The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[HappyinHeels]

Lawn mowers are so cool! I’ve seen some of the mowers at Mlroseplant’s place and yes his son is very mechanically inclined. As to museums there are some choices like the lawn mower racing museum in Marion, Ohio the John Deere Tractor museum in Waterloo, Iowa or the British Lawn Mower Museum in Southport, England, UK. Or you could spend some driving the rural highways in the Midwestern states and will all sorts of lawn mower and agricultural artifacts. As for me I have a 22hp 2018 Cub Cadet rider for our house and 26hp 2011 Craftsman rider for our land in northern Wisconsin. Nothing in Arizona since there is no grass at all at our house. HinH

[mlroseplant]

9 hours ago, Mr. X said:

I didn't think anyone owned any shoes these days that needed to be cobbled

Well.  .  . that's a load of cobblers.

I was going to just leave it at that, but then I got to thinking. Because I do that sometimes. I do not visit my cobbler all that often anymore. I basically use him to replace heels, or top lifts, as he calls them. However, since cobblers have become very uncommon these days, he's always crazy busy. It's the same with the watchmaker I finally found. Not too many watches out there anymore that you don't just throw away. That watchmaker has got two or three customers in there every time I drive by the place. What was once commonplace has become a niche market.

[bambam]

On 6/12/2023 at 3:22 AM, mlroseplant said:

The outfit of the week is a boring earthtone theme. The short sleeved button-down has fallen out of favor these days, and I'm not 100% sure why. I believe it has gained a reputation of being something only old men wear, young men evidently preferring to roll up their long sleeves with a technique I've never really mastered. Less old man are my Buffalo (Costo) skinny pants, which are also evidently supposed to be going out of style.

What shouldn't go out of style anytime soon are my BCBGirls "Poland" sandals. The feature I like about them best is that they have these little medallions at the ankle strap which bounce off the skin of your feet as you walk, just underneath the ankle. It's an oddly pleasant sensation. I haven't worn these sandals since they broke last year, but I finally got round to fixing them. A simple glue job, with no cobbler needed.

Love this sandal style!

[mlroseplant]

13 hours ago, bambam said:

Love this sandal style!

Well thanks! Coincidentally, here they are again, in the obligatory bathroom mirror selfie at the farmer's market.

This is the first time this year that I've worn shorts out in public, mainly because I've been very lazy about shaving my legs. I almost had to yesterday, as temps were in the upper 80s (or lower 30s C). Sales last night were respectable, but nowhere near record levels. To keep it in perspective, though, what I consider respectable now would have been beyond imagination two years ago.

This is also the first time this year that I've worn actual "high" heels to work a farmer's market. I've been very conservative thus far about what I think my endurance is, until this night choosing mid heels with an effective height of 3". These BCBGirls Poland are effectively 4" or better, but the height didn't bother me at all. Some other things did, and I might not be wearing them again in this capacity.

[mlroseplant]

I have been trying to get back to walking regularly, as in several times a week. I've been doing all right so far this year, with the exception of the month of May, in which I somehow managed only 5.4 miles for the whole month. This is an outfit I would typically wear for my constitutionals, if it were a bit on the cooler side.

Featured are my third pair of BCBGirls "Bonny" mules, which, as I've said many times before, are much better walking shoes than you'd think. The last pair of these failed at about 115 miles, which is somewhat disappointing, but better than some. I shall be interested to see if pair No. 3 lasts any longer, because I have refined my walking style and technique somewhat, and the one thing I have noticed so far is that my heels are lasting significantly longer. I've gotten 22 miles out of the stock tips so far, and they've still got plenty of material left. Typically, I would have replaced stock tips before now. Other shoes I've worn for walking this year have shown the same trend, lasting significantly longer than they have in the past. I almost want to try walking in stilettos (which I gave up doing years ago because the heel tips wear out so quickly) to see if the same is true there as well.

[SF]

Nice sandals....

[mlroseplant]

I posted elsewhere about the proliferation of platform boots on the streets these days. I don't get a ton of comments on my shoes anymore, but I got a bit of a strange one the other night at our farmer's market booth. It was quite warm, about 90º F or 32º C, and I was wearing shorts and my mid-heeled silver Söfft sandals. Some girl in a short skirt and combat boots came up to me and said, "Man, I sure wish I had worn my sandals!" And then, in the twinkling of an eye, she was gone. Yeah, I thought to myself. I wish you had worn your sandals, too, rather than those hideous things.

[Shyheels]

Nice though that her top-of-mind thought was that you were wearing sandals - cooler in the heat - than that they were heels. A sort of matter of fact acceptance of the heels 

[mlroseplant]

I actually wore stilettos the other day! It's been a while since I dragged out my Nine West "Versell" sandals for the first time in a while. They are missing a tiny ornament, and they peel on my feet just a bit from deterioration of the liner, but not as bad as they used to. I should wear them more often.

[mlroseplant]

I have not posted about my favorite summer shoes in a while. This is my third pair of BCBGirls "Bonny" mules, and they are 3rd of 5, for those of you who might get that reference. Pairs 1 and 2 got worn literally to death. Well, not literally, but literally if shoes have a lifespan in the sense that we think of life. Anyway, they don't look it, but these are the best walking shoes ever. That is, if you're not in a terrible hurry. I can do about 3 miles to the hour in these pretty consistently, and can wear them all day.

[Shyheels]

That’s a pretty good testimonial! 

[pebblesf]

On 5/17/2023 at 11:39 AM, Jkrenzer said:

You still run your trains?

I have tons of good loco's Athern and Atlas, AHM and others. Rolling stock, of limited quality. I also got heavily into European HO, DC not AC. All boxed up but I'll never likely run any of it again.

Willing to sell at very discounted costs if you'd be interested. 

Wish I could run my trains.  Just seemed to have "recollected" the ones I had as a kid, and look at them in the boxes on the shelf.   Do you have any AHM passenger cars?

[Jkrenzer]

I have their yellow 1860's cars that I used to run with my Bachman Jupiter loco. That little steamer was a nice piece.

[pebblesf]

16 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

I have their yellow 1860's cars that I used to run with my Bachman Jupiter loco. That little steamer was a nice piece.

I had those too!  "Virgina and Truckee" I think was the name...

[bambam]

These photos are such an inspiration for me! At this time of year, I always get really into high heel sandals, as it is, of course, The Season. I have trouble getting the nerve to really actually wear them out and about though, as that means everybody can really see my feet. I feel as if one Must have painted toes for it, and I really don't have the patience for that, and often I really don't want to anyway. I just know that a part of me wants to get a great pair of high heel slides or wedges, and just make them my quick on-off shoes for bumming around and running errands. Oh well, next step, I suppose, although I probably still won't paint too much...

[Cali]

On 7/10/2023 at 8:14 AM, bambam said:

 I feel as if one Must have painted toes for it, and I really don't have the patience for that, and often I really don't want to anyway. 

bambam - It's not about having painted toenails, it's about having well mantained toes.  Buff or clear polish is sufficient. You don't want the mix, gross toes and great heels.

BTW my toes are patriotic this month: red and white zebra stripes on a sea of blue. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Cali

[mlroseplant]

Oh, we've had THIS conversation a few times before! Cali and I have different personal styles, but in this case, we actually agree. It's not about color vs. no color. I prefer natural nails on both males and females. Some people like that extra splash of color. Have you ever met a good looking gal and then were shocked to look down and see little nubs of bitten-off fingernails? It's no different with feet. Just keep them neat and clean and groomed. Sandals are your friends!

[Shyheels]

Unless you live in boots! 😊

[mlroseplant]

I guess I must be getting pretty ok at this walking in heels thing. I have been trying to up my game lately because it seems like I own a high percentage of shoes that I either won't wear in public, or I can't wear in public because I don't have the skills or endurance for the shoes. After several weeks of purposeful walking, I was able to wear these shoes to church and not embarrass myself (5" heel, tiny platform, so effectively 4 3/4" heels). In fact, I suffered no ill effects whatsoever aside from tired ankles. We had a missing musician on this particular morning, so I was busy enough that I didn't even notice my shoes until it was time to pack up and go home. A guest at our church noticed them, however, and shouted a compliment at me from afar. I wonder if that picked up on the livestream? I shall have to review it.

Note: Just to put it into perspective, I only wore them for about 2 hours, approximately 30 minutes of sitting, 90 minutes of standing. I'm not THAT good yet.

[pebblesf]

3 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I guess I must be getting pretty ok at this walking in heels thing. I have been trying to up my game lately because it seems like I own a high percentage of shoes that I either won't wear in public, or I can't wear in public because I don't have the skills or endurance for the shoes. After several weeks of purposeful walking, I was able to wear these shoes to church and not embarrass myself (5" heel, tiny platform, so effectively 4 3/4" heels). In fact, I suffered no ill effects whatsoever aside from tired ankles. We had a missing musician on this particular morning, so I was busy enough that I didn't even notice my shoes until it was time to pack up and go home. A guest at our church noticed them, however, and shouted a compliment at me from afar. I wonder if that picked up on the livestream? I shall have to review it.

Note: Just to put it into perspective, I only wore them for about 2 hours, approximately 30 minutes of sitting, 90 minutes of standing. I'm not THAT good yet.

You look great, nice work overcoming that hurdle.  Hoping to do the same with my red 1969 tall heeled boots

[Jkrenzer]

Like the heels. It's so nice once people have become accustomed to seeing us (I mean guys in heels as normal wear) that it is second nature and even anticipated. 

I have several people in public whom I only see every week or so who look forward to seeing what I have on. To many of these people I'd just blend into the background if not for my stilettos. 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Jkrenzer

[Shyheels]

Very nice! You clearly have sound fitness and ability. I think nearly all the guys on this forum strike just the right note in terms of making men in heels seem unremarkable - in the best sense of the word. As s group, although our tastes and styles differ, we are all quite presentable 

[mlroseplant]

There's nothing going on today, so I guess I'll post the church OOTW. This is not the first time I've worn this basic outfit, but it is the first time I've worn it with these shoes. They are the fire engine red Via Spiga closed-back sandals. Another pair of shoes I really didn't need, but they caught my eye, and I got several compliments on them, even from my mother.

Although the leather is buttery soft, the strap bit into my left little toe by the end of the service. Not enough to cause a blister, but enough that I was ready to take them off. Otherwise, they seem quite easy to get along with, being a 5 inch heel with a 7/8 inch platform. The balls of my feet were unimpressed with the steepness of the shoe, as were my ankles. It's just that one strap that caused me an issue, and I believe that may resolve itself with time.

[Jkrenzer]

Fine looking shoes, good luck with the strap though. It's been my experience that open toed straps don't find a happy place if they don't start out that way.

[bambam]

Those look fantastic on you!

I'm also having trouble with the strap on an open toe pair of slides I've been trying to break in. Just a hair too tight, so I have to wedge my feet into them. Although they technically fit, they are a little too annoying to wear regularly, as I want to. I'm considering just going with your advice about being comfortable and competent in heels, and just walk around the block daily or so. Might become my go-to shoes.

[Cali]

I saw this in a SA in a large Macy's women's (only) shoe department. She had tissue stuffed between her toes and the strap.  I have used strips of the thin high density foam that some of my shoes come in/with.

[mlroseplant]

In this particular case, a Band-Aid (sticking plaster) would do the trick just fine, I just don't want it to necessarily show, and they always do, a little bit, if they are to be effective. I have had it happen that by wearing the shoes with a Band-Aid, it eventually brings them out of their cantankerous state, but then I've also had it happen, like @Jkrenzer fears, that it just stays that way forever. Since this leather is so soft, I do have some hope that it will be the former.

[Puffer]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

In this particular case, a Band-Aid (sticking plaster) would do the trick just fine, I just don't want it to necessarily show, and they always do, a little bit, if they are to be effective. I have had it happen that by wearing the shoes with a Band-Aid, it eventually brings them out of their cantankerous state, but then I've also had it happen, like @Jkrenzer fears, that it just stays that way forever. Since this leather is so soft, I do have some hope that it will be the former.

Have you tried applying a little petroleum jelly to the inside of the strap?   Usually effective to stop rubbing, especially if the material is 'real' leather.

[mlroseplant]

I'll have to give that a try, luckily these are real leather.

[mlroseplant]

I have always had a fondness for wooden heels. Perhaps it was because they were very much in style in the early 1980s when I was an adolescent. Lately, I have enlarged my collection of wooden heels by 50%, to a total of 18 pairs. I'm only including shoes that contain actual wood or a wood composite. I have quite a few more pairs that are fake wood or wood-like materials.