It was Intoxicating!!

[Gige]

Some time ago in another thread, the presumedly long discussed and possibly resolved issue of what constitutes a stiletto heel surfaced for yet another round of unnecessary debate and comment. I posted that although I love stilettos, I could not imagine that I would ever wear a pair of such heels out and about, let alone to work/the office. I believe that I had legitimate concerns regarding how appropriate they may be for a professional environment and the possibility of breaking a heel while simply walking from place "a" to place "b." Well, much to my surprise, all of that changed today as I wore a pair of 12cm stiletto ankle boots to the office for the first time. 

June 19th is a holiday here in the states and I expected that just about "everyone" would take off on the 20th for an extended weekend. Given that I still do not have a substantial amount accumulated time to take away from my job beyond holidays and weekends, taking a day off now would have a direct impact on travel plans for the remainder of the year. Thus, I decided not to do so and head in to the office for the day despite how much I just wanted to stay in bed this morning. As I recognized that very few other people were probably going to head to the building, I started to warm to the idea of wearing a pair of very high stiletto ankle boots to the office for the day. I saw this as a "test" to see how I enjoyed it and determine if there were going to be any "problems" if I did so.  I decided to wear a pair of very long trousers as to cover almost all of the heel and a simple top for the day (and yet, is was still houte couture).

In sum, the experience of wearing such heels was incredible. As 12cm is the very limit of what I can reasonably handle, it took me some time to get the mechanics of it down so that my cadence was smooth. I had to remember to stand up straight, bend the knees a bit, and walk at a much slower pace so as to take longer strides. Although, I more or less "had it down" by day's end, I think it I still need a bit of polishing/practice. An errand followed the end of the work day on the way home and once I got into my place, my knees were feeling it but everywhere else was fine. Needless to say, I immediately started planning the next time when I will be wearing a pair of similar heels to the office. In all the experience was utterly intoxicating! So yes @mlroseplant you were correct in your prediction that I would eventually be wearing stilettos to the office! 

A note on the photo - at lunch, I felt the need to get out of the office as reviewing dozens of pages of intricate financial documents can only be fun for so long. I walked over to the small park across the street and sat on a bench for a few minutes to clear my mind. The mere fact that I was out in a place were the world could see me wearing my stilettos is that to which I can find not adequate words to properly describe.   

 

For some reason, I continue to have issues of posting photo to the original post....

[Shyheels]

Wow! That must have been fun indeed. And very nice boots too. I love the aesthetics of 12cm stilettos. Especially in boots. They are the perfect height for stilettos. Any higher seems to ruins the lines - at least for me - but 12 is truly elegant.

Well done for lasting the day. I can’t. My calf muscles seize up in knots when I wear my 12cm stiletto knee boots. I’m sure it’s a matter of practicing. It’s just that whenever I wear heels I always seem to reach for my 8cm block heel boots first.

Well done on a day in stilettos! And 12cm to boot (so to speak!)

[mlroseplant]

Thanks for the shout-out! I also find that height to be challenging, so your story and experience has inspired me to get my act together, so to speak. In a perfect world, I would wear 12 cm stilettos everywhere, but as we are well aware, it is not a perfect world.

[pebblesf]

Had to convert the 12cm to inches so I could get a better understanding of the heel height.  Somewhere around 4.75".   Usually, my limit is right around 4" for reasonable comfort and good walking ability in my stiletto boots.  Sure, I can "walk" in higher heels, but not very well, or for very long, without discomfort.  

So much depends on the design/engineering of the heel/boot/sole.  I am so thrilled to have found some nine west stiletto ankle boots with heels somewhere between the 4.75-5" range that are relatively comfortable.  More importantly, I can walk in them fairly confidently with minimal discomfort.  

Your boots look great, and I surely understand how great it feels to be able to wear/walk confidently in them!  Wearing them to work on a day when you would be alone in the office was a smart plan indeed.  

I find that much of my "timidness" in my various stiletto booties/boots is caused by being concerned about wrecking the heels prematurely while out and about.  I have spoiled a few heels on my favorite pairs which was very upsetting.  So, I think I tend to "walk gently" in my boots, without even thinking about it, in an attempt to avoid ruining them.  I'm thinking this works against progress in the long run though.  

On a positive note, was wearing my 3.5" block heeled ankle boots in Home Depot yesterday, these boots are great for everyday chores, shopping, etc.  Super easy to walk in, without the worry of damaging stiletto heels.  Was trying to navigate the damn self check out, god forbid you try to pay with cash!  A very nice younger attendant came by to help then complimented my boots.  I spent a minute or so chatting with him and thanking him for taking the time to compliment me.  

[mlroseplant]

22 hours ago, pebblesf said:

I find that much of my "timidness" in my various stiletto booties/boots is caused by being concerned about wrecking the heels prematurely while out and about.  I have spoiled a few heels on my favorite pairs which was very upsetting.  So, I think I tend to "walk gently" in my boots, without even thinking about it, in an attempt to avoid ruining them.  I'm thinking this works against progress in the long run though.  

On a positive note, was wearing my 3.5" block heeled ankle boots in Home Depot yesterday, these boots are great for everyday chores, shopping, etc.  Super easy to walk in, without the worry of damaging stiletto heels.  Was trying to navigate the damn self check out, god forbid you try to pay with cash!  A very nice younger attendant came by to help then complimented my boots.  I spent a minute or so chatting with him and thanking him for taking the time to compliment me.  

I have definitely eased up on my shoes over the years as far as the wear. I don't necessarily break fewer shoes than I did before, but the heel tips do not wear out nearly as fast as they used to. It's not that I walk timidly, I just walk more gently, as you suggest. Specifically, I don't do a hard heel strike anymore, and a lot of that has to do with ankle flexibility that I've developed over the last decade. Nevertheless, I basically have only one pair of stilettos that I wear for occasional walking, and I have posted a picture here. They actually measure 120 mm high, but are the most walkable shoes I have at that height. I use them as practice shoes to help me walk better in my higher shoes. I also wore them to church last week in deference to Pride Month. Unfortunately, the sanctuary was decorated weirdly for vacation bible school, and nobody could see my feet. Anyhow, I got 9 miles out of the stock heel tips, and over 16 out of the replacements. I'm on 30 miles total for those shoes. To put that in perspective, that's twice the mileage I used to get out of stiletto heel tips, and I don't think the quality of the product has changed significantly in the last 10 years. My non-stiletto heel caps have experienced the same relative increase in service life.

I like the self checkout at the grocery store (because I can bag my groceries my way in my own cloth bags), but I hate self checkout anyplace else. Actually, if they'd do like they do in most of Minnesota, and have a regular checkout but self-bag, I'd prefer that.

On edit: It occurred to me that in small file size, it may not be obvious that my mules, though predominately black, are rainbow colored.

Edited 5 hours ago by mlroseplant

[pebblesf]

I hate the self check out also, and would prefer to bag my own items.  But, there are usually so few regular checkout lines available, you have no choice.  Sick and tired of the register not taking off discounts until after you have totalled up the sale.  So infuriating to hear the crap about "you didn;t put the scanned item on the table".  This is a real pain when it comes to lightweight items such as greeting cards.  

On the plus side, I got a nice compliment about my boots the other day from a helper at the self check out in Home Depot.  

[Shyheels]

I too avoid the self check out aisles - I don’t see why I should be the store’s unpaid cashier and wish to make my own protest against this march towards a soulless world we we interact only with machines and people are dine out of jobs. As well, I dislike these self check outs for the reasons you name - their tedious inefficiency and time wasting hassles.