Aiming High - Practicing in Heels

[mlroseplant]

Being as my "training" shoes are in the shop, I was looking for alternatives, and I settled upon a pair of Bakers oxfords, model name Reissa, that I've had for a very long time. I won't say that I forgot about them, but I haven't worn them in years because I don't love the way they look, and I've always had trouble walking in them. I've always thought of them as having 13.5 cm heels with 2 cm platform, but they somehow feel steeper than those numbers would suggest. Now that I've kicked it up a notch (aiming high), I decided to put them on for a short walk. Much to my shagrin, I still have trouble walking in them, and I decided to cancel my walk, for fear of somebody seeing me struggling in these ridiculous shoes. Why are they so hard to walk in?

I went back to the basement, took the shoes off, and pulled out a tape measure. Surely there had to be more to the story. There was. The platform, as you can see, is hidden, and there's no way to determine its thickness except to feel where the footbed is on the inside of the shoe, then transfer that mark to the outside. When I first measured them, I failed to do this at the heel as well, which in this case turns out to be significant.  On this particular shoe, the footbed maintains its thickness all the way up to the top of the heel. In fact, the wearer's heel rests a good 1/2 inch higher than the point where the top of the shoe's heel is attached on the outside. Effectively, the shoe's steepness slightly exceeds 13 cm. That accounts for a good deal. No wonder.

Edited October 31 by mlroseplant

[Shyheels]

They certainly look steeper than my 12cm heels - quite a bit steeper in fact. You’ve probably got something as steep as @higherheels Hot Chicks but with absolutely none of the chic or the cachet

[higherheels]

That's a cool pair, I somehow like the style. 

Yes, they seem to be as steep as my Hot Chicks.

Glad I'm not the only one feeling a big difference between 12 and 13 cm 😉

[Shyheels]

Sometimes when I’m wearing my 12cm boots I think of your Hot Chicks and try to imagine that extra centimetre of elevation. It would certainly defeat me

[mlroseplant]

@higherheels, do you find with your Hot Chicks that you need to warm up extensively before actually walking anywhere? I find that with my higher heels that I have to sort of pace around the house or the garage for about 10 minutes before my ankles limber up enough to take on the real world. I failed to do any of this preliminary warmup (preflight? 😆) the other day when I tried out the Bakers oxfords. I think I might give it another go this weekend.

[Shyheels]

Speaking for myself, I find that walking around for a few minutes in my 10cm heels is a good warm up for wearing my 12cm ones - although if I do I have a way of becoming distracted and forgetting to change boots.

[higherheels]

@mlroseplant No, I don't do any warm-up before going outside. But I put them on first before the rest of the clothes, so there's already a bit of standing in them before walking.

What makes a difference is weither I been at home barefeet all day or already been out in heels all day. Even if I only wore lower heels like 8 cm all day, the transition is easier.

[mlroseplant]

22 hours ago, Shyheels said:

Speaking for myself, I find that walking around for a few minutes in my 10cm heels is a good warm up for wearing my 12cm ones - although if I do I have a way of becoming distracted and forgetting to change boots.

 

20 hours ago, higherheels said:

@mlroseplant No, I don't do any warm-up before going outside. But I put them on first before the rest of the clothes, so there's already a bit of standing in them before walking.

What makes a difference is weither I been at home barefeet all day or already been out in heels all day. Even if I only wore lower heels like 8 cm all day, the transition is easier.

I don't normally warm up before wearing "regular" heels, but I often think that maybe I should. There comes a point, however, at which I can't walk properly. This begins to occur somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 cm. I haven't really looked in a mirror or filmed myself, but I feel 95% of it is that I can't straighten my knees all the way. Many times, 10 or 15 minutes of pacing around will correct that problem.

[Shyheels]

I’m still very much in the world of heavy suede OTK boots with 8cm heels - I’m hoping to get my heating sorted in the next week or so and can get back to practicing in my stilettos. I just hope that in the interim I’ve not lost whatever modest gains I’ve made …

[higherheels]

@mlroseplant I had the same feeling when I bought my Hot Chicks. I was able to straighten my knees, but it felt like it was on the limit. Wearing them at home very often helped for that. 

@Shyheels I'm looking forward to hearing from your eyperience of getting into your 12 cm boots again.

I'm pretty sure you will feel at least a minor throwback, at least that's my experience.

 

By the way, yesterday I wore the Hot Chicks out again for dinner. It felt way easier than the last times, the regular little practice walks around the block helped so much!

[Shyheels]

25 minutes ago, higherheels said:

By the way, yesterday I wore the Hot Chicks out again for dinner. It felt way easier than the last times, the regular little practice walks around the block helped so much!

Wow! Congratulations! It must have been fun to be going out to dinner in them and having it feel relatively easy! That’s brilliant progress.

i am hoping to be getting back into my 12cm boots later this week - and in a warmer boat! 

[higherheels]

Absolutely! I'll definitely keep the practice walks, they help the best so far. Only have to find an alternative for winter season, I really don't wanna use the Hot Chicks in snow and salt.

[mlroseplant]

I wouldn't want to wear Louboutins in the snow, either! But what will you replace them with over the winter? It seems that a lot of makers do not make 13 cm--they go directly from 12 cm to 15 cm. I'm guessing if you could somehow find some 13 cm boots, that would be ideal. But who makes such a thing?

[higherheels]

That's a real dilemma. I also didn't find any 13 cm boots yet. 12 cm are available and I also have a few already. The next step seems to be around 14 cm+, which already is another challenge.

Slightly above 13 cm would be alright for me, but I don't think I can handle 14 cm (yet).

I'll see if I can find something close to 13 cm, or otherwise I'll have to stick to my 12 cm boots for winter.

[mlroseplant]

At least with 12 cm boots, you won't lose too much ground over the winter. Whether I continue to progress over the winter depends entirely upon the weather and my motivation. My high heeled boots are much lower than what I would typically wear for shoes or sandals.

[Shyheels]

On 11/4/2025 at 8:46 AM, higherheels said:

That's a real dilemma. I also didn't find any 13 cm boots yet. 12 cm are available and I also have a few already. The next step seems to be around 14 cm+, which already is another challenge.

Slightly above 13 cm would be alright for me, but I don't think I can handle 14 cm (yet).

I'll see if I can find something close to 13 cm, or otherwise I'll have to stick to my 12 cm boots for winter.

I’m so envious of your skill level when 12cm boots are the easy ones to retreat to when you can’t find 13cm boots. They’re still quite a challenge for me. I’m getting a load of wood this weekend so I can heat the boat and go back to practicing in my 12cm boots on my boat! 

[higherheels]

@mlroseplant Yes I also think I'd be fine continuing in 12 for winter, but I'm still interested in continuing with some higher boots.

I finally found a pair of boots online which might be around 13,5 cm I guess. Still thinking if I should buy them.

Is there a reason why your boots are lower than your other heels?

@Shyheels 

All just a matter of practice, and I think your skill level is very good 🙂

[mlroseplant]

17 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’m so envious of your skill level when 12cm boots are the easy ones to retreat to when you can’t find 13cm boots. They’re still quite a challenge for me. I’m getting a load of wood this weekend so I can heat the boat and go back to practicing in my 12cm boots on my boat! 

Is that because the diesel heater is still on the fritz, or is it actually time to kick on the real heat? We are supposed to get our first killing frost this weekend, which is a little on the late side for us.

1 hour ago, higherheels said:

@mlroseplant Yes I also think I'd be fine continuing in 12 for winter, but I'm still interested in continuing with some higher boots.

I finally found a pair of boots online which might be around 13,5 cm I guess. Still thinking if I should buy them.

Is there a reason why your boots are lower than your other heels?

@Shyheels 

All just a matter of practice, and I think your skill level is very good 🙂

I could make this answer a lot longer than it needs to be. The reason my boots are not on the higher end of the spectrum is because I typically do not wear boots unless it is absolutely necessary to wear boots, such as when it's snowing. Therefore, for practical reasons, the heel height does not exceed 10 cm, and is typically more like 8. I'm still wearing sandals in November! I will need to change that this weekend, as temperatures in my area are expected to dip below 0º for the first time this season.

[Shyheels]

12 minutes ago, mlroseplant said:

Is that because the diesel heater is still on the fritz, or is it actually time to kick on the real heat? We are supposed to get our first killing frost this weekend, which is a little on the late side for us.

I’m hoping the heater will be sorted this weekend. It’s not so much the temperature but the bone chilling dampness that is do unpleasant. England gets a damp cold and doubly so when you’re on the water! 

[higherheels]

So you both are the total opposite -mlroseplant still wearing sandals in november, Shyheels wearing boots all year, I love it!

I am very boring in that matter 😉

[Shyheels]

3 hours ago, higherheels said:

So you both are the total opposite -mlroseplant still wearing sandals in november, Shyheels wearing boots all year, I love it!

I am very boring in that matter 😉

I don’t think anyone who wears Hot Chicks could ever be classed as boring!

it is funny though how our tastes and styles differ.