Aiming High - Practicing in Heels

[mlroseplant]

On 11/28/2025 at 3:05 AM, higherheels said:

Is there actually a definition of stripper heels, or do you have a personal one?

For me, the only type that comes to my mind are the ones with huge platforms and rather low heels (if you subtract the platform).

 

The last time I was in such an establishment was 1991, and the definition of "stripper heels" was quite different back then. Leave it to me to be more interested in the shoes than the other bits. What dancers wore at that time was what we would consider quite normal, almost boring shoes. Pretty much pumps with four inch heels. Platforms were not a thing at the time, at least not around here. Sometime between 1991 and now heel heights that seem normal increased dramatically, and platforms for exotic dancers got ridiculously thick. To me, "stripper heels" have never really been all that steep, because after all, one has to be able to at least pretend to dance in them, and for the better part of the entire night at that!

On 11/28/2025 at 4:48 AM, higherheels said:

Regarding the height calculation/conversion discussion: Another factor probably is that different manufacturers will use different scales. Then you'll never be able to have an exact calculation formula for all, but it doesn't have to be 100 % accurate anyway.

 

I can give a very good example of where "the formula" doesn't work quite right. I have over the years owned a few different pairs of a Michael Kors shoe called Oksana. If you buy them in USW 8 1/2, you get 5 1/8" heels (with 1" platform). If you go up to size 9, the heels suddenly become 5 1/2". That's a full centimeter difference in half a size bigger. Because they are Kors less expensive line, they obviously didn't make a different heel for every single size. I'm guessing 8 1/2 was the cutoff for one length of heel, and 9 was the beginning of the next.

________________________

In other news, most of the reason that I have not been practicing toward the goal of 12 cm heels recently is because I have been working toward the goal of walking 60 high heeled miles in a single calendar month. I have come really close a couple of times, but I've never actually exceeded 60 until now. Here is a picture of me (wearing boots, no less) right after I finished walking the last high heeled mile. Although with the new system of proportional measurement, I'd technically have to call these mid-heels, as they are 1/8" (3 mm) short of being actually "high."

[Shyheels]

Congratulations on your 60 mile month! And nice to see that you wear boots! 😊

Ive been stressed and under the gun trying to finish a feature that has turned into a nightmare by a new young and less than gifted editor with adolescent tabloid instincts and who simply doesn’t grasp the story. I’ve retreated to the safe stable height of my 10cm stiletto boots as I write

[mlroseplant]

Thank you, and I'll let you know that I'm probably taking the last two days of the month off. I barely made it under the wire before this snowstorm hit, which is supposed to last until 6 a.m. tomorrow. Maybe I will take some footprint pictures if the correct situation presents itself. Good luck with your editor. Hopefully, we'll both be back at the 12 cm thing soon.

[Shyheels]

Indeed - we’ll need to be otherwise @higherheels will be leaving us in the dust in her 13cm Hot Chicks! 😊

[higherheels]

@mlroseplant

I only know strip clubs from movies or tv series, and am probably even too young to have recognized that "normal" heels were used in the 90s. Interesting indeed, I only have huge platforms in my mind when I think about stripper heels.

 

It makes sense for manufacturers to use the same heel height for a few sizes to save costs. There probably will be many models out there which are manufactured that way.

 

Wow, as if the height challenge is not enough you're also making a distance challenge! 60 miles in a month sounds a lot. I wonder how much I would make in a normal month.

 

For the christmas market on the weekend I chose a pair of 11 cm boots. Up to now I've always chosen some lower heels like 7-10 cm for christmas markets, so it was really nice to wear something different this time. We were there for about 3 hours, so with all the standing it was not as comfortable as with lower heels, but it was OK.

I now definitely want to wear 12 cm boots to a christmas market too, but therefor I will pick a smaller one where we won't stay as long.

[Shyheels]

Your Christmas markets in Germany sound lovely - and from all I’ve heard they really are, too. We have imitations of them here in Britain but they are not very nice - expensive, very fake and shoddy.

I'm impressed with your going out to a market in 11cm boots for three hours. That’s great.

We did have the town Christmas tree lighting event here where I am moored, and with the towpath frozen - instead of muddy - I wore some nice suede OTK boots with 8cm heels. It was about a 5km walk there and back plus standing around - nothing I fancied attempting in stilettos. It was a nice evening. Friendly little town. I think I was probably the only one in heels 

[higherheels]

Indeed they are very nice.

Oh, so in britain they try to imitate the german christmas markets?

 

Yes, it's really great to try something new from time to time. And I'm sure it would've not been as comfortable if I didn't have the recent training from our challenge!

 

Your experience sounds great too 🙂

[Shyheels]

Yes. They imitate German Christmas markets here - badly! 

I would have liked to have worn my stilettos to the town fete but the walk along the towpath is just too rough. I am thinking of packing my 12cm boots in a knapsack and walking into town, and changing there. Or maybe taking the bus and the train and trying my stilettos at the imitation Christmas market in Leeds

[higherheels]

I didn't know that our markets are object to a bad imitation, crazy.

 

Yes that's the issue with stilettos.

At our christmas market were paths and places with cobblestones and my heels were stilettos, that's really not the best combination.

Your idea with bringing your 12 cm boots with you sounds great!

[Shyheels]

Yes, I’m looking forward to it!

Yes, you’d be surprised and probably amused by our “German” Christmas markets. There was a story about them in the Guardian a few days ago. Apparently the one in Birmingham is the closest to a genuine German Christmas market. The descriptions of yours sounded wonderful - and a lovely evening to go around in stiletto boots. 

[at9]

I saw the report in the Grauniad (the name was given by Private Eye in the days when that paper was famous for its typos).

I went to the Birmingham market a few years ago (2019 I think) and it looked pretty good. It was certainly big. After a while I realised that the same stalls seemed to be occurring multiple times which wasn't so good.

I've not been to a genuine German market so i don't have a reference point.

[higherheels]

I only know our german christmas markets, so I also have no comparison. From your descriptions it may be better that I don't know others 😀