The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, HappyinHeels said:

Hi All, 

Interesting topics indeed. As to your son’s car the mechanical issues don’t surprise me but it is quite the chance for him to show his ability to work through it. As for inspection Wisconsin nor Arizona have vehicle inspections. There is an emissions check every 2 years in the counties bordering Lake Michigan but not elsewhere. There is an emissions check in the Phoenix area but not out here in Yuma. 
As to shoes which formerly fit but which now feel different let me offer a possibility. I have noticed over the last five years or so some of my heels fit a bit differently and I believe it is because of water retention in my feet and ankles. Not terrible but subtle differences that the vamp and certain types of straps seem to fit more snugly than before. I have used a shoe stretcher on those I really liked but have worn knee high hose or even trouser socks recently. It is worth considering this may be the cause for some of you.

HinH

I've had this happen before, but it seems to be more extreme this year. Either that, or I'm walking longer distances that I used to. I have instituted a new policy when it comes to wearing shoes which have been unworn for a while. Of course, I have a checkoff list for this, which bears the heading "Vetting." I do a test walk of a mile or less, just to see where the hot spots are, if any. Sometimes, this problem goes away by itself, and sometimes there are shoes which always require some sort of barrier, such as a Bandaid, to wear for any length of time. I've got a list for that, too. Fat lot of good it's done me in the past couple of weeks!

1 minute ago, Shyheels said:

Narrowboats have to gave a safety inspection every four years.

my troubles stem from the top of a toe rubbing on the boot - no idea why that should suddenly happen, and only one toe in my left foot!

I have the same problem with sensitivity on my right big toe, at the base of my toenail. This has been an issue for decades. I can certainly remember having this problem in my 20s, and that of course was with flats. But only certain shoes do it, and some worse than others. Our bodies are at once amazing and frustrating!

In other news, I went to a college senior voice recital a couple of nights ago. A young man who sings bass in our church choir will be graduating soon, and we will miss him, both for his personality and his musical talents. He had a pretty good crowd of perhaps approaching 100 people, including about a dozen of us from the church choir. I was the only one in the whole hall wearing heels, and I had walked from my house to the venue. Alas, I had an unfortunate event with my shoes. After everything was over, I started to walk home. I didn't get 20 steps out the door, and the sole of my shoe came unglued to the extent that it was impossible to walk safely. I had to walk home barefoot. Luckily, it was only 4/10ths of a mile, and the shoe is easily repairable. Also, by that time it was dark. I don't think anybody saw me clearly.

[CrushedVamp]

On 3/27/2025 at 5:18 AM, mlroseplant said:

I don't have any more car stories today. Actually, I do, but I think we're all getting tired of car stories.

I will not say anything more about the old muscle car as a work in project as I understand how these things can be. This may not be the case with you regarding that car, but I know a few times I have spoken about projects to people online and then it takes on a world of its own. They are not doing so for nefarious reasons, but rather the opposite; to be congenial and in trying to converse with you on something they know you like.

But then the project is not done for the right reasons. Its hurried because I want to show that its something I am working on, or money that should not be diverted to the project is because of external pressure. Ultimately it just ends up not being fun because the best part of some projects is just working on them… being in the moment instead of being so focused on the end result.

It took me a long time to figure that out. I do a ton of woodworking projects, but slowly learned I was more pleased slowing down, doing things by hand like making hand cut dovetails instead of cutting them via machine, not only made the woodworking more enjoyable, but they came out better because I was not rushed to get the project done, start the next one; then rinse and repeat.

No need to feel pressured about telling us car stories as I hope its a project motivated by a father just to be with his son.

In fact, that is the novels theme I am writing about now. It is about an orphan who is a Cabin Boy in 1792 America. As the Captain of the Revenue-Marine, the boy and the captain's love interest (Abigail) take on a ruthless pirate, the orphan (11 years old) feels like he was never loved until the end of the novel when he realizes people love him so much, they will die for him. It is a true father/so story with its own nautical project; the son just happens to be an orphan.

It sounds corny in a brief write-up but is a VERY powerful story about a father's love, just not the boys birth father, but father nonetheless.

 

[mlroseplant]

Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, and sometimes you have both at once. Yesterday when I went for my morning constitutional, I had a few extra minutes, so I decided to wear shoes that were a little bit more ambitious than what I normally wear. The shoes in question are my Nine West Plantera loafer pumps, which I have had a love/hate relationship with for over 10 years. They are one of the very few shoes that I actually bought brand new and paid full price for.

Of course the reason why I had to have them in the first place is because they've got these giant 5 1/2" heels, coupled with modest 1" platforms, which gives you a visual of super tall heels, and yet is still somewhat challenging to deal with on a day-to-day basis with a 4 1/2" difference between toe and heel. Furthermore, the heels, while slim, are quite a bit thicker than stilettos, which means the heel caps last a lot longer between replacements.

I don't often wear 4 1/2" heels for actual walking, but I decided to challenge myself on this particular morning. Wearing such steep heels usually means that my walking speed is pretty slow. If I make a mile in less than 23:00, I'm doing pretty well. The first mile out, I came in right under 23:00, so yeah, that was about right. I thought to myself at the time that my goal would be to eventually get that time under 22:00. A mile in, I'd evidently found my rhythm because things began to feel more natural and graceful. About that time, I caught a glimpse of my shadow on a storefront window, and I thought you know, I don't really look all that bad, at least not from the side. My second mile came in at 21:30. Whoa! And it was easy! I didn't know I had it in me.

I was thinking that I really ought to wear these shoes more often (I've put only 35 miles on them in about 12 years) and step up my game. With home being only a couple blocks away, I began to feel something slightly odd. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to my surroundings, but I've felt this oddness before. Perhaps it was just my imagination. I thought a shank was giving up on me. Upon arrival home, I removed my shoes and wiggled both heels. The right was solid. The left was solid, but wait.  .  . there was just a little bit of extra movement there. Hmmmmm. And that's when I saw it. Not a shank failure, but the entire heel was working toward snapping in half. It's not there yet, it's still pretty solid, but it is clearly failing. Damn! I might try to glue it since it's not nearly all the way through, but that is very disappointing. And one cannot find this model out there in the wild. I imagine they were not popular enough for them to be floating around in the used market.

So that's how I went from being very enthusiastic to being very disappointed within the span of an hour. The workday wasn't all that bad, though.

[Puffer]

That's a pretty bad potential failure (and write-off) for a decent pair of shoes from a well-established source.   Is there a reinforcing rod inside the heel?   If so, it is not doing much of a job.   I can only suggest that, if the heel material is solid enough, you introduce some superglue (or maybe a good epoxy, especially if there are any voids) and clamp until truly set.   Nothing to lose really, and I hope it works.

[pebblesf]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

That's a pretty bad potential failure (and write-off) for a decent pair of shoes from a well-established source.   Is there a reinforcing rod inside the heel?   If so, it is not doing much of a job.   I can only suggest that, if the heel material is solid enough, you introduce some superglue (or maybe a good epoxy, especially if there are any voids) and clamp until truly set.   Nothing to lose really, and I hope it works.

My favorite Sam Edelman boots suffered the same failure, as did the Nine west stiletto ankle boots I loved...  So sorry

[Shyheels]

That’s a bad development. Unfortunately mass produced footwear, heeled or no, is designed for very limited life. I had a pair of so called hiking boots once from a popular brand and they lasted about ten miles. When I complained that these hiking boots had lasted for just ten miles, I was to.d - by someone with a straight face - that they were not designed for such “extreme” activity. 

[CrushedVamp]

15 hours ago, Shyheels said:

That’s a bad development. Unfortunately mass produced footwear, heeled or no, is designed for very limited life. I had a pair of so called hiking boots once from a popular brand and they lasted about ten miles. When I complained that these hiking boots had lasted for just ten miles, I was to.d - by someone with a straight face - that they were not designed for such “extreme” activity. 

I think it is called Planned Obsolescence, which is where they design things to fail in relatively short time frames so that people are forced to buy more of them. I once worked for a company with a highly respected product yet KNEW the paint was bad and so the product would rust out quickly. It took a class action lawsuit to get them to change their ways.

I had to replace a pair of shoes of mine yesterday that I wear at work. I love them, but the sole that is glued on cannot handle the oil I work in, so slowly the sole comes apart. I am hoping they change their glue, but if these fail I'll have to go to a different shoe. 

[mlroseplant]

23 hours ago, Puffer said:

That's a pretty bad potential failure (and write-off) for a decent pair of shoes from a well-established source.   Is there a reinforcing rod inside the heel?   If so, it is not doing much of a job.   I can only suggest that, if the heel material is solid enough, you introduce some superglue (or maybe a good epoxy, especially if there are any voids) and clamp until truly set.   Nothing to lose really, and I hope it works.

There is a rod, but for whatever reason, it doesn't go quite go the full length of the heel. I have had this exact failure once before, cf. p. 80 of this thread. Those shoes were also Nine West, different model, but of the same vintage. Oddly enough, I bought both of them brand new and owned them for more than a decade before failure. I can't actually see it on these Planteras, but I guarantee you that the heel is beginning to break right where that metal rod ends. Why they didn't make it a little longer to go the full length is beyond me, but I only know that it is so.

If I decide to attempt some kind of repair, I think I'm going to go with the superglue, simply because it takes quite a bit of force to get that crack to open up enough to get something in there, so I'm hoping the crack is less than halfway through the thickness of the heel. I don't want to break it more trying to get something more viscous than superglue in there.

I have no scientific evidence to back this hypothesis up, but it is my guess that the failure has less to do with the inadequate stiffening of the heel, and more to do with the aging of plastic. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I think I have at least another decade or more of wearing heels left in me, so I shall be interested to see just how well some of these plastics hold up longer term, and what causes them to fail.

[Shyheels]

Yes material failure seems a good bet. And I take your point regarding the repair.

Ive got a bit of a repair/cleaning issue. I was wearing some nice dark grey nubuck suede OTK boots while cooking and spilled a couple drops of olive oil on the top of the shaft. Not hugely noticeable to be sure but I want the marks gone. Naturally it would have to be the suede boots …

Yes material failure seems a good bet. And I take your point regarding the repair.

Ive got a bit of a repair/cleaning issue. I was wearing some nice dark grey nubuck suede OTK boots while cooking and spilled a couple drops of olive oil on the top of the shaft. Not hugely noticeable to be sure but I want the marks gone. Naturally it would have to be the suede boots …

[mlroseplant]

On 4/6/2025 at 1:50 AM, CrushedVamp said:

I think it is called Planned Obsolescence, which is where they design things to fail in relatively short time frames so that people are forced to buy more of them. I once worked for a company with a highly respected product yet KNEW the paint was bad and so the product would rust out quickly. It took a class action lawsuit to get them to change their ways.

I had to replace a pair of shoes of mine yesterday that I wear at work. I love them, but the sole that is glued on cannot handle the oil I work in, so slowly the sole comes apart. I am hoping they change their glue, but if these fail I'll have to go to a different shoe. 

Although planned obsolescence is a known and perhaps prevalent business strategy, I do not believe it applies in the instant case, strictly speaking. By its very nature, the entire fashion industry is constantly changing, so that my shoe failure was just an ancillary incident, having nothing to do with Nine West's business model. Let's face it--the shoes were already several seasons out of style when they broke. Furthermore, I would also be willing to bet that my particular failure is very uncommon, as very few people put high heels through the stresses that I do. Even further-than-that-more, it would be impossible for Nine West to predict when failure was going to occur, or indeed if it was going to occur at all, and therefore my shoes breaking is not really an effective way for them to maintain or increase future profits.

I'm going to go out on a limb here, because I am relying only on my memory, but I'm going to say that I've never actually broken a pair of shoes that I use only for incidental wear. By incidental wear, I'm thinking of all the @Jkrenzer approved stiletto pumps that I wear only for dressy occasions, and don't actually pound the pavement in. They get worn to church, maybe to the grocery store, or maybe out to dinner on the few occasions that we eat out. I have had a high shoe failure rate with my walking shoes, but to be fair, the designers of such shoes never imagine that they'd be used in that manner. Somehow I doubt Steve Madden did any kind of durability/wear testing before releasing this spring's line.

Edited April 7 by mlroseplant

[CrushedVamp]

You make some valid points, but I am not so sure "Planned Obsolesce" is so much about planned failure about exact places of weakness, as much as it is in knowing they could do more to fortify the shoe... or product... and just don't. In that way, "planned" is kind of an arbitrary word, kind of like how someone might say "passive-aggressive".

It is more of a case of, only 10% of the produced product fails so they do not do anything about redesigning it, but if 75% fail, then to prevent costly returns, they will.

The Pinto was the classic case for this. It was originally going to be the safest car because it was designed with a gelled gas tank, kind of like how WWII planes had, or stock cars, but they took it out of production due to production costs.

[Puffer]

On 4/6/2025 at 10:13 AM, mlroseplant said:

There is a rod, but for whatever reason, it doesn't go quite go the full length of the heel. I have had this exact failure once before, cf. p. 80 of this thread. Those shoes were also Nine West, different model, but of the same vintage. Oddly enough, I bought both of them brand new and owned them for more than a decade before failure. I can't actually see it on these Planteras, but I guarantee you that the heel is beginning to break right where that metal rod ends. Why they didn't make it a little longer to go the full length is beyond me, but I only know that it is so.

If I decide to attempt some kind of repair, I think I'm going to go with the superglue, simply because it takes quite a bit of force to get that crack to open up enough to get something in there, so I'm hoping the crack is less than halfway through the thickness of the heel. I don't want to break it more trying to get something more viscous than superglue in there.

I have no scientific evidence to back this hypothesis up, but it is my guess that the failure has less to do with the inadequate stiffening of the heel, and more to do with the aging of plastic. Unless something goes terribly wrong, I think I have at least another decade or more of wearing heels left in me, so I shall be interested to see just how well some of these plastics hold up longer term, and what causes them to fail.

Your analysis and intended remedy seems sound to me; I hope it works.  Best to spray a little superglue activator (acetone) on the open crack, and leave to evaporate before applying the glue.

On 4/6/2025 at 11:26 AM, Shyheels said:

...

Ive got a bit of a repair/cleaning issue. I was wearing some nice dark grey nubuck suede OTK boots while cooking and spilled a couple drops of olive oil on the top of the shaft. Not hugely noticeable to be sure but I want the marks gone. Naturally it would have to be the suede boots …

Yes, oil of any type can be a real nuisance if it gets onto fabric or suede etc.   My best suggestion is to try a little white spirit, rubbed in with a rag or cotton bud.   But first apply a little spirit to an unseen area of the boot shaft to check for possible colur loss etc.   Some proprietary stain removers will work, but often hit-and-miss choosing the right one.    Even washing-up liquid and a little water can oblige; scrub gently with an old toothbrush or similar.

[Shyheels]

Thanks. I’m going to give that a try. I got a few drops of olive oil on my jeans as well, which also did not come out in the wash. 

[mlroseplant]

On 4/8/2025 at 3:26 AM, Puffer said:

Your analysis and intended remedy seems sound to me; I hope it works.  Best to spray a little superglue activator (acetone) on the open crack, and leave to evaporate before applying the glue.

Yes, oil of any type can be a real nuisance if it gets onto fabric or suede etc.   My best suggestion is to try a little white spirit, rubbed in with a rag or cotton bud.   But first apply a little spirit to an unseen area of the boot shaft to check for possible colur loss etc.   Some proprietary stain removers will work, but often hit-and-miss choosing the right one.    Even washing-up liquid and a little water can oblige; scrub gently with an old toothbrush or similar.

I assume you're talking about something like turpentine or naphtha, and not say, gin.

[Puffer]

23 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I assume you're talking about something like turpentine or naphtha, and not say, gin.

I didn't realise that 'white spirit' was not recognised by that name in the US.   I believe you call it 'mineral spirits' (a name not used in the UK!) or turpentine substitute.   

Some cellulose paint thinners may work, but there are so many different blends and experimentation (and possible disappointment) should be allowed for.

I wasn't originally advocating any alcohol (potable or not), as water is a component and tends not to mix with or dissolve anything oily.   However, iso-propyl alcohol (propanol; US rubbing alcohol), as used for switch/contact cleaning (and, usefully, leather stretching!) would possibly work on small spots, although not too easy to buy here. 

Edited April 11 by Puffer
Added info

[mlroseplant]

Well folks, it's official. I'm going under the knife in two weeks. Actually, there will be no knives involved, just a laser. I went to an ophthalmologist yesterday to get my high eyeball pressure problem assessed. Evidently, they now have a way to treat this condition that is putatively permanent, without having to resort to daily eyedrops or periodic injections. Apparently, I am a good candidate for this procedure, and it's pretty quick--about 15 minutes per eyeball. Thankfully, I have not yet developed glaucoma, i.e., there is no functional damage to the inner workings of my eyes.

I got two overt compliments on my Steve Madden blush colored pumps, one from one of the techs who administered the battery of tests I had to run through, and one from a fellow patient.

[Shyheels]

I hope all goes well. I just paid a long overdue visit to the optometrist myself - having always had razor sharp 20/10 vision I’ve been in denial for years that it just wasn’t so anymore. Finally I had to take the plunge and now I have reading glasses. Thankfully the eyes in general were in good nick. 

[Cali]

Glaucoma is a global term that refers to eye pressure only. There are many different types of glaucoma.  I have the type of glaucoma where my lens covers the drain. It was diagnosis about 30 years ago.  I have had 50 laser holes drilled in each eye, and several other things. The last thing they did was shot (laser) certain spots in one eye, and when your body goes to fix it, it also fixes the other eye. Next time they will laser the other eye.

i have a pterygium on each eye. One started to grow over my cornea so they took it off by peeling off a layer of the surface of the eye and replace it with lab grown tissue. What a _____ operation.  (I'll fill that in 2+ weeks.)

And @Shyheels, welcome to the 'club'.

 

Edited April 16 by Cali

[Shyheels]

Messing around with lasers and eyes gives me the willies. I am very glad that mine are in basically good health, just a bit blurry for close work like reading. I had a hell of a time picking out frames as I simply did not like seeing myself in glasses. It just looked so odd, so not like me - much stranger, in fact, than the first time I saw myself in stilettos! 

[Cali]

1 hour ago, Shyheels said:

Messing around with lasers and eyes gives me the willies. I am very glad that mine are in basically good health, just a bit blurry for close work like reading. I had a hell of a time picking out frames as I simply did not like seeing myself in glasses. It just looked so odd, so not like me - much stranger, in fact, than the first time I saw myself in stilettos! 

Surly you have seen yourself in sun glasses.

[Shyheels]

Very rarely. And sunglasses are styled differently than reading glasses.

I cannot remember the last time I wore sunglasses 

[mlroseplant]

You are doing awfully well to get this far without needing reading glasses. In fact, I'm going to guess that you are the 1%. My mother-in-law was also the 1%. She died at the age of 80 without ever needing glasses. My wife has made it to 56 without glasses. I made it to age 10, and I got bifocals before I turned 40. However, if I lost my glasses (unlikely), I could survive just fine for some time without them, unlike other members of my family.

Up until a few months ago, I had always thought that glaucoma = high eye pressure. I have come to find out that this is not the case. Glaucoma is a disease which gradually deteriorates one's vision by causing damage to the optic nerve. One of the several factors that makes one at higher risk for this disease is high eye pressure. Evidently, having thin corneas or being Asian are other risk factors.

Despite working longer hours, I have managed to keep up my walking schedule. I have lost weight, which is something I have to be careful about, because I don't have a lot of weight to lose. Between my high heels walks and the size of the building(s) I'm working in, I'm averaging about 18,000 steps a day over the last four weeks.

[Shyheels]

Yup. I’m just shy of 67. The optometrist mentioned that I was a rarity. I could still get by without them - and generally do. But for small print in printed books (not Kindle) they do make reading easier. If I didn’t have to do a lot of reading for my work I would not need them at all. It feels weird to wear them and I seldom do

i too though glaucoma was an eye pressure disease. I know it can be serious. Glad yours sounds straightforward 

[Cali]

I got my first readers about that age.  I get a peripheral vision test every 6 months and optic nerve picture every year.

[pebblesf]

36 minutes ago, Cali said:

I got my first readers about that age.  I get a peripheral vision test every 6 months and optic nerve picture every year.

my eyes got messed up early on, seems that "lazy eye correction" as a kid did more harm than good.  I had cataract surgery, that was a waste...  I think I got the wrong lenses.  I have trouble focusing, especially when driving.  So frustrating

[mlroseplant]

13 hours ago, pebblesf said:

my eyes got messed up early on, seems that "lazy eye correction" as a kid did more harm than good.  I had cataract surgery, that was a waste...  I think I got the wrong lenses.  I have trouble focusing, especially when driving.  So frustrating

Maybe you did get the "wrong" lenses. I personally know four people who have gotten cataract surgery, and all of them have raved about how much better they can see afterwards. Jean in particular, looks weird without her glasses.

[Puffer]

While we are on the subject: How many optometrists does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: 'One or two?   One or two?'    

Happy Easter to all!

[Mr. X]

I am the opposite of most.  I have been wearing glasses pretty much since day 1.  And it always looks weird when I see myself without them.

[mlroseplant]

There is something to be said about not ever forgetting to put your safety glasses on at the jobsite, because you CAN'T really forget.

[mlroseplant]

I had an experience on Easter Sunday. I wish I could say it was the first time, but at least it's only the second time this has happened to me in exactly this way. When I left the house and climbed into my son's Big Oldsmobile, I had both heel tips. By the the time I arrived at the church door, I had neither. It seems they fell off almost simultaneously. Luckily, the sanctuary floor is carpeted, or I might have been in real trouble.