Heels in society

[killer heels]

It struck me that in offices and malls etc pre heel height craziness around 2004 to 2016 ish....and then 'me too' they're weren't many sightings. Perhaps things will come full circle?

[Jkrenzer]

????? Really not entirely sure the reason behind this post.

You hoping others would wear higher heels. 

Be like us, put some on and go.

[Chorlini]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the age of the high heel is over. Like the corset it had its time. And now women value comfort over style. We live in the age of Fat Tok, body positive and where women feel they don't need to put in the effort to look good, because every woman is now a 10. Will heels make a limited return? Well, the western still returns briefly every often so years. But as I have also said before, if you don't grow up wearing heels regularly and learn how to wear them they won't endear themselves to late 20 or 30 somethings putting them on. And even the designer heel craze of the 2010's was mostly one of a minority of women trying to look good on red carpets. In daily life I can't say I ever saw a woman wear a pair of louboutins.

Now chunky heels and platforms, usually the combination of both, will be with us in the future still, as in the minds of their wearers they marry style with comfort.

[gothic_smurf]

bearly ever see anyone in heels around here anymore.even in shoe stores

[Bubba136]

7 hours ago, Chorlini said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the age of the high heel is over. Like the corset it had its time. And now women value comfort over style. We live in the age of Fat Tok, body positive and where women feel they don't need to put in the effort to look good, because every woman is now a 10. Will heels make a limited return? Well, the western still returns briefly every often so years. But as I have also said before, if you don't grow up wearing heels regularly and learn how to wear them they won't endear themselves to late 20 or 30 somethings putting them on. And even the designer heel craze of the 2010's was mostly one of a minority of women trying to look good on red carpets. In daily life I can't say I ever saw a woman wear a pair of louboutins.

Now chunky heels and platforms, usually the combination of both, will be with us in the future still, as in the minds of their wearers they marry style with comfort.

 Chorlini is right.  Women these days are more interested in maintaining their feminity in a more comfortable style while still identifying their “difference“ wearing highly decorated accessories.  Hence the popularity around here of Crocks” in different colors and outrageously adorned buckles and bows.  Additionally, there seems to be increasing interest in feminizing men, dressing them up and opposite role playing.  Just take a look at some of the more popular social websites.

While I can’t tell the extent this trend is practiced, I can recognize the decline in “open” disapproval of crossdressing men appearing in public.  Perhaps this trend can be attributed to the increased publicity given to LGBT activities by the press because lately, outside of a few short inquisitive glances, there seems to be hardly any interest in my wearing girls shoes 👞 anywhere. (For example, l wore my tan booties with 1 1/2 inch heels to Church this morning and nobody showed any notice.)

Perhaps this “live and let live” attitude will prevail or even increase over the next few years.  I can’t say that it is a bad thing as long as society doesn’t impose conditions upon me that require my acceptance of their sexual identity situation.  My preference is to remain entirely neutral because I have my own wants/desires.
 

 

 

 

Edited May 20 by Bubba136
Spelling

[pebblesf]

7 minutes ago, Bubba136 said:

 Chorlini is right.  Women these days are more interested in maintaining their feminity in a more comfortable style while still identifying their “difference“ wearing highly decorated accessories.  Hence the popularity around here of Crocks” in different colors and outrageously adorned buckles and bows.  Additionally, there seems to be increasing interest in feminizing men, dressing them up and opposite role playing.  Just take a look at some of the more popular social websites.

While I can’t tell the extent this trend is practiced, I can recognize the decline in “open” disapproval of crossdressing men appearing in public.  Perhaps this trend can be attributed to the increased publicity given to LGBT activities by the press because lately, outside of a few short inquisitive glances, there seems to be hardly any interest in my wearing girls shoes 👞 anywhere. (For example, l wore my tan booties with 1 1/2 inch heels to Church this morning and nobody showed any notice.)

Perhaps this “live and let live” attitude will prevail or even increase over the next few years.  I can’t say that it is a bad thing as long as society doesn’t impose conditions upon me that require my acceptance of their sexual identity situation.  My preference is to remain entirely neutral because I have my own wants/desires.
 

 

 

 

Well, maybe us men can take back our heels, seeing how women stole this fashion from us so many years ago!

[Shyheels]

Fashion is cyclical - always has been always will be. That's the very nature of fashion. Yes, fewer women are wearing heels at the moment, and for the reasons you say. It is not the same as corsets at all. Everybody wears something on their feet. There will continue to be diversity in styles, and shifting tastes. 

It is certainly easier for a guy to wear heels. I have been wearing my chunky heeled ankle boots (3.5" heels) and chunky heeled OTK boots in the old coal mining towns where I am now and do not attract any notice or attention whatsoever.

Whether or not high heels are in fashion is largely irrelevant to me. They're in fashion with me. If I was worried about what everyone else was wearing, I'd never have started wearing heels in the first place.  

[Chorlini]

8 hours ago, Bubba136 said:

 Chorlini is right.  Women these days are more interested in maintaining their feminity in a more comfortable style while still identifying their “difference“ wearing highly decorated accessories.  Hence the popularity around here of Crocks” in different colors and outrageously adorned buckles and bows.  Additionally, there seems to be increasing interest in feminizing men, dressing them up and opposite role playing.  Just take a look at some of the more popular social websites.

While I can’t tell the extent this trend is practiced, I can recognize the decline in “open” disapproval of crossdressing men appearing in public.  Perhaps this trend can be attributed to the increased publicity given to LGBT activities by the press because lately, outside of a few short inquisitive glances, there seems to be hardly any interest in my wearing girls shoes 👞 anywhere. (For example, l wore my tan booties with 1 1/2 inch heels to Church this morning and nobody showed any notice.)

Perhaps this “live and let live” attitude will prevail or even increase over the next few years.  I can’t say that it is a bad thing as long as society doesn’t impose conditions upon me that require my acceptance of their sexual identity situation.  My preference is to remain entirely neutral because I have my own wants/desires.
 

 

 

 

Thing is, women say that they support and want to see men in heels and other feminine clothing, but for themselves they want a masculine dude. Listen to what they do, never what they say. Also, the whole crossdressing part is part of the LGHDTV brigade. And they are not making themselves popular with the majority of people. Better to stay away from lest we get tainted when the backlash against the LGHDTV brigade will happen. Although at the moment, if you are a white dude and want to get a job you now vastly increase your chances of getting hired showing up at the job interview wearing heels then in regular attire. After all, male and pale is stale, is now the mantra.

5 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Fashion is cyclical - always has been always will be. That's the very nature of fashion. Yes, fewer women are wearing heels at the moment, and for the reasons you say. It is not the same as corsets at all. Everybody wears something on their feet. There will continue to be diversity in styles, and shifting tastes. 

It is certainly easier for a guy to wear heels. I have been wearing my chunky heeled ankle boots (3.5" heels) and chunky heeled OTK boots in the old coal mining towns where I am now and do not attract any notice or attention whatsoever.

Whether or not high heels are in fashion is largely irrelevant to me. They're in fashion with me. If I was worried about what everyone else was wearing, I'd never have started wearing heels in the first place.  

Fashion is cyclical, and some things have fallen completely out of the public mind. Like corsets. Other then a minor resurgence where a small group of people will embrace them I don't EVER see them coming back in general fashion. And so will high heels. Women will still covet them, may want to own a couple of pairs, but most will never bother to learn how to wear them so it will be going out to an occasion and then sit down ASAP wear. And I think the professions where women used to be required to wear them, like in law, are under pressure to do away with this custom of the 'patriarchy'.

[mlroseplant]

For a website that has become a home for men who like to wear high heels, we sure spend a lot of time talking about "they, they, they." I'm guilty myself, but I don't tend to do it in a negative fashion. I'm happy, at least in a small way, when I do see a woman in the wild who actually still wears heels. As far as the attitudes about fashion and identity among the younger generation--I have a 15 year old son, I am around his friends, I can tell you for sure that my life is much easier and happier than it was 10 years ago as far as being accepted at face value. Let's look forward, not backward. The good old days weren't always good.

[5150PLB1]

In the battle between those of us who like to wear or like to see others wear stylish high heels or very high heels and podiatrists, the podiatrists are currently winning. Their lack of fashion sense, taste and, the insistence that everyone wear flats is an abomination to the senses and the imagination.    

[killer heels]

Thanks for the replies.  I would have agreed women wearing proper heels ie above 4 inches is unlikely to return but then I thought back to the period of 95 to 2005 for example.  I dont recall seeing many women in the offices and bars wearing them then either, that came bk a few years later....so who knows.

[Shyheels]

They’ll be back. All part of this endless cycle of fashion and trends 

[pebblesf]

21 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Fashion is cyclical - always has been always will be. That's the very nature of fashion. Yes, fewer women are wearing heels at the moment, and for the reasons you say. It is not the same as corsets at all. Everybody wears something on their feet. There will continue to be diversity in styles, and shifting tastes. 

It is certainly easier for a guy to wear heels. I have been wearing my chunky heeled ankle boots (3.5" heels) and chunky heeled OTK boots in the old coal mining towns where I am now and do not attract any notice or attention whatsoever.

Whether or not high heels are in fashion is largely irrelevant to me. They're in fashion with me. If I was worried about what everyone else was wearing, I'd never have started wearing heels in the first place.  

Good point indeed

[Cali]

I must be the unicorn here because I see several women a week in high (3.5+inch) heels. And mostly stilettos.

11 hours ago, 5150PLB1 said:

In the battle between those of us who like to wear or like to see others wear stylish high heels or very high heels and podiatrists, the podiatrists are currently winning. Their lack of fashion sense, taste and, the insistence that everyone wear flats is an abomination to the senses and the imagination.    

My foot doctors have advised me to wear at least a 2 inch heel, but I have a 1% foot. (1% or few of the population has feet like mine.)

Edited May 21 by Cali

[pebblesf]

12 hours ago, Cali said:

I must be the unicorn here because I see several women a week in high (3.5+inch) heels. And mostly stilettos.

My foot doctors have advised me to wear at least a 2 inch heel, but I have a 1% foot. (1% or few of the population has feet like mine.)

Please explain what a 1% foot is.   I just had knee surgery, a little discouraged with the outcome so far.  Have quickly figured out that the doc's two week recovery claim was "optimistic".  Really want to wear some boots during recovery, but surely don't want to wear anything that will hinder the repair/recovery time....

[Shyheels]

I hope your recovery picks up! That would be no fun. Do you have any low/flat heeled boots you can wear in the interim. Because of my off-grid living I have several pair of low heeled knee boots so I can wear tall boots every day- a lot of the time heels would be I’ll-advised or downright dangerous. 

[Chorlini]

On 5/20/2024 at 7:10 PM, killer heels said:

Thanks for the replies.  I would have agreed women wearing proper heels ie above 4 inches is unlikely to return but then I thought back to the period of 95 to 2005 for example.  I dont recall seeing many women in the offices and bars wearing them then either, that came bk a few years later....so who knows.

I remember you saying that before, but I NEVER saw any of that. All I ever see is an ocean of flats. You might live in a tiny island of abnormality, where the women still wear high heels, because for the rest of us it's like seeing a UFO.

[Shyheels]

Perhaps it is you that is living in the odd spot. I certainly see heels where I am, in the north of England. They are not ubiquitous, but it’s not like seeing a UFO either. If I take the train into Leeds or York I will certainly see stilettos. 

[pebblesf]

6 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I hope your recovery picks up! That would be no fun. Do you have any low/flat heeled boots you can wear in the interim. Because of my off-grid living I have several pair of low heeled knee boots so I can wear tall boots every day- a lot of the time heels would be I’ll-advised or downright dangerous. 

Would love to get a pair of tall riding boots.  Would also like some Hunter "refined boots".   

[Shyheels]

You definitely should! They are so handy in so many circumstances - so you can wear tall boots as a matter of course 

[Chorlini]

9 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Perhaps it is you that is living in the odd spot. I certainly see heels where I am, in the north of England. They are not ubiquitous, but it’s not like seeing a UFO either. If I take the train into Leeds or York I will certainly see stilettos. 

I live and work in a university city, which has a massive overabundance of young women. The only time I see a woman in heels is when she is in her 40's and 50's.

[Cali]

15 hours ago, pebblesf said:

Please explain what a 1% foot is.   I just had knee surgery, a little discouraged with the outcome so far.  Have quickly figured out that the doc's two week recovery claim was "optimistic".  Really want to wear some boots during recovery, but surely don't want to wear anything that will hinder the repair/recovery time....

My foot doctor has done one of my ankle reconstructions, toe work (hammer toe), and a tendon leak. She says that the height of my arch puts my foot into the rare catergory.  Then you add the large girth toe box and narrow heel pushes it to 1%. That why she says I should wear at least a 2 inch heel to absorb the arch. Since I changed to women's, I finally have shoes that fit my heel and I have stop having ankle problems (reconstructive surgeries). And 4 inch heels helps my hip.

 

Knees ... 4 surgeries, one took 6+ months to recover, the last one's recovery was less than two days (they cut out a fold in my cartilage). Both of my MCLs have been strand over the years and I use KT Tape when they act up. That calms them down.

But my daughter was off work for 5 months and at 15 months now, she still has limitation. ACL replacement. So count your blessings Don.

[mlroseplant]

I can remember that from about 1995 to 2005 was a dark time for heels--or at least stilettos. It seems all the girls were wearing "Spice Girls" giant chunky heeled boots. This was following a period in the late 80's-early 90s when stilettos were everywhere. Not everywhere at once, but at least 50% of girls had stilettos in their closets, which got brought out for special occasions. A few would wear them every day, but not many.

I can remember shopping with my ex-wife in the late 90s, and you literally could not find a pair of shoes with 4 inch stiletto heels in normal shops. Then after the Turn of the Milennium, stilettos slowly but surely came back--only this time sporting giant platforms. Again, you didn't see them everywhere all at once, but they were definitely out there.

After we decided that 6 inch heels with 2 inch platforms were no longer a desirable look, it was sort of a slow downhill slide, which became a fast downhill slide during the pandemic. Then it never really recovered. I do say I see more high school girls wearing heels than I do college girls. And I also live in a college town, 200 m away from the college, so I also see a "massive overabundance" of young women. My son is still in high school, so I get to see the younger crowd, too. I see lots and lots of belly buttons, but few heels. But not zero heels. The idle desire is still there, have no doubt. I know this because even young girls will often ogle my shoes and say they wish they could wear them. We've been through all that discussion before. The societal pressure to wear heels is gone, so they don't wear them much, if ever. I can't really blame them.

Also (but not as an afterthought), Don, I hope your knee gets better. This getting old business is for the birds!

Edited May 22 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

2 hours ago, Chorlini said:

I live and work in a university city, which has a massive overabundance of young women. The only time I see a woman in heels is when she is in her 40's and 50's.

Leeds and York are both university cities and I see heels there right across the age spectrum - not loads of them, but they’re not rare either. Maybe it’s just Holland 

[pebblesf]

6 hours ago, Cali said:

My foot doctor has done one of my ankle reconstructions, toe work (hammer toe), and a tendon leak. She says that the height of my arch puts my foot into the rare catergory.  Then you add the large girth toe box and narrow heel pushes it to 1%. That why she says I should wear at least a 2 inch heel to absorb the arch. Since I changed to women's, I finally have shoes that fit my heel and I have stop having ankle problems (reconstructive surgeries). And 4 inch heels helps my hip.

 

Knees ... 4 surgeries, one took 6+ months to recover, the last one's recovery was less than two days (they cut out a fold in my cartilage). Both of my MCLs have been strand over the years and I use KT Tape when they act up. That calms them down.

But my daughter was off work for 5 months and at 15 months now, she still has limitation. ACL replacement. So count your blessings Don.

Thanks for the explanation.   Woke up today with a bit less pain, so am cautiously optimistic.  Perhaps I have been trying to do/expect too much too soon.  Frustrated because I can't get a PT appointment until June, trying to do the exercises at home.  The electric ice machine/pad thing is great also.  I just don't want to do anything to mess up my recovery.  I have noticed in the past that wearing my boots does improve my posture, and helps with some occasional hip discomfort.  My buddy just got a new hip, so am hoping that goes well for him.  So want to try my boots, but that is probably a mistake for new.  Need to get some nice low heeled riding boots like Shyheels has advised....  For now, perhaps I will back off a bit on walking around, use the cold machine more and do more of the exercises...  Don

[Chorlini]

4 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Leeds and York are both university cities and I see heels there right across the age spectrum - not loads of them, but they’re not rare either. Maybe it’s just Holland 

We just had Iowa confirming my observation.

[Shyheels]

1 hour ago, Chorlini said:

We just had Iowa confirming my observation.

Well we’ve got California and England confirming mine

[Cali]

Many of mine, not all, are ON college campuses; maybe more adminastrator types, but some faculty and students.

[mlroseplant]

18 hours ago, Chorlini said:

We just had Iowa confirming my observation.

I'm not entirely sure that my observations line up with yours 100%. If I understand you correctly, you say that Dutch chicks do not wear heels, ever, and haven't done so for decades. My observation is that college age chicks stopped wearing heels about 5-10 years ago. I haven't followed any to the tavern or anything, but for on campus daily student life, yeah, they don't wear heels. In my generation this was also largely true, but there were half a dozen girls who wore heels every day to class. Then again, there were also half a dozen girls who went barefoot to class every day, and you don't see THAT anymore, either.

[Shyheels]

Indeed! When I was in college back in the 70s few girls wore heels but barefoot was not at all uncommon. What were really big were wooden soled clogs. Lots and lots of clogs