The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[mlroseplant]

Hope you continue to heal (and heel) well, @Jkrenzer. I have noticed that doggoned poison oak popping back up in my garden again! I think I will get my non-allergic friend to come help me out this time, rather than risking it myself. My poor wife didn't get into it nearly as bad as I did, but the few blotches she did get took about a year to finally fade all the way.

In other news, I have gotten a new mask! Check it out:

[mlroseplant]

I have nothing new to report, heel-wise, but I have in fact, returned to work. It's going to be way different than it was before. The crew is far smaller, and the deadline has been pushed out to next year. We have to wear masks 100% of the time, except for lunch, and there's a bunch of other protocols we have to follow. Hopefully, when we start adding more people, folks will just shut up and actually do what they're told for once. And God help us if there should happen to be a Covid-19 case discovered within the building. There is plenty of other work around, but nothing nearly as good as this job. I intend to stay as long as they'll let me.

[mlroseplant]

Doggone it, I just received word yesterday that we will discontinue holding in-person church services until at least August 30. We'd only been back for two weeks. So, one less place to wear heels for a while. Here is a picture of the last shoes I wore to church, which has already been posted in @Cali's Wild about Wedges thread, so yes, it's a repeat. However, I will be playing and singing for an online hymn sing in a couple of weeks, so I do have something to work toward.

In case anybody is interested, work at Facebook is going fine, but extremely slowly. They seem to be impressed with our Covid-19 protocols, and are allowing us to bring 10 additional hands in next week.

[mlroseplant]

I saw a gal wearing high heels and shorts at the grocery store yesterday, with a full grocery cart and everything, not like she'd just stopped in for something really quick.  I'm not the only one!

[mlroseplant]

Howdy folks, it's been pretty quiet around here lately. The only really cool thing that I've done lately is participate in an online hymn sing at our church, which has been re-closed until at least Aug. 30. The choir director and I took turns leading the singing and providing accompaniment, and I actually got to play the organ this time! I wore the salmon colored shirt for the video, but I wore organ shoes instead of the pumps pictured here. I still can't walk in those suckers, in case you're wondering. I put them on to model them for a fashionista friend who can't wear heels anymore due to an unfortunate combination of health issues.

The other outfit came about sort of accidentally. My wife had bought my 11 year old several t-shirts, because of course, he's a growing boy, and you have to do that every so often. She overestimated his size by quite a bit, however, and so I wound up with them. They're crappy t-shirts, but my immediate thought with the yellow one was, "I bet that would go with my DvF wedges pretty well." And it does.

A further thought about my fashionista friend. I know her from college days, and I remember she used to have these black suede pumps that she wore fairly regularly. Well, not regularly like what we do here, things was different back in them days, but that's sort of my whole point. To me, at the time, these suede pumps were shockingly tall, and they absolutely were, compared to what most girls were wearing at the time. They were every bit of 3 1/2 inches. I think sometimes we remember the past differently than it really was.

[Henri1942]

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Howdy folks, it's been pretty quiet around here lately. The only really cool thing that I've done lately is participate in an online hymn sing at our church, which has been re-closed until at least Aug. 30. The choir director and I took turns leading the singing and providing accompaniment, and I actually got to play the organ this time! I wore the salmon colored shirt for the video, but I wore organ shoes instead of the pumps pictured here. I still can't walk in those suckers, in case you're wondering. I put them on to model them for a fashionista friend who can't wear heels anymore due to an unfortunate combination of health issues.

The other outfit came about sort of accidentally. My wife had bought my 11 year old several t-shirts, because of course, he's a growing boy, and you have to do that every so often. She overestimated his size by quite a bit, however, and so I wound up with them. They're crappy t-shirts, but my immediate thought with the yellow one was, "I bet that would go with my DvF wedges pretty well." And it does.

A further thought about my fashionista friend. I know her from college days, and I remember she used to have these black suede pumps that she wore fairly regularly. Well, not regularly like what we do here, things was different back in them days, but that's sort of my whole point. To me, at the time, these suede pumps were shockingly tall, and they absolutely were, compared to what most girls were wearing at the time. They were every bit of 3 1/2 inches. I think sometimes we remember the past differently than it really was.

The Pumps look good on you.  Practice and you will be able to make them part of your daily wear.

 

[Jkrenzer]

I know your a open shoe kinda guy, but those pumps are beautiful.  Hope you start wearing those as openly as your other shoes.

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

I know your a open shoe kinda guy, but those pumps are beautiful.  Hope you start wearing those as openly as your other shoes.

The main trouble with these shoes, besides the fact that I can't walk in them, is that they are not leather. My feet do not deal well with them. Can you hook a brother up and recommend something in a similar style that IS leather? I think that would help my enthusiasm or lack thereof a great deal.

[Bubba136]

Wearing that style of heels needs to be worn wearing nylon hose.   Stay-ups or trouser stockings should do nicely.

[Jkrenzer]

13 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

The main trouble with these shoes, besides the fact that I can't walk in them, is that they are not leather. My feet do not deal well with them. Can you hook a brother up and recommend something in a similar style that IS leather? I think that would help my enthusiasm or lack thereof a great deal.

Italian heels dot com. Watch out though, i bought 3 pair from them. Loved them, shown two of them here, red and light grey, both incedibly well worn. My black pair, 100 dollars, eaten by my dog. No dog, go for it. You won't come back.  Just saying. 

[Cali]

48 minutes ago, Jkrenzer said:

Italian heels dot com. Watch out though, i bought 3 pair from them. Loved them, shown two of them here, red and light grey, both incedibly well worn. My black pair, 100 dollars, eaten by my dog. No dog, go for it. You won't come back.  Just saying. 

I suggest dog food as a better use of you money.

[Jkrenzer]

49 minutes ago, Cali said:

I suggest dog food as a better use of you money.

You'd think.

Full bowl or really sexy 100% leather. When's the last time you saw a dog eat daily food over high end raw hide?

Ultimately my mistake, leaving delicious leather out in the open. Hell, Italian Heels leather smells so good I'd eat the shoes in a pinch.

[RonC]

Might check the Nine West site.  They have a pretty wide selection of pumps with varies heel heights for fall.  And www.classicpumps always has some nice looking pumps in decent leather.

[mlroseplant]

On 7/30/2020 at 9:37 PM, RonC said:

Might check the Nine West site.  They have a pretty wide selection of pumps with varies heel heights for fall.  And www.classicpumps always has some nice looking pumps in decent leather.

I think that perhaps we may be entering a time where there's just not a lot of shoes that I want to buy. Not from normal outlets like Nine West, anyway. I have a ton of Nine West shoes, and it used to be something I searched for, but all of these shoes are at least 5 model years old, most probably older than that. Now, I look through their website, and my reaction ranges from ambivalence to cringing. I am encouraged to see that they now offer a classic pump (as well as other variations on the same sole/heel) in which we see a return of a classic stiletto heel shape that curves forward as it reaches the ground, instead of dropping vertically at the back of the shoe. This "new" heel style seems to be available in at least three different heel heights, topping out at 100 mm, or about four inches.

Herein lies the sticking point for me with both Nine West and classicpumps.com. I don't mean to sound snooty at all, but they are just simply not high enough for my taste. I know, know! Once upon a time, a four inch heel was like insanely high! How can you possibly walk in those, much less wear them all day? I heard that conversation more than once growing up, and half the time, the girl was bragging about having four inch heels, but that boast was somewhat aspirational when you actually put a ruler to it. Four inch heels were the pinnacle of.  .  . something, I don't know what. Anyhow, what it comes down to, and I have nothing against classic pumps with a 4 inch heel, but I know I won't wear them. They will sit on my shelf collecting dust until someday I decide to get rid of them. So I'm going to resist the temptation to buy anything that short. I am not interested in having 50 pairs of shoes that I just look at. On the other end of the spectrum the Pleaser pumps that y'all seem to admire so much are right at 130 mm, or 5 1/8". As I said before, this is right beyond the height where I feel comfortable actually having people see me wearing them. I was thinking that maybe if I went down a notch to 120mm, I might actually wear them. That is where something like Italianheels or Fuss seems to be the way to go, because nobody (except very costly designer brands) is making single sole pumps in that height range anymore. The bloom appears to be off the rose with the extreme heel heights, outside of LA County.

The above referenced heel heights apply to my U.S. Women's size 9/EU size 39 shoes. As you know, your mileage will vary as you get much bigger than that. Or smaller, but I can't imagine we'd have much smaller on this forum.

[Cali]

I agree with you @mlroseplant.  I have 6 pairs of sandals that are worn out and I had planned on replacing.  I have been looking at heels from Steve Madden, Charles David, and many others as well as DSW, Macy's, .. and I'm only seeing a sea of 3.5 inch heels, really something approaching 4 inches. 5 inch heels with 2 inch platforms, etc.  

Lucky for me I have over 60 heels that I wear and 5 replacement pairs still in their boxes. And with this pandemic I rarely need to go any place, so I not wearing many different heels.

[RonC]

7 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I don't mean to sound snooty at all, but they are just simply not high enough for my taste.

Ok.  When you were talking of the Pleasers being too high, I didn't know you meant a 1/4 - 1/2 inch or so too high.  Also just a note - I believe Nine West measures heels straight up the center of the heel from the side, not the back.  Their 4" heels do measure close to 4.5", especially in larger sizes, when measured up the back.  While I can't really wear anything over 4" with any degree of comfort and grace, from an aesthetic point of view, I personally actually prefer the look of a heel in the 3.5-4.5 inch range to those of 5 (+) inches.  Of course I am talking here about single sole shoes.  But even for platforms, I just don't really care for the look of a towering high heel.  Too each their own!  ;-). 

[Jkrenzer]

Melrose is right. Heel height has been dropping even the internet Chinese makes, which some how seem to always look lower than the corresponding picture. If i don't have at least a 4.75 inch rise then i move on. 5.25 is my natural limit. 

Even shoedazzle is offering less and less true stilettos.

[mlroseplant]

15 hours ago, RonC said:

Ok.  When you were talking of the Pleasers being too high, I didn't know you meant a 1/4 - 1/2 inch or so too high.  Also just a note - I believe Nine West measures heels straight up the center of the heel from the side, not the back.  Their 4" heels do measure close to 4.5", especially in larger sizes, when measured up the back.  While I can't really wear anything over 4" with any degree of comfort and grace, from an aesthetic point of view, I personally actually prefer the look of a heel in the 3.5-4.5 inch range to those of 5 (+) inches.  Of course I am talking here about single sole shoes.  But even for platforms, I just don't really care for the look of a towering high heel.  Too each their own!  ;-). 

Yes, I can't even explain my own preferences. I wish I liked lower heels, but I just don't. There is a point where even I think they start to look odd. That for me is somewhere in the 5 1/2" range, on my size 9. There are some 6" heels that look pretty hot, but it's very easy for the design to go south pretty quickly. More than that, there is hardly anybody who can walk in such shoes, anyway. To be fair, I probably have a pickier definition of "walk" than some people.

[RonC]

 

mlrosplant, based on what you've described in the past, I would say your definition of "walk" is quite proper!  

 

 

19 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

Even shoedazzle is offering less and less true stilettos.

Yeah, it does look as if those of us who greatly prefer the stiletto to the thicker heels are in for a down period.  It has happened before - just look at the end of the 1960's and early 1970's.  Low block heels were absolutely everywhere, without a stiletto to be found.  Problem for me is that I likely won't live long enough to see the turnaround back to higher stilettos if and when it happens.

[Pierre1961]

I also agree @mlroseplantwith your definition of “walk properly “

And my height range is very similar to yours. With a W12 my real confort zone is 5’5”. 1/4 ‘ more is ok on even surface 

And like you,I don’t feel good with lower heels. 

As I am now wearing heels for years,and getting older,no real chance to improve any more and be able to run in 6’6” as some shows on YouTube. 

[JeffB]

An interesting topic. In the beginning, I was all about the higher heels (three inches and over), they used to be almost all I wore on my outings. However, of late, I've come to appreciate lower heights (three inches and below), following in the footsteps of women who don't wear sky high stilettos all the time and prefer flats instead. But, that's just me, everyone here should wear and enjoy the heel height of their choice.

Edited August 5, 2020 by JeffB

[Jkrenzer]

 

16 hours ago, RonC said:

Yeah, it does look as if those of us who greatly prefer the stiletto to the thicker heels are in for a down period.  It has happened before - just look at the end of the 1960's and early 1970's.  Low block heels were absolutely everywhere, without a stiletto to be found.  Problem for me is that I likely won't live long enough to see the turnaround back to higher stilettos if and when it happens.

Well put, I'm in the same boat.

Fortunately i have more stilettos than i coukd possibly wear out, for the same reason, lack of time.

[mlroseplant]

1 hour ago, JeffB said:

An interesting topic. In the beginning, I was all about the higher heels (three inches and over), they used to be almost all I wore on my outings. However, of late, I've come to appreciate lower heights (three inches and below), following in the footsteps of women who don't wear sky high stilettos all the time and prefer flats instead. But, that's just me, everyone here should wear and enjoy the heel height of their choice.

I have not bought anything south of three inches in.  .  . I don't think ever. Not counting work boots, or anything previous to 2012. I have bought a few recently that were south of four inches, however. I thought to myself, "Oh, those are actually very cute, and you know, life would be incrementally easier if I would just back off on the heel height a little." Guess what? I haven't worn any of those shoes. Not even once. To be fair, it's a strange, strange year, and unless I want to take a walk around my neighborhood at a good clip, I have precious little reason to wear any shoes where you have to bend over and do up a fussy buckle, so perhaps it's unfair to say I will never wear them at all, but I probably should have known myself a little bit better and kept my money. Like so many people on this forum have said about themselves, I cannot possibly tell you why I like the shoes I do. There is no logic to it whatsoever. It's even worse than that! Sometimes, as you have noted, Jeff, we suddenly do an about-face, and start liking something we didn't before. So who knows?

[RonC]

Yeah.  For years I hated wedges.  Now I can tolerate most and even enjoy a few, to the point where I own a pair!  I do have to exclude, however, wedge heeled boots.  For some reason, I just cannot stand the way they look.

Edited August 5, 2020 by RonC

[Cali]

There are a few types/styles of shoes that I have ruled out from ever wearing. Not because of their looks  but more to do with the shape of my foot.  Pumps just don't have a chance to fix, period.  My toe box is just too large and every pair I have tried cuts into my tendons.  Same thing with most single strap over the toe box. 

But i never thought i would get knee high stiletto boots and then wear them on the outside of my skinny jeans. A look I have worn many times this year.

[Pumped]

On 8/3/2020 at 6:09 AM, mlroseplant said:

I think that perhaps we may be entering a time where there's just not a lot of shoes that I want to buy. Not from normal outlets like Nine West, anyway. I have a ton of Nine West shoes, and it used to be something I searched for, but all of these shoes are at least 5 model years old, most probably older than that. Now, I look through their website, and my reaction ranges from ambivalence to cringing.

I agree. I have a couple pairs of heels from Nine West, but over all their styles don't do anything for me. The good old standard spiked heel pump, and spike heeled boots is about all I like, and their styling with the heel straight up at the back of the shoe is not my favorite either. I prefer the spike heel to curve slightly forward, but it seems to be the style of the day.

[JeffB]

22 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I have not bought anything south of three inches in.  .  . I don't think ever. Not counting work boots, or anything previous to 2012. I have bought a few recently that were south of four inches, however. I thought to myself, "Oh, those are actually very cute, and you know, life would be incrementally easier if I would just back off on the heel height a little." Guess what? I haven't worn any of those shoes. Not even once. To be fair, it's a strange, strange year, and unless I want to take a walk around my neighborhood at a good clip, I have precious little reason to wear any shoes where you have to bend over and do up a fussy buckle, so perhaps it's unfair to say I will never wear them at all, but I probably should have known myself a little bit better and kept my money. Like so many people on this forum have said about themselves, I cannot possibly tell you why I like the shoes I do. There is no logic to it whatsoever. It's even worse than that! Sometimes, as you have noted, Jeff, we suddenly do an about-face, and start liking something we didn't before. So who knows?

Who indeed? Years ago, I had no interest whatsoever in sandals, especially flat sandals, today, they're my shoe of choice during summer. Between June and August with precious few exceptions, sandals are pretty much all I wear as I like them a lot. Call it an evolution in my personal style, something I imagine we all experience in one way or another.

Edited August 6, 2020 by JeffB

[mlroseplant]

6 hours ago, Pumped said:

I agree. I have a couple pairs of heels from Nine West, but over all their styles don't do anything for me. The good old standard spiked heel pump, and spike heeled boots is about all I like, and their styling with the heel straight up at the back of the shoe is not my favorite either. I prefer the spike heel to curve slightly forward, but it seems to be the style of the day.

There appears to be a new style, called the Bliss, where the heel has been moved back to its proper position. It seems like they're not pushing it on their website compared to the Tatiana, which is as far as I can tell basically the same shoe, but with the dreaded set-back heel. I would never buy it for myself, but it's a move in the right direction!

1 hour ago, JeffB said:

Who indeed? Years ago, I had no interest whatsoever in sandals, especially flat sandals, today, they're my shoe of choice during summer. Between June and August with precious few exceptions, sandals are pretty much all I wear as I like them a lot. Call it an evolution in my personal style, something I imagine we all experience in one way or another.

I used to hate sandals too, but I think it has something to do with the fact that it was ingrained into me growing up that they were for girls. Obviously, that doesn't bother me now.

[Pumped]

The Bliss goes too far the other way, IMO. I like the heel to have a subtle curve forward, just slightly, like the Sam Edelman Danna.

https://www.samedelman.com/product/womens-danna-pointed-toe-stiletto-3018097/black-leather-ec0230983

[Jkrenzer]

These are for me the optimal heel shape and height. Leather pumps from Steven by Steve Madden. Heel is 5.25 inch and there is a .25 in hidden platform. As seen by the wear, I've gotten good use out of them. Currently wearing them at work at my desk. Co-workers are all aware, however i don't walk around the office or obviously the factory in them.

 

And to the other topic, never find heels like this on Madden's site now.

Edited August 6, 2020 by Jkrenzer