Finally got a pair of ballet heels

[hh_pe]

I've been fascinated by women walking in ballet heels / boots and have always wanted a pair of knee high boots for myself.  Realizing these would be more of a novelty purchase, for years I passed on purchasing them due to the price.  Last week I found a pair of Devious ankle height boots at a reasonable price and purchased them.   Earlier today, I had some "me" time and got the boots out.  It felt amazing as I laced the boots and my foot was forced into a pointed position.   As I attempted to stand for the first time, I realized I needed to tighten the laces even more than I had already done.  I was using a door jam to steady myself as I attempted to go from a crawling position to standing.  As I placed my right foot down and put some weight on it, it immediately started to roll.   As I re-laced the boots, I was pulling so hard on the laces I gave myself a blister on both little fingers.  For the second attempt, I crawled to the edge of our bed and used the footboard as leverage.  I was able to get into a crouching position without any issues. Then I attempted to stand as straight as possible, but didn't get very erect.  I took five hobbling steps over to the mirror to take the photo of me standing in the heels and my calves were screaming.  After taking the photo, I quickly fell to the floor, heart beating from "pain" in my calves but loving the look of my feet in this pointed position. 

 

 

[at9]

The heels of Devious ballet boots are about 1cm too high and push the ankle too far forward. This has been detailed in various places online. When I had a pair I cut about 1cm off each heel which made it possible for me to stand straight fairly easily and walk short distances with some difficulty.

Pull out the heel tip. Then carefully peel back the black material that wraps the heel. Clamp the end of the heel in a vice (so that you don't damage the wanted part) and cut with a hacksaw or dremel. Smooth off the cut edges, glue the wrap back and replace the tip. You may need to drill the hole for the pin a little deeper.

Evenutally I decided that I wasn't sufficiently keen on mastering ballet heels to keep them, so I got rid of them.

PS: It's important that ballet boots are not too big. The idea is to lace them tightly so that most of your weight is on the instep, not on the toes. If this isn't the case, try thicker socks. I never tried toe protectors (as used by ballet dancer) as some recommend.

Edited March 15, 2021 by at9

[Chorlini]

I've tried ballet heels in the past but I just can't get my feet or ankles straight. I see some people with feet in incredible arches and I think OMG what mutants are you? Then again maybe I'm the mutant?

[Pumped]

I know what you mean. I see pictures of women in extremely high heels and the front of their leg and the top of their foot in a straight line. All I can do is about a 45 degree angle. I have been wearing 4 inch heels for a few years and I believe I have reached the end on my flexibility in my ankles. To get any more range of movement to wear taller heels would require surgery!

[Bubba136]

30 years ago, 5” heels were my normal everyday wear with 6” heels for occasional wear.  When I got my first pair of 7” heels, I found it difficult put them on my feet because of the extreme angle my ankles had to bend.  Although I eventually got to where I could wear them for a short time I found them very uncomfortable.  I still have several pairs it haven’t worn them in years.   

[PolarSun]

Nice looking ones! Ballet heels are one of my ultimate dreams as well, personally I would prefer to go for knee high ones like these on the picture. Lockable version would be even a bigger fun, just to have them locked on without holding the keys and not knowing when they will be unlocked 🙂

[Rockpup]

It took me a few years to be able to move around without issue wearing ballet boots. As others have said, it’s best to level out the heel so it is vertical when standing. I also used a pointe shoe inside to fortify the toe box of the boot with hood success.

Even at my best walking was a bit clumsy.

 

[Jkrenzer]

I couldn't do that.

[spikesmike]

Rockpup : If and when you are out and about in those ballets, Do you get a different reaction from people than when you wear five (5) or (6) inch high heels ? Mike

[Rockpup]

5 hours ago, spikesmike said:

Rockpup : If and when you are out and about in those ballets, Do you get a different reaction from people than when you wear five (5) or (6) inch high heels ? Mike

The only time I get interaction about heels are when I wear heels 3-3.75”. If I wear 4” or higher I just seem to get odd side eye looks.

[hh_pe]

Rockpup, you're my hero.  I can only hope to be able to walk like that some day.  And thanks everyone for the recommendation to shorten the heel.

[Pumped]

On 3/22/2021 at 10:24 AM, Jkrenzer said:

I couldn't do that.

Same here, my ankles don't have that much range of motion to point nearly straight down.

[p1ng74]

It's impressive.  I used to think that men just have different anatomy that prevents their ankles from having the kind of range of motion to be on pointe, but the other day on one of our walks my wife very positively pointed out (haha) that for most of ballet history (which started as a male-only artform, incidentally) men danced on pointe.  Time for me to restart the ballet exercises... 

[Pumped]

It probably has to do with your own personal anatomy, and when you start wearing heels. Start young and you body has a easier time adjusting. Start at 50 years old, like me and there is not much hope!

I started out with 3" heels and I thought they were going to kill me. I wear 4" heels now with no issue, but it takes a minute to get thee tendons stretched before I can walk gracefully. I have a pair of 5" heels and no matter what I do I can not wear them comfortably. I can not stand up straight and lock my knees, not enough range of motion in my ankles. It feels like I have simply reached the end of how far my ankles can flex, like there is bones in the way.

[Pierre1961]

Have you tried some stretching as the dancers do?

[pebblesf]

14 hours ago, Pumped said:

It probably has to do with your own personal anatomy, and when you start wearing heels. Start young and you body has a easier time adjusting. Start at 50 years old, like me and there is not much hope!

I started out with 3" heels and I thought they were going to kill me. I wear 4" heels now with no issue, but it takes a minute to get thee tendons stretched before I can walk gracefully. I have a pair of 5" heels and no matter what I do I can not wear them comfortably. I can not stand up straight and lock my knees, not enough range of motion in my ankles. It feels like I have simply reached the end of how far my ankles can flex, like there is bones in the way.

I'm with you buddy, so damn frustrating...I can wear my 4" Sam Edelmans all day, very comfortable.  But, my latest boots, that I love, with 5-5.5" heels are near impossible for long journeys.  Yeah, I can wear them around inside on carpeting, but venturing out is a fail....

[mlroseplant]

On 4/1/2021 at 5:25 PM, Pumped said:

It probably has to do with your own personal anatomy, and when you start wearing heels. Start young and you body has a easier time adjusting. Start at 50 years old, like me and there is not much hope!

I started out with 3" heels and I thought they were going to kill me. I wear 4" heels now with no issue, but it takes a minute to get thee tendons stretched before I can walk gracefully. I have a pair of 5" heels and no matter what I do I can not wear them comfortably. I can not stand up straight and lock my knees, not enough range of motion in my ankles. It feels like I have simply reached the end of how far my ankles can flex, like there is bones in the way.

I think it is possible to become quite a bit more flexible at an older age like we are, but the sheer dedication and the amount of time it would take is probably not worth it for the sake of achieving such a narrowly focused skill. Yes, it might be kind of fun to learn to walk en pointe, but am I going to spend years training to be able to do it? That's what it would take for me. So, no. Probably not. My friends will simply have to remain unamazed.

[Shyheels]

I used to do lots of stretching and am still reasonably flexible. I very much want to get back into that amount of stretching and I am sure I could reach the required level of flexibility. Actually buying a pair of ballet boots, on the other hand...

[hh_pe]

On Friday while I attempted to practice walking in my ballet heels, I miss stepped as I was hobbling and broke the shank of the heel.   Disappointed I didn't get better at walking but happy I had the chance to try these.

[Rockpup]

Ouch, sorry to see that. 

[Bubba136]

Never did like ballet boots.  Always thought they lacked the attractive look of classic high heel pumps to the point of being obscene!  ( Just a private opinion.)

[Isolathor]

11 hours ago, Bubba136 said:

Never did like ballet boots.  Always thought they lacked the attractive look of classic high heel pumps to the point of being obscene!  ( Just a private opinion.)

Same here. But the obscene (fetish) part is probably what some men like, to each his or her own.

[RonC]

Absurd applies as well.  Will never understand that.  Simple punishment I guess.

[Pierre1961]

Totally absurd. And ugly to look at people walking in ( can we call it a walk?) 

One exception. Alexandra Potter. 

Even Pantera wasn’t at her best in ballet boots. And we all agree she was walking perfectly in 6” 

it could be understandable if it was a good training for a better walk in normal heels. But it’s even not.

[mlroseplant]

On 4/18/2021 at 4:21 PM, hh_pe said:

On Friday while I attempted to practice walking in my ballet heels, I miss stepped as I was hobbling and broke the shank of the heel.   Disappointed I didn't get better at walking but happy I had the chance to try these.

I must confess, I have never seen a heel break quite like that before. It's quite remarkable that the heel appears to be still firmly attached to the rest of the shoe, and yet is completely destroyed in the middle. Do you think it's defective? And while ballet boots are not my thing, I am curious to know, will you buy another pair?

5 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

Totally absurd. And ugly to look at people walking in ( can we call it a walk?) 

One exception. Alexandra Potter. 

Even Pantera wasn’t at her best in ballet boots. And we all agree she was walking perfectly in 6” 

it could be understandable if it was a good training for a better walk in normal heels. But it’s even not.

It is funny about that, even people who are pretty good at it usually don't look that great by normal standards of grace. However, there are any number of videos out there on Instragram et al. of actual ballerinas walking in toe shoes, and their walks are all amazing without fail. This makes me wonder how an accomplished ballet dancer would do in these shoes.

[Pierre1961]

Yes. Good question. But I wonder if they would accept.They give the upmost care  to their feet. Which nevertheless get destroyed on the long run . No need to add any painful activity  

On the other hand Alexandra Potter is or was a ballet dancer. So......?

[Cali]

I don't criticize other's choice in shoes, with one exception: crocs.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Cali

[mlroseplant]

12 hours ago, Cali said:

I don't criticize other's choice in shoes, with one exception: crocs.

I can't even go that far, because I only know two adult guys who wear crocs. One of them is my father, and the other is a close friend. Both of them accept my footwear without so much as the blink of an eye. So I can't say anything, can I? But I can think it pretty loudly.

18 hours ago, Pierre1961 said:

Yes. Good question. But I wonder if they would accept.They give the upmost care  to their feet. Which nevertheless get destroyed on the long run . No need to add any painful activity  

On the other hand Alexandra Potter is or was a ballet dancer. So......?

I have noticed over the years that one of the keys to a successful walk in very high heels is good ankle flexibility. Without it, one cannot keep the knee straight as the weight shifts to the forward foot. So here's the thing: Every bit of advice I've ever heard about wearing ballet boots claims that you have to lace those things tighter than tight to make it all work correctly and comfortably. Comfort being a relative term. These two objectives appear to be in direct conflict with each other. @Rockpup, since you are actually pretty good at this, what are your thoughts? Or anybody else with the relevant experience.

[Rockpup]

@mlroseplantI actually used Gay or Minden pointe shoes inside the boots to provide proper support for my feet. I then packed the empty toe area between the inside tip of the boot and the pointe shoe I’m order to keep the boot from getting crushed and causing the heel to angle forward. Sadly my second toe is a bit longer then the rest, and it kept taking all the stress. After I lost my second toenail I lost a lot of interest in ballet heels.

[AlexC94]

On 4/18/2021 at 10:21 PM, hh_pe said:

On Friday while I attempted to practice walking in my ballet heels, I miss stepped as I was hobbling and broke the shank of the heel.   Disappointed I didn't get better at walking but happy I had the chance to try these.

😖😣 That's unlucky. I've had my ballet boots for an exact year now, and all the times I've tried standing in them, the heel never snapped like that.