Bits and Pieces

[Gige]

There were some responses to various threads on which I wanted to comment but, admittedly, I am too lazy to go back and try and find them. Thus, I going to throw out a melange of thoughts here - think of it as High Heel goulash. 

First, someone had mentioned the idea of more men wanting to wear heels in public but for reasons unknown, do not do so. For a time, I was an assistant administrator of a group promoting men wearing high heels in public on a different social media platform. I happened to notice a few trends worthy of discussion based solely on my observations, and not on research or scientific data. It appears that the number of men who actually wear heels in public is but a very small percent of those who want to do so. It seems that fear over some sort of negative reaction, consequence, or the expectation of "men being men" was the greatest hurdle to doing so. This is completely understandably as the idea of men wearing heels or dressing "en femme" is still taboo and may always be to some. Although I could not make any sort of reasonable estimation, I would believe it is fair to say there are a fair number of men out there who will forever hold a secret desire to wear heels out in public but the fear of reaction to such prevents them from doing so.  One of the reasons I stepped away from this group was due to the fact that, although it was created with the purpose of getting society to accept men wearing high heels, very few of the contributions to it were of men wearing heels in public. I came to believe that many of the members held a deep fantasy of wanting to wear heels in public and this was as close as they could get to doing so. 

Next, I seem to recall a thread somewhere about whether the excitement of wearing heels in public fades after a while. I given this a lot of thought and my answer is "Yes" and "No." My wearing heels of any height in public is now my norm, so yes, the thrill of doing so has faded to some degree. There are still times when it is exciting such as when I am wearing a new style of heels or outfit. Recently, I started wearing open-toe heels (and Espadrilles) in both public and to work, and it was exciting the first few instances of such as I believed that I would never do so. Now that we are heading into the autumn and the cooler weather, boot weather will soon be here and I am excited to finally be able to wear a skirt to the office (As previously noted, my office is so over air conditioned, heavy clothes are required in the summer to remain warm and thus, my summer skirts are "too thin" to be worn there). So, I suppose it is fair to say that the thrill of wearing heels in public does diminish when it becomes the "norm" or is, in fact, expected. For me, however, the thrill of wearing heels in public is still exciting because before I head out to wherever, I take a look at myself in the mirror and love what I see. Likewise, I park my car at the farthest end of my building's parking lot and at the end of my work day as I head to my vehicle, I see my reflect in the other cars I pass along en route. Simply seeing my outfit or even knowing that it is "cute" still develops a tremendous emotional charge for me. I adore the look of wide leg pants pair with a pair of kitten heels and knowing that I am wearing such is an addictive rush. Also, when I receive a compliment on either my outfit as a whole or even part of it, it makes it all worthwhile.   

Finally, somewhere a member had posted a response about Hunter rain boots. Do not get me wrong, I have the greatest appreciation for knee high rain boots and appreciate their practicality. I, however, would only wear them as a means to keep my feet dry when it is wet outside and to prevent me from destroying a pair of heels by having to navigate around puddles of standing water. Well, sometime ago I saw these and when they went on sale, jumped on getting a pair - style and practicality all in one!

[pebblesf]

15 minutes ago, Gige said:

There were some responses to various threads on which I wanted to comment but, admittedly, I am too lazy to go back and try and find them. Thus, I going to throw out a melange of thoughts here - think of it as High Heel goulash. 

First, someone had mentioned the idea of more men wanting to wear heels in public but for reasons unknown, do not do so. For a time, I was an assistant administrator of a group promoting men wearing high heels in public on a different social media platform. I happened to notice a few trends worthy of discussion based solely on my observations, and not on research or scientific data. It appears that the number of men who actually wear heels in public is but a very small percent of those who want to do so. It seems that fear over some sort of negative reaction, consequence, or the expectation of "men being men" was the greatest hurdle to doing so. This is completely understandably as the idea of men wearing heels or dressing "en femme" is still taboo and may always be to some. Although I could not make any sort of reasonable estimation, I would believe it is fair to say there are a fair number of men out there who will forever hold a secret desire to wear heels out in public but the fear of reaction to such prevents them from doing so.  One of the reasons I stepped away from this group was due to the fact that, although it was created with the purpose of getting society to accept men wearing high heels, very few of the contributions to it were of men wearing heels in public. I came to believe that many of the members held a deep fantasy of wanting to wear heels in public and this was as close as they could get to doing so. 

Next, I seem to recall a thread somewhere about whether the excitement of wearing heels in public fades after a while. I given this a lot of thought and my answer is "Yes" and "No." My wearing heels of any height in public is now my norm, so yes, the thrill of doing so has faded to some degree. There are still times when it is exciting such as when I am wearing a new style of heels or outfit. Recently, I started wearing open-toe heels (and Espadrilles) in both public and to work, and it was exciting the first few instances of such as I believed that I would never do so. Now that we are heading into the autumn and the cooler weather, boot weather will soon be here and I am excited to finally be able to wear a skirt to the office (As previously noted, my office is so over air conditioned, heavy clothes are required in the summer to remain warm and thus, my summer skirts are "too thin" to be worn there). So, I suppose it is fair to say that the thrill of wearing heels in public does diminish when it becomes the "norm" or is, in fact, expected. For me, however, the thrill of wearing heels in public is still exciting because before I head out to wherever, I take a look at myself in the mirror and love what I see. Likewise, I park my car at the farthest end of my building's parking lot and at the end of my work day as I head to my vehicle, I see my reflect in the other cars I pass along en route. Simply seeing my outfit or even knowing that it is "cute" still develops a tremendous emotional charge for me. I adore the look of wide leg pants pair with a pair of kitten heels and knowing that I am wearing such is an addictive rush. Also, when I receive a compliment on either my outfit as a whole or even part of it, it makes it all worthwhile.   

Finally, somewhere a member had posted a response about Hunter rain boots. Do not get me wrong, I have the greatest appreciation for knee high rain boots and appreciate their practicality. I, however, would only wear them as a means to keep my feet dry when it is wet outside and to prevent me from destroying a pair of heels by having to navigate around puddles of standing water. Well, sometime ago I saw these and when they went on sale, jumped on getting a pair - style and practicality all in one!

I would agree, many men have a secret fascination, desire to wear heels, but very few actually act on those desires for the reasons you mentioned.   It will many take "style pioneers" like yourself to help normalize this traditionally feminine fashion for men.  The crazy heels/outfits seen on fashion runways are not all that helpful, most of these styles are way "over the top", nothing most guys would want to wear anyway.   I would also agree that the thrill of wearing heels has subsided a bit for me as well.  But, that can be a good thing, only because I am not shy or uneasy about wearing most of my boots publicly.  I do the same thing, park my car as far out in the lot as possible, so I can enjoy a longer walk in my boots.  

And yeah, I don't mention my tall Hunter rain boots here much, because they have no heels.  Love wearing them nonetheless, the glossy black finish coupled with the tall shafts that fit my "chicken legs" nicely feels and look great.  D

[Cali]

1 hour ago, Gige said:

There were some responses to various threads on which I wanted to comment but, admittedly, I am too lazy to go back and try and find them. Thus, I going to throw out a melange of thoughts here - think of it as High Heel goulash. 

First, someone had mentioned the idea of more men wanting to wear heels in public but for reasons unknown, do not do so. For a time, I was an assistant administrator of a group promoting men wearing high heels in public on a different social media platform. I happened to notice a few trends worthy of discussion based solely on my observations, and not on research or scientific data. It appears that the number of men who actually wear heels in public is but a very small percent of those who want to do so. It seems that fear over some sort of negative reaction, consequence, or the expectation of "men being men" was the greatest hurdle to doing so. This is completely understandably as the idea of men wearing heels or dressing "en femme" is still taboo and may always be to some. Although I could not make any sort of reasonable estimation, I would believe it is fair to say there are a fair number of men out there who will forever hold a secret desire to wear heels out in public but the fear of reaction to such prevents them from doing so.  One of the reasons I stepped away from this group was due to the fact that, although it was created with the purpose of getting society to accept men wearing high heels, very few of the contributions to it were of men wearing heels in public. I came to believe that many of the members held a deep fantasy of wanting to wear heels in public and this was as close as they could get to doing so. 

This is born out in the number of visitor HHP gets compared to the number of posting member. I can testify the fear is real. I remember back to the time when I switched to women's shoes. I was fearful. And then when I went to booties with 2 inch heels, the click-click sound scared me, making me think/fear everyone was watching. But I realized some men's shoes also clicked. Going to 4 inch heels was also fearful. But you get over it.

1 hour ago, Gige said:

Next, I seem to recall a thread somewhere about whether the excitement of wearing heels in public fades after a while. I given this a lot of thought and my answer is "Yes" and "No." My wearing heels of any height in public is now my norm, so yes, the thrill of doing so has faded to some degree. There are still times when it is exciting such as when I am wearing a new style of heels or outfit. Recently, I started wearing open-toe heels (and Espadrilles) in both public and to work, and it was exciting the first few instances of such as I believed that I would never do so. Now that we are heading into the autumn and the cooler weather, boot weather will soon be here and I am excited to finally be able to wear a skirt to the office (As previously noted, my office is so over air conditioned, heavy clothes are required in the summer to remain warm and thus, my summer skirts are "too thin" to be worn there). So, I suppose it is fair to say that the thrill of wearing heels in public does diminish when it becomes the "norm" or is, in fact, expected. For me, however, the thrill of wearing heels in public is still exciting because before I head out to wherever, I take a look at myself in the mirror and love what I see. Likewise, I park my car at the farthest end of my building's parking lot and at the end of my work day as I head to my vehicle, I see my reflect in the other cars I pass along en route. Simply seeing my outfit or even knowing that it is "cute" still develops a tremendous emotional charge for me. I adore the look of wide leg pants pair with a pair of kitten heels and knowing that I am wearing such is an addictive rush. Also, when I receive a compliment on either my outfit as a whole or even part of it, it makes it all worthwhile.   

I have worn 4 inch high heels in public for almost 10 years now. Certainly the first year or two was exciting/fearful times. Now, I might have a inner excitement over having a new pair of heels on or just from the total look.IT'S JUST NORMAL. I don't think about my shoes except when traversing stairs or uneven pavement. (And I park as close to where I am going. I wear heels up to 16+ hours a day.)

I love to wear my knee high boots on the outside of skinny pants, but have a few wider leg pants that I will wear now and then.  For a fun outfit try knee high boots and short shorts in the summer.

Edited September 7 by Cali

[Shyheels]

I would think the majority of men would have at least a sneaking desire to try on a pair of heels. A guy would have to be almost devoid of imagination not to be at least a teensy bit curious. And a desire to step away from the pigeonhole for a bit, take a holiday from all the puritanism on the men's side of the shop. Probably fewer actually want to wear heels as a regular thing, but I'll bet the vast majority would love the opportunity to try - to spend a day or a week in heels.

Novelty has its charm and no doubt that adds to the excitement of wearing heels at first. Novelty naturally wears off with experience, but I think the pleasure of dong and wearing what you like endures, especially when you know you're breaking the rules, and will always endure.

I almost forget that I own Hunter boots - I tend to think of them as workwear, and in a different category to my other fashionable knee boots, with or without heels.

Although some of my knee and OTK boots do not have heels, I include them anyway as the styling is feminine, and worn over skinny jeans are more obvious than many heels worn with bootcut jeans.  

 

 

[mlroseplant]

To answer the questions in order, I have never met or heard of a guy who has a desire to wear high heels outside of the online community. It is unlikely that it's the case, but as far as my own personal experience goes, I'm the only one.

The answer to the second question is no, the thrill hasn't faded much at all. To be sure, wearing heels is ordinary to me, but I will say that when I put on whatever shoes I'm going to be wearing that day and stand up, feeling the full height of the shoes for the first time since waking up still gives me the same feeling it always did. That has not faded over the years. What is different is that sometime over the last 12 years, I now require more steepness to get that feeling. 12 years ago, in 2012, I started off in effective 3 inch heels, and I very clearly remember my first real walk in them. It felt like a mile was going to last forever. I could not WAIT to get back home and get out of those shoes. My very next pair of shoes, bought several months later, had a 4 1/2 inch heel with a 1 1/4 inch platform, so effectively 3 1/4 inch heels. By this time, I was somewhat better at heels, but 3 1/4 inches still seemed pretty high to me, definitely felt like a heel.

 I started actually walking places in heels in 2013. I had a few more pairs by that time, but most of my walking heels were in the 3 - 3 1/2 inch range. Over the years, this has gradually increased to the 4 - 4 1/2 inch range. 3 inch heels no longer do it for me, and I have proven this in the past week, as I have been wearing lower heels (the few that I have left) in an effort to avoid further injury. I'm trying to take it real easy, hoping my Achilles tendon gets back to normal soon. The last three days it's been feeling pretty good, but I forced myself to wear low three inchers this morning, even though it feels like I can do more. It's just not the same. On pavement, it doesn't even really feel like I'm wearing heels. I was a little bit grumpy wearing the shorter heels. I need around four inches of steepness before I'm thinking to myself, "Yeah, this is the life."

As to the third question, I'm with Shyheels on that one. If I'm putting on Hunter boots, it's for work purposes. I've never thought they looked all that great as a fashion statement, no matter how shiny they are, or what color they are. I will make an exception for Shirley Temple. She looked cute in them. No offense to anyone here who likes the way they look. I probably cannot get over the association I have in my mind with doing a job I'd rather not be doing.

[Jkrenzer]

Based on Mel's answers above. 

1 - me either

2 - pretty much same response although early on i got a boost, get my drift, when I'd first go out. Not anymore as it's routine but still exciting. 

3 - I have been a 4.5 inch to 5.25 inch since day 1.

4 - there is nothing attractive about this for anyone. 

[mickeyunc]

This goes back to what is a high heel.   many post pics of chunky heels. and others which in my opinion is not a high heel.    3.5 inches and up are high heels.    

[Shyheels]

It’s all very subjective.

I happen to take a much broader view and don’t concern myself with numbers or a set style. But that’s just me.

[mlroseplant]

Oh, I don't know. I don't consider something to be a "high" heel unless it reaches 4 inches, but that's just my own little personal scale. I don't think that the actual exact height is important for the purposes of this website. I mean, we're not here to talk about trainers, but the occasional flat still finds its way in. I believe even I posted some knee high boots last winter that are sporting sub-2 inch heels, and the Hunter boots would definitely fall into that category. I don't really see what's wrong with it. High Heel Place is really a name of convenience. Somewhat Elevated Heel Place would be much more awkward.

[Shyheels]

Indeed any guy wearing feminine styled footwear with so much as a quarter inch of heel above the norm would be considered by the world at large to be wearing “heels”. 
 

if you look in fashion sites the common definition of “high” heels would seem to start at 3.5” to 4”

Edited September 10 by Shyheels

[mlroseplant]

On 9/10/2024 at 6:41 AM, Shyheels said:

Indeed any guy wearing feminine styled footwear with so much as a quarter inch of heel above the norm would be considered by the world at large to be wearing “heels”. 
 

if you look in fashion sites the common definition of “high” heels would seem to start at 3.5” to 4”

Which is funny, we seem to remember "high" heels being a thing of the past, but I really think most women wore what we'd call "mid" or "low" heels back in the day. At least, my day in the 1980s. I was just talking with my friend from university a couple of days ago, who is now someone who can't wear heels for very long anymore. When she was 18 or 19, she wore what were among the highest heels of anyone I personally knew. Keep in mind, she did not wear heels every day, they were only for "dress up" occasions. For whatever reason, she happened to leave her high shoes behind in my dorm room one night. I have no idea how that happened, as there was no romantic relationship there, I only know that it did. Only now, 30-some-odd-years later, did I admit to her that I measured her shoes. If they had been a little closer to my size, I would have tried them on as well, but being a size and a half too small, that wasn't happening. So I told her that her "high" shoes were 3 1/2 inches, which absolutely floored her. "HOW did I EVER wear those?" I, on the other hand, was thinking, "Those are barely heels." They were black stiletto pumps, by the way, in case anybody is wondering.

[Gige]

Being guilty of stating the obvious, that which would be considered "high heels,"  is very much left to the individual wearing such. Generally, most "major" online retailers (e.g. Zappos, DSW, etc.) list heel heights as 'low:' 1" - 2"/2.5 - 5cm; 'mid:' 2" - 3"/5cm - 7.5cm; "high" 3" - 4"/7.5cm - 10cm; and "ultra high" as over 4"/10cm. I think this is a generally a fair categorization of heel highs but to me, 4"/10cm is barely "ultra high," as that is ~5"/12.5cm of higher. I cannot remember where I found the link, but I watched a video on Youtube arguing the point that men are technically wearing heels if they should be sporting footwear such as cowboy boots or similar. Those, afterall, often have a heel, albeit rather low, but, still have a heel. A quick Google search of "Men's heeled boots" return a fair number of results in which the heel appeared to be >1"/2.5cm. So, the argument goes, men may be wearing heeled footwear and not even realize it. 

In order to make this a truly superfluous exercise, allow me to ask the question of what if the shoe/boot has a platform? So, if a 4"/7.5cm shoe/boot, for example, has a 1.5"/3cm platform, does that make it a "mid heel?" What if the heel height and platform are equal, making essentially a "flat?" I really do not think it matters much as at the end of the day, each person wears what is comfortable. 

[Cali]

57 minutes ago, Gige said:

In order to make this a truly superfluous exercise, allow me to ask the question of what if the shoe/boot has a platform? So, if a 4"/7.5cm shoe/boot, for example, has a 1.5"/3cm platform, does that make it a "mid heel?" What if the heel height and platform are equal, making essentially a "flat?" I really do not think it matters much as at the end of the day, each person wears what is comfortable. 

That's why several of us talk about rise (heel - platform) instead of just heel hieght.  My sweet spot is 3.75 in to 4.5 in rise, but it has become increasing hard to find heels in this range. So I now have some 3.5 inch heels.

[Shyheels]

Platforms never enter into my thinking as I really don’t like them, but I certainly agree with those general definitions of low, medium and high heels. Four inches I have seen described as “fashion height”.

I can understand heels over four inches being described as ultra high. Even during periods were high heels were much in vogue, five inches (or 12cm) were not every day wear for even high heel aficionados, but were more like dressy evening wear - up and beyond the high heels that might be worn to the office. They were always a much smaller percentage of heels and perhaps deserve their own category. 

[mlroseplant]

I have no idea why I like categorizing things, as if ANY of this matters. Total heel height used to mean something to me, but these days, not so much. I do wear platforms, but generally not platforms over one inch (with some exceptions). I don't mind a platform if it's got the heel to back it up. Those are very difficult to find. Typically, if a designer uses a platform, they make the total steepness a little less in order to make the shoes "somewhat easier to walk in." The shoes that were in style approximately 10-15 years ago were extreme on some level. Every shoe it seemed had a heel over 5 inches, and usually closer to 6. But, almost all of them included a huge 2 inch platform, which kind of takes away the point of "high" heels, which is that elevated heel posture. I'm with Cali on this, somewhere in and around 4 inches is about right, preferably on the higher side of that.

[Shyheels]

I love the aesthetics and lines of a 12cm stiletto - I would say that is the perfect height visually speaking although I am not practiced anywhere near enough to walk gracefully in such heels. For me the perfect height for walking is 8 to 10cm

[pebblesf]

On 9/13/2024 at 11:44 AM, Cali said:

That's why several of us talk about rise (heel - platform) instead of just heel hieght.  My sweet spot is 3.75 in to 4.5 in rise, but it has become increasing hard to find heels in this range. So I now have some 3.5 inch heels.

great point indeed

[mlroseplant]

I am finally back in my "ultra high" 4 inch/10 cm heels, so far without any problems. That was a bit of an eye-opener. What if I actually had to give up wearing high heels? By the way, 4 inch heels are simply not "ultra" high. Maybe to somebody they are. But, they do give me that high heel feeling, which I have missed for a couple of weeks.

[pebblesf]

10 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

I am finally back in my "ultra high" 4 inch/10 cm heels, so far without any problems. That was a bit of an eye-opener. What if I actually had to give up wearing high heels? By the way, 4 inch heels are simply not "ultra" high. Maybe to somebody they are. But, they do give me that high heel feeling, which I have missed for a couple of weeks.

Glad you are better and back in heels for sure!

[mlroseplant]

I ran across an Instagram post the other day which was a split screen of a model's feet. On one half, the model was wearing what looked to be 4 inch stiletto sandals. On the other half, the model was wearing 4 inch block heels with a mild platform, less than an inch. The caption read something to the effect of, "Which one is more likely to cause you to sprain your ankle?"

I have yet to answer one of these kinds of things, even though I want to. I didn't reply to this for two reasons: 1) I was on my phone, and didn't feel like typing out a long reply, which is what it would take. 2) The post was already 3 weeks old, and had probably 500+ replies. I don't need to waste my time for that.

My answer, of course, would be, "It depends." For most situations I am in, however, the single sole stiletto is more my friend, though I can't say that I'm worried about spraining my ankle in any case. I wear platforms all the time out in the wild, and it's absolutely true that if you step on a pebble or a twig in platforms, it's going to apply a lot of unwelcome sideways force to the ankle, a force that would be much less in single soles, regardless of heel configuration.

[Jkrenzer]

Totally agree, platform thickness makes all the difference. At under 1 inch it doesn't matter too much. I mostly wear single soled heels but have several thinner plats. I just think thick platforms look bad, clownish in many cases. 

[Shyheels]

I'll second that - and for the same reasons. Platforms spoil the elegance of high heels and often do indeed look clownish

[Cali]

I agree that platform wedges are harder to walk in because of the pebble/twig scenario.  BUT I still wear them. 

[Shyheels]

Wedges I think are a type of heel where you can get away with a platform of some sort, as the chunkiness of the heel is consistent with the platform. But a delicate stiletto heel is thrown visually out of balance with anything but the thinnest of platforms - and looks at its sleek and elegant best with a single sole.

[Cali]

I still love my suede knee high Jessica Simpson stilettos with a 1.5 inch platform.

[Shyheels]

You’ve certainly got me with suede and knee-high and stiletto!  I’m with you that far for sure. They sound like lovely boots 

[mlroseplant]

I see we've "crept." You'll have that in a thread called "Bits and Pieces." The question was never, "Which one looks better?" The question was basically, "Which one is least likely to get you injured?" Now that I think about it, it's basically a dumb question, because there are so many other factors that go into it. The poster, who propounded the idea that the platform, with its shallower foot angle and thicker block heel, was the "safer" shoe. I might be inclined to agree with this for people who wear heels only occasionally, and then only to indoor events. For the rest of us, it may or may not be "safer."

I am to the point where heel steepness has little correlation with safety. What concerns me the most are situations where I could either catch my heel on something, like uneven pavement, or miss or misjudge a stair going downward, which would cause me to lurch or stumble, and fall down that way. Actually, the last time I tripped on something hard enough to make me spill my coffee was when I was wearing my work boots.

[Shyheels]

I remember when I lived in outback Australia that a lot of people referred to the Toyota Hilux and the Toyota Roll-lux because of its additional almost padded height. It was much more likely to roll. I think the same could be said of platforms. You’re much less grounded

[mlroseplant]

Why I don't like wearing wider legged pants anymore:

[Shyheels]

I can see that. I nearly always sunny jeans so I can tuck them into the shafts of my boots