Good old Macy's

[Shyheels]

Weird, isn’t it? If you took that same overall boot shape, with the usual five-eighths men’s heel - and there are loads of such boots in the men’s section - there would be no issue. Just the bog-standard men’s boot. From there it becomes an interesting calculus. Add half an inch - are they now “high” heels and this “women’s”? No? Add an inch. High heels yet? At what point does that totally unisex boot shape become women’s and out of bounds? Inch and a half heels? Two inch heels? Three inch heels? The whole thing is so arbitrary and subjective as to be silly.

Edited January 5, 2019 by Shyheels

[Cali]

10 minutes ago, p1ng74 said:

If the item is androgynous, my wife does not have a problem with me buying it regardless of the tag.  She is the one who actually bought me women’s jeans as an alternative to ill fitting low rise men’s jeans.  The problem is more that she does not think of a Chelsea boot with 3” heel as androgynous.  But she likes my cowboy boots with 3” heel, so I have circled back and am going to build on this more slowly.  

Then get some 3 inch motorcycle boots like these Carlos by Carlos Santana.

[p1ng74]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Weird, isn’t it? If you took that same overall boot shape, with the usual five-eighths men’s heel - and there are loads of such boots in the men’s section - there would be no issue. Just the bog-standard men’s boot. From there it becomes an interesting calculus. Add half an inch - are they now “high” heels and this “women’s”? No? Add an inch. High heels yet? At what point does that totally unisex boot shape become women’s and out of bounds? Inch and a half heels? Two inch heels? Three inch heels? The whole thing is so arbitrary and subjective as to be silly.

Unfortunately men seem afraid of wearing anything more than the five-eighths.  Is this a men’s or women’s boot:

Jeffery West markets this suede “Sylvian cuban” chelsea boot to men in men sizes.  But I have never seen men wearing them, so for now this is a fringe style.  If more men wore this, the another inch would be no big deal:

We’ll know if we are making progress in moving the boundaries when the broader market starts to fill the gaps in between.  Until then, I’m living on the bleeding edge!

2 hours ago, Cali said:

Then get some 3 inch motorcycle boots like these Carlos by Carlos Santana.

I ordered a heel like that.  Can’t wait for my new boots to be finished!

Edited January 5, 2019 by p1ng74

[Shyheels]

There is absolutely nothing “wrong”, outlandish or unmasculine about the image you present above, only unexpected - in terms of one usually sees in menswear, and then only in one aspect of your boots, the heels. I really do not think it would take all that much to reclaim, for the men’s aisle, the Chelsea boot with the three inch heel 

[p1ng74]

2 hours ago, Shyheels said:

There is absolutely nothing “wrong”, outlandish or unmasculine about the image you present above, only unexpected - in terms of one usually sees in menswear, and then only in one aspect of your boots, the heels. I really do not think it would take all that much to reclaim, for the men’s aisle, the Chelsea boot with the three inch heel 

I wish more stores and designers were bold enough to put something different in the men’s aisle and let guys stumble across them like I kind of did.  Even making the boots with the 2” heel accessible would be progress.  Those Jeffery West boots are $332 online, and I have never seen anything like it in person in a store.  Not exactly easy fashion for people to experiment with.  

But I’m happy working with what we have for now - planning to go into the office Monday wearing OTK suede boots with 3.5” heels.  If anyone asks what happened to wearing cowboy boots, I’ll say I’m taking it to the next level...

[Shyheels]

Well, I have been wearing knee and otk boots (without heels) all winter without anyone commenting or even appearing to notice. Dark jeans, dark boots, a jumper - a classic and understated look that blends in seamlessly.

[p1ng74]

32 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Well, I have been wearing knee and otk boots (without heels) all winter without anyone commenting or even appearing to notice. Dark jeans, dark boots, a jumper - a classic and understated look that blends in seamlessly.

Like you said, even with everything else being the same, just adding a higher heel suddenly makes them “women’s shoes”.  Though they would have to be looking, which doesn’t always happen.  But if anyone does notice and asks, I hope what I say will help advance the idea that men can and should be more creative with their shoes...

[Cali]

2 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

 If anyone asks what happened to wearing cowboy boots, I’ll say I’m taking it to the next level...

Giddy up @p1ng74

[luvmaryjanes]

When I was a child I noticed that girls and boys could wear saddle shoes. My mom never bought me some. I was at a friend's house and we were going to the park to play. I must have been wearing nice shoes so his mother had me put on his saddles. I could not take my eyes off my feet. A few years later it was burgundy loafers. Men or womens. I lusted for them but had a very narrow foot. Had the salesman had any sense he would have put women's on me. (more narrow) Finally I got some and loved them to they were worn out. . We love our pretties!

[jeremy1986]

21 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

 Luckily, I must be an OK guy otherwise.

 

18 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

If the item is androgynous, my wife does not have a problem with me buying it regardless of the tag.  She is the one who actually bought me women’s jeans as an alternative to ill fitting low rise men’s jeans.  

Lucky you!

 

18 hours ago, p1ng74 said:

... so I have circled back and am going to build on this more slowly.  

Good strategy... easy does it!

[Gudulitooo]

On 1/5/2019 at 5:52 PM, Shyheels said:

Weird, isn’t it? If you took that same overall boot shape, with the usual five-eighths men’s heel - and there are loads of such boots in the men’s section - there would be no issue. Just the bog-standard men’s boot. From there it becomes an interesting calculus. Add half an inch - are they now “high” heels and this “women’s”? No? Add an inch. High heels yet? At what point does that totally unisex boot shape become women’s and out of bounds? Inch and a half heels? Two inch heels? Three inch heels? The whole thing is so arbitrary and subjective as to be silly.

Same question for women that prefer not to wear heels.

I suppose the answer is when you start to strut.

Or to feel the pressure of your weight on the ball of your foot.

Or to feel your toes squeezed.

Depends on the wearer's physical ability, and weight. Thus the average height limit for women should be higher.

G.

[Shyheels]

I was speaking figuratively about what would constitute the popular definition of high heels - the point at which one - a man -  would be considered to 'have crossed the line'. And that s totally subjective and arbitrary. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Shyheels

[luvmaryjanes]

Just got my 4" silver pumps yesterday. Keep them right next to my black kidd leather pumps I converted to mary janes. Spike heels, one of the few man made items that was styled to an ultimate end. I love those points. The heel could be a golf ball on a rusty nail with a perfect point and I'd like it.

[p1ng74]

2 hours ago, Gudulitooo said:

Same question for women that prefer not to wear heels.

I suppose the answer is when you start to strut.

Or to feel the pressure of your weight on the ball of your foot.

Or to feel your toes squeezed.

Depends on the wearer's physical ability, and weight. Thus the average height limit for women should be higher.

G.

Most men are clueless about their physical ability to wear heels, and they are missing out.  I bet women who wear heels had to work up to their height limits and figure it out one way or another.  It takes some practice to develop the muscle memory to wear heels without thinking.  

I learned to shift the weight back to the heel after standing for a straight hour the wrong way.  When the balls of the feet find instant relief after growing discomfort you remember this natural state and learn to settle into it from the start.  

Same with walking.  The ball and heel of your foot are your “strong” points that should be doing the work.  If walking hammers and squeezes your toes then you might be doing it wrong.  When I started wearing cowboy boots years ago I discovered my arches had gotten lazy.  Just a little focus on flexing the arch, pushing the ball of the foot down to complete each step makes a big difference.  Lazy form while waking is probably the cause of many people’s foot discomfort.  Even in flats, if you don’t work the heel and ball of the foot together, you could end up smashing your toes into the toe box with each step rather than stepping with the ball of the foot.  

Edited January 9, 2019 by p1ng74

[luvmaryjanes]

When you first try heels many are afraid to put their weight back on the heel. You have to learn to trust the heel to hold you. Sometimes I walk heel to toe and sometimes strut where the entire shoe hits at the same time.

DSW had some white leather ankle boots I had to have. My wife wore them to Thanksgiving dinner. That night she said:"I'd wear them more if they were black." In less than 24 hours we had them and black and they were marked down!

[jeremy1986]

Good move @luvmaryjanes  

Fantastic that you and your wife can share heels!

[Henri1942]

I have a story about Macy's the may not relate to the above except that it was Macy's.  I have a favorite kind of Stockings that I wear and are available at Macy's. 

A few years ago I went shopping.  I was dressed for work and wearing dress shirt, slacks, nude Pantihose and bone colored ALDO heels.  Picked up 1/2 dozen pair of nude PH and proceeded to check out.  The Saleslady asked if they were the right size, I answered YES.  "They will look good on you." was her reply.  I asked how did you know.  Shoe told me she saw that I was wearing the same hose.  I raised my pant leg for a better view.  "OMG, you're wearing heels !"  Stockings were her department so she was paying attention to her specialty.  Never noticed my 5" heels.  

Have been buying my stockings from Macy's ever since.

Henri

[RonC]

Nice Henri.  Hope the same lady is still around,