My outings...

[chesterx]

Spent months following this board, gaining the courage to pursue this passion we share. Your stories inspired me so I thought I would share my excursions & maybe help the next guy overcome their fears. I also want to chronicle my worn heels so I don't wear the same ones too many times...got so freakin' many of em now it's hard to keep track!

So, Halloween, wanted to duck the trick/treaters in my neighborhood, so stopped by chuy's Mexican restaurant for the evening after work.  Wore my black patent pumps by Sam Edelman. Was a bit surprised how loud they were, but I find the sounds heels make to be appealing, so no biggie. Place was almost full. Was seated in the midst of everyone. Had a nice meal & sat back to watch TCU & enjoy some margaritas. The young ladies seated behind me asked if I wanted some candy, then complimented me on my nails. Spent about 2 hours tv/people watching then went home...

 

That Saturday did my normal shopping for the week at Walmart. Wore my Charles Davis wedge heels (so comfy). Love this look with jeans. No encounters to speak of...

 

This past Friday stopped by Cracker Barrel for dinner. Wore these nude peep toes from Torrid. Was somewhat crowded. Had one older gentleman seated at the next table with his family notice my heels. Just gave me a little smile & went back to eating. Finished my fried shimp & went up front to pay. Asked a group of girls to let me grab some peppermint sticks & one remarked "oh, he's wearing heels", was expecting some giggling, but they just went on their way like it was no big deal...

[SF]

Chesterx.....   Good for you, and congratulations.  Yes, wearing high heels in public will be a nerve-wracking experience, for a while.  Then you get used to it, a little bit at a time.  You may get stared at, pointed at, maybe even laughed at but those reactions are in the extreme minority, at least that has been my experience.  Most times you will be ignored, or folks won't notice at all.  Sometimes you may get compliments which is always nice.  I have been wearing high heels, mostly sandals, since 1995.  Now when I'm out in heels I hardly even give it a thought.  It's good you are getting out there, I have yet to see another guy out in high heels.  Us pioneers take the arrows!  ha ha....  We need more guys out in heels.  

By the way, I really like your wedgies, I have a similar pair and they are very comfortable to wear, plus they just look nice.  

Enjoy your heels, it gets better with time.  And enjoy this site as well.....    sf 

[chesterx]

Saturday stopped by Outback Steakhouse before shopping. Wore these strappy heels ,also by Torrid. figured it might be the last time before the cold weather hit. My server was a young guy & he didn't care one jot that I was wearing heels. Was a fantastic server. Was enjoying my steak & lobster when an older black lady came by & complimented me on my nails. We swapped salon info & she left with her friend. Was finishing up when a young lady came by sweeping the floor, & did a big double take when she saw my heels. She just smiled &  kept sweeping.

Made my way over  to Nordstrom Rack & had a couple of conversations with the nearby women (didn't realize how many women have big feet). Ended up buying a pair of Nine West pumps with a chunky heel & some plain old white keds. I'm gonna try wearing a denim skirt next year & I think keds look so cute with a denim skirt. Anyway, they were half price so hell yeah! Cashier loved my nails..

Finished at Walmart then went home.

10 minutes ago, SF said:

Chesterx.....   Good for you, and congratulations. 

Thank you for the support! I've been public heeling for about 6 months now. The 1st 5 I was "hiding" my heels with bootcut jeans. But no more, I'm trading those bootcuts for skinny's!

[Cali]

I have painted fingernails as well and I get many more compliments on my nails than on my heels. Most will notice the nails and miss the heel altogether

Edited November 12, 2019 by Cali

[chesterx]

22 minutes ago, Cali said:

I have painted fingernails as well and I get many more compliments on my nails than on my heels. Most will notice the nails and miss the heel altogether

I agree, its like a  5 to 1 ratio of nails over heels compliments. I have been getting my nails done for over 2 years now, stayed with a standard french tip for months but got bored with it & said screw it & went with bold colors....glad I did because those get the most compliments!

[pebblesf]

9 hours ago, chesterx said:

I agree, its like a  5 to 1 ratio of nails over heels compliments. I have been getting my nails done for over 2 years now, stayed with a standard french tip for months but got bored with it & said screw it & went with bold colors....glad I did because those get the most compliments!

I commend you for making more progress in 6 months than I have made it 6 yrs!  Good for you buddy,  enjoy the liberating feeling of wearing the shoes that make you feel good about yourself....

[hiddenheels]

Excellent work, especially in such a short time! Took me a decade to be as comfortable as I am with myself, and find making much more progress in the last few months than in the last decade total. But still nowhere near where you are. :)

[RonC]

Way to go chesterx.  If I was at a different point in my life, I probably be doing just what you are, but I mostly keep my heels inconspicuous.

[chesterx]

Thanks for the kind words & encouragement! I'm glad I took the time to join your forum. I'll do what I can to return the favor & contribute when I can. Like many of you I have had an interest in heels since I was a teen, but other than wearing the occasional heels I could find around the house, I never considered going out in public. My interest waned over the years as my responsibilities increased & I kinda gave up on heels. But an innocuous occurrence spurred my interest. A year or so ago I was in home depot when I heard the clicking of heels approaching. This lovely young lady walks by in gorgeous 5" red soled heels (I knew nothing of louboutin at that time). I remember feeling angry. Why cant I wear that too? I came home & googled red soled shoes & well, following links around the internet, I found this forum. That was the final spark to convince me to start heeling in public. I went from no shoes to 49 pairs in about 8 months & will continue my quest to find a pair of louboutin's in a size 13 ...

Till next time...the weekend is fast approaching!

[Cali]

@chesterx, 49 heels in 8 months, wow...slow down. It's time for you to become more selective in what you buy. One reason is its hard to rotate through 49...you never get enough time to wear a favorite very often.  I'm over 60 and just purchased 3 in the last 10 days (HELP - I need a heels intervention). But I find it hard to find the time to wear them all. With one a day I can only wear each one 6 times a year. But since I only work on days that start with a "T" (aka 4 day weekends) I barely have time to wear them 3 times a year. I mostly wear my Steven Madden wedge mules around town when I'm not working

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by Cali

[dagino]

I do lighting design. My job allows me to move in some extravagant clothes. So 8 to 10 cm heels don't bother my clients. On the contrary, they also believe me in an extravagant lighting solution.

 

[Shyheels]

I'm a photographer. Creative fields do give one a bit more latitude in terms of self-expression - its almost expected  

[hiddenheels]

15 hours ago, Cali said:

@chesterx, 49 heels in 8 months, wow...slow down. It's time for you to become more selective in what you buy. One reason is its hard to rotate through 49...you never get enough time to wear a favorite very often.  I'm over 60 and just purchased 3 in the last 10 days (HELP - I need a heels intervention). But I find it hard to find the time to wear them all. With one a day I can only wear each one 6 times a year. But since I only work on days that start with a "T" (aka 4 day weekends) I barely have time to wear them 3 times a year. I mostly wear my Steven Madden wedge mules around town when I'm not working

 

If this desire was pent up in me since the I was a teen, and all of a sudden I had a chance to explore it, I would also go and buy everything. Over my life, I am sure I've bought more than 49, and a lot of it was to experiment, do I like this, do I like that? This doesn't fit style-wise, so let's try that. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out what I want, and what I like. So from that perspective, I can completely see myself doing the exact same thing, assuming I were in his position.  This same experience was just spread out over 20 years for me, which, to a degree, I regret it took so long to figure things out.

[Cali]

@hiddenheels you don't have to always buy everything. If you can gather the courage to try things in store, then you can explore without economic peril. 50 shoes at about $40 a pair (low average) is $2000. The other thing to consider is the space to house that many heels. I have 4 one foot by seven feet bookcase with adjustable selves and I'm out of room for more shoes.

Recently I have been on a spending spree, purchased 3 new pairs of shoes, skirt, blazer, vegan leather pants, sherpa, ....  Everything I buy needs to be able to be worn to work, the skirt was worn to work on Halloween.

[jeremy1986]

Wow @chesterx, that quite a story, a lot of heels! Where do you keep them all? And have you worn them all yet? 

Luckily... I am pressed for cash... Otherwise I'd buy more too!!

[pebblesf]

3 hours ago, jeremy1986 said:

Wow @chesterx, that quite a story, a lot of heels! Where do you keep them all? And have you worn them all yet? 

Luckily... I am pressed for cash... Otherwise I'd buy more too!!

I hear that for sure!

[chesterx]

5 hours ago, jeremy1986 said:

Wow @chesterx, that quite a story, a lot of heels! Where do you keep them all? And have you worn them all yet? 

Luckily... I am pressed for cash... Otherwise I'd buy more too!!

I have some small racks set up in a spare closet, so I have the room. I think I have the styles I wanted so I am satisfied, for now . I have worn most of them at least once. About half my stash are sandals & sneakers. I wore those at 1st as I experimented with female shoes in public. I still wear the cute sneakers to work on casual Fridays. Wish I could wear heels to the office, but there are way too many men in the branch, so it would be problematic, but they don't seem to mind my nails, so who knows, I might try it once & see what happens...

[jeremy1986]

9 minutes ago, chesterx said:

I have some small racks set up in a spare closet, so I have the room. I think I have the styles I wanted so I am satisfied, for now . I have worn most of them at least once. About half my stash are sandals & sneakers. I wore those at 1st as I experimented with female shoes in public. I still wear the cute sneakers to work on casual Fridays. Wish I could wear heels to the office, but there are way too many men in the branch, so it would be problematic, but they don't seem to mind my nails, so who knows, I might try it once & see what happens...

wow, nice setup at home. 

You could always start with a low heel, unisex kind of look and see how that goes. Keep it up and keep us posted! 

[Cali]

I was looking for shoes that fit. After an exhaustive internet search I determined I had a woman's shaped foot.  I purchased a very inexpensive sneaker to test my conclusion. I haven't bought men's shoes since. Bought a better pair of running shoes right away and did it in a store. My first dress shoes were a pair of booties I tried on in Macy's, very low heel, maybe 1.5 - 2 inches heel. It was hard to gather the courage to wear them to work the first few months. But I finally had shoes that fit!. I got 3 more pairs of heels, all short booties, BareTraps, ... Some friends at work notice I was all of a sudden slightly taller. I said the doctor told me I needed to have a short heel. And it's true.The doctors are now advising I wear at least a 2 inch heel and they are fine with me wearing 4 - 5 inch heels. My colleagues at work question when I'm not wearing heels.

So the people at work could notice even short heels, so be prepared. You don't want to fumble around when you are asked.  It is better to handle the challenges (if any) head on in the beginning, after that they tend to disappear.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Cali

[pebblesf]

21 hours ago, jeremy1986 said:

wow, nice setup at home. 

You could always start with a low heel, unisex kind of look and see how that goes. Keep it up and keep us posted! 

Seems like you have "paved the way" with your nails, so I wouldn't be too worried about introducing some low heels into the work mix...  What, if anything, do the guys say about your nails?

[chesterx]

23 hours ago, Cali said:

You don't want to fumble around when you are asked.  It is better to handle the challenges (if any) head on in the beginning, after that they tend to disappear.

My standard response to why I am wearing heels is "because I want to..." It's not a problem for me, so I don't see why it would be a problem for anyone else. Thats my attitude about my heels wearing anyway. In reality it just hasn't come up much at all. The comments / reactions have been overwhelmingly positive so far...worst I have had to deal with has been a couple of "look at his shoes", always from so old guy I don't care to talk with anyway...

17 hours ago, pebblesf said:

Seems like you have "paved the way" with your nails, so I wouldn't be too worried about introducing some low heels into the work mix...  What, if anything, do the guys say about your nails?

Nothing....the only comment i have ever gotten in 2 years was from some stranger passing me by in a hallway that said "ohhh, your nails!" but he had a friendly smile on his face & i took it as a playful, pleasant response. The guys in my office have not said a word one about my nails, at least not in my presents. Now women, well they are all over it!

Not going to be able to do any heeling for a while. My mom has been in poor health & she has taken a turn for the worst. I need to spend the weekends taking the place of my sister, who has been keeping mom company in the hospital, so she is not alone. It's been a rough year emotionally, so my return to wearing heels has been part of my effort to find joy where I can. It's been hard to watch the last of my families elders fade away like this. I don't want to face the holidays at this point, but I have to carry on the best I can...

Edited November 16, 2019 by chesterx

[pebblesf]

8 hours ago, chesterx said:

My standard response to why I am wearing heels is "because I want to..." It's not a problem for me, so I don't see why it would be a problem for anyone else. Thats my attitude about my heels wearing anyway. In reality it just hasn't come up much at all. The comments / reactions have been overwhelmingly positive so far...worst I have had to deal with has been a couple of "look at his shoes", always from so old guy I don't care to talk with anyway...

Nothing....the only comment i have ever gotten in 2 years was from some stranger passing me by in a hallway that said "ohhh, your nails!" but he had a friendly smile on his face & i took it as a playful, pleasant response. The guys in my office have not said a word one about my nails, at least not in my presents. Now women, well they are all over it!

Not going to be able to do any heeling for a while. My mom has been in poor health & she has taken a turn for the worst. I need to spend the weekends taking the place of my sister, who has been keeping mom company in the hospital, so she is not alone. It's been a rough year emotionally, so my return to wearing heels has been part of my effort to find joy where I can. It's been hard to watch the last of my families elders fade away like this. I don't want to face the holidays at this point, but I have to carry on the best I can...

I understand what you are going through, my Mom is in similar condition...I do my best to get down there to help my sister and give her some "time off".  Please take good care....D

[Cali]

 

11 hours ago, chesterx said:

My standard response to why I am wearing heels is "because I want to..."

That's great. Not being able to give a direct response right away prevents many from public wearing.

I'm now the third oldest in one family tree with my mother and her brother the only ones above me. Visiting her is one of the few times a year I have clear nails.

Edited November 16, 2019 by Cali

[jeremy1986]

16 hours ago, chesterx said:

Not going to be able to do any heeling for a while. My mom has been in poor health & she has taken a turn for the worst. I need to spend the weekends taking the place of my sister, who has been keeping mom company in the hospital, so she is not alone. It's been a rough year emotionally, so my return to wearing heels has been part of my effort to find joy where I can. It's been hard to watch the last of my families elders fade away like this. I don't want to face the holidays at this point, but I have to carry on the best I can...

Sorry to hear... Hope she recovers. 

My mother in law will be moving in with us next month, for good it seems. Financially she just can't manage on her own anymore. And we can't afford her rent anymore either... So wondering what impact that will have on my home heeling too....

I feel for you buddy.  Chin up, as it seems you have anyway and try take care of yourself too.

[chesterx]

Just got back home after spending all day with her at the hospital. She is stable in the ICU. Doesn't look like she will leave the hospital. The worst part is she is so scared & there is just nothing I can do to comfort her. I feel so helpless & emotionally exhausted....

[RonC]

So sorry for all that are dealing with health and other issues of their loved ones.  It is not easy.  Hope you can find some comfort.  We often forget that the members here are just like the rest of the world and are dealing with life's ups and downs and not just the issues related to our footwear choices.  Best wishes.

Edited November 17, 2019 by RonC

[pebblesf]

7 hours ago, chesterx said:

Just got back home after spending all day with her at the hospital. She is stable in the ICU. Doesn't look like she will leave the hospital. The worst part is she is so scared & there is just nothing I can do to comfort her. I feel so helpless & emotionally exhausted....

I hear ya buddy, being a care giver is emotionally and physically exhausting for sure.  My Mom is scared also, all you can do is be there, there aren't many words that can comfort.  My Mom is such a fighter, have learned never to "count her out", somehow she bounces back.   I just don't want her to linger, hoping we can have a nice steak dinner, tell stories, have some laughs, and she will pass in her sleep....Wish it was that easy....

Please take good care of yourself....

[chesterx]

Hi guys! Good news as the doctors were able to get her pneumonia under control. They were not expecting her to recover at all, but she has, and it has bought her some extra time. She is still in ICU but she can breath on her own now & get some restful sleep. Now I can too! She asked me to bring her some chocolates so I stopped by the local mall after work. Wasn't gonna let this opportunity go to waste. Slipped on my Chelsea Moreland nude pumps & had some fun. They are a little tight but I only paid $10 for them.

[SF]

Glad “mom” is doing more better.....   Nice heels too!!   sf

 

[chesterx]

Haven't been to this mall in ages & noticed they had a SHOE SHOW store now. Went in & found they had some larger sizes available. Ended up buying a pair of HOT TOMATO booties & my 1st pair of over the calf boots by ITS OK! Had a nice talk with the sales girl. She said the 12' & 13's don't last long. Other than the mall kiosk urchins harassing me it was a good trip.

Sorry didnt notice the booties pic was blurry...

6 minutes ago, SF said:

Glad “mom” is doing more better.....   Nice heels too!!   sf

 

TY! Gave me a chance to rest easy, if only for a little while. Gonna drive back down tomorrow afternoon to give her the candy & say hello, then drive back...