Share your best Freestyle Fashion pictures here.

[heelguy]

Because this forum focuses on men who want to appear as men wearing heels. Not appear as women, which is what your photos portray, like the truth or not. That's why and that's reality.

With your attitude, it doesn't surprise me you don't have heel wearing goals.

Best of luck to you.

You will need it.

Please show me where it clearly states that this forum focuses on men who want to appear as men wearing heels? My perception of this forum was that it is for all lovers wearing high heels.

If what you see in my photo's is me portraying a woman, then that's your perception. What i see is a guy who dresses how he feels comfortable, with no feeling of the cloth that covers his body to have gender association.

Hi Heelguy,

When it comes to fashion freestyle. One of my 'rules' is that if you see a cropped headless photo, then you should be in doubt as to whether the person is male or female. If I saw your photos out of the context of this thread, I would say they were of a flat chested, athletically shouldered woman. For your style to work it needs to be a little more androgynous. The tiny dress and super high heels just conjures up images of naughty alcopop girls on a Saturday night. Add some leggings, throw on a battered slim fitting combat, dinner or leather jacket and maybe swop the shoes for boots and you'd have a great look. Also 'hard as nails' accessories are a must. It just needs a huge slab of edge to keep people engaged and a little bit afraid to laugh at you... Without the edginess you're just a boy in a dress and heels. You need to think about creating your own fashion moment.

Have a look at the attached photos of Bryan Boy to see what I mean.

There's no right or wrong and it's ultimately up to you, but I can see where Kneehighs is coming from.

Cheers,

Ben

Hi Benno, thanks for your constructive criticism, I've taken what you've said into consideration. But as for your comment i've boldly highlighted, what if that's how i want to be seen or how wearing these clothes makes me feel?

I know exactly what you mean about creating an edge, and plan to do so as time goes on, im pretty new to this still so am still finding myself a little bit. But at the same time, i have no problem being "just a boy in heels and a dress".

[kneehighs]

Please show me where it clearly states that this forum focuses on men who want to appear as men wearing heels? My perception of this forum was that it is for all lovers wearing high heels.

This discussion isn't about everyone, this is about your pictures. With regards to men's activity here, that's what it boils down to in reality. Tech and the mods have discussed this issue ad nauseum.

If what you see in my photo's is me portraying a woman, then that's your perception. What i see is a guy who dresses how he feels comfortable, with no feeling of the cloth that covers his body to have gender association.

Is it really just my perception? Did you read benno's comment? Your photo is but a partial reflection of your reality and ultimately assumes the viewer to fill in the missing visuals through their imagination--this is the internet after all.

[benno]

Hi again Heelguy, If you want to wear the dress and heels then go for it. My personal opinion is even a woman in that combo looks a bit desperate and obvious. You are your own person and can wear whatever you want, but don't you owe it to yourself to do more? The title of this thread is 'share your BEST fashion freestyle photos'... Not 'Put on a tiny dress and massive heels'. When I started on the long road of gender messing clothing I made some horrid mistakes. I don't regret them, but I had a weird idea of how I wanted to look. In fact I have realised that those mistakes are the same as a teenage girl wearing something grown up, but overly sexy and grotesque, to a prom. It's all about finding your feet and sense of style. Read some style blogs. Borrow some ideas and HAVE FUN!!! Ben x ps. Check Out Style Bubble, Sea of Shoes and Bryan Boy's blogs. Just Google them and go on a journey.

[babesintoyla]

http://youtu.be/UYp4DfhhZYU

[skirtedvik]

Here's a couple of things i recently ordered, Me and my GF ordered clothes together and when they arrived to her house she sent my stuff to me via post when i received them i sent her these pictures and she agreed that i look goooood

The white top i got for $12 and the leopard dress was $10, how could i not for those prices? everything else in the pictures i already had, hope you like!

Great freestyler!You look marvelous!Keep up the good work.

[skirtedvik]

What kind of image are you trying to project and what are your heel wearing related goals?

If you want to project the image of a man in heels, neither outfit does that, since both lack any reference to what society would consider menswear or even womenswear with menswear inspired design roots. Add a blazer and shorts to either outfit for a more unisex effect.

To change the flock's stereotype about males in terms of visual appearance someone must dare to do things!As if most women dress feminine...right(trousers,flat shoes and t-shirts all the way...)!They (women) have succeeded because started to wear in public all masculine apparel in the early 20th century.If you are just jealous that the bloke has a great masculine body that fits everything that is another story.You know your motifs best .

[benno]

Hi skirtedvik, Did you read my posts properly? It has nothing to do with being male or female. It's all about critiquing the whole outfit. The look simply needs more work. I found the leopard outfit to be missing some wow factor. Again, my personal opinion is wearing a dress and very feminine mega heels is not really integrated freestyling. It's more akin to being in DRAG without wearing a padded bra, blonde beehive wig, a face full of barbiesque makeup, false nails and eyelashes. When I wear a great outfit I primarily do it because I like making an outfit work and POP. I also want people to engage with me in intelligent conversation, not simply think I look like a square peg in a round hole. I like to inspire both men and women to question how both they and I dress. To me Heelguys outfit was just emulating drunk teenage girls at a cheap disco. I don't think that was Heelguy's intention, hence stepping in and offering my opinion and giving some tips and pointers... Even if Kate Moss wore it, as is, I still wouldn't be a fan. I was not trying to be rude to Heelguy, my posts were simply constructive critisism... I have read most of Heelguy's other posts. I think he has some serious chutzpah and needs to be applauded for that. Heelguy also has a good eye for individual items. All that's needed is to integrate the outfit with more thought. My personal view is that if I saw Heelguys tottering along in 'that' outfit I would think he was wearing it as a dare or for a laugh, not because he wanted to look amazing and inspire others to question gender and clothing. If you look at someone like Bryanboy you don't question his integrity as he obviousy has it by the bucketful. We're not perfect but if someone looks like they needs some advice I will offer it. Thanks, Ben

[kneehighs]

To change the flock's stereotype about males in terms of visual appearance someone must dare to do things!As if most women dress feminine...right(trousers,flat shoes and t-shirts all the way...)!They (women) have succeeded because started to wear in public all masculine apparel in the early 20th century.If you are just jealous that the bloke has a great masculine body that fits everything that is another story.You know your motifs best .

The point of this discussion is not to "change the flock's stereotype..." It's a discussion about two particular pictures. Let's keep on topic and avoid a total communication breakdown.

If heelguy wants to project an image of a man in a dress and he feels comfortable in doing so, then I support him in that. This is why I asked him what his heel wearing related goals were, to better understand his reality.

It still stands that the original 2 pictures lack any overt reference to the male sex, that's all I was saying.

[ShoeDre]

Hey Heelguy, I think I can see what Benno and Kneehighs are saying in a way. If you are wanting to dress for how it makes you feel, that's not really aimed at being an artist visual expression as such. If you are wanting to make a visual statement, in my opinion, there are issues in the overall construction. Completely forgetting the gender of items, there is a perspective issue in both pictures. My wife and I discuss this issue regularly when planning on what to wear, or discussing what others are wearing. In general, the eye likes to see symmetry. It doesn't have to be exact, but you need to think about colours and textures in that they need to reappear in some other way in order to not look odd. Looking at the picture with you wearing the black skirt, white top and blue shoes, the problem is obvious. You need to add the same sort of blue from your shoes in some way again, perhaps a belt. Perhaps a black jacket that shares the skirt's texture to create symmetry again. The other picture has the same problem in a way. They are incredibly beautiful shoes. They just don't go with the dress at all. The dress is brown and yellow. Neither of those colours are in the shoes, or vice versa. Another fashion aspect I try to be aware of is lines. This means the angles or curves, but also the lengths of things. The leopard skirt is too short for you. Your upper thighs are muscular. Personally I would try to avoid that length in a straight skirt. The other option is to have a more angular skirt, which will create an illusion that your upper legs are not huge with muscles. I hope that this is helpful. I'm sure you'll work out how to get the result you want. P.S. I'm still up for a coffee sometime. Just call me and we can work it out. I'm still a bit house-bound looking after my new baby boy, but a couple hours should be okay at some point.

[benno]

Check out this guy.

http://lookbook.nu/user/looks/66083-Andre-J

[dww]

After a good look, can't see any problems with his attire in this day and age.

[davemcwish]

Moving back on topic.

Heelguy, I understand where you're coming from having read your thread elsewhere.

Starting with the leopard dress, which looks great on you, my thoughts are to change the heels and add a jacket, maybe both from this pic, and a belt. There's nothing wrong with the heels you had per se but on the pics of you I've seen, I just don't think they work with a short fitted dress. I do love the dress but the scooped neckline is a bit low; this is the problem I have with a large number of tope from 'the other side of the store' which I & the SWMBO would feel is a bit too much.

With the second pic, the bright blue heels draws attantion away from the rest of you and there's nothing else to look at given the black skirt and white top; a more muted colour would have been easier but that's not you. Having done a quick search there's some suggesions here and here; there's also google images which should give you inspiration. My only other suggestion is a belt may help. You could also try a single colour dress e.g. black; not sure about grey or this paler one as I suspect more muted heels would look better. If all else fails,there's always jeans.

[babesintoyla]

http://lookbook.nu/look/1979290-rad-hour

[Shafted]

Heelguy, I really don't disapprove of whatever you want to wear. I just think the leopard outfit needs to be tamed a bit. First you need a different pair of heels. How about a pair of leopard print stilettos. Next you have great legs. Use that to your advantage with a pair of footless legging in a neutral color. I saw a pair of black/gray tie dyed leggings from Frederick's that would be perfect. Break the dress up with either a belt or neutral colored scarf worn as one. I also think a lightweight close fitting jacket would also look good over it. I challenge you to turn tacky into tasteful. I know you can do it.

[Guest]

found this http://www.flickr.com/photos/42979952@N02/5751884546/

[JeffB]

found this http://www.flickr.com/photos/42979952@N02/5751884546/

Well, damn! The least he could've done was shave those legs! HA! Cool pic!

[yellow19821]

Well, I'm going to say this for you heelguy. As an admirer of your adventures, I have to say that you have given me confidence to wear heels more often. And I must say that the leopard print dress is actually quite hot! I think it just needs a little accessorising that's all. And the heels are gorgeous. I say each to their own and we should support heelguy in his exploits as fellow heel lovers keep up the good work

[MSpookshow]

I've been experimenting with shirtdresses lately, and wanted to share this picture with ya'll. I think the outfit turned out pretty well.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspookshow/5852575165/

[kneehighs]

FROM RUNWAY TO REAL WAY

One means you have of planning out your outfits is to go through the runway shows from 6 months ago and find the outfits that match your personal taste and then incorporate the runway looks into your real way looks.

So with my coming trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm tomorrow I am planning out my options. So if I'm feeling the need to be fashion conscious, beyond what I already am, these are some of the choices I will have to pull from.

1. Wide Leg Pants (Zara Womens) with Cream Colored Blouse (Zara Womens)
Like this look from New York Fashion Week

Derek Lam SS11 reference

2. Classic trench coat (Womens) with shorts (Womens) and heels
Like this timeless look from London Fashion Week

Burberry SS11 reference


3. Pink blazer (Zara Womens) with solid yellow t (H&M mens) and black pants (H&M Womens) and heels
Like this look from Milan Fashion Week

Jil Sander SS11 reference

4. Red pants (Zara Mens), green top (H&M Mens), black blazer (Calvin Klein Womens), heels
Like this look from Milan Fashion Week

Jil Sander SS11 reference

5. Blue linen blazer (Zara, Womens), green top (H&M Mens), black pants (H&M womens)

Like this look from Milan Fashion Week

Jil Sander SS11 reference

6. Blue pants (Zara, Mens) with black blazer (H&M Womens or Calvin Klein Womens) with rose tunic dress custom shortened by local tailor (Zara, womens)

Like this look from New York Fashion Week

Tibi SS10 reference

7. Red pants (Zara, Mens) with black blazer (same as above) with white top (Zara, Womens)...this is street style referenced via Spanish Stylist Barbara Martelo -- see attached image

The bottom line is you can expect to reap what you sow like anything else in life. Plan your work and work your plan. And go beyond just your usual reference points for fashion, please. Don't just reference girls you think are cute. They might be cute, but they might not LOOK good. You are free to dress how you want and do as you please, but if you want to achieve non-verbal "status" that clothing can communicate, stick with references from top magazines and sites. Check street style sites, check runway shows, check magazines. Figure out something beyond the limited vision your current wardrobe affords you.

[skirtedvik]

If heelguy wants to project an image of a man in a dress and he feels comfortable in doing so, then I support him in that. This is why I asked him what his heel wearing related goals were, to better understand his reality.

It still stands that the original 2 pictures lack any overt reference to the male sex, that's all I was saying.

I wouldn't mistake him for a woman,even with the missing head.And about changing stereotypes, if they do not change, no success shall be made in men's fashion options at all, whether you like it or not, the situation so far has proven just that.If you think that the stereotype used to be women wearing ALL masculine apparel without any social scorn before 1940's - think twice,mate...

[kneehighs]

I wouldn't mistake him for a woman,even with the missing head.And about changing stereotypes, if they do not change, no success shall be made in men's fashion options at all, whether you like it or not, the situation so far has proven just that.If you think that the stereotype used to be women wearing ALL masculine apparel without any social scorn before 1940's - think twice,mate...

Dude, comparing women's fashion evolution to men's is like comparing apples to oranges. When women wear men's clothing, especially back in the 40's, it's viewed as a form of UPWARD ASSIMILATION. It's the out of power group identifying with the in power group. When men wear women's clothes, it's DOWNWARD assimilation. It's the in power group (patriarchy) identifying with the out of power group (matriarchy). And in general, Western (save Sweden & a few other countries, god bless) culture looks down on downward assimilation. Think Tom Boy as being acceptable as a case in point.

The success you speak of will likely not be won by some deep collective unconscious shift in attitude by the general public. It will be won in mini-battles, within the social and professional circles of those men brave enough to actually wear heels around their peers. The collective unconscious shifts will be minimized to social circle levels, but likely nothing more.

And even then, when people like Shafted, or Firefox, or Xaphod win the hearts of their local social circles, it's still not sufficient in and of itself to effect deep general public collective unconscious change. This community is too small a community in the broader population of the world to effect change by itself.

Heels for men are already being marketed by mass retailers like Jeffrey Campbell and by luxury fashion thought leaders like Gaultier. American Vogue just endorsed tolerance for heels on men in a recent issue, Spanish Glamour did a whole special editorial on men in heels, and Lucky Magazine in the US just wrote about. It's constantly in the press as an IDEA, but not in the streets as a REALITY. Most people therefore are still stuck responding to the IDEA of men in heels as opposed to being confronted with the REALITY of men in heels.

So while people are open to the reality, there's just not enough of that reality going around to effect the collective unconscious of the general public. Too many guys are stuck in the closet. And nobody here is persecuting heelguy's visual portrayal of his outfit either. I surely am not and anyone who has met me in person here (count at least 30 people) will attest to that. But then again, I am responding to the IDEA of his outfit, not the in person REALITY.

[hhboots]

I wouldn't mistake him for a woman,even with the missing head.And about changing stereotypes, if they do not change, no success shall be made in men's fashion options at all, whether you like it or not, the situation so far has proven just that.If you think that the stereotype used to be women wearing ALL masculine apparel without any social scorn before 1940's - think twice,mate...

There is no doubt heelguy can pull off that little dress better than almost anyone else here. After reading his recent adventures, and going to clubs dressed similarly, he definitely has taken things to a new level.

But I can understand both sides, and there is quite often a disconnect in this area. Mods at this forum have said it time and again, this is not to be a CD/TV/TG forum, but in my opinion can often be a gray area when we are talking about male heel lovers.

There are a whole spectrum of guys here... from those that simply like the sight of women in heels, those that like to wear heels in private, those that wear them out but hide them under long jeans, those that work harder to integrate heels into their normal outfits, those that want to blur the the boundaries of masculine and feminine, and those that go all out feminine. Where your definition of freestyling is, might be anyone of the last 3 or 4 of the above.

Anyway, I could go on, but will leave it there...

[hiheellover23]

Wore these heels to the movies. It was remarkable. I had my shades on didn't look in behind me just looked forward and went about my business. Let me know what you guys think.

http://www.hhplace.org/album.php?albumid=136&pictureid=6746

[SleekHeels]

When women wear men's clothing, especially back in the 40's, it's viewed as a form of UPWARD ASSIMILATION. It's the out of power group identifying with the in power group. When men wear women's clothes, it's DOWNWARD assimilation. It's the in power group (patriarchy) identifying with the out of power group (matriarchy). And in general, Western (save Sweden & a few other countries, god bless) culture looks down on downward assimilation. Think Tom Boy as being acceptable as a case in point.

I totally agree that the whole "downward assimilation" perception of guys in heels has been with us for decades and still largely persists, although I do also think that "Tom Boy" girls don't necessarily have any easier a time of it from their female peers. It is true that women enjoy more freedom to blend male influences into their fashion and redefine them as feminine, whereas a man incorporating female influences is perceived merely as redefining himself as feminine rather than redefining masculinity. Perhaps that's part of the imbalance.

When you say "culture looks down on downward assimilation" it made me think "Sure, I look down on downward assimilation too, it's about aspiration, a desire for upward assimilation". For me the problem isn't that culture should look up on downard assimilation, but that culture perceives men in heels as downward assimilation at all. I think that's precisely what I'm challenging when I wear my heels in public because I want to convey a sense of self-respect (without a trace of degredation/humiliation) and express that feminine qualities should have equal positive aspirational value to male qualities for all human beings.

[Guest]

Oh, I agree too SleekHeels, it's just that I'm with you on the perceived imbalance, about WHY its there in the first place, almost like as MAN wearing heels you are somehow DOWNGRADING yourself to the WOMAN'S level!!?? I think that this is the ROOT concept going way back in time that has become "embeded" in western thinking, & like you (& all others in here for that matter) its really strange that this kind of thinking has really been shaping society for @ least 150 years!

[Steve63130]

While upward and downward assimilation and all that may be true, I think a lot of that can be downplayed and overshadowed if you have good posture, walk well, display an outfit that is well coordinated, and present a confident image, most people are going to say, "wow, he looks good and walks well in those heels!" People admire others who have mastered any kind of art. I know I always admire people who are skilled in a craft, no matter what it is. And the art of wearing and walking in heels is one that definitely takes effort to do well! Practice, practice, practice! Steve

[abburke]

Just finished reading the posts starting with heelguy's picture posts of his leopard dress/white and black heels as well as the white top, black skirt and blue heels. My head is spinning now from all the content! I really wanted to comment though. First, heelguy, you can be proud that your body looks better in those outfits than a lot of women would and I wish I were disciplined enough to work out and get my body into that kind of shape so kudos to you there. I love both pairs of the heels you were wearing, very nice. However, all that being said, unfortunately, I didn't think the heels went with the outfits. As a matter of fact the first pair of heels would have gone better with the second outfit. The fact that leopard print is perceived as a bit wild and flashy, a more conservative neutral color heels would have gone better. What I didn't like about either outfit was how short the dress and skirt were. Even if you were a woman, I still would have disapproved no matter how much I liked to look. Call me conservative or old fashion but that is how I see it. Ultimately though, doesn't really matter what I or anyone else here thinks. It is your life and clothes/heels. If you and your mate are happy with it, not hurting anyone and you aren't half naked showing your privates then not much can be said. I certainly do not want to infringe on anyone's rights. I know everyone here that commented was offering advice and trying to help not hurt and that is good. I get a little frustrated with the crossdressing stuff. I used to be one and what bothers me about it so much is the deceptive idea of trying to fool others into thinking you are the opposite sex when in fact you are not no matter how much makeup you cake on or panties you wear. You do not have to live out two personalities just be yourself. I know, not a topic about that. I did like kneehigh's post on 16th August 2011 16:37 and really the best thing is to just take every opportunity to be yourself and wear what you want when possible. You can't always worry what others think or what the herd is doing. Going to have to find some of heelguy's adventure posts as they sound interesting!

[SleekHeels]

While upward and downward assimilation and all that may be true, I think a lot of that can be downplayed and overshadowed if you have good posture, walk well, display an outfit that is well coordinated, and present a confident image, most people are going to say, "wow, he looks good and walks well in those heels!"

Absolutely. I guess that captures what I was struggling to say... it's exactly that aspiration towards style and confidence which is "upward assimilation" and that should have no gender. That's what heels mean to me anyway.

[MSpookshow]

I feel this is my best freestyle fashion look to date. I really love this outfit so I wanted to share it here. Yes, I really do wear this look (and all the others on my Flickr photostream) out and about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspookshow/6014261855/

Also, here is an alt view of just the shoes. Seemed fitting seeing as this is a heel forum and all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspookshow/6014310665/

[JeffB]

I feel this is my best freestyle fashion look to date. I really love this outfit so I wanted to share it here. Yes, I really do wear this look (and all the others on my Flickr photostream) out and about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspookshow/6014261855/

Also, here is an alt view of just the shoes. Seemed fitting seeing as this is a heel forum and all.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mspookshow/6014310665/

Pretty impressive! You certainly have style, my friend!