People noticing tall boots - or not

[Shyheels]

I’m just back from a stroll to the supermarket, a mile or so each way, and with the supermarket being in quite a busy crossroads, and at quite a busy time - lunch hour. I wore my grey suede OTK boots, medium heels. Usually I don’t bother noticing if anyone is noticing because I don’t care, but today as an experiment I decided to look at where people hold their eyes when they are out and about. In almost every case it is  straight ahead into the vague middle distance, or else they are looking for something, or speaking to someone. In any case their observation threshold doesn’t appear to be lower than the waist.

There are those of course with downcast eyes, either gloomy or lost in thought or because they are very introspective. And again, these people don’t seem to observe much either.

One woman noticed my boots - she had been gazing at a spot on the footpath and I happened to walk through it. She glanced up at me, then back at the boots and then returned to her own private bubble. 

Now I was wearing, as I said, mid-grey suede OTK boots paired with fairly light coloured, but not pale, blue jeans. And worn outside the jeans. They worked together in a complementary way. If I had been wearing something more eye-catching - patent thigh-highs - maybe more people might have noticed. The point is that while we may be conscious that we are wearing something outside the norm, most of the rest of the world just doesn’t. Especially if you don’t make a show of it.  I mention this because of some posts I saw lately where people were wearing really quite presentable boots and were nervous about the reactions. Don’t be. It’s fine.

[bluejay]

I like to wear knee boots and have two pairs of over the knee styles too. Most of the time I'm wearing them with leggings or jeggings so the whole boot is showing. The only time I wear them under my pants is when I go to church on Sundays, but my pants show off my heels on my boots and sometimes I have to lift my pant leg to show off my boots to my lady friends. I love wearing boots out!

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

[Cali]

I wear my boots on the outside of my pants all the time. The last time I wore my Jessica Simpson stilettoes shoe shopping, the shoe manager told me she had the same pair, but had to give them away when her feet grow during pregancy. Mine are not "modest"  heels, most 4 inch + whatever platforms.  I get the eye roll, more often from older adult women. The eye roll is where they see your boots, roll their eyes up and see you're male, then roll their eyes down to look at the boots again. By that time I am past them Kids sometimes will point it out to their parents. Rarely a comment.

My boots are real or faux leather or suede. I would guess the responce might be different if I wore a fetish or shiny plastic looking boots. Or boots covered in sequins.

It took sometime to start wearing them on the outside. But my boots weren't cheap, so why hide them. I trying to expand my boots into other colors and styles, like the western boots in ICE from Freebird.

[pebblesf]

2 hours ago, bluejay said:

I like to wear knee boots and have two pairs of over the knee styles too. Most of the time I'm wearing them with leggings or jeggings so the whole boot is showing. The only Grtime I wear them under my pants is when I go to church on Sundays, but my pants show off my heels on my boots and sometimes I have to lift my pant leg to show off my boots to my lady friends. I love wearing boots out!

Happy Heeling,

bluejay

Great feelings indeed, the best!

22 minutes ago, Cali said:

I wear my boots on the outside of my pants all the time. The last time I wore my Jessica Simpson stilettoes shoe shopping, the shoe manager told me she had the same pair, but had to give them away when her feet grow during pregancy. Mine are not "modest"  heels, most 4 inch + whatever platforms.  I get the eye roll, more often from older adult women. The eye roll is where they see your boots, roll their eyes up and see you're male, then roll their eyes down to look at the boots again. By that time I am past them Kids sometimes will point it out to their parents. Rarely a comment.

My boots are real or faux leather or suede. I would guess the responce might be different if I wore a fetish or shiny plastic looking boots. Or boots covered in sequins.

It took sometime to start wearing them on the outside. But my boots weren't cheap, so why hide them. I trying to expand my boots into other colors and styles, like the western boots in ICE from Freebird.

Thanks for all your encouragement buddy, I have finally mustered the courage/confidence to properly wear my boots over the levis.  Actual comments/compliments are rare, but sometimes I can almost "feel the stares" as if folks were talking out loud.  I'm always nervous about being around kids, especially in tight places such as elevators.  We all know that kids have no "filters", and will say whatever is on their mind.  I can honestly say that I have never actually heard a little kid making a comment though.  Every once in a while, I do get a compliment, split 50-50 between women and men.   Most are too polite to make any negative comments, although I am sure there are comments after I have passed by.  I try to remember that the most negative comments usually come from the most frustrated, whether it be women or men.  At the end of the day, I must remember that I think I look great in boots, which is really all that matters, although I'm not afraid to admit that I value and appreciate positive feedback from others.  

[Shyheels]

I always wear mine over my jeans. I like the look and also, in the case of OTK boots it’s just way too much of a hassle to do anything else. My boots are fairly conservative in style - classics, real leather or Nubuck suede, and quiet colours which pair well with jeans. There’s no reason for them to attract attention

[highbootsluv]

On 1/17/2023 at 1:22 PM, Shyheels said:

I’m just back from a stroll to the supermarket, a mile or so each way, and with the supermarket being in quite a busy crossroads, and at quite a busy time - lunch hour. I wore my grey suede OTK boots, medium heels. Usually I don’t bother noticing if anyone is noticing because I don’t care, but today as an experiment I decided to look at where people hold their eyes when they are out and about. In almost every case it is  straight ahead into the vague middle distance, or else they are looking for something, or speaking to someone. In any case their observation threshold doesn’t appear to be lower than the waist.

There are those of course with downcast eyes, either gloomy or lost in thought or because they are very introspective. And again, these people don’t seem to observe much either.

One woman noticed my boots - she had been gazing at a spot on the footpath and I happened to walk through it. She glanced up at me, then back at the boots and then returned to her own private bubble. 

Now I was wearing, as I said, mid-grey suede OTK boots paired with fairly light coloured, but not pale, blue jeans. And worn outside the jeans. They worked together in a complementary way. If I had been wearing something more eye-catching - patent thigh-highs - maybe more people might have noticed. The point is that while we may be conscious that we are wearing something outside the norm, most of the rest of the world just doesn’t. Especially if you don’t make a show of it.  I mention this because of some posts I saw lately where people were wearing really quite presentable boots and were nervous about the reactions. Don’t be. It’s fine.

Really interesting post Shyheels. I am not confident to wear my boots on show yet in public but I can feel the time is coming.

[Shyheels]

4 hours ago, highbootsluv said:

Really interesting post Shyheels. I am not confident to wear my boots on show yet in public but I can feel the time is coming.

I like tall boots as a style - as your user name suggests you do - and have several pair of tall boots with low heels, which I like very much and also wear frequently and always over skinny jeans. If you have knee or OTK boots with low heels you can introduce the idea - to yourself and others - of wearing tall boots in public this way. Get people used to the idea that you like tall boots - which is itself a significant departure from the norm and typically seen as feminine - and gradually introduce the heels as you go. 

[Cali]

This winter I have been wearing my tall boots into work. Since it isn't expected to rain tomorrow, it's my Jessica Simpson.  The key is to normalize it. I know, easy to say, hard to do. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Cali

[mlroseplant]

Oddly enough, I actually wore knee high boots yesterday, mainly because it was like, 9º yesterday morning. That's -13º for the rest of the world. So, I decided that since they hadn't been dug out all winter, I'd better take my BCBGenerations boots for a spin. Model name Sassafras. I wore them with a suit and tie and skinny pants that are not technically part of the suit, but were complementary. The poor quality snapshot you see here is a screenshot off of a livestream. Sorry, it's all I have.

I will not pretend that people didn't notice. I appeared to get a lot of notice, both overt and covert, both at church and at two different grocery stores afterwards. Of course, the rest of me didn't really blend in, either. It's not never, but it's somewhat unusual to see somebody shopping in a suit and tie these days, and it's also unusual to see anybody wearing heels this high these days. Put them together, and well.  .  . I didn't feel any negative vibes, though.

[Jkrenzer]

It's an unusual but good and very confident look.

I see your inner President Chester Arthur is gone.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Jkrenzer

[mlroseplant]

Actually, it isn’t! But it will be by the end of today, for about three different reasons. 

[Shyheels]

Nice looking knee boots - very unusual to see you in boots!

[Cali]

And stilettos too.

 

Going shopping/looking at DSW today in stiletto knee highs as well.  I have little doubt they WILL BE noticed.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Cali

[bambam]

Those are Atomic Weapons Grade boots! Very powerful!