Good old days

[luvmaryjanes]

I was watching a Perry Mason episode recently and a woman is standing on a foot bridge. Long thick dark hair, dress and the traditional black leather pumps. There is a bright spot on the leather where the sun shines on the smooth surface. The quality of these shoes surpasses anything you can buy today. Perfect point, thin sole, nice leather and no toe cleavage. Sweet little spike heel. At the beginning of the Crafty Kidnapper episode is a woman on heels so thin they are almost invisible. The fashions, the cars, the buildings are all perfect. Take me back!

[Shyheels]

I enjoy seeing the old Perry Masons, and enjoy reading the books even more. Intelligently written, fast paced, and set in a period that inspires a certain wistfulness today. Erle Stanley Gardner wrote something like 86 Perry Mason novels between 1933 and his death in 1970. I have read most of them. His best were in the first twenty five years, up to the end of the Fifties. Reading them is like opening a little time capsule.

[luvmaryjanes]

The episodes )Perry Mason) were filmed in the golden years 1957-1966. Modern wonderful years. In 60 years spike heels were only "out" for about 12 of those years. I remember in 1980 when I saw the first woman wearing pointed toe shoes for the second time around. . The hideous 70s were finally over. She came off an escalator with a look of confidence in her appearance. Not arrogance just happy. I stopped her right then and asked her where she got the shoes. I took my first wife to that store but she didn't like them. Of the '70s I had enuf of funky, chunky, clunky, ugly for a lifetime.  I remember that some famous actresses continued to wear real heels during the chunky years because they refused to wear ugly.

[Shyheels]

Although I never cared for the glitzy, chunky platforms that were so in vogue during the 70s, I liked the bold colours and boho style of the decade (and the late 60s) 

[HappyinHeels]

Perry Mason starring Raymund Burr who was a native of Vancouver, BC. I think all the episodes I have seen were in black and white. Definitely a good time for television. HinH

[Shyheels]

Incredibly enough Raymond Burr was originally meant to play Hamilton Burger, the DA. Erle Stanley Gardner happened to be on set and taking one look at Raymond Burr said that is Perry Mason. 

[Histiletto]

If only the fashion cycles would bring back some of the exact styling and looks of the late 50's, early 60's, and some of the 80's and 90's high spike heels that proved to be the best of the alluring classics. They have made our hearts yearn to feel their caress and long to accent our appearance as we gracefully move along our pathways. It's styles like these:

that encourage us to wear high heels in making life seem a bit brighter and worth the effort. 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Histiletto

[RonC]

I agree.  It looks like we are headed for not only a period of chunky heel shoes, but also a serious downturn in the wearing of heels period.  While we always seemed to recover in the past, I think clothing/shoe styles as well as lifestyles have changed so much that heels will become a rarity on any woman, much less men - except us, of course...lol.  I just don't see a return to the days where the girls ran around in jeans and high heel sandals or pumps like we saw in the '80s and early 90's.  I'll keep hoping though!

[mlroseplant]

Heels are still an ongoing trend here in Asia!

I think we view the 80s with rose colored glasses. Yes, chicks wore heels more than now, but they were not as high as we remember, and lots of them were ugly! And let's not forget about the ugly eyeglasses of the era. No wonder so many people opted for contacts back then!

[RonC]

Woman's fashion wise, I'd go back any day....lol.  Yes, many were not as high, and personally I didn't mind that.  I think 4" is all the heel needed for a great classic look that can be reasonably comfortable for walking, and 3-3.5 is just fine in my book (though I do much prefer a thin heel over thick of wedge)  If heels are more comfortable and easier to walk in, more will wear them!

[nzfreestyler]

I like the classic shape of those heels. A lot of the newer trendy heels (of which I am guilty of having too) have the heel more rear-mounted on the shoe rather than the classical shape with the heel inset a bit. The styles depicted here are nicer to wear & walk in than the rear mounted heel styles (they just balance better).

As for height - well in my opinion 4 inches is plenty high enough for daytime, and I can do normal stuff in 4's, such as carry a large box, or walk miles etc, whereas the higher heels that I am guilty of wearing are not practical for every activity that might normally occur in a day - so you end up limiting what you do, or having to be helped - which is not always practical !

Its not graceful if you have to change your shoes to do something - we should wear shoes that we can keep on.

Heels are still big here in NZ - they're keeping high but going chunkier - and they're getting big big platforms which are both ugly in my opinion - and awkward to wear. Lightweight stiletto heels are comfiest to wear in my opinion and if they're comfy then we keep them on longer!

[jetheelsfan]

I was fortunate enough to observe my female peers during junior high begin wearing their first heels in the mid 1960s and by the time the 70s arrived, the shoe styles had changed to the "frumpy clunky blocks."  There were some which were not really tall but still had an essence of beauty with a curvy shape.  The straight lines just do not do justice to the female silhouette.

 

[RonC]

You say platforms again, NZ?  That's disappointing.  I thought we had finally gotten mostly past that trend.

[Cali]

2 hours ago, RonC said:

You say platforms again, NZ?  That's disappointing.  I thought we had finally gotten mostly past that trend.

I love my platforms!!!!!

[HappyinHeels]

Yes you do Cali. Yes, you do!! A little bit of spunk on the Central California Coast. HinH

[jeremy1986]

Loved that  classic heel look of the 80's

music was great then too  

 

[RonC]

I understand that there is a large part of members here that enjoy platforms.  I just never could quite see the attraction to something that distorts the lovely feminine, graceful lines of a single sole heel.  Personal preference is all....

[Steve63130]

I like platforms precisely BECAUSE they don't look as feminine. Most of my clogs and a lot of my sandals have a 3/4 to 1 inch platform. I don't go for the fetish shoes that have 2-4" platforms. I find that a low platform is easy to walk in, looks more unisex, and I'm very comfortable wearing them in public. I have a lot of single-sole shoes, as well (in fact I have a lot of shoes period!). But I do like platforms - some examples below.

Steve

[RonC]

Steve, while I can't really explain why, as they do have thick soles, with a couple exceptions, these shoes are not what I consider to be platforms.  These all tend to fall on the casual side of the scale and the thicker soles are mostly just a part of the more casual look.  The only shoe here I would classify as a platform would be third from the bottom, the wood sole with the thick straps and heavy buckles, and maybe the last pair, though even there it is just a more casual style where a thicker sole is just part of the general shoe type.  And none of these are, as you note, the fetish style, 2-4" platform soles.  But that is a style preferred by several of the members here, and to each their own.  For me, it will always be the single sole stiletto pump that floats my boat, though that, like my avatar, is a shoe I would never wear out and about (mainly now because my feet just can't handle that any more.)  

[Cali]

On 2/8/2019 at 12:50 PM, Steve63130 said:

I like platforms precisely BECAUSE they don't look as feminine.

I don't know about that, here's just a few from my wardrobe. I wear these because they are comfortable for 12 + hours at a time.

[jeremy1986]

1 minute ago, Cali said:

 

Agreed - some platforms such as these ^^ are super femme looking! 

[Steve63130]

Yep, I agree, too. What I meant to say was that my choice of platforms is because I can pick a wider range of styles that aren't as feminine as classic stilettos, strappy sandals, wild colors, and bling. I don't care if I'm noticed, but I don't want to wear clothing that's conspicuous and screams, "Look at ME!" I think I blend in pretty well, though. At least I'm comfortable with the image I present, and that's what counts. But I want to stress that I don't wear ONLY platforms. I have a lot of single sole heels (and flats) as well, and I like the variety of what's in my closet. 

Steve

Edited February 11, 2019 by Steve63130

[mlroseplant]

6 hours ago, RonC said:

Steve, while I can't really explain why, as they do have thick soles, with a couple exceptions, these shoes are not what I consider to be platforms.  These all tend to fall on the casual side of the scale and the thicker soles are mostly just a part of the more casual look.  The only shoe here I would classify as a platform would be third from the bottom, the wood sole with the thick straps and heavy buckles, and maybe the last pair, though even there it is just a more casual style where a thicker sole is just part of the general shoe type.  And none of these are, as you note, the fetish style, 2-4" platform soles.  But that is a style preferred by several of the members here, and to each their own.  For me, it will always be the single sole stiletto pump that floats my boat, though that, like my avatar, is a shoe I would never wear out and about (mainly now because my feet just can't handle that any more.)  

I think that perhaps what you are objecting to, as I do myself, is these 4 inch stiletto-heeled pumps that have magically grown to 6 inch heeled pumps that have a 2 inch hockey puck looking thingy underneath the ball of the foot.

[Shyheels]

Indeed, those are hideous

[RonC]

16 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I think that perhaps what you are objecting to, as I do myself, is these 4 inch stiletto-heeled pumps that have magically grown to 6 inch heeled pumps that have a 2 inch hockey puck looking thingy underneath the ball of the foot.

You hit the puck right into the net on that one!

[maninpumps]

"Good old days" The good old days can mean different things to each of us . I grew up in the 70's so, naturally the 70's are the good old days for me . That may be why I tend to purchase more platform wedges . I grew up in them . Then there are some of us that wore our mothers heels when we could sneak time in them or our sisters shoes (as I did ) . 

The TV shows were a big influence on some of us as well , look at the white pumps Barbra Billings wore in the show Leave it to Beaver . She always looked like the perfect statuesque mother of the 60's . For me it was One Day at a Time with Valerie Bertinelli . Just my thaughts on the subject .

    

[mlroseplant]

Did they wear heels on that show (One Day at a Time)? I just don't remember it being a heely kind of show. 

[maninpumps]

Valerie Bertinelli did several times when heading out on dates and her older sister  (Mackenzie Phillips) wore wedge heel loafers . Both wore the ugly boots . I venture to say if you were to look up an episode on youtube you may see what I am talking about . I also wanted to mention 'That 70's Show" with Jackie (Mila Kunis) her shoes are very much like the ones from My good old days .  

On a side note my two older sisters pretty much sum up Jackie and Donna . Kinda funny , guess that's one of the reasons that's one of my favorite sitcoms .

Edited March 9, 2019 by maninpumps

[HappyinHeels]

Yep, and you can't beat that opening greeting, "Hello Wisconsin!!" The show makes occasional reference to Kenosha and Milwaukee. HinH