The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

One thing about this staying home all the time is that I have the opportunity to connect with my people from Vietnam more often. I was talking with a family member yesterday, and the subject came up of how many steps per day our phone says we usually take vs. how many steps we are taking under these restrictions. At one point, I sent her a picture of my work boots, and said this is what I'm required to wear at work. She laughed (electronically) and said, "All I need is a pair of slippers." Which re-reminded me of why I believe so many Vietnamese women wear high heels almost every day compared to American women. It's because they don't actually have to wear them all that much. My cousin may present herself at the front door in the morning looking like the picture below, but once in the office, it's those rubber sport slippers for the rest of the day.

[RonC]

That could very well be the case.  Willing to wear heels more often but for much shorter periods of time.  

I think the recent trend toward women quitting heels is not just a trend this time around.  In the past, yes, there have been periods when heels were not being worn.  However, it was fashion that dictated the change, not women's attitudes.  This time around, fashion is being dictated to by women who have rebelled against the wearing of heels of any sort.  Heck, not even heels, but dress shoe styles period.  Seems all they want to wear now is athletic related footwear. as we're seeing things like lace up gym shoes with formal attire.  While I could be wrong, and hope that I am, I think that the statement that heels are dead is in fact a reasonable possibility.  Sure, it will take a while for heels to completely disappear,  and I likely won't see the final results in what's left of my lifetime, but the rebellion against heels is very real today, and I think it will end up being the end of heels as a common and desirable footwear option for women.  Hey, maybe men can take it over then!

[SkirtDude]

1 hour ago, RonC said:

That could very well be the case.  Willing to wear heels more often but for much shorter periods of time.  

I think the recent trend toward women quitting heels is not just a trend this time around.  In the past, yes, there have been periods when heels were not being worn.  However, it was fashion that dictated the change, not women's attitudes.  This time around, fashion is being dictated to by women who have rebelled against the wearing of heels of any sort.  Heck, not even heels, but dress shoe styles period.  Seems all they want to wear now is athletic related footwear. as we're seeing things like lace up gym shoes with formal attire.  While I could be wrong, and hope that I am, I think that the statement that heels are dead is in fact a reasonable possibility.  Sure, it will take a while for heels to completely disappear,  and I likely won't see the final results in what's left of my lifetime, but the rebellion against heels is very real today, and I think it will end up being the end of heels as a common and desirable footwear option for women.  Hey, maybe men can take it over then!

I think women are fed up with aching calves, the damage it can cause your posture etc... plus what's posted above. I saw so much more of smart office skirts plus althletic footwear or flats by women, rather than heels, whilst observing people going to work before the shutdown.

[mlroseplant]

17 hours ago, RonC said:

That could very well be the case.  Willing to wear heels more often but for much shorter periods of time.  

I think the recent trend toward women quitting heels is not just a trend this time around.  In the past, yes, there have been periods when heels were not being worn.  However, it was fashion that dictated the change, not women's attitudes.  This time around, fashion is being dictated to by women who have rebelled against the wearing of heels of any sort.  Heck, not even heels, but dress shoe styles period.  Seems all they want to wear now is athletic related footwear. as we're seeing things like lace up gym shoes with formal attire.  While I could be wrong, and hope that I am, I think that the statement that heels are dead is in fact a reasonable possibility.  Sure, it will take a while for heels to completely disappear,  and I likely won't see the final results in what's left of my lifetime, but the rebellion against heels is very real today, and I think it will end up being the end of heels as a common and desirable footwear option for women.  Hey, maybe men can take it over then!

I think the problem is that so many in positions of power have made it a requirement that women wear heels to work or to certain occasions, without truly understanding what that means. Now we're getting to the point where we're realizing that hey, maybe that's not such a good idea. Should have been done long ago. While I personally cannot understand the pain of wearing "normal" height heels, say, 3 inches or less, I must pause and realize that I have spent years of effort to get to this point, and it may be that I have a physiology predisposed to wearing heels often. Therefore, I cannot possibly imagine bitching about having to wear 3 inch heels to work. That's not a heel! The thing is, no one is telling me I have to do this, it's my choice. I wonder if we hadn't put so much pressure on women to wear heels for certain things, whether more of them would now choose to wear them voluntarily. I do think that eventually people will get tired of wearing tennis shoes everywhere.

[Shyheels]

The fashion pendulum is constantly swinging and is driven by all sorts of social mechanisms. High heels have been iconic - they will be remembered and revived as times and fashions continue to evolve.  

[p1ng74]

21 hours ago, SkirtDude said:

I saw so much more of smart office skirts plus athletic footwear or flats by women, rather than heels, whilst observing people going to work before the shutdown.

I have also seen male CEOs of large companies going onto stage wearing sneakers with their suits.  If they feel comfortable branching out in that direction, then I'm going to be comfortable going my way wearing 4" heels into the office.  

The prevalence of people wearing more casual footwear only reinforces the association of heels as formal wear.  When the heels come out, it makes a statement - you're dressing up.  The power of heels in making that statement will never go away, even if people choose not to exercise it as frequently.  

[mlroseplant]

We had to make a dangerous excursion to Costco today. Just for the record, we did NOT buy toilet paper. I did get a random compliment on my shoes, my trusty Nine West Planteras, from a 30-ish white woman, accompanied by her evident significant other. She declined to compliment me on my mask, however, despite my fishing for compliments. Oh, and another notable thing--when we entered the store, I was fumbling about trying to find my membership card, and the lady said, "Never mind, I believe you. I've seen you here a lot of times before." I said, "Well, how do you recognize me with this mask on?" Without missing a beat she said, "Well, from your smile!" Yeah, right. I just wanted to see if she would actually say it. And remember, this is not in my small hometown, it was in the "big" city!

[Cali]

The people at Costco know me by my foot wear and nails.

[SF]

Nice mask....  Very GQ......   be safe....    sf

[RonC]

looking good mlroseplant

[Puffer]

If it wasn't for the virus protection, I'd think you were planning to hold up a stagecoach.   (But the witnesses would surely identify you from your shoes!) 

[mlroseplant]

13 hours ago, Puffer said:

If it wasn't for the virus protection, I'd think you were planning to hold up a stagecoach.   (But the witnesses would surely identify you from your shoes!) 

If I were planning to rob a stagecoach, I would buy some brand new trainers and a track suit. No one would ever suspect it was me!

[mlroseplant]

Just for the heck of it, because what else am I going to do, I decided to put on the same outfit I wore to Costco the other day (minus the mask), only wear my new Pleaser pumps with it. Just to see what it looked like. Here it is:

[Jkrenzer]

nicer in my oppinion

[RonC]

 A pair of black patent classic pumps always looks good.  As I mentioned earlier, way too high for my ability, but a very nice look.  Always my favorite (for the ladies, put a bow on the toe and it's perfect!) as indicated by my photo at left here.

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, RonC said:

 A pair of black patent classic pumps always looks good.  As I mentioned earlier, way too high for my ability, but a very nice look.  Always my favorite (for the ladies, put a bow on the toe and it's perfect!) as indicated by my photo at left here.

Oh, they're too high for my ability also. As I might have mentioned elsewhere, I bought them partially to see how I would fare in an over 5" single sole shoe, and to try to expand my physical limits. That, and the fact that the Poshmark algorithm kept pushing these in my face every single day, and finally I caved. But I'm not disappointed for the price, which was $25 + shipping.

I've actually only worn them twice besides an initial try-on, and I haven't left the house in them. For one thing, I can't walk in them. OK, that depends on how you define "walk." I can walk in them just fine if all you want to do is get from Point A to Point B. What I can't do is walk in them without looking like an idiot. Furthermore, this second time I wore them, I had them on for about an hour, and I was quite ready to get out of them. Both of these things need to improve by a factor of several before I would ever consider wearing them outside the house.

22 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

nicer in my opinion

If you had said anything different, I would have been concerned about your state of mental health!

[RonC]

Furthermore, this second time I wore them, I had them on for about an hour, and I was quite ready to get out of them. 

Just curious, what do you believe makes them uncomfortable?  Height, width, length, shape?  

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, RonC said:

Furthermore, this second time I wore them, I had them on for about an hour, and I was quite ready to get out of them. 

Just curious, what do you believe makes them uncomfortable?  Height, width, length, shape?  

Oh for sure, it's the height, and specifically, the steepness. I'm not used to it. Thanks for asking!

[Bubba136]

Practice.  since being confined I have been wearing my 6” heels again.  While I am fully accustomed to wearing my 5” heels — that I wore daily for almost 30 years —  I am not back to being completely comfortable in my 6 inch’ers, yet.   It shouldn’t be very long before I feel normal spending a day in them without problems.  As far as my 7” heels,  I never did learn to wear them for any long time.  While I have tried them again, this time I believe that I‘ll pass (at my age).

[mlroseplant]

14 hours ago, Bubba136 said:

Practice.  since being confined I have been wearing my 6” heels again.  While I am fully accustomed to wearing my 5” heels — that I wore daily for almost 30 years —  I am not back to being completely comfortable in my 6 inch’ers, yet.   It shouldn’t be very long before I feel normal spending a day in them without problems.  As far as my 7” heels,  I never did learn to wear them for any long time.  While I have tried them again, this time I believe that I‘ll pass (at my age).

I have actually made some progress in the past day or two, though a small amount. I can now walk somewhat gracefully, as long as I don't take more than about a 12" stride. It's not much, but it's something. Again, my main limitation is ankle flexibility.

[mlroseplant]

Little off the subject, but I am sorry to report that I have managed to gain 7 pounds in the last month. That may not seem like a big deal, but on a guy my size, that is fully 5% of my total body mass. I am convinced that the reason for this is due to physical inactivity alone. I am not eating really anything different than I normally would, I am not one of those people who sits around snacking all day long when I'm at home. They say (whoever "they" is) that weight loss is mostly about regulating your intake of calories, and possibly the quality of the food which contains those calories. I'm here to say that it isn't true 100% of the time. When I was at work, I would walk at least 10,000 steps a day, sometimes approaching 20,000. Our building is 1/4 mile long, our electrical room is on one end of the building, and as a foreman, I have to go visit other parts of the building on a regular basis. For the past month, my average has been more like 1,500 steps a day. I realize that our phones are not the most accurate pedometers ever, but this is for comparison purposes only. 12,000 steps a day vs. 1,500 steps a day. 7 pounds heavier. Not a coincidence, I think. Time to reverse the trend. I've already taken 3,300 steps today, and it's only 9:00. Wish me luck! I have bought way too many new shorts to wear this summer to have much of a belly.

[Pierre1961]

You’re not the only one. 2 kilos for me. And I try to be careful. 

Plus elliptic bike,walking in the garden,heels at home. 

Lockdown result! 

[mlroseplant]

I missed an opportunity to wear heels to another unusual place--work. I am now actually working from home (instead of merely pretending to do so), as my Project Manager asked me to help pre-fill some paperwork for when we do get back to work, hopefully June 1. I borrowed somebody else's work computer, and struggled with it for two days before I finally called IT for help. They had me come up to the shop with it, which turned out to be the best thing I could have done, the IT guy got 'er all fixed up and working for me.

As you can imagine, my dilemma was this: Do I wear heels to the shop or not? After considering several options, I decided not. Instead, I wore my slightly heeled new-ish work boots, mentioned elsewhere on this forum, with straight leg jeans. The reason I decided not to wear heels was because I was not coming to the shop in a position of strength--I needed somebody's help to do my job. If it had been the other way, in other words, if I'd been called to the shop because somebody needed my help or advice, I would have seriously considered wearing heels.

Edited April 24, 2020 by mlroseplant
Clarity

[RonC]

Interesting thought there mlroseplant - dependent on who is helping who.....

[Puffer]

I suppose that you could readily justify wearing heels at a meeting where your expertise was being called upon on the basis that those needing help ought to look up to you!

[Pumped]

As to weight gain or loss, I have lost about 10 pounds in the last couple months. I am still working, but am home for a 3 day weekend. Plus I used to be out of town 1 or 2 nights a week. We are not at a total lock down so doing some odd jobs and minor remodeling now that I have more time. That and not eating at restaurants 7-10 meals a week has helped shed some pounds. I was trying to lose a bit of weight, not trying very hard though! I am down to 175 pounds at 5'10".

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, Puffer said:

I suppose that you could readily justify wearing heels at a meeting where your expertise was being called upon on the basis that those needing help ought to look up to you!

Even wearing heels, there are not too many people who have to look up to me physically (at least of the male gender). I have come to find out, however, for the first time in my 25 year career, that quite a few people do look up to me existentially. I hope that my hat size continues to be 6 7/8.

9 hours ago, Pumped said:

As to weight gain or loss, I have lost about 10 pounds in the last couple months. I am still working, but am home for a 3 day weekend. Plus I used to be out of town 1 or 2 nights a week. We are not at a total lock down so doing some odd jobs and minor remodeling now that I have more time. That and not eating at restaurants 7-10 meals a week has helped shed some pounds. I was trying to lose a bit of weight, not trying very hard though! I am down to 175 pounds at 5'10".

My weight appears to have plateaued hopefully. I have been walking a lot more in the last week, in heels of course, and I am happy to report that I am back to the point where I can again walk 2 miles in heels without it being a big deal. I had lost that ability over the past couple of years.

[Puffer]

7 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Even wearing heels, there are not too many people who have to look up to me physically (at least of the male gender). I have come to find out, however, for the first time in my 25 year career, that quite a few people do look up to me existentially. I hope that my hat size continues to be 6 7/8.

...

I like being tall, but not because I want to look down on anyone.   But the big feet that come with my height are not an advantage when seeking heels to wear!   

I don't think you do yourself justice in terms of your status.   Going by the respect you have earned in this forum, I'm sure that what you are getting at work is not a new phenomenon, even if it has only recently become evident to you.   

[fashionablefun]

On 4/24/2020 at 7:05 AM, mlroseplant said:

I missed an opportunity to wear heels to another unusual place--work. I am now actually working from home (instead of merely pretending to do so), as my Project Manager asked me to help pre-fill some paperwork for when we do get back to work, hopefully June 1. I borrowed somebody else's work computer, and struggled with it for two days before I finally called IT for help. They had me come up to the shop with it, which turned out to be the best thing I could have done, the IT guy got 'er all fixed up and working for me.

As you can imagine, my dilemma was this: Do I wear heels to the shop or not? After considering several options, I decided not. Instead, I wore my slightly heeled new-ish work boots, mentioned elsewhere on this forum, with straight leg jeans. The reason I decided not to wear heels was because I was not coming to the shop in a position of strength--I needed somebody's help to do my job. If it had been the other way, in other words, if I'd been called to the shop because somebody needed my help or advice, I would have seriously considered wearing heels.

There is validity to the point of coming from a position of power, a point I think @kneehighs has made. If you're in control, you are looked at differently. I teach at the University and I have run my own business. Employees and students have a respect for your fashion choices, that outside of those situations, may not exist. 

[Puffer]

8 hours ago, fashionablefun said:

There is validity to the point of coming from a position of power, a point I think @kneehighs has made. If you're in control, you are looked at differently. I teach at the University and I have run my own business. Employees and students have a respect for your fashion choices, that outside of those situations, may not exist. 

You appear to be drawing a parallel with 'the Emperor's new clothes'.   If so, I tend to agree with you - someone in authority or with superior status is allowed (indeed, often expected) to have a lifestyle or appearance that is 'different' and may appear extreme or eccentric.   And it may well promote sycophancy.   But when this involves an element of dishonesty, corruption or persecution, it is hardly desirable.   A certain prince and his associates come to mind, albeit not fashion-related.