The High Heeled Ruminations Of Melrose Plant

[Puffer]

Interesting, enlightening and inspiring, Bubba136; thank you.   

My eldest stepson is an RAF pilot, flying the biggest cargo planes (as often seen in the news in relief operations around the world).   At an early stage in his training on fighters, a potential heart condition was diagnosed and he was grounded for a time, during which he was the innocent victim of a motor accident and broke his back, although he did recover.   In his usual dogged and persistent way, he persuaded the RAF to let him fly again, although prohibited from single-manned aircraft.   As far as I know, he has no interest in high heels - but his wife is a fan, and only yesterday was joking with me about me wearing her stilettos (which I was admiring) for a night out!   If only she knew (and had much bigger feet) ...!

[mlroseplant]

Another slight misstep in outfit today (now yesterday), but not with the shoes. This is the problem when one selects one's outfit 45 minutes before church starts. I started off wanting to wear blue yesterday, but changed my mind at the last minute, and went with red/pink. Mainly because I spied these pink/mauve corduroy pants, and thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if those oft neglected Söfft fuchsia sandals will go with these." So I wound up wearing something completely different than what I first intended.

The obvious issue with this outfit is that the pants are too long, and they bunch up all the way up the legs. Not a great look. If I had worn them with mules instead of something with a closed-back heel, they might have been a little better. I'll have to experiment later when I have time to see if they actually need to be shortened.

The shoes themselves were pretty great, but I don't expect anything else from Söfft brand. The problem with the brand in general is that they don't make any truly high heels. Most of their models are squarely in the low- to mid-heel range. These shoes, along with one other pair I've managed to find, fit in that upper-mid height category where some might actually call them "high" heels. I'm not sure where I draw that line. It is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 3/4", and these are 3 1/2" steepness. It is definitely true that I can zoom around in these things like they were flats.

[mlroseplant]

It is not a great time of the year for photos, due to the shortness of daylight this time of year. However, there was this one, showing how far I have fallen down the food chain. My relatively cushy job at a major social media company had ended, and I have now been forced to take a real job again.

I see we're playing the rotated 90º thing that somehow can't be fixed, so imagine it in a normal perspective, if you can. It was a pretty good picture, too.

[Jkrenzer]

It's a big scoop but you are not normal size either. Put on your heels may take 2 passes to dig you up. 

[mlroseplant]

I am seriously considering doing a feature on my shoe collection. Maybe not individually, and maybe not every pair I own, but I definitely want to hit the high spots, and make some comments about the history and the life with a particular pair. Some might get grouped together, like all of the Steve Madden pumps, because, well, there's not much to tell about them individually.

The question is, what to call such a thread. I wanted to use the word "exposé," but it has the wrong sort of shade to it, unless I meant to reveal how boring my collection actually is, and how the adventures are less adventuresome than most people imagine. Any title ideas for such a thread?

As an introduction, I was going to start off with my most durable pair of shoes, and reveal some interesting statistics and observations. The "teaser" picture is here:

[Shyheels]

Sounds like an interesting idea - a curated collection. 

[Cali]

You could use

Mlroseplant's Heels Explosed - Viewer advised.

[Bubba136]

How about:  “Tails about Shoes of a Shoealcholic” :-;

[Puffer]

16 hours ago, Cali said:

You could use

Mlroseplant's Heels Explosed - Viewer advised.

6 hours ago, Bubba136 said:

How about:  “Tails about Shoes of a Shoealcholic” :-;

Spellings??

How about 'Upon my sole', or 'The height of fashion'.

[at9]

Confessions of a heel 😀

[mlroseplant]

So far, @at9 has got my attention with "Confessions of a Heel." I probably won't call it that, but I don't care who you are, that there's funny!

I don't think I'm ready to begin. It's Monday, I've got to go back to my real job, and the shoes in question have a lot of stories to tell, some of which involve the police. So it's a question of which to share and which to keep to myself.

In other news, the sun is rather low in the sky these days, so I may have to find another time of day to take pictures, if I take them at all. 'Twas a beautiful day, but the sun was right above my head (or at least it appeared to be), so these pictures aren't the best. If you ain't figgered it out by now, right behind me in the usual spot is due South.

Today was a little bit warmer than it has been for the past week and a half. So I decided to wear sandals to church. The sandals I chose were a little bit on the casual side, but my feet were too swollen to fit into my first choice footwear, and I didn't feel energetic enough to wear super steep heels today. So this is what you get, my Miu Miu wooden sandals in navy blue, one of the very few slingback shoes I own. I am partial to Miu Mius, they seem to fit me exceptionally well, and they seem to be well made, and not too fragile. The only problem with them is that they are related to Prada (specifically Miuccia Prada), so they don't exactly give those things away. I have managed to find three pairs of them used for a reasonable price, one of which is featured here.

 

[Jkrenzer]

Love the plan. 

This may take you a while. Looking forward to the "The High Heels Journal".

[HappyinHeels]

Howdy Melrose, 

Having visited you gives me some insight into your life and environment. You are like Iowans, courteous and unpretentious but quirky enough to express yourself with your shoes in a small town. That town wouldn’t be the same without you…and your heels. Whether it’s the mental tapestry created when people interact with you or the actual heel prints in the snow or dirt you are undoubtedly leaving “Impressions in Iowa-One man’s heeled journey in the Hawkeye State”. 
They are as much a part of your identity as they are a part of the background where you live. I’ll check it out no matter what you name it. Keep your heels on the ground and your pen on the paper. HinH

[mlroseplant]

56 minutes ago, kneehighs said:

Speaking of Iowa, I was on the debate team in high school in Des Moines Roosevelt. Killed it all the way to Nationals and Harvard.  Is Adventureland still a thing even?  Tasty Tacos?  Such nostalgia as viewed from over here in Europe/Russia/Asia

All of those things are still things. Roosevelt, of course. Tasty Tacos is one of our occasional indulgences. I cannot believe how averse I am at driving the 15 miles to get there, but sometimes my son convinces me to do so. Adventureland is still there, and it has expanded/updated somewhat. They've still got that rickety old wooden roller coaster, though. I personally have not had a fun filled day for at least a decade, but up until a month ago, I worked right across the interstate from it.

[mlroseplant]

I have yet to summon the energy to start my bloggy thing, but I have taken a few pictures this week. Yesterday's hurriedly thrown together outfit is as follows: Nine West "Versell" sandals, and yes, I am still somehow wearing sandals in the middle of November, and the rest is some hodgepodge of button down shirt, black trousers that may be a little on the short side, and some tie that I selected at the last minute when I realized that my t-shirt was showing through the outer shirt.

I have said before that I don't wear these sandals often enough, but oddly, my own mother told me I ought to get rid of them. I asked her why, and she said, "They look so uncomfortable!" I gave her one of those looks like "Where have you been for the past 15 years?" We then had a conversation about the onset of dementia.

[Shyheels]

About whom was the discussion of dementia directed?

 

 

[Puffer]

8 hours ago, Shyheels said:

About whom was the discussion of dementia directed?

Neither of them will remember!  😁

[Mr. X]

Another winner miroseplant

[Shyheels]

Yes, well done. And I look forward to your "bloggy thing"!

[mlroseplant]

I have started my exhibition/blog project, and it is harder than I thought. Since I'm writing offline, I just have to make myself type out some words on the page, and then rewrite it later, or it will never get done.

I notice that there is a spot on this website for blogs, but nobody ever reads that stuff. I was thinking of putting it in the "For Everybody" section. I think that's a practical and appropriate place for it to go. What say you?

[Jkrenzer]

Good idea

[Shyheels]

Yes! Good idea

[mlroseplant]

Sunday's outfit. You can't really see the outfit because of the coat, but it was rather cold and snowy yesterday. It seemed easiest to wear my Vince Camuto knee high boots. The platform clogs I wore on my morning constitutional seemed too casual for church, but they did leave some nice looking footprints in the snow.

Edit: And once again, I have no idea why certain random pictures load sideways and can't be turned, at least not by me.

Edited November 27, 2023 by mlroseplant

[Jkrenzer]

Love the boots. A bit surprised they aren't slippery on the fresh snow.

[Shyheels]

Yes, nice boots! 

[flavio]

Not only beautiful fancy boots, they go well with the rest of the outfit. Looks adapted too to biker lifestyle (I'm not one so it's only a view from outside).

 

[mlroseplant]

I didn't wear the boots in the snow--I wore clogs. The snow wasn't too deep, so I figured I'd wear my very high platform clogs, and the strategy worked. I did not have a previous picture of my giant Sam Edelman platform clogs, so I had to take one in the time honored location of the washing machine. Then I switched to the boots for church, and wound up wearing those well into the evening, including testing out my son's new-to-him, but very old, motorbike. I still say it's not all that fun to ride a regular motorcycle in heels.

Here's something strange about how I'm built. The snow started falling on Saturday afternoon, but none of it stuck to the ground because the temperature was above freezing. As it continued falling overnight, the temperature dropped down to about 25º, or -4º C. I wore my clogs barefoot, and they were high enough that I didn't get any significant amount of snow in my shoes. I also wore medium weight gloves. Not super heavy, but some amount of insulation in them. By the time I got back home, my fingers were like little blocks of ice, but my feet were slightly damp from sweating. How is this even possible?

Edited November 30, 2023 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

I'm a bit the same way, something I attribute to many years of running or cycling. The circulation in my legs is very good. I seldom feel the cold in my legs, although since I've taken to wearing tall boots the extra warmth around my ankles is noticed and appreciated. 

[Jkrenzer]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I'm a bit the same way, something I attribute to many years of running or cycling. The circulation in my legs is very good. I seldom feel the cold in my legs, although since I've taken to wearing tall boots the extra warmth around my ankles is noticed and appreciated. 

The arteries in our legs are much larger than those in our arms to feed the much larger muscles. 

[Puffer]

I don't doubt that legs have a better blood supply than arms, but circulation in legs and feet (as wells as arms and fingers) does diminish naturally with age, as the vascular consultant told me only on Tuesday during a hospital referral.   Although he could find nothing abnormal with my lower limb circulation, he wasn't surprised when I told him of increasing cramps and leg pains at night and the intermittent soreness in the tips of a couple of my toes (which doesn't help if I wear heels), primarily due to thinning blood.    I've looked in vain for some 'Elixir of Youth' on eBay - but I've got some garlic in case the vampires call.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Puffer