Aiming High - Practicing in Heels

[Shyheels]

Deep freeze along the canal - the frozen lumpy towpaths not at all inviting for anyone in heels, but a good day to be puttering about inside, putting extra lumps of coal on the fire and click-click-clicking about the galley making coffee and a hot breakfast! So the year seems off to a good start

[higherheels]

@Shyheels oh, you wore your 12 cm boots too, not bad either 🙂

10 cm really is like a magic border where it gets interesting. I mean I also like lower ones, but the asthetics are just perfect and cannot be beat.

 

@mlroseplant Yes, sometimes it can be difficult to put it in the right words. I don't know yet who you're talking about but I may find out 😉

[Shyheels]

10 minutes ago, higherheels said:

@Shyheels oh, you wore your 12 cm boots too, not bad either 🙂

10 cm really is like a magic border where it gets interesting. I mean I also like lower ones, but the asthetics are just perfect and cannot be beat.

Thank you! I felt pretty chuffed! And yes, 10cm is like a magic border! 8cm chunky heels are fun but proper high heels start at 10cm - and (for me) the perfect aesthetic is 12cm stiletto boots

[CrushedVamp]

On 12/30/2025 at 6:02 AM, mlroseplant said:

The main problem with Keds is, while wearing them, a person is not going to get any better at wearing 12 or 13 cm heels. To be fair, this is probably not a wise endeavor when one is 8 months pregnant. To answer the question, and yes this is my bias, everybody already knows it: If it had been me, I would have worn some cute leather sandals with the sundress, same as I would with a Dirndlkleid for that matter. But that is a matter for somebody else's life, as I am destined to wear bifurcated lower body clothing for the remainder of my days.

But does a person always have to be trying to get better at wearing 12-13 cm heels?

I ask because its not that my wife only wears Keds; she wears high heels a lot as well and is quite comfortable in them. 

But I do remember a funny incident right after we found out she was pregnant. We were going to go out on a dinner-date, and she surprised me when she wore a short dress, high heels and SEAMED STALKINGS? Nothing against those who wear such stalking's, but one has to agree that in society it is generally considered quite suggestive to wear them. it I had to ask her about her last choice in any case, and she told me that she figured she was soon going to start showing so she could no longer dress like that, so she was going all out on that night. I will say, in the conservative area where we live, she did get some questioning looks.

She did get a maternity dress that was nice and wore high heels with it a few times, but as she drew closer to her due date reverted to flats even with that dress. 

[Shyheels]

3 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

But does a person always have to be trying to get better at wearing 12-13 cm heels?

No, not at all. Wearing heels, at least for me, and I think for @mlroseplant and @higherheels as well, it’s a matter of style and fashion and I think it’s fair to say that we like stiletto heels in the 10 to 13cm range. And to be able to walk well in lofty stilettos you need a lot of practice. In my case I had a pair of 12cm stiletto knee boots I bought for their aesthetics but had never learned to walk well in them. @higherheels has a pair of imperious Louboutin Hot Chicks with 13cm heels  which very few people can wear with panache, while @mlroseplant walks marathon distances in lower heels but also likes the aesthetics of higher ones. But other people will have entirely different aesthetics and personal styles. It’s by no means a given that everybody wants to move up into ever higher heels.

[pebblesf]

23 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

No, not at all. Wearing heels, at least for me, and I think for @mlroseplant and @higherheels as well, it’s a matter of style and fashion and I think it’s fair to say that we like stiletto heels in the 10 to 13cm range. And to be able to walk well in lofty stilettos you need a lot of practice. In my case I had a pair of 12cm stiletto knee boots I bought for their aesthetics but had never learned to walk well in them. @higherheels has a pair of imperious Louboutin Hot Chicks with 13cm heels  which very few people can wear with panache, while @mlroseplant walks marathon distances in lower heels but also likes the aesthetics of higher ones. But other people will have entirely different aesthetics and personal styles. It’s by no means a given that everybody wants to move up into ever higher heels.

exactly

[CrushedVamp]

I might have taken @mlroseplant out of context too, at least in terms of motivation. I know he tracks his kilometers walking in heels and it is only natural when you do that, to want to increase the number. In that context, when looking at choosing between flats and high heels, it is only natural to see wearing flats as a missed opportunity to increase your overall kilometers in high heels per year. For others... like my wife... shoes are part of the outfit, and having the ability to make it formal, or informal, is part of the fun.

I side with her in some sense on that because as a traditional man that dresses as such, as we talked about on another part of this forum about jazzing up the male wardrobe, I am a bit jealous of her because I think my choices of fashion and footwear are a little lackluster.

[mlroseplant]

35 minutes ago, CrushedVamp said:

I might have taken @mlroseplant out of context too, at least in terms of motivation. I know he tracks his kilometers walking in heels and it is only natural when you do that, to want to increase the number. In that context, when looking at choosing between flats and high heels, it is only natural to see wearing flats as a missed opportunity to increase your overall kilometers in high heels per year. For others... like my wife... shoes are part of the outfit, and having the ability to make it formal, or informal, is part of the fun.

I side with her in some sense on that because as a traditional man that dresses as such, as we talked about on another part of this forum about jazzing up the male wardrobe, I am a bit jealous of her because I think my choices of fashion and footwear are a little lackluster.

What you have said is absolutely correct, but the "context" of my original statement has a much simpler explanation: It was supposed to be, you know, funny. Or at least mildly amusing. Tongue-in-cheek, that sort of thing. I am hanging my head in despair, knowing that I have failed miserably in my attempt at humor. Wouldn't be the first time, and certainly won't be the last.

What adds interest to this story is that you're not wrong! I rarely miss an opportunity to wear heels. Put another way, and perhaps closer to the way I actually feel, you will rarely catch me wearing flats unless there is a compelling reason to do so. I don't always wear high heels in the sense of our definition, but it's always in the back of my mind that I would love to be able to wear the highest heels well, and that definitely requires practice, preferably daily practice. In my case, the limitation doesn't really involve pain or lack of endurance, it is lack of ankle flexibility. Therefore, I do not have the effortless walk that is required to really pull of 12+ cm shoes.

[CrotchHigh]

On 12/29/2025 at 5:06 AM, mlroseplant said:

OK, so I felt guilty about slacking, so I pulled out my highest regular heels for church yesterday morning. I actually had the morning off from musical duties, so I could sit with my family in the congregation like a normal person. These particular pumps are some off brand called Elisabet Tang. There is another brand called GenShuo that is exactly the same. They are inexpensive shoes, but appear to be well made for what they are. They are slightly higher than the similar Steve Madden shoes of that ilk like the Daisie, but still clock in at a mere 11.3 cm when translated to size 38. I thought I did ok in them. I didn't have to walk more than 30 meters at a time, though, so I can't give a real assessment. At the time this photo was taken, the wind had picked up to about 40 km/h, and everything was starting to ice over. Therefore, I switched to boots to after that to run errands.

Great Heels and Outfit….

[Shyheels]

19 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

I side with her in some sense on that because as a traditional man that dresses as such, as we talked about on another part of this forum about jazzing up the male wardrobe, I am a bit jealous of her because I think my choices of fashion and footwear are a little lackluster.

Men's fashions tend to be puritanical - sombre tones in office wear, plain blocky colours in anything else, and absolutely devoid of any sort of personal theatre. Conformity is the overriding theme, not self expression. And certainly not 'fun'.  And as far as footwear goes, sensible shoes only. We're supposed to admire heels on the feet of women while scorning such frippery for ourselves as somehow beneath our masculine dignity. There is so much wrong with that thinking I scarcely know where to begin ...

Edited 3 hours ago by Shyheels

[CrushedVamp]

1 hour ago, Shyheels said:

Men's fashions tend to be puritanical - sombre tones in office wear, plain blocky colours in anything else, and absolutely devoid of any sort of personal theatre. Conformity is the overriding theme, not self expression. And certainly not 'fun'.  And as far as footwear goes, sensible shoes only. We're supposed to admire heels on the feet of women while scorning such frippery for ourselves as somehow beneath our masculine dignity. There is so much wrong with that thinking I scarcely know where to begin ...

After trying to jazz up my wardrobe and falling flat on my face for many reasons. From some weight gain unfortunately, to stains on my shirts, to just wanting a simpler life, I have decided to take a new direction with my male wardrobe. It is not one I am proud to do but just feel compelled to proceed with.

It sounds boring because it is, but I got so many decisions to make in a day that I am sick of overthinking what I wear. I no longer want to even think about it. Like many other men today, I am just buying a set of the same pants, shirt, undershirt, etc and wearing the same thing every day. An array of work clothes, and an array of dress clothes, but each set being the same.

Sure, the people at church will begin to notice I wear the same clothes to church every Sunday, but so be it. I am so tired of coordinating a nice outfit, only to notice I got a coffee stain on a shirt and practically have to strip naked and start all over with another coordinated outfit. Nope a set of dress clothes and a set of work clothes from now on.

[higherheels]

On 1/2/2026 at 2:00 PM, Shyheels said:

Wearing heels, at least for me, and I think for @mlroseplant and @higherheels as well, it’s a matter of style and fashion and I think it’s fair to say that we like stiletto heels in the 10 to 13cm range

Yes, that's absolutely true for me 🙂