Heel_Boy Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 For me I started wearing heels in my teens and a very understanding Nan bought my first heels from a catalouge, but the first time I bought my own heels in a shop I was soooo embrashed I ended up in a shop that you just pick up the shoe from your size section rather than needing to ask for your shoe in your size lol How did you buy your first shoe and how did you pluck up the courage to ask a female clerk for a womens shoe and did you try it on it front of them?
Spikeheels Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 It took me ages and ages to pluck up the courage and as I travel around central London at the end of Oxford St there is a shop called Atomic which sell a lot of the "stripper" heel shoes and thought as Soho borders very close they are used to seeing all kinds of customers and remember going in there and was an extremely helpful bloke and I made out that I needed a pair of heels for a "fetish" night to try and cover myself and was totally pointless as he really wasn't worried and I came out with a pair of red patent stripper heels in a size 8 and have since made more purchases from there in the same style as there is a good range and also very friendly as on first name terms due to the small fortune I've spent in there! Lol! Has been an excellent confidence boost as haven't got the courage at all to go to somewhere like Faith or somewhere like that.
highestheels Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 I bought my first pair a few years ago at a Fetish Shop called Vintage to Fetish in Afflecks Palace in Manchester (the shop is no longer there) They were a pair of 6 inch platform sandals in patent black. The Lady assistant was very kind and I too used the fetish party as an excuse, although I am sure she knew!! It took me 20 mins walking around to pluck up the courage and it was only when I overheard her talking to a man in his 50s buying a fully leather corset dress that I realised that buying these shoes would be okay!
Heel_Boy Posted September 2, 2008 Author Posted September 2, 2008 Has been an excellent confidence boost as haven't got the courage at all to go to somewhere like Faith or somewhere like that. lol Couldn't agree more, Id love to be able to walk in to a nice high street womens shoe shop and say "The Black Courts in the window, the £50 ones, do you have them in a sie 9?" Im not sure who would be more embrashed me or the assisdant lol
johnieheel Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 First wife brought home a pair of stiletto mj's by my supprise from k-mart many moons ago. Second wife, after split up and still friends, went to BAKERS with me, tried them on for me and I paid for them. As for me actually going and buying my first pair, it was once again at BAKERS. I picked out a pair of blk patent 4" sandals, scared to death, and the sales lady, very young and pretty, was more than willing to help me and tried her hardest to keep me from being embarrassed. I bought the without trying them on and she told me to come back any time. She new they were for me. I told her they were for my gf or wife. My how things have changed. real men wear heels
hhboots Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 My first couple pairs were long term "borrowed" from a GF and from my sis. (not too proud of that, but I had no spare shoe hobbie money in my early teens and the urge was just too strong to see the wrong in that) My first bought pair was from Payless when I was about 17 and I was nervous as hell. I planned it when I knew it was a slow time for them and had to take a pre-purchase quick scanning trip there to find what I wanted exactly and then when I finally commited to buying them I was in and out like the wind. These days, the internet is my primary shoe store, but I have ventured in a few stores recently to shop for heels. Not as nervous about it anymore, still some hesitancy lingers all these years later though.
w6ish Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 i bought my pair from the trusty Frederick's of Hollywood mail order catalogue! i don't know how we came across that catalogue, a small 12 page glossy little picture fest from L.A., but in the centerfold were the shoes and that's what page it automatically opened to when i first looked at it. when i saw those 6 inch heel stripper shoes i knew i'd found my high heel style, which wasn't even an inkling in my imagination up until that very moment! as soon as i saw them i said i want them! so i called a local shoe store with the pitch: i want to buy my cousin a pair and she wears the same size as me... so i got my size, purchased a money order, and my first pair of white high heels arrived by chance, right on my birthday! best gift i ever game to myself!
Thighmax Posted September 2, 2008 Posted September 2, 2008 I bought my first pair of shoes off the internet about 12 years ago, actually I have bought all of them on the internet. My first pais of shoes was a pair of patent red thigh high boots with 5 inch heels. I do remember that I went to a shoe store in a mall to try a pair of thigh length boots but I didn't buy them. Now I have the courage to go in a store and ask for pairs of shoes but unfortunately they usually don't carry size 12 in the stores, they mostly have them on the internet.
Hose-N-Heels Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 I check up on the size conversioins M to W. Went to the famous WallMart and purchased size 10.5. Which were too small, I couldn't even get them on. Next day I tooked them back and exchanged them for 11's. From that point, I knew I was hooked.
bobbi Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Occasionally, I would wear my wife's shoes, but they were a little small for me, so one day I decided to get a pair for myself. After consulting some size conversion charts, I ordered my first pair of heels from Target. They are pink pumps with 3-inch heels and cute little bows.
BobHH Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 First pair were from the Frederick's catalog after seeing them in Vogue - what was later called stripper heels - 6 inch platforms. After that was with the wife in a small neighborhood stripper shop. They knew right away from the sizes, as she also bought some in her size. Then, the Fredericks store in Hollywood, then Maya's when she had a store. They all expected you to try them on, which I did once or twice only. Haven't tried that in a regular store.
thatotherguy Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 my girlfriend bought me my first pair , i don't think i am ready to go out to shop yet... breaking social norms is a hobby of mine
Marvinheels Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 when i was 16 at a dept store, they were 5 inch black stiletto heel pumps, after that i get all of my shoes online my first 5 pairs were from fredericks, the others i get from sexyshoes.com
Heel_Boy Posted September 3, 2008 Author Posted September 3, 2008 my girlfriend bought me my first pair , i don't think i am ready to go out to shop yet... Id love to be able to shop together for heels with my girlfriend for the both of us but as I haven't broken the ice yet I just have to get the buzz out of shoe shopping for her Although a friends partner was very understanding when I spoke to her about it, I think it was less of a risk for me to tell a friend than my girlfriend which helped I think alot - I've dropped hints but Im working up to it lol
johnieheel Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 I've dropped hints but Im working up to it lol Maybe this can help. http://www.passionsforfootwear.com/psychology.htm real men wear heels
chris100575 Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Hi Heel Boy, welcome to the board! I bought my first pair of heels when I was about 17, they were some cheap and nasty black patent courts from the market. I just asked for a pair in a size eight and mentioned that they were for my girlfriend. I don't know whether or not she guessed they were for me. Since then I've bought most of my shoes from high street shops and while I used to feel nervous, in my experience the shop staff don't care whether you're buying heels for yourself, they just want the sale. Faith in particular have been very easy to buy from, the last time I bought a pair from there it was a pair of pointy-toed stiletto knee boots and I not only asked the assistant if she had them in my size, I tried them on in the shop. She didn't seem to mind at all. I don't always try them on, but I've stopped pretending that they're for someone else. Chris
thedesigner Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 My first stilettos were black suede 4" ones from an indoor market in Harrow where I tried them on within the stall - only the asian lady owner and me. Bought some red socks with black polka dots and couldnt resist trying both on and walking up a country lane on the way home..
sabotalot Posted September 3, 2008 Posted September 3, 2008 Since the subject has come up, I'd like to share my story. I had just discovered this website, and was at Walmart. I went shoe-shopping and came away with a ladies' size 12, extremely low-cut pump, showing all 10 of my friends. Although I regularly wear gal's shoes, these are a bit extreme. See "Lovely Pumps" something similar. If not in my Bastad or Dansko clogs, i'm comfortable in my MJ's.
secondtake20 Posted September 4, 2008 Posted September 4, 2008 Back in the 80's an old girl friend took me to the store where she bought all of her heels. They were black 4 1/2 inch heel pumps with criscross straps across the foot. She talked me into trying them on in the store in front of everyone. We bought them for a halloween party which I wore them for about 6 hrs that night and that was when I fell in love with heels.
hiheellover23 Posted September 4, 2008 Posted September 4, 2008 I first bought my heels at 18 as soon as I got out of high school. The fantasy was always there but I had to keep it surpressed from my family so they wouldn't ask any questions. There was this store called "Phil's Shoes" and I happened to read their ad saying that they carried up to sizes 14 and I had been checking some sites to find out my measurements and it was on after that. Well I went into the store and one of the sales people showed me a catalog for Sunset Strip shoes. That was when I had seen these 6 inch black platform ankle boots I fell in love after that. At the time I was working at Food Lion and I had to save my money but winded up getting them. So I continued to go to the store and looked into their catalog some more and then that was when I had seen the 7 inch platform boot. Ended up graduating from the 6 inch to the 7.5 inch. Now how I kept those hidden from my mom and dad is another story!!!! What ya see is what ya get no more or less!!
mtnsofheels Posted September 4, 2008 Posted September 4, 2008 Once I was aware of my embarrassing interest of high heels, I had to suffer a while till I got the courage to get a pair of shoes boots whatever spun the interested eye. But then a new demon emerged, I liked shopping for shoes and boots! God all I wanted was a pair of heels in boots or shoes! This was in the late 70's. Of course I had GF who needed a pair of heels in a size 10. I never met that fictious GF, although I have used her many times for my shopping into the 80's. Then it became blatant, that GF was not, so again resorted to the courage, finally a mustered me went and tried on several pairs of boots and shoes with my wife in a shop in Seattle. What became an interesting phenome was that the person helping me was more flustered than I, so the fear of shopping died once I knew I could fluster some one else before me. Ah Yes!! But god the sweat, shaking legs, pacing back and forth, constant staring and no doubt drooling that occured in order to get my first pair of heels was such an epic, good thing an imagination and vision of that Girlfriend allowed me to get my first pair of heels. I still have them today and I think of that epic, "first crawl to heels". Nowadays, the internet has built everyone a wardrobe of shoes and boots at the firm punch of the enter key. Mtnsofheels
matt81 Posted September 4, 2008 Posted September 4, 2008 When I was a teen and I'd discovered my interest in heels I used to "borrow" my sisters, but they were always a little small. I guess I was about 17/18 when I got my first pair of boots from Schuh online and then some more from one of the mainstream fashion catalogues. I've bought (and sold) loads from eBay as well. I've never bought a pair in a shop per se- never quite got the courage yet. During college I worked at River Island, the last summer there I went full time and acted-up as supervisor in the ladies footwear department (I know!!) - they always wondered why I was happy to stay late to "check the stock" before locking up. Back then RI only went up to 8(EU41) which was always a little small. Occasionally they had 9s in It's just reminded me of a story about this attractive women - early 20s, who came in and tried on this knee-highs, black 4" block heel. They were pull on and had a lightly stretchy material. They were quite difficult to get on unless you knew how - you couldn't just thrust your foot in because of the tight newness of the material. I remember when I tried them on I had to roll the boot down about halfway, so I'm there telling her how much easier it'll be to put on like that and then roll back up. I can remember her smile now when she thanked me for the tip and said, "you've obviously had a lot of experience with these." I couldn't help but smile back with a knowing grin. She bought them too.
Henri Posted September 5, 2008 Posted September 5, 2008 This is not about my first pair of heels but interesting. I saw an ad for a new pair of 4" loafers at Payless. I had to have them. I went into a few of the stores but did not see them on the shelf. Last week; I went into a Payless that I had not been to. There they were and in my size. I had to have them. I was sitting down trying one on when the Manager came over to me. She said they had just come in and they were great. I had one on and she said I had to put the other one on and walk in them. She told me they look great and that I needed to keep them on. I DID. Best $24.95 investment Henri:clap: If you haven't learned something new today; you have wasted the day.
johnieheel Posted September 5, 2008 Posted September 5, 2008 I first bought my heels at 18 Now how I kept those hidden from my mom and dad is another story!!!! We want to know:smile: real men wear heels
Bubba136 Posted September 5, 2008 Posted September 5, 2008 This is not about my first pair of heels but interesting. I saw an ad for a new pair of 4" loafers at Payless. I had to have them. I went into a few of the stores but did not see them on the shelf. Last week; I went into a Payless that I had not been to. There they were and in my size. I had to have them. I was sitting down trying one on when the Manager came over to me. She said they had just come in and they were great. I had one on and she said I had to put the other one on and walk in them. She told me they look great and that I needed to keep them on. I DID. Best $24.95 investment Henri:clap: I'm always on the lookout of new loafer style shoes because that is the style that I most often wear out and about everyday. What style did you get? Being mentally comfortable in your own mind is the key to wearing heels in public.
Henri Posted September 6, 2008 Posted September 6, 2008 Here is what I bought from Payless. Henri If you haven't learned something new today; you have wasted the day.
roniheels Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 I bought my first pair of women's high heels from Payless Shoes back in the 70's. They were a pair of white open-toed sling-backs with a 5.5" high heels. I even tried them on in the store. After that for the next few years, I bought my high heels via mail order.
HappyFeat Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 I bought my first heels at a self-serve chain called "Pickway," which is out of business for decades now and predated Payless in my area. I had been in the store many times with the intention of buying heels, but chickened out every time. Finally, the store was empty with the exception of the young sales clerk and I grabbed a pair of nasty 3 inch black pumps and bought them. While I was checking out, the clerk told me how nice they were and how she would love a pair just like them. I was frozen and had little to say, but kicked yself the whole way home for not saying they were for me, which my intiuition was telling me that she knew and was cool with it. I went back a few times and she was never there...oh well, even when starting out I missed a grand opportunity. Style is built from the ground up!
Majo Posted October 5, 2008 Posted October 5, 2008 I was 22 when I bought my first pair. It was quite a stressfull experience as the two men on the store weren't very helpfull. I didn't try the on. I was too nervous to do so. They were black pumps with a gray snake insert on the back. Eventually, serveral years later, I managed to try on the heels I bought. Since then, things have been much more easier. I gained confidence with each new pair -92 by now-; and age, eventually, matters.
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