Street-Heeling at school?

[Nate]

I've recently just gone on my first street-heeling expedition, which just happened to be on my way around campus today. I'd be really curious to hear from anyone else who's been brave enough to wear heels in an academic setting. My experience was mostly positive, insomuch that I received *mostly* no feedback. I've grown to be quite adept at distinguishing looks that mean, "Hrmm... never seen a guy wearing those kinds of shoes before". I received a few of those, and have to admit that I was somewhat excited to catch people taking sideways glances at my feet. No nasty remarks, so I'm going to go ahead and make the assumption that I coordinated my outfit well.

I've been rather inspired by other posts regarding the topic of moderation in heels, and while these shoes aren't very "high", I believe that they're a good starting point for me, as far as working a heel into a somewhat masculine outfit. I'd also be interested to hear any comments regarding the actual style of the shoe I chose to wear, as well as suggestions on what they might go well with. :-)

I wore these shoes with a pair of fairly dark jeans, and a grey sweater over a dark grey collared shirt. (The trouser-socks I wore were a first for me too, and I feel as though I must spread the word here -- these particular l'eggs brand trouser socks are the softest, silkieset most wonderful damned thing I've ever had the pleasure of sliding my feet into, and I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy a few dozen of them in various styles and colors.

Let me know what you think about the shoes, and as well as your experiences in school settings.

I never could have come this far without the support I've found here -- just thought I'd let everyone know that. :-)

-Nate

[gary0618]

Nate,

Not my personal style, but I think they look great on you.

Having attended college many many years ago, if my memory serves me right, I seem to remember college campus attitudes as very open minded. Seems like the perfect place to "Street Heel".

I also think your outfit was quite appropriate for those shoes.

Have fun with it, and post more pics as you experiment with more styles.

Gary0618

[Nate]

Nate,

Not my personal style, but I think they look great on you.

Thanks! Although, I have been hearing that quite a bit lately -- things to the effect of "Not my style, but they suit you well." Apparently I'm unique even amongst my high heel wearing friends here. My "avatar" is per chance my most favorite pair of shoes, and those received mixed sentiments here also. :-)

Nevertheless, I appreciate the encouragement. I should have taken a pic of myself and not just my feet -- I was rather proud of the whole outfit.

[joenj]

Hi. About 2 years ago, I wore my first boots to the college I work at; * on a FRIDAY * because Fridays are different; you can get away with things. These were LEI boots with a wood heel ( 3.5" ) and I wore blue jeans pants. Some of the young women gave me dissaproving looks and groans; most other women didn't care -- gave the impression it was my problem. The guys had similar reactions based on their cultural upbringing...i.e.: The Latinos thought I had some mental problems. Other guys with a more broad-based education didn't care; presented the opinion ( by body language and facial expression ) that I was on my own. It was more like they want to see if you will "fall flat on your face ( or trip )" . [ groan ] . Next THURSDAY I *might* wear boots to work. Maybe. With BLACK jeans. /signed/ Joe

[Nate]

Yesterday went pretty well, so I thought I'd give it another go today.

I wore these "lower east side" loafers that I got at payless, which I'm particularly fond of. Not very high up, but I love the shape and width of the toe. I suppose its not the height of the heel that counts, but rather the act of expanding our style horizons.

These are very very similar to the black slingback shoes I wore yesterday, but its very important to me to try a variety of things, and to start out as slowly as I'm comfortable with.

This day went pretty similar to the yesterday, with one or two exceptions. These shoes are a little too long for me, and as my heavy frame (250lbs or so -- 5'8") worked their way into the shoes throughout the course of the day, my heels started slipping out of the back, so my normal confident stride was somewhat limited. One of my friends seemed to notice and asked, "You okay man? You're walking like you're hurting a little bit." I had no immediate response (I tend not to be very quick-witted when I'm moderately nervous/uncomfortable) but eventually managed to mutter, "Yea -- I'm okay. Just tired and a bit sore." Which was the truth -- just glad he didnt' ask me what I was sore from. Never worn heels all freakin' day before, and was indeed a bit sore from it. :-)

I was leaving my office at school (I work on campus also) and was standing in the doorway to my office putting on my jacket and backpack, and noticed our office secretary behind the desk taking a good hard look at my shoes. Her face underwent somewhat of a transformation the longer she looked -- from a normal glance, eventually morphing into a rather disapproving scowl. She didn't realize that I was watching her stare, and eventually looked up and saw me watching her scowl at my feet. She didn't seem to skip a beat though -- I don't think it dawned on her that they were women's shoes, but it was one of those glances that I mentioned previously that people tend to make when confronted with something they've never seen before. (for those of you familiar with theories of psychology, I call it the "Cognitive Dissonance" stare. :-) )

For the most part, this has been very encouraging, and I might be ready to go to school in some shoes with higher heels. (I really wanted to say "feminine" instead, but I think I would have missed the point of being a guy trying to promote high heels.)

-=Nate=-

[loveheel]

Hi Nate, I like the second pair. The rugged look makes them much more unisex. One reason that these may be making your feet hurt after a long day is that the sole construction is not stiff enough. Especially, if you are on the heavier side, the molded soles can often bend through which can make your foot hurt.