The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[Isolathor]

19 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I was trying to give members of this forum an idea about Vietnamese street fashion and heel wearing habits. I never had a street photo turn out very well, as least not to show what I wanted to show. 

Anyway, it would be kind of pointless in this forum, because the streeetshot section isn´t frequented that much and there is almost no interaction. I stopped posting there, the section is simply not alive anymore. 🥺

[Puffer]

8 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

Lol, since I have worn heels in Walmart I had to go check if someone had put me up there, and generally if there are any pictures of guys in heels.  There are a few:

https://www.peopleofwalmart.com/get-to-steppin/

I couldn't resist a further search.   This one caught my eye; anyone we know?    (I liked the reference elsewhere to such oddball customers being called 'Walmartians'!)

And, given that this is Kentucky, I think we may know who this is:

Edited June 17, 2021 by Puffer

[mlroseplant]

4 hours ago, Isolathor said:

Anyway, it would be kind of pointless in this forum, because the streeetshot section isn´t frequented that much and there is almost no interaction. I stopped posting there, the section is simply not alive anymore. 🥺

I never posted anything in the Streetshot section, it was on here. You'd have to scroll back a few dozen pages to find it. Evidently, the whole streetshot thing is big in China, albeit with a good deal of cooperation from the photograph-ees. TikTok/Douyin is a complete fantasy world, though. What I see with my own eyes in the real world does not match up in the least with what you see on social media. Nevertheless, I have learned a thing or two about what makes a nice walk from Douyin girls, so it hasn't been a complete waste of time.

[Isolathor]

18 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Evidently, the whole streetshot thing is big in China, ...

It has been popular (that means streetshots of high heels) in the UK and Germany too, but that was at least 5 years ago. The sites are all gone by now, together with most of the forums with the high heels theme.

[mlroseplant]

4 hours ago, Isolathor said:

It has been popular (that means streetshots of high heels) in the UK and Germany too, but that was at least 5 years ago. The sites are all gone by now, together with most of the forums with the high heels theme.

I suppose things come and go with time, which is why you are here! We seem to be relatively eternal for the internet world. It's crazy, it's going to be 20 years very soon, and more than 20 if you count the site that this one grew out of.

In other news, I have largely been wearing shorter heels this summer. I am doing this for two reasons. One, because as many of you know, I went on a little spree last spring and bought several pairs of Söfft mid heels for reasons unknown even to me. I now feel like I need to wear them. Two, because I am trying to reinvent my walk, and it seems much easier to do in shorter heels. I guess we can add reason Three, it temporarily absolves me of guilt for still not being able to walk in several pairs of shoes I bought in the last year.

[RonC]

I don't think anyone needs to be apologetic for wearing "shorter heels".  For one thing, it is the current trend for footwear.  Second, not all of us here follow the line of higher is better.  Enjoy what you wear!

[Bubba136]

I agree with RonC.  While I really enjoy wearing my heels, my interest lies with wearing girls shoes.  I rarely wear flats even around the house,  I enjoy wearing wedge heel sandals, boots as well as loafers.  

[Shyheels]

Indeed, I'm quite happy with my ankle boots with the 3" cuban heels - they feel like more daring versions of my usual hiking boots. It's just what I like.   

[dagino]

You can take photos of people in public. But you must not publish the photo. To publish a photo, you must have the consent of the person being photographed, or you must edit the photo so that the person cannot be identified.

[at9]

In the UK you are allowed to take photos of anyone or anything in a public place. And publish them.

https://www.blpawards.org/competition/photo-rights

I don't know about other countries.

[Jkrenzer]

5 hours ago, dagino said:

You can take photos of people in public. But you must not publish the photo. To publish a photo, you must have the consent of the person being photographed, or you must edit the photo so that the person cannot be identified.

U.S. allows images of people provided they are not a subject, i.e. background. Internet has changed much, but if I take a pic of someone and specificly dicuss that someone, if they find out watch out should they find out. It's absolutely impossible to take a photo in a crowd and not capture somebody you don't know.

[mlroseplant]

This  has been an interesting discussion about streetshots. I guess my motivation for not taking them has to do with my sense of decency, rather than any legal reasons. Along those lines, I actually saw an actual woman in the actual grocery store the other day wearing actual stiletto heels! I estimate that the woman was about 35-40 years old, and she was wearing a dress that was not super fitted, but I wouldn't call it casual, either. She wore plain tan pumps with stiletto heels approaching the 4 inch range, not super tall, but definitely serious heels. She appeared to know her way around them, as she did not appear awkward at all, walking quite naturally. When I saw her, I almost blurted out, "Wow, someone else who actually still wears heels!" But I didn't, instead. Also, I did not take a picture. However, I do have the following picture of what I was wearing in the grocery store, along with the vehicle that transported me there. Yeah, I didn't have a whole lot to get this week.

[Jkrenzer]

5 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

This  has been an interesting discussion about streetshots. I guess my motivation for not taking them has to do with my sense of decency, rather than any legal reasons. Along those lines, I actually saw an actual woman in the actual grocery store the other day wearing actual stiletto heels! I estimate that the woman was about 35-40 years old, and she was wearing a dress that was not super fitted, but I wouldn't call it casual, either. She wore plain tan pumps with stiletto heels approaching the 4 inch range, not super tall, but definitely serious heels. She appeared to know her way around them, as she did not appear awkward at all, walking quite naturally. When I saw her, I almost blurted out, "Wow, someone else who actually still wears heels!" But I didn't, instead. Also, I did not take a picture. However, I do have the following picture of what I was wearing in the grocery store, along with the vehicle that transported me there. Yeah, I didn't have a whole lot to get this week.

Nice legs, ha ha. Have to say so rare to see women out and about in heels. Like you I'm almost always the one wearing them. 

Shorts and slings last night at buffalo wild wings. Can't take a selfy without really looking odd, so no picture. 

[Bubba136]

I attended a funeral a couple of weeks ago.  One of my late wife’s aunts, the last surviving person in my father-in-law’s generation, passed away and since she was one of my wife’s favorites, It was my honor to help celebrate her life along with her children.  She was a was a well known personality in their community, very active civic and church affairs.  Needless to say that I was dressed very conservatively for this event (my guess, over 100 people, over half were female).  While Everyone was dressed appropriately, there were only three women wearing heels.  One wearing a pair of low heel open toe sling back pumps and the other two wearing attractive wedge heel sandals.  The rest of the women were wearing flat sandals.  Given that this community is a small agricultural village, I chose to wear a dark summer suit pair of black Nine West penny loafers with 2 1/2” heels which went totally unnoticed.  I really liked this person and her family.  It was a sad event.  She was 92.

Edited June 23, 2021 by Bubba136

[mlroseplant]

Me and the boy went to a farmer's market last night. Well, we're sort of forced to, since my wife is one of the vendors! Wandering around and observing, I was surprised to see several people, perhaps half a dozen, wearing heels besides me. Furthermore, I wasn't wearing the highest heels in the place, I was actually outdone by a couple of ladies. Keep in mind that I had to set up the tent/booth, and I've discovered it's best to keep my heel height moderate, as there are a number of heavy things to unload and carry.

In our free time, my son and I sampled some of our neighbor vendors' products, and we wound up on social media, voluntarily. However, they cut off my shoes. Hmmm, never had THAT happen before (sarcastic comment, if it's not clear in print)! I wonder if it was on purpose?

[Jkrenzer]

4 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

Me and the boy went to a farmer's market last night. Well, we're sort of forced to, since my wife is one of the vendors! Wandering around and observing, I was surprised to see several people, perhaps half a dozen, wearing heels besides me. Furthermore, I wasn't wearing the highest heels in the place, I was actually outdone by a couple of ladies. Keep in mind that I had to set up the tent/booth, and I've discovered it's best to keep my heel height moderate, as there are a number of heavy things to unload and carry.

In our free time, my son and I sampled some of our neighbor vendors' products, and we wound up on social media, voluntarily. However, they cut off my shoes. Hmmm, never had THAT happen before (sarcastic comment, if it's not clear in print)! I wonder if it was on purpose?

Looks like a great day. They didn't fully remove your shoes. A observant viewer can make out black strappy sandals, granted can't tell they are heeled.

Ice cream on a summer day, pretty good stuff.

[p1ng74]

 

 

2 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

In our free time, my son and I sampled some of our neighbor vendors' products, and we wound up on social media, voluntarily. However, they cut off my shoes. Hmmm, never had THAT happen before (sarcastic comment, if it's not clear in print)! I wonder if it was on purpose?

I bet most people don’t even think about whether the shoes are included in the shot or not.  Either way, that is their loss!

I had a similar experience at work when we were asked to share pictures of our pets.  I submitted one of our cats climbing up my leg with my boots and 3.5” heels in clear view.  The editor cropped out the boots…

Edited June 25, 2021 by p1ng74

[Puffer]

21 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Me and the boy went to a farmer's market last night. Well, we're sort of forced to, since my wife is one of the vendors! Wandering around and observing, I was surprised to see several people, perhaps half a dozen, wearing heels besides me. Furthermore, I wasn't wearing the highest heels in the place, I was actually outdone by a couple of ladies. Keep in mind that I had to set up the tent/booth, and I've discovered it's best to keep my heel height moderate, as there are a number of heavy things to unload and carry.

In our free time, my son and I sampled some of our neighbor vendors' products, and we wound up on social media, voluntarily. However, they cut off my shoes. Hmmm, never had THAT happen before (sarcastic comment, if it's not clear in print)! I wonder if it was on purpose?

 

A bad start, but I'm pleased to know that your English lessons were not entirely wasted! 👨‍🎓

[mlroseplant]

2 hours ago, Puffer said:

A bad start, but I'm pleased to know that your English lessons were not entirely wasted! 👨‍🎓

Aw, COME ON, man! You know I write in the vernacular on this site! 🤣😛🤣

And besides that, I was actually making a subtle reference to the NRBQ song, later covered by Bonnie Raitt, "Me and the Boys." But there was only one of him, so I couldn't very well have said "boys," init?

Edited June 26, 2021 by mlroseplant
Writing in the vernacular sometimes requires a lot of editing

[Puffer]

11 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

Aw, COME ON, man! You know I write in the vernacular on this site! 🤣😛🤣

And besides that, I was actually making a subtle reference to the NRBQ song, later covered by Bonnie Raitt, "Me and the Boys." But there was only one of him, so I couldn't very well have said "boys," init?

Be careful if you slip into the vernacular - it makes an awful mess of nice shoes.  🤢

[mlroseplant]

I have an interesting discovery. Everyone else in the world probably already knew this, but patent leather sandals seem to be a great choice to wear in less-than-clean conditions, such as setting up a booth at a farmer's market on a grassy field after it has rained.

My wife is a vendor at two different farmer's markets this year, one of them is on concrete, one of them is on grass.  Saturday morning is the time of the grass one, and I try to get there by 6:30 a.m. to make sure we've got our spot by the power pole.  What that means is, 90% of the time during setup, the grass is quite wet, either from dew or from rain. Typically, I had been wearing PVC rain boots to set up, because I really hate getting my feet wet. Last week, the weather was very, very hot, so I was wearing shorts even in the early morning. I didn't want to mess up any of my good shoes, and I also didn't want to wear tennis shoes because they'd just be soggy in a matter of minutes. I decided to throw on my rain boots with my shorts, which looked completely ridiculous for a couple of reasons, but that was not my chief mistake. My chief mistake was not wearing socks. Not only did my feet get wet within minutes anyway from the sweat, but the right boot wore a hole on the inside of my ankle which was so painful that I wound up ditching the boots and just going barefoot for about the last 25% of the setup. The wound has yet to fully heal, now 8 days later.

Fast forward to this week, and I was faced with the same situation, only I had made an important discovery. While wearing my nude patent leather Söfft sandals to do something in the yard (I can't remember what it was, perhaps watering the garden), I had stepped in some mud that I didn't notice until later. I took some of those Clorox wipes (which, despite the name, do not actually contain any bleach), and shut my mouth, that dirt/mud just wiped right off of that patent leather, like it had never been there in the first place. This got me to thinking, maybe I'll try these for the tent setup, and I'll put up with the wet feet just this one time to see.

These sandals, surprisingly enough, seem to be the perfect farmer's market shoe, at least during the hot days. Barring any hidden thistles or some such thing, what I discovered was that yes, my feet get wet, but they didn't stay wet, unlike the soggy tennis shoes or regular leather shoes, because the patent leather does not absorb any of the water. With a wedge heel of just 2", I can walk on any surface, lift things, or haul the trailer across the yard just like I would in flats. In addition, the soles of these particular sandals are sturdy enough to push in tent stakes with my foot, which is a definite plus for this activity. Try that in rubber flip flops or Crocs! I feel like as long as I don't trip on anything and actually gouge the leather, all of the grass clippings, dirt, and mud will wipe right off without a trace. Too bad my other Söfft patent leather wedges have a cork heel. I'm pretty sure that would be ruined in fairly short order under these conditions. Something to think about in future.

[Puffer]

Is that a stall catering for 'persons of restricted growth' being set up to the left?   Hi ho, hi ho ...

[mlroseplant]

On 6/27/2021 at 4:03 PM, Puffer said:

Is that a stall catering for 'persons of restricted growth' being set up to the left?   Hi ho, hi ho ...

I know it was meant to be a joke, but I'll explain anyway, as if it were a serious question. This picture was snapped as we were tearing down and packing up for the day. Usually, my wife has customers right up to quitting time, so we are often among the last to leave. This was the case last Saturday, so that's why it looks less like a farmer's market, and more like a couple of oddballs who have set up tents in the middle of nowhere.

Since you have shown interest in such things before, I am attaching a picture of a little rig I fabricated to solve a problem at this market, which was not having enough electricity for everyone who wanted it. On that pole, there are three 120V, 20A circuits available. My wife needs two of them for her fryers. Since this space is used as a campground during the county fair, there are also two 120/240V, 50A camper (Recreational Vehicle) receptacles on that same pole. This is the same receptacle that 99.9% of electric stoves in the U.S. use, unless they are hardwired. I simply created a small panel which plugs into this receptacle, and splits it up into four 120V, 20A circuits. Now there's enough power for everyone! No more fighting.

Edited June 29, 2021 by mlroseplant
Noticed a glaring grammatical error that I didn't before

[mlroseplant]

What do you guys think? Do I have too many shorts? 🤣🤣🤣 Or maybe I have too many horns, I don't know.

[Cali]

You might have a few more than I have, but you do not too many.  I live in short and wedges in the summer.

I heard that shorts are getting shorter this year.

[spikesmike]

mlroseplant : I am fairly sure  how to wear shorts , but how do you wear those horns ? They don't look much like high heels . You have to learn on what, and how to spend your money .                            mike

[Pumped]

On 6/28/2021 at 5:24 AM, mlroseplant said:

I simply created a small panel which plugs into this receptacle, and splits it up into four 120V, 20A circuits. Now there's enough power for everyone! No more fighting.

 

I hope there are breakers in that box!

[mlroseplant]

22 hours ago, Cali said:

You might have a few more than I have, but you do not too many.  I live in short and wedges in the summer.

I heard that shorts are getting shorter this year.

I can say with certainty that, even here in the relatively fashion conservative Midwest, you are starting to see guys in much shorter shorts than a few years ago. I even saw a guy last night at the farmer's market with shorts that were approaching my preferred length! To be sure, 97% of guys are still wearing long, baggier shorts here. And to be fair, most of them look rather better that way.

22 hours ago, spikesmike said:

mlroseplant : I am fairly sure  how to wear shorts , but how do you wear those horns ? They don't look much like high heels . You have to learn on what, and how to spend your money .                            mike

I could probably wear the detachable bell of my euphonium as a hat, but the smaller horns are definitely not wearable. Also, I'm not really sure what I would do with the tuba. The bell is way too big for a hat, yet too small to fit around my body. I guess I'll just play it instead.

21 hours ago, Pumped said:

I hope there are breakers in that box!

As a colleague of mine is so fond of saying, "Hey man, this ain't no hobby!" 😆😆😆

When I was looking into this, I found several premade adapters which do the same thing my rig does, but for much cheaper, such as this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Rophor-Adapter-14-50P-Household-Protection/dp/B08NXHHCKG/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=camper+outlet+adapter+120v&qid=1625226926&sr=8-14

However, in my professional opinion, this adapter is VERY unsafe, providing no overcurrent protection whatsoever, grossly undersized conductors for 50 amps (No. 10 instead of the required No. 6), and no GFCI protection. I don't understand how anybody could sell such a thing in good conscience. That is why I created my own rig, at no small expense!

Edited July 2, 2021 by mlroseplant

[Pumped]

I agree, that cable from Amazon is not a good idea with the potential to run 50 amps through any of the outlets!

[mlroseplant]

Last week at the big farmer's market, I was getting ready to unload. This particular market takes place on a weeknight from 4-8 p.m., and is on a main city street, which is closed off to regular traffic from 3:15 until it's time to pack up and go home. It's always a bit of a zoo getting in and out of there, and if you need two vehicles, as we do, it can be a bit of a problem figuring out where to put the second vehicle while you're unloading it.

It just so happened that the vendors directly adjacent to my wife were already there when we got there, but the spots across the street were completely vacant. I figured I'd just pull over there, dump everything out of the trailer, and get the extra car and trailer out of there. Wouldn't you know it, just as soon as I got the tailgate off the trailer, this guy in a pickup rolls up and slows down. I gestured to him in the way of asking if he needed me to move, I figured I was in his spot. It turns out that wasn't the case at all. I'm guess he actually was another vendor somewhere, or he shouldn't have been allowed in there, but he stopped, rolled down his window, and asked, "Are those high heels?" My first reaction was, "What a stupid question!" But I didn't say that. I paused just a beat, and said, "Actually, these are low heels for me, but as you can see, I've a lot of heavy stuff to unload. They're more practical."

He also paused a beat, raised his right hand, and I could recognize by his body language that he wanted me to high-five him. I did so, and he said, "That's awesome, man!" and drove off. I really do not know what that encounter was really all about, perhaps I shall run into the same man this week. In any case, I soon forgot about it and went about my business. I wasn't even sure if it was worth a mention here, but it's kind of a slow week, so I figured what the heck.

In case you're wondering, I was wearing the following shoes, which I consider to be my "low heels." I've shown you my super low heels for the farmer's market on the grass, these are my standard go-tos for the street farmer's market. I was wearing them with some light brown (not tan or khaki) dressier shorts. By dressier, I mean that the back pockets are concealed, chino style. They are not super tight, but they are definitely on the short side. I suppose I shall have to take a picture someday. Not today.