Master Resource: General Public Discussions of men in heels

[Puffer]

An interesting read, with some thoughtful comments.   But I wish he had said what he means by 'US size 13' - men's or women's?   It is not that difficult to find women's styles of footwear in size USW13, but not at all easy in USM13 (= USW15).  

[mickeyunc]

32 minutes ago, Puffer said:

An interesting read, with some thoughtful comments.   But I wish he had said what he means by 'US size 13' - men's or women's?   It is not that difficult to find women's styles of footwear in size USW13, but not at all easy in USM13 (= USW15).  

Us 15  look at onlymaker

[Shyheels]

Yes, anyone who goes to the Heels4Men forum will be seriously underwhelmed. Nobody has posted there at all in over a year. Wonder how many potential members we might have lost?

[pebblesf]

6 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Yes, anyone who goes to the Heels4Men forum will be seriously underwhelmed. Nobody has posted there at all in over a year. Wonder how many potential members we might have lost?

For sure.  Haven't been there in awhile because of the reasons you mentioned

[Shyheels]

I’ve tried several times to post and revive but it just seemed so fruitless

[pebblesf]

1 hour ago, Shyheels said:

I’ve tried several times to post and revive but it just seemed so fruitless

I really liked that site because it had a chat feature, wish we had that here....

[Cali]

I think that the word missing in this article is confidence.  It requires a high degree of confidence in yourself to wear knee high heets or pumps (our others) in public. And confidence is a very important quality to have.

[Puffer]

7 hours ago, Shyheels said:

I’ve tried several times to post and revive but it just seemed so fruitless

Likewise!

[pebblesf]

6 hours ago, Cali said:

I think that the word missing in this article is confidence.  It requires a high degree of confidence in yourself to wear knee high heets or pumps (our others) in public. And confidence is a very important quality to have.

The word confidence might be missing, but it is implied...  Will have to read the article again.....  Nonetheless, you are absolutely right, confidence is key for sure.  It has taken me many years to gain some confidence, but it sure does feel great to wear the boots I like in many situations with little or no nervousness.  

[Cali]

I didn't want to say that confidence is a masculine quality, because it is gender free concept.

[Shyheels]

Yes, confidence can be masculine but confidence in testing fashion boundaries isn’t exactly a noted masculine trait 

[pebblesf]

1 hour ago, Cali said:

I didn't want to say that confidence is a masculine quality, because it is gender free concept.

True.  

[Jkrenzer]

53 minutes ago, pebblesf said:

True.  

Agreed, but in this context it's not. Women don't require confidence to dress anyway or in anything they want because they have been for decades.

[Shyheels]

Yes, that’s true, women have - but then they’ve demonstrated in the past a confidence to challenge fashion boundaries - bloomers, trousers, jeans - in a way that men never have. And bear in mind heels were a masculine fashion originally, and again it was women who summoned the pluck to cross the boundary and adopt the style and make it their own. Once heels were perceived as feminine, men fled never to return.

Edited May 20 by Shyheels

[Jkrenzer]

5 minutes ago, Shyheels said:

Yes, that’s true, women have - but then they’ve demonstrated in the past a confidence to challenge fashion boundaries - bloomers, trousers, jeans - in a way that men never have. And bear in mind heels were a masculine fashion originally, and again it was women who summoned the pluck to cross the boundary and adopt the style and make it their own. Once heels were perceived as feminine, men fled never to return.

Purely from a fashion perspective I have to say the following. 

Those women have been dead forever so today's world has no idea of that past. Today's women have not had the boundaries men have had. It's a bad conclusion to think that women have really had it that rough, that's a feminist cop out. Women have been more than equal in fashion. In the 80's and 90's it was illegal to tell a woman what to wear in the work place. Anything went, even flip flops. Men, shirt and tie, no exceptions.  

[Shyheels]

I am not for a moment suggesting that women have it tough in the fashion world - they have extraordinary latitude in what they can wear and men have very little. They can be as expressive as they like while we must conform. I get it. What I am saying is that historically women have demonstrated the pluck to adopt a masculine fashion and make it their own. Men have never done the reverse - adopt a feminine fashion and make it a mainstream look for themselves. 

Edited May 20 by Shyheels

[Puffer]

Surely today's women in general do indeed display confidence whenever they go out, after dressing and putting on make-up etc as the mood takes them?   The confidence that they have chosen a look that, almost regardless of how offbeat or flamboyant (or otherwise) it might be, will be acceptable to the world at large and not give rise to any significant adverse comment, let alone ridicule or persecution.   The same certainly cannot be said to be true for a man who, if he strays outside a pretty narrow avenue of convention in his appearance, will excite questioning and probably negative reaction from most people who see him.   We expect women to have a free hand and to show off - we do not expect men to do so.   

[pebblesf]

3 hours ago, Puffer said:

Surely today's women in general do indeed display confidence whenever they go out, after dressing and putting on make-up etc as the mood takes them?   The confidence that they have chosen a look that, almost regardless of how offbeat or flamboyant (or otherwise) it might be, will be acceptable to the world at large and not give rise to any significant adverse comment, let alone ridicule or persecution.   The same certainly cannot be said to be true for a man who, if he strays outside a pretty narrow avenue of convention in his appearance, will excite questioning and probably negative reaction from most people who see him.   We expect women to have a free hand and to show off - we do not expect men to do so.   

So true.  A double standard for sure.  So, it is up to guys like us, to go against underlying societal "expectations", helping to pave the way for other men to explore fashions that have been more or less reserved for women.