The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

An explanation of my "giant" shoes, and why I called them that. Those are really my mom's words, and for whatever reason she decided to comment on the height of my heels this week, and not other weeks. I have several pairs of 14 cm heels with 2.5 cm platforms. In fact, looking back at the last few months, I have worn shoes that are equally as tall as the most recent pair on at least two occasions. I think the reason why these appear to be super tall compared the other 14 cm in my collection, is because the color of the heel is darker than the color of the rest of the shoe. This is not true of my other vertiginous examples.

18 hours ago, Puffer said:

I'm not sure what mlr meant by 'giant' as the sandals, although a little on the chunky side as to strappery, are far from inelegant and, like most sandals, surely tend to minimise foot size?   And the heels, although commendably high, are in proportion.  I have the same size feet as Shyheels and have rarely felt awkward about their magnitude, whether in sandals, shoes or boots - with the exception of those with a thick sole and/or a very rounded toe, which I avoid.   Whilst I do like pointed toes, they too can look out of proportion if exaggerated.

 

[Puffer]

On 10/6/2025 at 5:24 PM, Shyheels said:

Ah yes but I often wear skinny jeans as I like to wear my tall boots over them. Skinny jeans snd hiking or mountaineering boots looks a bit unbalanced 

I quite agree!   Although I like the look of skinny jeans, I would not expect to pair them with very chunky footwear (not that I normally wear such) nor any with long pointed toes (which I do like to wear).   One could easily look somewhat cartoonish with seemingly big/heavy feet (whatever their actual size) sticking out from spindly legs.   Boot-cut jeans are (as one would expect) usually a good companion to high-heeled boots, with the advantage of concealing at least part of the heel height if its detection in public wearing would be an embarassment, as many of us have to admit is a concern.

[Cali]

When I started to wear knee high, I would hide them under my jeans. Now it skinny jeans and the knee highs on the outside.  When you wear with confidence, embarrassment is not an option.

And when you wear those boots with leather pants, your confidence is off the chart.

[Shyheels]

6 hours ago, Puffer said:

I quite agree!   Although I like the look of skinny jeans, I would not expect to pair them with very chunky footwear (not that I normally wear such) nor any with long pointed toes (which I do like to wear).   One could easily look somewhat cartoonish with seemingly big/heavy feet (whatever their actual size) sticking out from spindly legs.   Boot-cut jeans are (as one would expect) usually a good companion to high-heeled boots, with the advantage of concealing at least part of the heel height if its detection in public wearing would be an embarassment, as many of us have to admit is a concern.

Yes boot cut jeans would be a better idea with hiking boots, but with knee boots and certainly with OTK boots I much prefer skinny jeans. Trying to finagle jeans over the shafts of OTK boots doesn’t appeal. Too much hassle, 

[mlroseplant]

I decided a long time ago that I look better in slimmer cut jeans/pants. I can pull off skinny jeans, and I like them, but they sure can be a pain in the neck to get on and off. I used to wear boot cut pants all the time for the reason that @Puffer mentioned, as an attempt to minimize attention to my heels, but I guess I got over that some time ago. Because I like to wear mules, I was glad to get rid of boot cut jeans, as the two don't live together in perfect harmony.

Perhaps I am mistaken in my self-assessment, because my 40-something woman friend, mentioned several times elsewhere, wears boot cut jeans all the time with 3 inch heels, and she looks awesome. She's a very tiny woman, as well. The downside is, you can't really see the shoes. That was definitely the style in the early 2000s, when she would have come of age. I can remember working at the Iowa State Capitol building in 2004 and watching for heels, which were very common at the time. It was sometimes frustrating, because all you could see was just a sliver of a stiletto sticking out the bottom of a pair of pants that were very nearly dragging the floor. It was against this backdrop that I started my high heel journey, thinking I could do the same.

[Shyheels]

Funnily enough only yesterday I bought a pair of boot cut jeans - to wear with my ankle boots with 8cm chunky heels, and because they also look better with hiking boots. Yes, the boot cut partially obscures the heels on my ankle boots, but then I don’t wear them to show off or make a point, and actually the boots looks really good with these jeans. 

[Puffer]

On TV last night, I saw part of a quiz programme with 'celebrity' parent and child teams.   The attractive daughter (19) of her (equally attractive) TV sports reporter mother had long legs in long trousers (a little baggier than bootcut) which partially concealed her boots, with what looked like a close-to-4" slimmish block heel.   It was good to see a pretty teenager wearing 'proper' heels but, alas, she did not walk that well in them when striding to and from the podium.   I think that her mother (usually in 4" stilettos for formal appearances, as last night) needs to give her some lessons.

[CrushedVamp]

A few years ago ABC News had a very early morning news segment, and for some reason part of the routine was to catch the news anchors walking to their seats to begin the broadcast. It was not difficult for the man, but you could see the angst on the woman news anchor's face as she treaded out. This was verbalized as several times she would say, "I am always so scared I am going to trip". I never saw her do that, but after about a year her protests must have been enough to stop the practice and the program started with them already seated.

I am glad for her though as I am sure 75% of the viewing audience was like NASCAR fans and really just hoping she would trip, just as NASCAR fans are hoping race cars crash horrifically!

 

[Shyheels]

Same with football with these vicious crunching tackles. I remember a particularly egregious one in an Australian Rules match once and the announcer saying, as they replayed it in loving slow motion at least a dozen times, “Boy, that’s something you never like to see …”

[CrushedVamp]

Or us hockey fans where once and  awhile we go to the on-ice fights and strangely a hockey game breaks out! 🙂

[mlroseplant]

Bringing us gently back on point, I managed to snag a photo of my friend in her bootcut jeans while I was tearing down my musical equipment on Sunday. I'm not entirely sure what this group of women was doing, but I think they were learning American Sign Language. Anyway, I took a picture of the whole group, then cropped it to show the relevant part, and to protect the identity(ies) of those involved. My friend doesn't wear super high heels, but she does wear heels almost every Sunday, and this style, though on the casual side for me, seems to suit her.

[mlroseplant]

I used to go through ebay and Poshmark on a daily basis, looking for the next big thing. I realized this morning that it has been a long, long time since I've bought any new shoes. I looked it up, and it's been over six months. I have several items that I'm watching, but I do not feel the desire that I used to. I suppose that's a good thing in many ways, but it does mark a severe shift in buying habits. It also doesn't hurt that I've had zero shoe failures so far this year, which is nothing short of amazing.

[Shyheels]

I’ve not bought any in ages although I have seen some I’ve fancied. Living in a boat is an excellent way to curb one’s acquisitional instincts 

[Cali]

I've bought and returned 4 pairs of heels this year, all didn't fit. But I have not seen many I like lately in the first place.

Edited 20 hours ago by Cali

[CrushedVamp]

20 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I used to go through ebay and Poshmark on a daily basis, looking for the next big thing. I realized this morning that it has been a long, long time since I've bought any new shoes. I looked it up, and it's been over six months. I have several items that I'm watching, but I do not feel the desire that I used to. I suppose that's a good thing in many ways, but it does mark a severe shift in buying habits. It also doesn't hurt that I've had zero shoe failures so far this year, which is nothing short of amazing.

Well, there is no reason why you should not be content with what you currently have for shoes. You seem to really do well pairing them up with your other clothing to make combinations that really work. For my wife and I who dress well most times too, it is always great to see others who put some considerable thought into how they dress. With what you share on here, you certainly do that. I am always impressed!

Or do you feel like you are just in a funk and everything just feels “off”? It certainly is a personal question you do not have to answer.

I’m struggling lately. I am not upset, just caught in the middle right now. Everything is changing for us as this week we are moving from a big Victorian home on a river, to a tiny house on a distant island in the ocean. The wife and I are both changing jobs and with so much downsizing there is little point to buy clothes for the tiny closets we will soon have. A lot of what we have must be thrown out or given away as we just don't have the space.

It's good, it needed to be done, just a lot of changing.

Normally I pour myself into my writing at times like this, but I just finished up a really good novel, so anything I start seems to be lackluster. But I know, soon all this will pass…

If that is the case for you, I hope too it will also pass.

[mlroseplant]

Part of it is, I've been working more than I would like, but I still somehow manage to have time to come on here and comment. The other part of it is, like @Cali says, I just haven't really seen anything like I like. Specifically, the stuff I like is not high enough. I see plenty of stuff that looks cool. I see some stuff that looks absolutely beautiful. The problem is, it seems to be all mid-heels (or what is a mid-heel to me). I'm not going to buy yet another pair of shoes anymore unless the heels are 4 1/2"+ (11 cm). There isn't that much out there in that category that is not hundreds of dollars.

[Shyheels]

That’s true, there is little in the way of genuinely high heels unless you are paying Louboutin prices. I quite like mid heel boots but even there, I’m seeing where mid heel is now reckoned to be about two inches, or 5cm, and “high” heels are 7cm.

i would want 8cm at least for my mid heel boots but they are rare and tend to be pretty ugly when I do see some.