The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[roundy]

17 hours ago, Shyheels said:

There is also a very puritanical line of thought circulating these days that wearing heels is somehow surrendering to 'the parriarchy' and that heels are chains women much somehow cast off - overlooking of course the notions of choice and fashion and the history of high heels themselves. Women borrowed the style from men and made them their own. 

Small groups seem to have very loud voices for their opinions these days. People are too busy to think for themselves and if it’s said often enough it becomes the truth. The irony in it all them trying to unshackle themselves from them and us here strapping them back on!

[mlroseplant]

To be fair, I have never been required to wear high heels, and I don't think I should like to be for any reason. I can see where the notion of shackles comes from, and I can also see that I am either a freak of nature, or I am willing to go far beyond the normal effort to be able to wear my heels whenever possible.

I've said for years that 2 inch heels are not heels, and I don't see what the big fuss is about. Typical heel requirements for women have been about 2 inches minimum. I now know that for some people, desire or no desire, a 2 inch heel is almost an insurmountable hurdle for them to cross. For example, here is a woman who would love to be able to wear 2 inch heels, but simply cannot:

Edited May 3 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

I can also certainly understand the resistance to being compelled to wear heels - or anything else. I get it. I sympathise. I’d rebel too. What I find a bit odd is this frequent insistence by some of these same women that men do not have to adhere to these sorts of dress codes. Obviously we’re not expected to wear heels, but we are expected to wear ties and the insistence of ties is at least as as strong, and arguably more uncompromising, than the stipulation of heels for women. If you doubt this just go to The Ritz for tea or lunch or dinner. A woman can get in wearing flats - not so a man without a tie. Ties are mandatory. 

[pebblesf]

5 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

To be fair, I have never been required to wear high heels, and I don't think I should like to be for any reason. I can see where the notion of shackles comes from, and I can also see that I am either a freak of nature, or I am willing to go far beyond the normal effort to be able to wear my heels whenever possible.

I've said for years that 2 inch heels are not heels, and I don't see what the big fuss is about. Typical heel requirements for women have been about 2 inches minimum. I now know that for some people, desire or no desire, a 2 inch heel is almost an insurmountable hurdle for them to cross. For example, here is a woman who would love to be able to wear 2 inch heels, but simply cannot:

you look great in those boots...

[mlroseplant]

Either requirement is becoming increasingly rare as we move toward a more casual society, but we've beat that poor horse quite a bit already.

[Jkrenzer]

The Chinese are still pumping out heels by the boat load. Can't just be us guys buying them.

[bambam]

1 hour ago, Jkrenzer said:

The Chinese are still pumping out heels by the boat load. Can't just be us guys buying them.

I think about that often. How many 'bros' are wearing heels in private? I really don't think we are that strange for wearing them, only for doing so without shame. 

[Jkrenzer]

4 hours ago, bambam said:

I think about that often. How many 'bros' are wearing heels in private? I really don't think we are that strange for wearing them, only for doing so without shame. 

Yah, they have so many up to very large sizes and constantly list them as unisex. The idea of calling high heels unisex is actually great. 

[Puffer]

1 hour ago, Jkrenzer said:

Yah, they have so many up to very large sizes and constantly list them as unisex. The idea of calling high heels unisex is actually great. 

It rather depends upon what you mean by 'very large sizes'.    The lengths quoted for the largest listed sizes (e.g. Eu45 - 48 or so) almost invariably seem to be too small to be a true match.   This makes me doubt that someone wanting such a size can actually get it, at least reliably.   I've not bought anything directly from China so cannot speak from experience, but a Chinese-made pair of (flat) sandals I bought through Amazon were intentionally bought two numbered sizes bigger than normal and proved a correct fit.   What have others found about Chinese sizing; is it ever accurate?

[roundy]

1 hour ago, Puffer said:

It rather depends upon what you mean by 'very large sizes'.    The lengths quoted for the largest listed sizes (e.g. Eu45 - 48 or so) almost invariably seem to be too small to be a true match.   This makes me doubt that someone wanting such a size can actually get it, at least reliably.   I've not bought anything directly from China so cannot speak from experience, but a Chinese-made pair of (flat) sandals I bought through Amazon were intentionally bought two numbered sizes bigger than normal and proved a correct fit.   What have others found about Chinese sizing; is it ever accurate?

I’ve tried a couple of different pairs off of Amazon too with no success. Usually a UK 12 so order a 13 (largest size) as the reviews say they run a little small, but couldn’t even get the courts on my feet. Have got my eye on a pair of onlymaker boots but pretty certain they’ll be too small so probably won’t bother 🥲

[bambam]

Onlymaker is usually pretty good, in my experience.

[Jkrenzer]

I typically need to go to a Chinese version of  EU 43 for most Chinese makes for my U.S. size 10.5, UK 8. UK 12 would be way above normal even for make feet. Not too surprising you'd struggle finding heels that large wherever you'd look. Good luck. 

[Puffer]

6 hours ago, Jkrenzer said:

I typically need to go to a Chinese version of  EU 43 for most Chinese makes for my U.S. size 10.5, UK 8. UK 12 would be way above normal even for make feet. Not too surprising you'd struggle finding heels that large wherever you'd look. Good luck. 

If the Chinese size you buy is said to be Eu43, that seems a good conversion of UK9, or USW11, so not far out.   Many Chinese offerings go up to so-called Eu47/48/49, or even beyond, but they are NOT true size according to stated length.   A true Eu46 (= UK11.5 or USM12.5) is by no means large for a male foot these days.   My point is that quoted Chinese sizes seem exaggerated, especially the larger ones.   Onlymaker may be a happy exception, perhaps resulting from customer feedback.

[Shyheels]

Sizing aside, I won’t go near those Chinese sites for philosophical reasons. I dislike everything they stand for 

[Puffer]

5 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Sizing aside, I won’t go near those Chinese sites for philosophical reasons. I dislike everything they stand for 

Understood but, footwear aside, you must find it difficult to buy almost anything these days as so much seems to come from China!

[mlroseplant]

Yes, and the sad part is that when you can get non-Chinese products, they are made in Vietnam instead.

[Shyheels]

All of my boots are made in France or Italy. I went to great lengths to source non-Chinese components for my bicycle, wgile most of my clothes are mae either in Britain or Europe (often in cheaper European countries, true, but not the Far East) I'm sre I've some Chinese made stuff, but I do make a (largely successful) effort to avoid it. 

[mlroseplant]

I suppose there are two forks to this river: 1) Chinese made products are thought of in general as being poor quality. This is often true, but not universally true. I wonder if it will always be true. "Made in Taiwan" doesn't mean what it used to, and "Made in Japan" certainly doesn't mean what it used to, as far as poor quality goes. Conversely, "Made in USA" doesn't necessarily mean a product will be great. I don't know that it ever meant that, but it can be pretty dodgy these days.

2) China as a governmental/industrial entity bothers us for any number of philosophical or moral reasons, and we would they would cease to be a relevant player. The question then becomes, does avoiding Chinese products at a consumer level make any difference whatsoever, and furthermore, does it make the difference we want it to make? And then what sort of difference would that be, if we could do the choosing?

[Shyheels]

I see your point, although in the case of China they do seem to have acquired a very poor reputation in terms of quality, workmanship and materials. And because of their dominance in world manufacturing, and the profit-at-all-costs mindset of the global brand names, they are leading the charge in the race to the bottom.

as for the philosophical reasoning behind not wanting to purchase Chinese made good, I suppose it’s like the vote. Nobody vote on its own is going to make a different, but collectively they certainly can.

 

 

[mlroseplant]

23 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I see your point, although in the case of China they do seem to have acquired a very poor reputation in terms of quality, workmanship and materials. And because of their dominance in world manufacturing, and the profit-at-all-costs mindset of the global brand names, they are leading the charge in the race to the bottom.

as for the philosophical reasoning behind not wanting to purchase Chinese made good, I suppose it’s like the vote. Nobody vote on its own is going to make a different, but collectively they certainly can.

 

 

We have a large number of electrical fittings at work, sold by a major brand name (Thomas & Betts). It seems that even they, with a longstanding reputation for quality, get the parts wherever it's cheapest at the time. We got in a large batch of supposedly identical fittings, and at least the boxes looked the same. About half the fittings were made in China, and half in India. Nominally and functionally, they were the same, but not interchangeable, mainly visually. If you just used them randomly, the finished product looked very odd and not uniform at all.

[Shyheels]

My wife has found that with clothes sizing. She often as to try several versions of the same garment, ostensibly the same size, in order to find one that fits. The variation it was is nominally the same size, same style and brand, is amazing

[Puffer]

On 5/9/2023 at 10:57 AM, mlroseplant said:

I suppose there are two forks to this river: 1) Chinese made products are thought of in general as being poor quality. This is often true, but not universally true. I wonder if it will always be true. "Made in Taiwan" doesn't mean what it used to, and "Made in Japan" certainly doesn't mean what it used to, as far as poor quality goes. Conversely, "Made in USA" doesn't necessarily mean a product will be great. I don't know that it ever meant that, but it can be pretty dodgy these days.

2) China as a governmental/industrial entity bothers us for any number of philosophical or moral reasons, and we would they would cease to be a relevant player. The question then becomes, does avoiding Chinese products at a consumer level make any difference whatsoever, and furthermore, does it make the difference we want it to make? And then what sort of difference would that be, if we could do the choosing?

Although there are obviously some standards and specifications that relate to quality, depending upon the product, your comments are essentially subjective and may not be shared by all, according to country and time.   

I am old enough to remember when many products sold in the UK (mid 50s-late 60s)were marked 'Empire Made' and often came from Hong Kong, then of course within our Empire.   The quality was usually doubtful, in some cases dreadful.   Much the same applied to anything from Japan, and likely Formosa/Taiwan too.   Alas, an item that is genuinely 'British Made' (or 'US Made') is no longer wholly reliable; just look at the (few) hand tools that are home-produced and compare them with what was made in the UK or US during WW2 and could be bought afterwards on the surplus market.

Are you saying that this was your historic experience too, but quality has since changed for the better?   I would certainly consider most recent/current Japanese imports to be of adequate or better quality, and much the same can be said of Korea.   It is China and India that show 'inconsistency' in quality, although for the price paid their items are usually good value.   The superficial appearance of much from India is pretty dire, regardless of performance.   Frankly, I doubt that many could afford (or be willing to pay) for the quality that we really need if an item is to have reasonable performance and longevity.   And don't get me started on obsolescence, the need for repairs and the availability (or not) and price of spare parts.

[hiddenheels]

On 5/3/2023 at 2:34 AM, mlroseplant said:

To be fair, I have never been required to wear high heels, and I don't think I should like to be for any reason. I can see where the notion of shackles comes from, and I can also see that I am either a freak of nature, or I am willing to go far beyond the normal effort to be able to wear my heels whenever possible.

I've said for years that 2 inch heels are not heels, and I don't see what the big fuss is about.

Exactly! No one should be *required* to do anything. However, I have found that I *desire* to wear them, and that desire is strong enough to push me to wear it, even though am a guy. Some do ask how I can wear what I wear, well..., because I don't look for excuses not to.

[Cali]

On Tuesday I had an older woman asked me "how can you wear heels, don't they hurt"?

Answer:  you start by buying heels that fit and don't hurt.

[mlroseplant]

Having gone through all of the above, I cannot personally report a great deal of difference in ultimate durability between my Chinese shoes and those made elsewhere. Sure, the Italian shoes are much nicer, but in the end, being non-Chinese is no guarantee that it won't break at inopportune times. After all, we are talking about a product which we use in a way it was never intended--to be worn and walked in.

[Shyheels]

I actually had that said to me when I complained some years ago about a pair of so-called hiking boots that had pretty much fallen apart after no more than ten miles or so - in a city, no less, not on some desperately tough trail. I was told that they were never built or designed for such abuse.

On the other hand I gave some made in Italy Scarpa mountaineering boots that saw tough service in Antarctica as well as much use on archaeology sites here in England and are still in reasonable shape after twenty years. I’ve some very nice French made knee boots that have had hard use in jungles in South America and they too are in very good shape. Both were expensive, but when you factor in longevity, fit and style they’re absolute bargains compared with the China/Asia varieties. Their cheapness is a false bargain.

[mlroseplant]

Speaking of shoe failures, I had a rubber sole come off one of my Sofft sandals last night. Chinese made, of course. Not a difficult fix at all, since I found the errant piece.

As far as actual working boots go, I have long given up on the idea of buying a pair of "lifetime" boots. The reason is because in my personal situation, the insides of my boots wear out long before the outsides, and by the time they get to that point, they are kind of gross anyway, and it's time to get rid of them. It must be something in my personal chemistry.

[mlroseplant]

It has been a while since I posted any pictures, so here is one. It is nice to not have to force myself to go outside, now that the weather is reasonable. Yes, I still drive old cars.

[Jkrenzer]

Perfect heel height and shape. Awesome shoes.

[spikesmike]

mlroseplant: Nice color theme and heels. Other. - What kind of old cars are you talking about? Those cars in your driveway do not look that old. Interests? I own a 1934 classic Buick. model 41 series 40. So, what are you driving? Mike