The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

As I posted in the "new shoes" section, I got new shoes for the first time in six months. Nothing I completely love, but I think I like both pairs. I have taken the DVF clogs for a one mile spin, and can report that they are most probably full-time wearing/walking shoes. In my experience, you don't really know until you've gone a full 2 miles, but there are no signs of any faults after one mile. I have yet to wear the Michael Antonio Studio mules outside, so I can't comment on those yet. They are flawless and comfortable, but are obviously very cheaply made, despite being actual leather uppers, and I don't have high expectations about their durability. I will repost a couple of pictures, but won't recap everything in detail.

The first full day I had the new shoes, I had the opportunity to wear them somewhere, but I didn't instead. I had to go to a committee meeting at our church, and I thought about wearing the new olive green clogs, but instead I chose my Guess oxfords instead, which I always say I should wear more often, but they are just funky enough that I don't wear them very much. They're not dressy, and they aren't casual. At any rate, I chose to wear them on that particular night, and to most people they are impressive because they're visually quite high, at 5 1/4 inches, and have patent leather heels and platforms. With a 1 inch platform, that still makes 4 1/4 inches of difference, but they don't feel it. I wore them with skinny jeans and a lightweight, high-collared sweater which covered up the work t-shirt that I had underneath.

During the meeting, one of the women there commented that she didn't understand how I could wear such heels. I replied that life is too short to be wearing flats. She retorted, "Absolutely not! Life is too short for heels! I'd fall right over in those!" Later on, I made a particular show of vacuuming the floor in heels (our activity that night, preparing candles for Christmas Eve, made quite a mess). "What, you don't do this at home?" This lady and I have a jovial, but somewhat adversarial relationship. And the fact is, she does very occasionally wear 2 inch heels, especially boots. Nothing you might probably break your neck in. Additionally, I suppose I should add that this woman is 65 years old.

I guess the point is that not all of my received comments are "Oh, I just love your shoes!" But neither are they, "Well, that's just wrong for a man to be wearing heels." I suppose this might put me on equal footing (pun intended) with a woman who wore crazy high heels all the time. I suppose such a woman might get similar comments of disbelief.

[Cali]

1 hour ago, mlroseplant said:

I guess the point is that not all of my received comments are "Oh, I just love your shoes!" But neither are they, "Well, that's just wrong for a man to be wearing heels." I suppose this might put me on equal footing (pun intended) with a woman who wore crazy high heels all the time. I suppose such a woman might get similar comments of disbelief.

As a mid-60's man that wear crazy high heels all the time, I get the "I would break my ankle" comment a lot. I also get a lot of  "I love your heels, wish I could walk in heels."

[mlroseplant]

This morning, I sung in the choir at the "contemporary" service. If we sing at this service, we usually don't wear choir robes. Also, I feel more comfortable wearing more casual clothing during this service, so today I experimented with something I like to call "grayscale." I wanted to wear my new gray sandals, so I found matching gray pants, a white sweater with gray accents worn over a gray t-shirt. I'm not sure about this look, but it's a look, I guess. I didn't have a lot of time to futz with it a whole lot. Why do I always seem to be in a hurry?

[Cali]

How did the sandals go over with the choir?

[mlroseplant]

8 minutes ago, Cali said:

How did the sandals go over with the choir?

Nobody said anything. I wouldn't really expect them to. 

[Cali]

I might expect something like "aren't your toes cold?" But it's good that they accept you for you.

[mlroseplant]

Eh, it's actually a beautiful fall day for a change. I'm experimenting with wearing sandals a little bit longer into the season. Girls do it all winter long, why can't I? Plus, I wanted to wear the new sandals before the snow flies. Now? It's time for a costume change before the "traditional" service. Any rock star worth their salt has to have a costume change between sets! =)))))

Aaaaaaand.  .  . Presto change-o!

[mlroseplant]

I have never minded being on the shorter side. Well, except for the fact that a significant percentage of women would reject me out of hand for no other reason than being short, but that's simply not a problem nowadays since I'm married, it's just the idea.

Since I recently got some sandals that have a thicker platform than I would normally consider, I was simply curious--do these make me taller than any of my other shoes? The answer is yes! Slightly. I measured myself a couple years ago, in response to another thread which is buried somewhere on this forum, which was about how much taller does one actually stand when wearing heels compared to the the heel height as measured up the back of the heel. Since I hadn't measured my height very carefully for years, I was faced with the reality that I had gotten older--I had shrunk 1/4" compared to my younger days--which meant that I had to round down to 5'5", instead of rounding up to 5'6". My exact height was then 5' 5 1/4", or 165.7 cm. As of last week, I am still 5' 5 1/4", so I haven't shrunk any more in the last couple of years, but how tall am I when wearing my new gray sandals which have a 1 1/2" platform with a 5 1/2"+ heel? The answer is 5' 9 1/2", giving me a 4 1/4" increase in height. This exceeds my next tallest pair of heels that I've measured in this way, my Nine West Plantera loafer pumps, which have a 5 1/2" heel with a 1" platform. They increase my height by a mere 3 7/8". A subtle difference, but interesting.

[Jkrenzer]

At this height you can look me straight in the eyes, except likely not as I'll be wearing heels too:-)

[mlroseplant]

28 minutes ago, Jkrenzer said:

At this height you can look me straight in the eyes, except likely not as I'll be wearing heels too:-)

That was one of the hardest things for me to get used to, was adjusting my gaze when talking to other people. I spent 40 some years looking up, or at least not looking down too far, and then suddenly, my world view was changed! By about 3 to 4 inches.

[mlroseplant]

9 hours ago, kneehighs said:

Curious what effect yoga, if any, has had on your height?  

Evidently zero. I haven't changed at all for at least two years. I was trying to think of how to find that other thread was where I measured myself before, but I remember it involved Thighbootguy, so it must've been at least a couple of years ago, probably more.

[mlroseplant]

I went to an after Thanksgiving party last night. It was at a Vietnamese house, so what I actually looked like inside the house was exactly this, but barefoot. It is the Asian Paradox, I guess. 90% of the women under 50 wear high heels to a party, but you never get to see them, except in a pile outside the door.

My shoes are Nine West Plantera loafer pumps. I've had them for 6 years, and they have been my go-to closed-toed, dressy, wow-how-can-you-walk-in-those heels for a very long time. I'm still not tired of them, and evidently, they're not tired of me yet, either, since they still look like brand new (except for the soles, of course). Sorry for the poor quality picture. It was very late when I took it.

[jeremy1986]

6 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I went to an after Thanksgiving party last night. It was at a Vietnamese house, so what I actually looked like inside the house was exactly this, but barefoot. It is the Asian Paradox, I guess. 90% of the women under 50 wear high heels to a party, but you never get to see them, except in a pile outside the door.

My shoes are Nine West Plantera loafer pumps. I've had them for 6 years, and they have been my go-to closed-toed, dressy, wow-how-can-you-walk-in-those heels for a very long time. I'm still not tired of them, and evidently, they're not tired of me yet, either, since they still look like brand new (except for the soles, of course). Sorry for the poor quality picture. It was very late when I took it.

Wow. These are high!!

[mlroseplant]

2 hours ago, jeremy1986 said:

Wow. These are high!!

They are every bit of 5 1/2", or 14 cm. However, there is a 1" platform, about half of which is visible, and half is internal. So it's really only 4 1/2", which is doable for me. I suppose it's one of the things I love about these shoes. They look super impressive, but they are really quite easy to live with. I don't even have any fitting aids in them. 

I am not really sure what it is about the design of these shoes that makes them so easy to live with. The heels are somewhat set back, but not severely, like say, most modern Louboutins. Also, since the heels are a bit thicker, I think this helps make them a bit more manageable. I know @Jkrenzer would disagree vehemently on this point, but for this particular pair, it just seems to work for me. I've had many adventures in these heels. Heck, I just wore them today to go pick up some things at Costco! 

[Pumped]

On 11/28/2019 at 7:19 AM, mlroseplant said:

Since I hadn't measured my height very carefully for years, I was faced with the reality that I had gotten older--I had shrunk 1/4" compared to my younger days--which meant that I had to round down to 5'5", instead of rounding up to 5'6". My exact height was then 5' 5 1/4", 

I missed this the other day. You are almost as tall as me..........When I am bare foot and you are in heels! :-)

[mlroseplant]

On 12/1/2019 at 10:10 PM, Pumped said:

I missed this the other day. You are almost as tall as me..........When I am bare foot and you are in heels! :-)

Yes, which means I am not way outside the range of normal height. I do not find everyday appliances or cars or life in general to be inconvenient because of my height. What I don't understand (and I alluded to this on the other thread) is the length of my inseam, and why it seems to be way undersized compared to other people my height, male or female. I mean, I understand completely that I have short legs, but when I look in the mirror, I don't think my legs look all that bad or disproportional. I've seen guys that do look like they're all torso and no legs. Heck, I'm working with a couple of them right now! I don't think I'm one of those guys. I get compliments on my legs all the time, despite what the tape measure says. So, there's either a great mystery yet to be solved, or I'm simply being delusional.

[p1ng74]

5 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Yes, which means I am not way outside the range of normal height. I do not find everyday appliances or cars or life in general to be inconvenient because of my height. What I don't understand (and I alluded to this on the other thread) is the length of my inseam, and why it seems to be way undersized compared to other people my height, male or female. I mean, I understand completely that I have short legs, but when I look in the mirror, I don't think my legs look all that bad or disproportional. I've seen guys that do look like they're all torso and no legs. Heck, I'm working with a couple of them right now! I don't think I'm one of those guys. I get compliments on my legs all the time, despite what the tape measure says. So, there's either a great mystery yet to be solved, or I'm simply being delusional.

It is much easier to hem pants that are too long than extend ones that are too short.  Women seem to have better habits and expectations in hemming pants after they buy them, so it makes sense to offer them on the long side at the store.  This also provides opportunity to adjust length based on footwear.  It seems that this is not the case in men's fashion, which may explain why I can never find pants that are long enough... 

 

 

[Cali]

And here I just bought 10 Short.  I waned them to be short so I can show my heels.

[mlroseplant]

17 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

It is much easier to hem pants that are too long than extend ones that are too short.  Women seem to have better habits and expectations in hemming pants after they buy them, so it makes sense to offer them on the long side at the store.  This also provides opportunity to adjust length based on footwear.  It seems that this is not the case in men's fashion, which may explain why I can never find pants that are long enough... 

 

 

I was reminded by your post about why I like to shop in Vietnam. Number one, I'm not really very short in Vietnam, as least among my own generation. Number two, most clothing shops in Hanoi anyway will make alterations right there on the spot for you for free. I'm talking about these little hole-in-the-wall places that most people still buy their clothes from, not the shopping malls, which are kind of new fangled places, and are all owned by the Koreans anyhow.

12 hours ago, Cali said:

And here I just bought 10 Short.  I waned them to be short so I can show my heels.

If I bought 10 short, I might be able to show my toes!

[mlroseplant]

Since we're on the subject of pants (or trousers), I just bought 4 new pairs of pants last weekend from Costco. Costco often has usable, decent looking pants for a very good price. The only problem is that there is no fitting rooms in there, so you might as well be buying off the internet. I won't detail all of them right now, partially because I find it a bit ponderous. I mean, really, pants are kind of boring. The reason I bring up the subject is that I found a pair that fit right off the rack! Or in this case, the display table. The key here is that these are advertised as being cropped pants with a 27" inseam. I assume they are supposed to hit a normal person a couple of inches above the ankle, which is a look I've never understood, especially if the pants/leggings are not skin tight. At any rate they come right to my ankle, which is ideal. I haven't actually run these through the wash yet, so I don't know how they will react, but they're a little bit looser than I would like, as they were all out of size 4s, and I had to get size 6.

In addition to that, they only had one color left, and that was a very light, barely perceptible pink. Not the most versatile color in the world. I decided I wanted to wear these last night to choir rehearsal, and I had a pair of patent stiletto mules that darn near match the pants. However, they just didn't look right somehow. Then I remembered I had these dusty pink Nine West Dance Card mules, which looked a lot better. Nine West used to make a lot of shoes with very high heels (these are just shy of 5 1/2 inch), but they don't any more. I wore a medium gray light sweater, because I figure gray and pink go together. It's not a great outfit, but I did like wearing my new, right off the rack pants and my pink sandals.

[jeremy1986]

very well together @mlroseplant and yes - those mules are high!!

[Cali]

Pant Talk, great since I have just been looking to skinny jeans and leggings myself and am quite happy with what I found

Have you tried "petite" size jeans? Although I really like my short shorts (3-5 inch inseams) in the summer (and fall), I was wearing 32 and 34 inch inseams on my long pants. Hiding most of my heels. However a recent trip to my doctor's showed I had shrunk 1.5 inches, (you're lucky you only shrunk less than an inch).

This years shoe goals was to start showing more of my heels, especially my tall boots. Why have them if you got to hide them. But that requires skinny jeans, something I stayed away from. But last week I got some Express Denim Perfect Lift leggings in 10 SHORT and Levis 311 in 30 X 30. The Express legging and skin tight with a very soft feel and end just above the ankles. I had no problem with the pockets holding what I needed them to hold. While the Levis are skin tight until just above the ankles and end at the ankles.

17 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

. I assume they are supposed to hit a normal person a couple of inches above the ankle, which is a look I've never understood, especially if the pants/leggings are not skin tight.

Well I have worn the leggings three days this week to work with my Madden Girl motorcycle boots and some booties. Today I wore the Levis with my JS Rachie stilettos and holiday theme socks.  The whole shoes were exposed and the white snowflakes on my socks contrasted with the dark black Rachie. I can fully understand and appreciate this look now.  You really feel sexy in it. I'm thinking of getting some Levis 311 30 X 28 (the shortest) next time so I can show more shoes.  Just wish they had more workable pockets.

[mlroseplant]

On 12/5/2019 at 11:45 PM, Cali said:

Pant Talk, great since I have just been looking to skinny jeans and leggings myself and am quite happy with what I found

Have you tried "petite" size jeans? Although I really like my short shorts (3-5 inch inseams) in the summer (and fall), I was wearing 32 and 34 inch inseams on my long pants. Hiding most of my heels. However a recent trip to my doctor's showed I had shrunk 1.5 inches, (you're lucky you only shrunk less than an inch).

This years shoe goals was to start showing more of my heels, especially my tall boots. Why have them if you got to hide them. But that requires skinny jeans, something I stayed away from. But last week I got some Express Denim Perfect Lift leggings in 10 SHORT and Levis 311 in 30 X 30. The Express legging and skin tight with a very soft feel and end just above the ankles. I had no problem with the pockets holding what I needed them to hold. While the Levis are skin tight until just above the ankles and end at the ankles.

Well I have worn the leggings three days this week to work with my Madden Girl motorcycle boots and some booties. Today I wore the Levis with my JS Rachie stilettos and holiday theme socks.  The whole shoes were exposed and the white snowflakes on my socks contrasted with the dark black Rachie. I can fully understand and appreciate this look now.  You really feel sexy in it. I'm thinking of getting some Levis 311 30 X 28 (the shortest) next time so I can show more shoes.  Just wish they had more workable pockets.

I have posted a picture of what I'm talking about when I say "cropped pants that are not skin tight." This is someone I know, which is why I have cropped out her head. I just find those loose, cropped pants to be unflattering on practically everybody. Of course, that is only the beginning of what is wrong with this outfit, but we're talking about pants here. For reference, this woman is about 27 years old. Also for reference is a picture of her mother, who is my age, who doesn't seem to suffer from these fashion problems.

[RonC]

I agree, those pants look absurd. Mom looks quite nice though!

 

[mlroseplant]

11 hours ago, RonC said:

I agree, those pants look absurd. Mom looks quite nice though!

 

Mom is a honey! Actually, Daughter is a honey, too, she just doesn't know how to dress.

Speaking of not knowing how to dress, this may be one of those times in my case. Here is another early church service outfit. The pants and the shirt just happened to match exactly. I had never noticed it before. I managed to fit sandals into the outfit yet one more time, on December 8th!

[p1ng74]

I have always wondered if cropped pants with wide/flare legs is trying to achieve a silhouette similar to a skirt that length, while retaining some of the practicality of pants.  It’s never looked quite right to me either.  

Edited December 10, 2019 by p1ng74

[mlroseplant]

I have made kind of a big deal about still wearing sandals even though it's December. However, up to now, I haven't worn sandals unless it's warm enough to ditch my coat at least from the car to whatever heated building I'm going into. I'm thinking about this because 1) I like wearing sandals, and 2) I see that a lot of women, particularly younger women, wear sandals all winter if they're just going somewhere like the grocery store or whatever. However, it seems like this look is limited to rubber flip flops or those awful rubber "sport" slides, worn with something sloppy, like sweat pants. I've yet to observe a woman wearing heeled sandals in the winter, with the possible exception of at a very formal event. So what do you think? Would it look too damn goofy to wear heeled sandals with an overcoat? Would it make a difference about the style of the sandal? Obviously, my Candies style mules present a way different look than a sandal with more coverage.

[Cali]

As a Californian I have no clue to the weather you will encounter.  However, I know you will get a lot of "Aren't your feet cold?" questions.

[SF]

Mlrose....   Well, like you I am a sandal guy as well.  I have two pair of clogs and one pair of pumps, the rest are sandals, heels, flats, slip-on, strappy, etc.  Out here on the west coast the wx is much more moderate than the midwest where you are.  I can wear sandals most all year long but on the cooler days (below 50 - yipes), I revert to the clogs and pumps, my toes get cold!!  

I do wear sandals if I am going for a short distance, and not outside much.  Out here gals wear sandals in the winter but usually when indoors most of the time, but there are exceptions.  

I can't imagine wearing sandals outside when the wx gets really cold like it gets out there, especially when there is ice / snow on the ground.    My daughter lived in Bozeman, MT for a few years, during winter sandals were non existent save for the gals (and occasional guy) working in an office.  

Bottom line, if it works for you, and you seem to handle the heel wearing just fine, do what you deem best.  And keep your feet warm!!!   

I do like the sandals in you last post - classy - summer or winter.  

Have fun.....   sf

Edited December 15, 2019 by SF

[mlroseplant]

It has recently snowed here, but only about an inch or so, not enough to where anybody has really bothered to shovel. Last night, I went to the church around 8:00 or so to practice the organ. When I got out of the car and started to walk towards the building, I noticed some footprints in the snow, and thought to myself, "Hey! Somebody wears high heels in the snow besides me! And they look to be fairly slim heels, too." Then I saw where the footprints veered off to a side door, not the main door. Oh.  .  . um, yeah.  .  .that was me. From the previous night.