Shyheels Posted October 6 Author Posted October 6 (edited) I’ve never worn pumps or sandals - I have to admit now that I am practicing so much in my 12cm boots, and hearing about you, @higherheels and @mlroseplant in your sandals and pumps and Hot Chicks I’ve become kind of curious to try lofty stilettos in these styles as well! I’ve even been looking at a few 12cm styles … I expect I'll find them a bit more challenging than boots, less ankle support for one thing, but I am kind of fascinated by the additional challenge ... Edited October 7 by Shyheels 1
higherheels Posted October 7 Posted October 7 I can recommend to try out these styles, that's what I love so much about heels - the variety! I think it's best if you start with pumps as they're generally easier than sandals. In difficulty I'd say they're close to boots, the only downside is the missing ankle support. The biggest difference is in comfort. Pumps must have a very tight fit, which isn't necessary to the same degree in boots. But don't worry, pumps can still be comfortable once they're worn in. Many of my everyday shoes are pumps, so no big deal 🙂 3
Shyheels Posted October 7 Author Posted October 7 Thanks! Like you, I love the astonishing variety one can find in heels - even just within the category of boots! Colours, shapes, styles and heights. I've been looking at pumps, even thinking of being daring and picking out a pair in some pastel shade. Also trying to make up my mind - do I go for 10cm or do like what you did with your Hot Chicks and buy 12cm for the sheer elegance and worry about how the hell I walk in them later? 1
higherheels Posted October 7 Posted October 7 The rational way would be to start with 10 cm, but we're not all that rational when it comes to heels, are we? 😀
Shyheels Posted October 7 Author Posted October 7 1 minute ago, higherheels said: The rational way would be to start with 10 cm, but we're not all that rational when it comes to heels, are we? 😀 Nope! Its like saying you want a sensible pair of stilettos 1
CrushedVamp Posted October 8 Posted October 8 On 9/24/2025 at 2:48 PM, higherheels said: Yes, only standing can be a good training too, I also feel that when wearing the Hot Chicks while cooking. Kind of a funny story about high heels and cooking, though I admit compared to other people's stories on here, this is quite mild. But in making a new kitchen for my wife, she wanted a spot that was a bit lower than the rest of the counters so that in having a marble top, she could toss flour on it and have a place where she could roll out pie crusts and cookies. I was fine with that except there was no good place to put one, and even if I did, it would be a place dedicated to just that. It did not make sense in such a small kitchen. But what she did instead was, keep a pair of her high heeled shoes in the cabinet underneath. When she needed to roll dough, she would slip them on and really be taller that way she could press down from above more and make rolling out dough easier for her. She got a lot of grief for this, but it really worked well for her and did not tie up her kitchen by having a countertop lower in one spot for something she only did a few times a month. The high heels worked perfect for rolling out dough. 1
mlroseplant Posted October 8 Posted October 8 14 minutes ago, CrushedVamp said: Kind of a funny story about high heels and cooking, though I admit compared to other people's stories on here, this is quite mild. But in making a new kitchen for my wife, she wanted a spot that was a bit lower than the rest of the counters so that in having a marble top, she could toss flour on it and have a place where she could roll out pie crusts and cookies. I was fine with that except there was no good place to put one, and even if I did, it would be a place dedicated to just that. It did not make sense in such a small kitchen. But what she did instead was, keep a pair of her high heeled shoes in the cabinet underneath. When she needed to roll dough, she would slip them on and really be taller that way she could press down from above more and make rolling out dough easier for her. She got a lot of grief for this, but it really worked well for her and did not tie up her kitchen by having a countertop lower in one spot for something she only did a few times a month. The high heels worked perfect for rolling out dough. Haha, I do the same thing! In my case, it's for kneading bread dough. Better in every way when you can get your body weight into it. Your wife's idea is not so strange, it's practical.
higherheels Posted October 8 Posted October 8 @CrushedVamp yeah it's really funny, but cooking simply is the task I do most at home while being on my feet. The story about your wife is actually a great idea! I'll think of that when I have to make dough or something like that.
Shyheels Posted October 8 Author Posted October 8 That is indeed a good idea! I do a lot of my practicing in my 12cm heels while cooking in my galley. I’d not considered the other advantages! Thanks!
Cali Posted October 8 Posted October 8 I had a pair I called my 'refrigerator heels', I could see and clean the top of my refrigerator with them on.
Shyheels Posted October 8 Author Posted October 8 On the flip side of this, when I first tried on heels I thoughtlessly bent over to pick up a piece of paper that had slipped to the floor, forgetting momentarily that I was in 10cm heels! I nearly face-planted on the floor - an early lesson that the world is a different place in heels and you need to do things a bit differently when you’re wearing them!
at9 Posted October 8 Posted October 8 (edited) For taller people there are also concussion heels. The ones that allow you to bang your head hard on door frames🤣 I once wore some high platform boots (5" heel, 3" platform) and a top hat to a party. I'm under 6ft so only the hat hit the door frames😁 I once stayed at a lovely holiday cottage that had a low beam halfway along the main living area. I knew I had to duck every time, heels or no. My wife, who is about 5'5" and rarely has to duck, had a few hits and many near misses. Edited October 8 by at9
CrushedVamp Posted October 10 Posted October 10 On 10/8/2025 at 4:56 AM, mlroseplant said: Haha, I do the same thing! In my case, it's for kneading bread dough. Better in every way when you can get your body weight into it. Your wife's idea is not so strange, it's practical. I have to admit that I grossly overthought this part of the kitchen. Like where I was going to put this lowered countertop area? The exact height it should be? How much kitchen area this should take up? What countertop material to use? Nope… no thought needed. Just keep a pair of easy to slip on high heels nearby. She had a pair of pumps, but a pair of mules would be easier to put on I think. Alternatively, a person considering a dough rolling area in their kitchen, could also make a pull-out step at the bottom of the cabinets. Just pull it out and step on it to gain a few inches taller to make rolling dough easier. Or… just keep a pair of easy to slip on high heels nearby. 😊
Puffer Posted October 10 Posted October 10 I have recently been doing a great deal of work in my middle stepson's rebuilt and extended house. My wife has also been there, doing painting. I have lost count of the times she has taken away from me my short stepladder or hop-up platform because her painting target was just - only just - out of reach. My suggestion that a pair of comfy 4" wedge heels would have been her more convenient option was not well-received, alas.
Shyheels Posted October 10 Author Posted October 10 Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good! I’ve been some good indoors practice this week. On the subject of height in heels, I fielded a funny question this week from a passer-by (those of us who live in narrowboats are objects of great curiosity to non-canal folk) who wanted to know if it wasn’t rather tiresome having to crawl around inside all the time! He thought that the height of the cabin was what he could see above the gunwales and that living aboard was like living in a tent. I explained that the ceilings were quite high and that even a six-footer such as I could stand upright in high heels. He believed me about the ceiling height, but assumed I was kidding about the heels. 1
Cali Posted October 10 Posted October 10 6 hours ago, CrushedVamp said: I have to admit that I grossly overthought this part of the kitchen. Like where I was going to put this lowered countertop area? The exact height it should be? How much kitchen area this should take up? What countertop material to use? Nope… no thought needed. Just keep a pair of easy to slip on high heels nearby. She had a pair of pumps, but a pair of mules would be easier to put on I think. Alternatively, a person considering a dough rolling area in their kitchen, could also make a pull-out step at the bottom of the cabinets. Just pull it out and step on it to gain a few inches taller to make rolling dough easier. Or… just keep a pair of easy to slip on high heels nearby. 😊 How about a lift in the floor?
pebblesf Posted October 10 Posted October 10 5 hours ago, Shyheels said: Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good! I’ve been some good indoors practice this week. On the subject of height in heels, I fielded a funny question this week from a passer-by (those of us who live in narrowboats are objects of great curiosity to non-canal folk) who wanted to know if it wasn’t rather tiresome having to crawl around inside all the time! He thought that the height of the cabin was what he could see above the gunwales and that living aboard was like living in a tent. I explained that the ceilings were quite high and that even a six-footer such as I could stand upright in high heels. He believed me about the ceiling height, but assumed I was kidding about the heels. I love replies like this, and have used them a few times as well! 1
CrushedVamp Posted October 11 Posted October 11 20 hours ago, Puffer said: I have recently been doing a great deal of work in my middle stepson's rebuilt and extended house. My wife has also been there, doing painting. I have lost count of the times she has taken away from me my short stepladder or hop-up platform because her painting target was just - only just - out of reach. My suggestion that a pair of comfy 4" wedge heels would have been her more convenient option was not well-received, alas. Somewhere on this website there was a discussion about this very thing: some little things that were easier to do in high heels. The list was not huge I admit, but rolling out dough, painting, and a few other things were brought up by me, but others on here as well. One of my houses is an old Victoriam home with 9 foot ceilings. It is just enough so that even stretched out I cannot get to the crown molding, but yet a folding set of steps is overkill. But wearing high heels... yep that would work out just right. Putting up curtains wearing high heels would help as well.
Puffer Posted October 12 Posted October 12 On 10/11/2025 at 6:19 AM, CrushedVamp said: ,,, One of my houses is an old Victoriam home with 9 foot ceilings. It is just enough so that even stretched out I cannot get to the crown molding, but yet a folding set of steps is overkill. But wearing high heels... yep that would work out just right. Putting up curtains wearing high heels would help as well. My Victorian house has 10' ceilings on the ground floor; steps are essential for any overhead work; heels would not suffice. My wife is a skilled seamstress and has made some beautiful (and quite elaborate) curtains for the floor-ceiling drop in those high rooms. They are heavy and take two people to fit or take down. I recently described my wife to a friend as someone 'who readily runs-up curtains' - and maybe I should have added 'but not in high heels', to further confuse the listener. (I'm assuming that 'runs-up' is generally understood outside the UK to mean 'makes', as by sewing or carpentry.)
CrushedVamp Posted October 12 Posted October 12 1 hour ago, Puffer said: My Victorian house has 10' ceilings on the ground floor; steps are essential for any overhead work; heels would not suffice. My wife is a skilled seamstress and has made some beautiful (and quite elaborate) curtains for the floor-ceiling drop in those high rooms. They are heavy and take two people to fit or take down. I recently described my wife to a friend as someone 'who readily runs-up curtains' - and maybe I should have added 'but not in high heels', to further confuse the listener. (I'm assuming that 'runs-up' is generally understood outside the UK to mean 'makes', as by sewing or carpentry.) Ha, that was a new one on me and momentarily confused me. But then it took me until a few weeks ago to understand that "trainers" were just sneakers in UK Speak! 🙂 I am jealous of your wife making curtains though. My wife buys her's and renews them about every three months. Since there are 54 windows in this house it gets expensive! But she doesn't save the old ones, she throws them out. We are in the midst of selling this Victorian and bought a smaller house so to make it look good I asked her where all the matching curtains were for the room colors and whatnot that we had. "Oh, I threw them all out". Grrrrrr.... We like this house. It's right on a river and has a barn and all that, but it is just too big for the two of us now our children have grown up. Kind of scary to move to a much smaller house, but its out on an island, on a point of land so has the views but is much cheaper to heat and cool.
higherheels Posted October 13 Posted October 13 There are some interesting ideas of using heels to make work easier. I have to admit I never thought of using them for such. Making dough is my favourite, I will definitely try that once. For me it was time to wear out the Hot Chicks again. It's been a while since the last time, and I was again surprised how big the difference between wearing them indoor and outdoor is. Indoor is always a good training, but outdoor with actually continuously walking is a different league. They are becoming easier, but still strain the feet and muscles very much. I think I'll have to wear them more frequently now before winter comes, so I can still make some progress this year.
Shyheels Posted October 13 Author Posted October 13 46 minutes ago, higherheels said: Indoor is always a good training, but outdoor with actually continuously walking is a different league. Yes. That’s what concerns me as I practice indoors with my 12cm boots. I love the idea of wearing them out to a cafe for coffee but have to find a way to get real world walking in before I even think about that. On the bright side, I continue to improve. I especially love cooking in heels. 1
mlroseplant Posted October 13 Posted October 13 Oh, yes! I've said for years that I don't care how many floors you've swept, don't care how many loads of laundry you've done, once you step out on to the street it's a whole different world, and suddenly, 100 meters might as well be 1,000. But, these difficulties are not impossible to overcome. 1
Shyheels Posted October 13 Author Posted October 13 So true. I have made the effort recently to go to the park and practice on a paved and gently undulating footpath and straightaway noticed the difference! As you say 100 metres might as well be 1000. I did a couple hundred metres, I would guess, and very much needed a break. It was fun though. I need to go back. 1
CrushedVamp Posted October 13 Posted October 13 Do members on here feel as if watching "how to walk in high heels' videos on Youtube helps? The reason I ask is, my wife will people-watch people at weddings and confide in me that this person or that does not know how to walk in high heels. It is not done in a nefarious way, just making a point. I have watched a few videos on youtube and they have stated what my wife has made comments about over the years like taking shorter steps, stepping with toe or heel down first when walking on certain surfaces, etc. So I know they and she seem to be lockstep on their pointers, if you will forgive the bad pun? 1
Shyheels Posted October 13 Author Posted October 13 I’ve seen the videos, read the articles and had advice from female friends who are extremely skilled in walking in heels and all of this is great, in the abstract, but nothing replaces the actual doing - practice, practice and practice. 1
higherheels Posted October 13 Posted October 13 @Shyheels That's great progress, and going to a cafe should be a good occasion for the first time. I think you're not that far away from it 🙂 @CrushedVamp I think such videos can help. But in my opinion the most important thing is to choose the right shoes, start low and keep practicing. The rest should basically come itself from practice. When I started, tutorials on Youtube weren't a thing yet like they are now. I just wore them. Later on i've watched such videos, but basically didn't learn anything new that I hadn't already found out myself. 1
Shyheels Posted October 13 Author Posted October 13 @higherheels Thank you so much! This high heels challenge has been such a help and such fun too. I’ve bought myself a new pair of jeans to wear with my 12cm boots as a reward for my hard work - and hopefully will get to wear them soon to a cafe for cake and coffee. Just need to get in a bit more real world practice. I have to be certain I can ace this! How are things going with the Hot Chicks? Did you ever reward yourself with the night out you mentioned after your successful outing a few weeks ago? 1
higherheels Posted October 13 Posted October 13 That's great! Real world practice is always a good idea, and I feel you for wanting to be good enough when really wearing them out for a specific occasion. 3 hours ago, Shyheels said: How are things going with the Hot Chicks? Did you ever reward yourself with the night out you mentioned after your successful outing a few weeks ago? As mentioned above I wore them out again (this weekend) and was a bit surprised. Even though I wore them regularly at home and felt some progress, it was totally different wearing them out again. For sure the home practice helped, but not as much as I expected. Now I want to find some occasions where I can wear them out more frequently, it's not that easy 😄 1
Shyheels Posted October 13 Author Posted October 13 Yes, Hot Chicks are a pretty serious challenge. I had thought my indoor practice in my heels would have meant more than it did. Real world walking is so much different. I kind of like the challenge though. I’m looking forward to another try at the park 1
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