higher heels

new_look · 27th April 2004, 17:11

hi all, im have recently been for a nice walk in my new boots that i purchased from hayway shoes in leicester.

unexpectedly as i said, the heels are almost half an inch higher than i expected and are practically 5.5 in

http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1082680107.jpg
http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1082680214.jpg

im pleased that i managed to walk for almost an hour i them before the foot cramps crept in, and im almost got my legs straight away from the knee bending, but im sure that will come with practice. Jade found it funny as to how far we were actually getting despite all the steps i was doing. lol, but all the same it was fun, and the pencil thin metal heel makes a cracking sound on the concrete.

has anyone else got any ourdoor experiences to share re their higher heels ie 5"+
http://65.160.96.70/hhplace/images/1082680190.jpg

daz

Firefox · 27th April 2004, 23:31

Great that you wore you boots out Daz. Most people of either sex could not cope with it. I can, but I don't wear higher than 4.5" . The reason is that it affects my walk and mobility in a way I don't like.

Dawn HH · 28th April 2004, 05:47

Daz:-)

Thats a beautiful pair of boots that you purchased, and yes the higher the heel you have got the smaller the steps you must use and it does take a bit longer to get somewhere. It sounds like Jade is giving you a lot of support here. That's great! I have ordered shoes or boots through catalogs and when they arrived the heel was taller than advertised. The bigger the boot size the taller the heel is usually. I try to keep my heel height under 4" as these I can manage best. Cheers---

Dawn HH

Heelfan · 28th April 2004, 09:13

Hello Daz!

As Firefox has already pointedly observed on your other thread - those great metal heels are wicked!

Seeing as you ask whether anyone else has street-heeled in 5 1/2" heels, I can say "Yes. I have!". I still have and wear a pair of 5 1/2" ankle boots that I designed and were made for me by Gino of The Little Shoe Box. They are in tan-coloured plain leather with very pointed toes. The heels are not stilettos, but they are 5 1/2" slim dark brown stacked-leather effect heels tapering to about 1" wide at the base.

I'll bring them to the Leicester Heel-Meet to show you. Although they're still going strong (extremely well made!), you'll see that they've had years of regular street-heeling wear! Having worn them extensively under my half-heel-showing trousers in the early 1980s, and not having received undue attention from passers-by, I set myself the challenge of tucking my trousers into the tops of the ankle-boots and seeing what would happen if I started at Marble Arch and walked the full length of London's Oxford street and back, exposing the entire boots.

Well, the Eastbound walk was OK with nothing more than the odd couple pointing and whispering. But on the return walk, I was just passing South Molton Street when a large crowd of yobs and yobbesses spotted my fashion statement and one of the yobbesses shrilled "Ooh look all of you - he's wearing ladies' boots!" and then there was a great roar from the yobs "TAKE 'EM OFF!!!". Well, that hasn't deterred me from wearing them since, but just maybe the tucking into the boots idea was going a bit far!

Regarding walking in them, well yes, the higher the heel the shorter one's steps have to be, and it's quite taxing on the calf muscles and keeping the knees straight and also on the muscles of the lower back that have to keep the upper body leaning back and erect to counteract the throwing-forward effect of the very elevated heel. Now in my late fifties, the balls of my feet and toes more acutely feel the strain of being bent from the line of the foot at a right-angle and having to bear the full weight of my (now more portly) body. However, it's still a great buzz to wear them!

Also, as you say, beware of calf and foot cramps! I've always been terrified of suddenly being stranded in a busy street with crippling cramps with no lower shoes to change into and passers-by rushing to assist! The classic scenario for a street-heeling guy trapping himself into feeling like a first-class prat or prize idiot!

Anyway, for all of that, I'd not have missed my years of street-heeling for the worlds! There's no excitement left if we don't "push the envelope" out from time to time!

The highest heels I ever purchased were a pair of 6" courts, but for my stiff, burly legs they were too high and impractical for any street-heeling (well, except for the odd fifty yards if I'm honest!) and I came to regard them as belonging to the world of bedroom fetish stuff which I've never really been interested in.

So there we are Daz! For the record, 5 1/2" (platformless) street-heeling has been done! If I have been able to do it with my very stocky, inflexible legs and feet, I'm quite sure you'll have less difficulty doing it with your slimmer, more supple physique! Onwards and upwards! Good luck and every happiness!

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

JinxieKat · 28th April 2004, 12:58

Oooo those are quite lovely. I'm positively jealous. I cannot wear boots over low ankle height, my calves are too blasted big! Ugh. I've always had that problem and most likely always will. The only good part is that most of that is muscle at least!

JinxieKat

Heelfan · 28th April 2004, 15:14

Ah Jinxiecat, there's an answer to that. My calves have always been to big for 90% of knee-boots, and even the 10% that I did buy no longer fit me because my calf muscles have thickened-up further.

The answer is 1. To buy only ankle-boots, and 2. To have any remaining knee-boots cut-down to ankle-boots by a skilled craftsman. The last pair that I had like that were done by an East London shoe craftsman can Achilles - a friend of and shoe repairer to Dr. Shoe, member of these Forums! Dr. Shoe lives in Hackney, East London, quite near to Achilles.

Cheerfully yours, Heelfan

new_look · 28th April 2004, 17:50

Thanks for the replies. I think this style of heel looks really good. So brutal looking peeking from the bottom of the trousers, and the noise they make is just teriffic.

I have been trying to wear them everyday since they arrived to get my legs more adapted to the position they force me into. I can walk practicaly ok, but i would say im well on my flexibility limits, and a downhill stretch could prove tricky at the minute, so im working on been able to wear them in a way you could class as easily, rather than pushing me to the limit. Maybe i should wear some 6" ones daily, then coming down to 5.5 would feel easier! I enjoy the way they restrict my movement, although like said by firefox it is not everyones cup of tea.

I didnt buy them to be bedroom shoes, i did intend them for use and streetheeling, but only as an item for my boldest days. I would say that with the style, the look and sound and the way they alter my walk so much, it would be impossible to go unnoticed.

daz

heellover1907 · 28th April 2004, 18:14

looking good in your new boots daz i love the steel heel and the the tip is so small i bet walking in them is taking some getting used to id love to see you trying though and im looking forward to your last pair of boots arriving

DeSalto · 28th April 2004, 21:54

Congratulations Daz. I'm not much into boots, I do prefer sandals, but those 5,5" metal heels are great. Streetheeling wearing them must be very exciting.

Dawn HH · 29th April 2004, 06:05

I really do envy any guy that can effectively and succeesfully street-heel in 5 and a half inch heels with such an extremely small heel tip. You must have really great balance and rhythm to be able to do that. I sure wish I could do as you, but unfortunately it will never happen as I must keep my heel height under 4". Cheers---

Dawn HH