesh for 34 years! I will try to take some photos to share after I get back.

If you transit through Tracy tip your hat and say hello for me. I used to visit my grandmother there when I was a child. Everyone is long gone now but I remember the day.

[mlroseplant]

I have returned! And in one piece. Nobody wants to hear about my trip or my reunion with my university classmates, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I used to play in a string quartet with the two gals pictured here, and we were the best of friends. Actually, that's not how it happened at all, but we will pretend for the sake of brevity. As is so often the case, we came to appreciate one another much more when we became real adults instead of whatever you are when you're 20. Anyhow, each of us has continued with our music in different ways, and we were glad to get the chance to see each other again for the first time in 34 years.

In the other photo, my son and I were getting ready to embark upon our trip. Luckily for us, nothing went wrong, even though he was riding a 43 year old motorbike. We barely even got rained on, which is nothing short of amazing. Even though it was probably inadvisable, I did not bring any flat shoes with me, and I got by with it. This is sort of why I got a scooter style motorbike in the first place.

One humorous aside: My son is actually taller than I am by more than an inch in bare feet. Even with heels, this photo is deceiving. We may need to work on his posture.

[Puffer]

Clearly an enjoyable trip, and reunion.   It isn't clear what non-flat footwear you are wearing in either pic.   Did your old friends notice, and make any comments?

[Jkrenzer]

Glad you had a good trip, and yes riding a 40 plus yr old bike. 

These old friends must be used to seeing your heels with the various church services being aired. Glad you didn't bring flats but admittedly I never go without sneakers just incase I need to do vehicle maintenance or some form of heavy work. Not uncommon when driving 20 plus yr old vehicles. 

[mlroseplant]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

Clearly an enjoyable trip, and reunion.   It isn't clear what non-flat footwear you are wearing in either pic.   Did your old friends notice, and make any comments?

Ask, and it shall be given you; Seek, and ye shall find; Knock, and it will be opened unto you. That is the King Jim version, that's not how I usually say it in my vernacular, but it'll do.

The shoes I wore: How impractical of me. I brought four pairs on a motorbike! And I wound up wearing them all. Krenzer is partially right--my friend Erika, whom I talk with on the phone pretty much weekly, is quite aware of my fashion proclivities. Amy (the one holding the viola in her hands) probably never knew, but she didn't say a word. Since they both live in the same metro, kind of run in the same circles, maybe the subject came up. I don't know.

In any case, here are the four pairs of shoes I brought with me, and keep in mind, this is on a motorbike. I am so silly. The booties, Sofft Willa, are the ones I wore most of the time, the only ones semi-suitable for a crash that never happened, and hopefully never will. They have 3 1/2 cone-ish/block-ish heels, and I consider them my flats. The other pair in the same picture are my BCBGirls Bonny mules, my favorites ever! I HAD to bring those to show Erika. The third pair I brought was New Religion mules, which are pretty much indestructible as far as I know, and the fourth pair was my FSJ blue stiletto mules, which were my "dress" shoes for attending a concert/sing-along performance of the Brahms Requiem, which required me to stand much of the time. That was the least of my worries, as I got talked into sight reading the tenor part, and the piece lasts an hour and a half. Didn't even think about my feet, but my brain was totally fried.

[Puffer]

Certainly an interesting - and somewhat daring - choice for motor bike riding.   I am not a rider, and although I can see that a modest heel may have advantages in keeping one's feet on the rests/pedals (unsure of terminology!), I would imagine that mules are at risk of falling off, and those with open toes scarcely offer protection.   Anyway, you (and your feet and bike) have survived.

Your two friends aside, did your wearing heels to the concert excite any interest or comment from those present, who were presumably strangers?

[mlroseplant]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

Certainly an interesting - and somewhat daring - choice for motor bike riding.   I am not a rider, and although I can see that a modest heel may have advantages in keeping one's feet on the rests/pedals (unsure of terminology!), I would imagine that mules are at risk of falling off, and those with open toes scarcely offer protection.   Anyway, you (and your feet and bike) have survived.

Your two friends aside, did your wearing heels to the concert excite any interest or comment from those present, who were presumably strangers?

The reason why I don't enjoy riding a "traditional" motorbike in heels, though it's quite possible (see below), is because one has to shift gears with one's left foot, and use the rear brake with one's right foot. On older British bikes this may be reversed. Imagine that. To me, this is very awkward to do in heels. On a scooter, there is nothing to do with your feet except look awesome.

I ride around our small town in shorts and mules all the time. This is probably foolish, but I'm 56 years old, and allowed to be foolish, and even the law allows me to be foolish. Yes, I can get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt in a car, but there is no helmet law. And certainly no high heel law. If I have to ride any further than a couple of miles, I wear the proper protective equipment, even if the footwear happens to have an elevated heel.

I got almost zero comments in the Twin Cities. I mean, it's not like Chicago or New York, but it's kind of close to that in being a Big City. People do not say hello when you walk by, they look down. You sometimes have to wait more than 30 seconds at a traffic light. Stuff like that. The one person who did comment on my shoes was a fellow patron at our motel. A young-ish woman of South Asian descent with two small children. I came across her on two different days, and she commented on my shoes at length both times, noting that I had on different shoes than I did before. Other than that, nothing of any note happened, either at the music store or the concert. Ha ha ha.

[Bubba136]

Three cheers for the picture!  One for the shoes and two for the bike!!  🤩

[mlroseplant]

A new picture that my friend sent to me from our trip. We were having a good time trying out instruments at the swanky music store we visited. I'm probably at that moment laughing about what an incompetent player I am.

[Jkrenzer]

Looks and sounds, reading, like a great short trip all around. 

[Puffer]

20 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

...

I ride around our small town in shorts and mules all the time. This is probably foolish, but I'm 56 years old, and allowed to be foolish, and even the law allows me to be foolish. Yes, I can get a ticket for not wearing a seat belt in a car, but there is no helmet law. And certainly no high heel law. If I have to ride any further than a couple of miles, I wear the proper protective equipment, even if the footwear happens to have an elevated heel.

...

Interesting.   In the UK, although there is no specific law relating to footwear worn when using a 'motor vehicle', it would be quite possible for someone to be challenged and possibly booked if it was alleged that the particular footwear (or lack of it) precluded 'proper control' of the vehicle, e.g. heavy boots, wellies, flip flops, mules, platforms, very high heels etc.   A fortiori if the vehicle was a motor bike, given the need for foot control and that feet are on show.   I am somewhat surprised that helmets are not required on a motor bike/scooter; mandatory here since 1973, unless (like a Sikh) one can claim a religious exemption.   I'm not one to criticise you or preach but I would observe that an accident is just as likely to happen within 'a couple of miles' than on a longer journey - and a short journey is not an excuse for lack of protection acceptable to the law either.

[Shyheels]

While such a thing as being booked for wearing inappropriate footwear while driving might theoretically be possible - although I sincerely doubt it would hold up in court even if some officious jobsworth of a policemen dreamed up the charge  - I  think the odds of this happening are about the same as being beaned by a baby grand piano falling off a passing meteor.

 

[mlroseplant]

Once upon a time, I was one of those "all the gear, all the time" kind of people. Now, everything is a compromise in one way or another between safety and practicality. Sometimes it's more compromising than others. One of the factors is that to me, it's darned uncomfortable to go highway speeds with no gear on at all. I don't know how people do it.

The only law I'm aware of in the U.S. concerning footwear and motor vehicles is that in Alabama, it's illegal to ride a motorcycle barefoot. The laws in the other 49 states seem to be silent on the subject. On the subject of helmet laws, again, it's up to each individual state. Iowa happens to not require helmets. Many states do.

[Shyheels]

I remember seeming some guy back in the 70s cruising one of the US Interstates on a Harley wearing only a pair of very short cut-offs. Even in those easy going days I remember thinking that’s really asking for it.