Cold feet

[radiodave]

Just realized the pun, but here goes. Wore my new Guess peep toe shoes to visit the ex-wife. http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/33902557/c/148291.html. Talk about surprisingly comfortable shoes. She even thought they looked nice. When I left my place, this little voice said that possibly we'd go grab some dinner, so I grabbed my work shoes before heading out the door. We talked for a while, gave her her birthday gift, and then she asked "Do you have another pair of shoes?". I asked why, and she suggested grabbing a bite to eat, but assured me that if I really wanted to wear them, that was fine with her, but being in a bit more rural area, folks may not quite be ready for a guy in peep toe stilettos. Well, I had to concede that the Mexican place we usually went to might not be the place to do it, so I changed. Probably not a bad idea; we went by the ice cream stand on the way back to her house. With the number of teenage girls and boys there, that could have been interesting. Ah well. And yet I wore a pair of red espadrille wedges last weekend! She was impressed when I told her about that though; she didn't think I had the guts for that!

Anybody else have those ups and downs where one day you've got the guts and other days you're not quite up to it?

[highestheels]

Sounds like your ex is seeing a different side to you!

[t-strap lover]

I always think about wearing heels in public but it's only a thought. Where I live it wouldn't be accepted and would probably cause a fight where I would be on the losing end. If I were 30 years younger I would think about heeling when visiting in a larger city and only in certain parts of the town. I've said before that there are too many rednecks in my area that will redicule or beat up a person for no other reason than just who they are.

[HappyFeat]

Anybody else have those ups and downs where one day you've got the guts and other days you're not quite up to it?

Very nice shoes, BTW.

To answer your question...all the time. I too live in an area that is a bit less than socially forward thinking, and tend to either go to more urban areas and selected places in my local area. However, I must confess that I have engaged in my fair share of stereotyping. Surprisingly I have had people be positive that you would never suspect and people you might think are accepting not be. But I just go by the rule if I am not comfortable or feeling bold, then it is better to be safe for another day of heeling.

[docs41]

Same here Radiodave. It's pretty redneck here in NW Pennsylvania so I'm not quite as gutsy as I would like. But sometimes discretion is the better part of valor as someone much smarter than me once said. Once in a while I throw caution to the wind and wear what I want but not as often as I should.

[radiodave]

FWIW, this morning I turned up wearing my 4 1/2" wedge sandals for some lower toe loop thongs. What I thought was strange was I've worn the thongs plenty of times with nary a second glance. Today however, I walked into Wal-Mart as a guy and his wife walked out. Darned if I didn't hear a stifled "Whoa!" from him as he immediately stared in my direction. His wife asked "What is it?" and as I walked through the doors, I could see by the reflection in the second set of doors that he was most interested in me. I'll admit, I was surprised too, those are among my least likely pairs to cause any reaction. Somehow he didn't appear to be someone who was looking my way because he was excited to see a man in heels, and that he secretly wanted to wear heels himself. Just a hunch. On the other hand, I'm kind of glad I wasn't wearing anything much higher and that he didn't do anything else. He did walk over to the entrance side and watched me the rest of the way in, but hard to tell what his expression was. Could have been worse, I guess. Maybe having cold feet sometimes is a good thing!

[fastfreddy2]

Well, I had to concede that the Mexican place we usually went to might not be the place to do it, so I changed. Probably not a bad idea; we went by the ice cream stand on the way back to her house. With the number of teenage girls and boys there, that could have been interesting.

FWIW, this morning I turned up wearing my 4 1/2" wedge sandals for some lower toe loop thongs. What I thought was strange was I've worn the thongs plenty of times with nary a second glance. Today however, I walked into Wal-Mart as a guy and his wife walked out. Darned if I didn't hear a stifled "Whoa!" from him as he immediately stared in my direction. His wife asked "What is it?" and as I walked through the doors, I could see by the reflection in the second set of doors that he was most interested in me.

I think the term 'cold feet' might be replaced with the word prudence?

This thing we do in public, involves a lot of confidence to make it work. Any spoiler to that being possible, for me at least, means "all bets are off". I've now had a couple of experiences where I wanted to wear heels, and changed my mind, only to meet people I knew while out. So two lucky escapes ..... (so far). Of course there have been many times I've changed my mind and met no-one I knew, but safe beats sorry by some margin.

Other men have peculiar reactions. I was in Oxford Street last weekend. In House of Fraser a man sitting in the shoe sales area waiting for his partner, noticed my 4" blade heel boots. I imagined that as soon as the lady arrived, there would be a dipped head followed by a quiet whisper. There'd be a discreet look, and maybe a stifled giggle as they both walked away. How wrong was I? Audible conversation about something she tried on, and no second look.

Same day in Zara, a chap sitting on the floor (also waiting ) with a sleeping child in a carrier, saw my heels. Not surprising given his line of sight had my shoes directly in front of it. Every time I looked, he was looking at my feet, and didn't stop looking even when I looked back. Even so, no adverse reaction.

[You just can't tell. People don't react in a predicable manner.]

....

[bladerunner]

yep,i get the odd cold feet day,but not as often as my early trips! have be caught out by a few neighbours,but they either didnt notice or didnt care! no remarks made so what i dont know i wont worry about!!

[Stilettoscot]

Dave, Yes, everyday I wear them is different. Several times I wanted to wear in my heels to my insurance agent's place, as she is a very attractive women with a great heel taste. First 3 times I went to pay, I got the cold feet. 4th time, I went in wearing 4.5" stiletto pumps, and the reaction from here and the other ladies there was great! I stayed for like 20 minutes, and was completely at ease...even walking over the hardwood floor! Last week I wanted to do it again, and chickened out... go figure!

[Maximilian]

There are days where I don't want to attract attention or I'm in a hurry and I rather put on a pair of shoes that I can walk quickly in. There are also days where I'd like to wear my heels but do think twice about wearing them, even to places wear I've worn them in the past like to my bank branch or to the mall. Confidence in heeling comes and go's I guess. I find I'm more confident at the end of the day/night then in the morning. I have a more "F%$K what everyone else thinks attitude" after dark.

[roniheels]

There are days where I don't want to attract attention or I'm in a hurry and I rather put on a pair of shoes that I can walk quickly in.

There are also days where I'd like to wear my heels but do think twice about wearing them, even to places wear I've worn them in the past like to my bank branch or to the mall.

Confidence in heeling comes and go's I guess. I find I'm more confident at the end of the day/night then in the morning. I have a more "F%$K what everyone else thinks attitude" after dark.

I share a similar sentiment with Maximilian, except I feel more comfortable in the daylight than I do after dark.

[mackman69]

i have been wearing my heels all day around the house and then go to the dollar store and ask myself if im going to wear my heels in there or get cold feet . some days i will just what the heck and wear them in and other days chicken out.

[roniheels]

Mackman69... Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. We've all been there and done the same thing. Believe me, the more you heel in public, the more confident and carefree you are about it. Have fun and keep heeling!

[CassieJ]

I find you have to keep it up or go back to square one. When I go a week out of heels, that first trip in public is tough again. The longer I wear them and go out, the easier it gets and the bolder I get. I do recover faster each time I have to regain my courage. It takes less time to get back to the level I was at when I took a break (by choice or circumstances).