First wear of new shoes.

[NrthEastHeel]

So you've just received a new pair of heels or boots either instore or via online. Opening the box or parcel reveiling your new acquisitions, taking those first moments to admire and examine, then eagerly slipping on your new pair for the first time. 

These thoughts made me wonder today for sometime, how everyone reacts to their new shoes, the anticipation, delight, euphoria, or dare i say it .. dissapointment. What are some of your moments , either positive or negative. Share

I may have to start, to get the ball rolling ...

I remember purchasing my first pair of heels from 'Office' . i was directed to them online by a friend who had a pair and mentioned they were on sale. Originally about 65£, i ordered a pair to collect in store for 17£. A few days later notification to collect, and on the Saturday morning i practically sped to the city, and walked through the shopping mall briskly. With order details in hand, presented to the lovely lady at the counter who fetched my order. As she handed the box over she said she loved the style i had ordered and hoped i would enjoy them. Must admit i blushed a bit, but gracefully thanked her.

Anyway fast forward to home, i couldn't wait to open the box, seeing my new heels , i must have examined every angle before trying one on, A little to my dismay, and initial dissapointed they seeemd a little stiff and very awkward to get on, which took a bit of working out with so many straps. But finally first one on, wondering had i made a poor choice. Sure they looked amazing but impractical perhaps? Onto second shoe, same deal a wrestle to get on, but done.

Initially i thought, hmmm were they really the right choice being so fiddly to get on,  but once they were on and i was standing, i quickly confirmed yes!. The comfort was fantastic, and very natural to walk in. And just loved how they looked. So it was a bit of a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions but definitely worth it

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by NrthEastHeel

[mlroseplant]

First of all, nice looking shoes you have there! I have actually started this answer 2 or 3 times now, and I hesitate to reply because I don't know how.

Coming up next month is my 10th anniversary of public heeling, which is when I was first exposed to the conditions relevant to your question. It is true that in the early days, I experienced feelings much like you described in your post above, this giddy, almost frantic sense of anticipation until the moment it was revealed whether these new shoes were going to work out or not. I'm not quite that way anymore, now it's kind of like, "Oh, I've gotten new shoes today. Cool!" I briefly went through all the pictures that I have ever posted to HHP, and I was trying to recall the feelings I had when I took them, and I have come to the conclusion that my tempered reaction comes not from being jaded about purchasing and wearing high heels, but rather from a complete change in the last 10 years about how I view life in general.

I can tell you that one of the things that makes a great deal of difference in how I react is the reason I bought the shoes in the first place. Here's an example. The first photo shows my plane Jane, patent leather pumps I bought fairly recently. I bought them because the shoes I would normally wear with my "men's" suits are getting tired, and they aren't going to last forever, so I decided I would try wearing pumps with a suit, instead of oxfords. As it turns out, it's going to work out just fine. The shoes are high quality enough to look great in that setting (and perhaps others, as well). I just wore these particular shoes a couple of days ago. They look nice, they fit great, and with a slightly lower heel than I'm usually wont to wear, I don't have to think about them every second I'm walking. The problem is, I just can't get excited about them in the way that I am about the shoes in the second photo. In a perfect world, I would wear shoes in that classification most of the time. However, in the real world, that's not practical, so I spend a lot more time wearing shoes more like the ones in the first photo.

I know, I still really haven't answered the question yet. I'm getting to that. When I got a new pair of shoes 10 years ago, I would drop everything to unbox them at the earliest possible minute and try them on. I don't do that anymore. I now have the ability to actually let them sit there for a day or two if I have other things I really should be doing. When I do unbox them, I examine them for defects or damage, then I take out my tape measure and measure heel height, heel width, platform height (if applicable), that sort of thing. I do this for several reasons. One is geekiness. Two is to make sure each shoe is reasonably identical to the other. I've run into a few situations where they haven't been! The third reason is so that I know approximately where to put the shoes on the storage shelving, which is arranged, in addition to other features, by heel height. And the final reason I measure up is so that I can give you the numbers when and if I share them in the New Shoes thread on this forum!

After all that, it's time to try them on. I have learned over the years to be somewhat detached during this process. I have discovered it's rare that you immediately know whether a pair of shoes is going to work out. Sometimes, a pair of shoes that is damn near impossible to get on the first time can work out in the future. Conversely, a pair of shoes that fits perfectly on the first try may stretch out in a few weeks and end up being significantly too big. More than that, there is a big difference between house comfort and real world comfort. For instance, those shoes that are so great in your kitchen may gnaw a hole in the side of your foot just 1/2 mile down the road. Or, they may not want to stay on your feet at all, due to the bigger steps one normally takes in the real world vs. inside the house. It's bad news when you wind up skating across the floor of your local supermarket in front of all your acquaintances and friends because the coefficient of friction of your heel tips is rather lower than you anticipated. It's very disappointing when stuff breaks on you, again mostly heel tips, but sometimes other things too, when you're not close to home. These are only four examples of why one's initial enthusiasm should be tempered if possible, and rash actions should be avoided.

Anyway, I'm not saying it's right, it's just what I do. You did ask.

Edited April 1, 2022 by mlroseplant

[bluejay]

I too feel the same way about a new pair of heels. If I have bought them at a store then most likely I've already tried them on. If I ordered them online I usually can't wait to open the box and try them on. Then I usually walk about the room to get a feel for them. It usually only takes a few minutes of wearing them to see if I will keep them. I've always been excited about a new pair of heels even though I been wearing heels for over four decades. Just my thoughts.

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

[Cali]

I changed to women's shaped shoes over a decade ago after my third ankle reconstruction. I was excited when the first runners fit.  Then came my baby heels, 2-3 inch booties, shoes I wished I could wear for years, now I shopping for them and wearing them.  Those first ten or so shoe purchases, in-store, were thrilling and nerve-racking at the same time.  Here, I was a man shopping for a women's shoe.  But I was finally finding shoes that fit.  I use to hate shoe shopping for (men's) shoes.  I have a thick toe box and thin heels.  I would have to go up a full size just to get my toes in men's shoes and then my heels would just swim (hence ankle issues). With women's shoes I could find shoes that would fit with almost no issues, and now I had a large number of styles to chose from. And I was lucky, I fit a US women's 10, so I have choices upon choices to chose from. Shoe shopping was now enjoyable, yet still nerve-racking, especially the first several times I took a heel up to a sales associate and asked for it in my size.

Then ordering on-line and hoping they fit.  The anticipation of their arrival was strong at the beginning, the anticipation @NrthEastHeel is now experiencing.  However, I have about a 60/40% luck with on-line.  So I have a more temperate reaction now. I may wait a few days to open an on-line purchase.  I have over 70 heels with over 3.75 inch heels and wear heels in public all the time, so it no big deal any more

Pre-pandemic I would go shopping about once a month, mainly to see what the latest fashion was. Macy's, DSW, brand names with a store in a large mall, small boutiques, etc.. Sale's associates would come talk to me before other clients because they knew I was a customer who bought and wore heels.  I really enjoyed those hours.  I hope to start visiting shoe stores soon.

[pebblesf]

Well, I'm finally to the stage where I can shop for boots in person without feeling too uneasy.  Unfortunately, I never see anything I like.  I do like many different styles of boots but am extremely fussy at the same time.  I saw a pair of nice ankle boots at Saks advertised online and way laying over right down the street from a Saks store.  The collection of shoes/boots they had in the store was very peculiar, no traditional styles, and none like the ones I saw online.    Oh well.  

[Cali]

Like the Duty Free Jimmy Choo store in the Sydney Airport only had up to size 7 heels.  I might never buy one, but I sure wanted to try one on.

[NrthEastHeel]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:37 PM, bluejay said:

I too feel the same way about a new pair of heels. If I have bought them at a store then most likely I've already tried them on. If I ordered them online I usually can't wait to open the box and try them on. Then I usually walk about the room to get a feel for them. It usually only takes a few minutes of wearing them to see if I will keep them. I've always been excited about a new pair of heels even though I been wearing heels for over four decades. Just my thoughts.

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

Im the same, after nearly 30 years of regularly wearing heels, the anticipation is always there for me when receiving any new pair. I always take a few moments to have a good look, examine and enjoy the first try on, and assess the final verdict heels are always exciting for me.

21 hours ago, Cali said:

I changed to women's shaped shoes over a decade ago after my third ankle reconstruction. I was excited when the first runners fit.  Then came my baby heels, 2-3 inch booties, shoes I wished I could wear for years, now I shopping for them and wearing them.  Those first ten or so shoe purchases, in-store, were thrilling and nerve-racking at the same time.  Here, I was a man shopping for a women's shoe.  But I was finally finding shoes that fit.  I use to hate shoe shopping for (men's) shoes.  I have a thick toe box and thin heels.  I would have to go up a full size just to get my toes in men's shoes and then my heels would just swim (hence ankle issues). With women's shoes I could find shoes that would fit with almost no issues, and now I had a large number of styles to chose from. And I was lucky, I fit a US women's 10, so I have choices upon choices to chose from. Shoe shopping was now enjoyable, yet still nerve-racking, especially the first several times I took a heel up to a sales associate and asked for it in my size.

Then ordering on-line and hoping they fit.  The anticipation of their arrival was strong at the beginning, the anticipation @NrthEastHeel is now experiencing.  However, I have about a 60/40% luck with on-line.  So I have a more temperate reaction now. I may wait a few days to open an on-line purchase.  I have over 70 heels with over 3.75 inch heels and wear heels in public all the time, so it no big deal any more

Pre-pandemic I would go shopping about once a month, mainly to see what the latest fashion was. Macy's, DSW, brand names with a store in a large mall, small boutiques, etc.. Sale's associates would come talk to me before other clients because they knew I was a customer who bought and wore heels.  I really enjoyed those hours.  I hope to start visiting shoe stores soon.

Interesting you mention womens shoes fit better. I find exactly the same thing. Also mens shoes here start at a minimum size 6, and im more a 5 (which is one of the easiest sizes to find in womens shoes here.

[Cali]

2 hours ago, NrthEastHeel said:

Interesting you mention womens shoes fit better. I find exactly the same thing. Also mens shoes here start at a minimum size 6, and im more a 5 (which is one of the easiest sizes to find in womens shoes here.

My feet have thick and large toe boxes with thin heels, pear shaped. To find men's shoes that I could get my feet into, I would have to get US men's size 9.5 double wide. I wear US women's size 10 and sometimes 11.  Men's shoes are designed for flat rectangular feet, not the toe box thick pear shape of my feet.  My heels would then have 1/2 inch wiggle room on each side. Could never get the shoe tight enough around my heels.  Men's sandals never fit.  Hence many many ankle sprains (100's), broken joints, and strains.  I also have extremely high arches. My podiatrist laughs every time she sees my feet, she wants me to wear some heel, at least 2.5 in.

After my last ankle reconstruction, I searched (Uncle Google) for shoes that would fit my foot shape and it kept coming up with women's shoes. I had already started to wear women's sandals (finally a sandal that fit), so I tried some runners and they fit.  My heels no longer could slide inside the shoe.  

Now when I go shopping, I might try on a pair just to see how it feels/looks.  It's fun and It's free (as long as you don't buy it).

[NrthEastHeel]

12 minutes ago, Cali said:

My feet have thick and large toe boxes with thin heels, pear shaped. To find men's shoes that I could get my feet into, I would have to get US men's size 9.5 double wide. I wear US women's size 10 and sometimes 11.  Men's shoes are designed for flat rectangular feet, not the toe box thick pear shape of my feet.  My heels would then have 1/2 inch wiggle room on each side. Could never get the shoe tight enough around my heels.  Men's sandals never fit.  Hence many many ankle sprains (100's), broken joints, and strains.  I also have extremely high arches. My podiatrist laughs every time she sees my feet, she wants me to wear some heel, at least 2.5 in.

After my last ankle reconstruction, I searched (Uncle Google) for shoes that would fit my foot shape and it kept coming up with women's shoes. I had already started to wear women's sandals (finally a sandal that fit), so I tried some runners and they fit.  My heels no longer could slide inside the shoe.  

Now when I go shopping, I might try on a pair just to see how it feels/looks.  It's fun and It's free (as long as you don't buy it).

Ah thats my weakness, i dont stop at trying, im a bit impulsive wirh buying

[hoverfly]

Oh heck I got thin feet, wide foot, and narrow heel!  Pointed toe box are a no no unless they are custom made.

[Chorlini]

First wear is always a special affair. Will they fit? Can I make them fit? Will they pinch? Sometimes you think there's no way I can fit in them and they fit comfortably. And sometimes they won't fit even though they look like Shaquille O'Neill could wear them.

[5150PLB1]

Shaquille O'Neill in heels? That would make an interesting nightmare. I don't think he would or could wear heels even for a 'Walk a Mile in Her Heels' event.