bluetango

Senior Citizen in Stilettos

Acting on a tip, this reporter witnessed the coming out of a senior citizen in stiletto heels. The heel wearer, a 59 year old male, was conservatively dressed in baggy black slacks and denim jacket. The fashion free-styler, known as Bluetango, wore black and white snakeskin patterned stiletto ankle boots sporting 3.75” (95 mm) heels. The shoes were purchased on line from Victoria’s Secret. (They are now on sale for $49.)

Bluetango thought he would first stop at a gas station to fuel his car. It would be good for the fashion movement to select “Pay Inside” instead of paying with a debit card at the pump. More people would see him that way. As he approached the station, he noticed there were a lot of cars there. His courage faded and he drove on while mentally rehearsing replies for the inquisitive.

“Are those women’s shoes?”
“No, they are mine.”

“What are you wearing on your feet?”
“They are stiletto heels from Victoria’s Secret. Here, let me pull up the pants so you can see them better.”

“???”
“Great looking shoes, aren’t they? I really like them.”

“????”
“Don’t these look wonderful?”

“???”
“I like heels. They are fun, elegant, and classy. Have you ever tried wearing them? I bet you’d get a kick from it.”

Fortified, he returned to the station. A red jeep driven by a macho man pulled up behind. Mr. Bluetango got out of the car and selected “Pay at the Pump.” He took his time, selected regular, and filled the tank. Surely, Macho saw the boots, but nothing was said.

Bluetango carefully and slowly entered the car, taking car not to catch the long heels and letting his slacks ride up to expose the full height of the left boot before drawing the foot into the car.

Next stop was Walgreen’s Drugs a few miles away. This would require walking across a rain slicked parking lot and finding the antibiotic ointment he was seeking in a store he had never visited before. He picked a store outside of his neighborhood to reduce the stress a bit. It would be easier with strangers he thought. As he drove, the mental rehearsal of responses continued. He chose to park far from the door of the store. The long walk would be good practice. And there would be a greater chance of people seeing his great boots. Entering the unfamiliar store, he had to walk up and down the main aisle to find the things he was looking for. The heels impacting the hard floor made that familiar click, click, click. A young women stocking shelves glanced up. Bluetango studied the options, picked the house brand, and grabbed a box of Band-Aides for good measure. The shelf stocker noticed him moving toward the register, so she stepped past him, turning to glance at his feet, and met him there. The purchase was rung up. Pleasantries were exchanged. The shopper left. It was busy in the parking lot, and a long walk to his car. More people observed his fashion statement.

Now he was gaining confidence. “How about looking for a headset for the cell phone,” he thought? Onward to the nearby Target. Again, parking a good distance from the entry, he confidently walked into the store. This was a good store to pick, because the electronics department was way in the back. The shoes clicked on the hard floor again. There were men and women shopping everywhere. Some of the young women looked sharp in their stiletto heels. Bluetango gave their feet an appreciative glance.

Disappointed that none of the phone headsets would work with his phone, he decided to browse the electronic department. Finding a nice set of ear enclosing headphones, he decided to buy them. Marching back to the front of the stores, he selected an open register operated by a middle aged woman. The product was scanned, the debit card swiped and an obscure signature scribbled on the card scanner screen. Joke about how hard it is to write properly on those slippery surface. “Yes.” agreed the clerk.

Long walk back to the car. Exposing the boot again to the two men loading their pickup truck, he slid into the driver’s seat.

Bluetango’s observations: It wasn’t difficult. There were a few butterflies at the gas station, but I just acted the way I always do when filling the tank. The drug store was fun. Not too many people. It was an easy place to build confidence. Target was the real test. Possibly could be sighted by a co-worker. Large aisles, well lit store, hard flooring. People would notice. I sure hope they did. Never got any comments.

I had my camera with me and was looking for an opportunity to ask someone to snap a photo. Didn’t get a chance. I took some shots of my outfit when I got home. I’ll post them tomorrow.


Bluetango thought he would first stop at a gas station to fuel his car. It would be good for the fashion movement to select “Pay Inside” instead of paying with a debit card at the pump. More people would see him that way. As he approached the station, he noticed there were a lot of cars there. His courage faded and he drove on while mentally rehearsing replies for the inquisitive.

“Are those women’s shoes?”
“No, they are mine.”

“What are you wearing on your feet?”
“They are stiletto heels from Victoria’s Secret. Here, let me pull up the pants so you can see them better.”

“???”
“Great looking shoes, aren’t they? I really like them.”

“????”
“Don’t these look wonderful?”

“???”
“I like heels. They are fun, elegant, and classy. Have you ever tried wearing them? I bet you’d get a kick from it.”

Fortified, he returned to the station. A red jeep driven by a macho man pulled up behind. Mr. Bluetango got out of the car and selected “Pay at the Pump.” He took his time, selected regular, and filled the tank. Surely, Macho saw the boots, but nothing was said.

Bluetango carefully and slowly entered the car, taking car not to catch the long heels and letting his slacks ride up to expose the full height of the left boot before drawing the foot into the car.

Next stop was Walgreen’s Drugs a few miles away. This would require walking across a rain slicked parking lot and finding the antibiotic ointment he was seeking in a store he had never visited before. He picked a store outside of his neighborhood to reduce the stress a bit. It would be easier with strangers he thought. As he drove, the mental rehearsal of responses continued. He chose to park far from the door of the store. The long walk would be good practice. And there would be a greater chance of people seeing his great boots. Entering the unfamiliar store, he had to walk up and down the main aisle to find the things he was looking for. The heels impacting the hard floor made that familiar click, click, click. A young women stocking shelves glanced up. Bluetango studied the options, picked the house brand, and grabbed a box of Band-Aides for good measure. The shelf stocker noticed him moving toward the register, so she stepped past him, turning to glance at his feet, and met him there. The purchase was rung up. Pleasantries were exchanged. The shopper left. It was busy in the parking lot, and a long walk to his car. More people observed his fashion statement.

Now he was gaining confidence. “How about looking for a headset for the cell phone,” he thought? Onward to the nearby Target. Again, parking a good distance from the entry, he confidently walked into the store. This was a good store to pick, because the electronics department was way in the back. The shoes clicked on the hard floor again. There were men and women shopping everywhere. Some of the young women looked sharp in their stiletto heels. Bluetango gave their feet an appreciative glance.

Disappointed that none of the phone headsets would work with his phone, he decided to browse the electronic department. Finding a nice set of ear enclosing headphones, he decided to buy them. Marching back to the front of the stores, he selected an open register operated by a middle aged woman. The product was scanned, the debit card swiped and an obscure signature scribbled on the card scanner screen. Joke about how hard it is to write properly on those slippery surface. “Yes.” agreed the clerk.

Long walk back to the car. Exposing the boot again to the two men loading their pickup truck, he slid into the driver’s seat.

Bluetango’s observations: It wasn’t difficult. There were a few butterflies at the gas station, but I just acted the way I always do when filling the tank. The drug store was fun. Not too many people. It was an easy place to build confidence. Target was the real test. Possibly could be sighted by a co-worker. Large aisles, well lit store, hard flooring. People would notice. I sure hope they did. Never got any comments.

I had my camera with me and was looking for an opportunity to ask someone to snap a photo. Didn’t get a chance. I took some shots of my outfit when I got home. I’ll post them tomorrow.

kneehighs

Great story Bluetango!

I like the third person analysis and how you told your story from a reporters point of view. Creative. And glad that you had the courage to stiletto street heel for the first time.

Everyone had to learn to walk at one time in their life. First we crawled around like babies. Grabbing the fuzzy little things on the carpet, looking at peoples feet, looking up at grown ups. We'd move around on our knees and use our hands to get from point a to point b. Then maybe with help from someone else, or by putting our hand on a nearby couch, we were able to finally stand up.

And when you stand up and stiletto street heel, you see the world in a whole new way.

Congrats on a great first experience and looking forward to the pics.

__________________
Announcing The World Heel Meet 2009, Saturday Feb. 21st, London, The Miller, 10:30-17:00

Thighbootguy

Bluetango -

Your outing sounds like what I do in thigh boots and it sounds like you had a great time. My only grumble is referring to someone that’s 59 as a senior citizen for as well as sharing the same appreciation for stiletto heels, we are the same age.

Looking forward to the pictures and your next outing.

bluetango

The promised pictures:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...irstTime13.jpg


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...irstTime16.jpg


I was not happy with the pants. They turned out to be a bit too long. They would look better if shortened 1-2 inches. You can see that the right pant leg is just about dragging on the floor. They are also too baggy. I've been loosing weight, (Weight Watchers works!) and all my pants are getting baggy.

Kneehighs: Thanks for your support. I like your new avatar - but the last one was really cool too.

Thighbootguy: I wasn't happy with the label "senior". I wanted a term that emphasized the contrast between the common perceptions and the reality that men can have style too. A term that might have worked better is "mild mannered mid-western man".

I don't think I'm old or a senior. However, I sure get a lot of senior-oriented junk mail! Someone out there doesn't know me that well.

All: I wish the initial post was shorter, but I had a lot to say.

Bluetango

So many shoes and only two feet.

kneehighs

I'm just celebrating that you even had the courage to post a picture of yourself, whether or not your pants were too long! I think your color coordination is fine (blue denim top, black pants, boots). And even if the pant legs were long, at least you were out in public in heels. Alot of people here haven't even experienced the thrill of liberation yet. Glad you like the Times Square avatar too. Have a great day and I look forward to reading more of your posts.

p.s. can I post your pics in the pic thread on how to use our best pics to advance the cause? Thanks.

__________________
Announcing The World Heel Meet 2009, Saturday Feb. 21st, London, The Miller, 10:30-17:00

bluetango

Sure. Post away.

new_look

i enjoyed reading your tory bluetango

not all members have the courage to show their face on the board and it is nice to see it.

seems you enjoyed your outing, and im sure it wont be the last

daz

canadianbeaver17

Great article, bluetango. You should be recruited by CNN...lol

I like your mental preparation. I get worked up too sometimes before I go into public. When you don't think of it, it's no big deal any more. Keep it up!

What does your partner think of your boots?

bluetango

Canadian Beaver,

Right now, there is no partner to deal with. The last one ditched me after 22 years and that was before I started heeling. The next partner will know about the heels from the beginning. I'm looking for someone with a mutual interest.

__________________
Bluetango

So many shoes and only two feet.

bluetango

Too bad there wasn't a TV (that's television, you guys) crew around. We could have gotten some coverage.

If enough guys start heeling in public, it is bound to get attention as a new trend. Newspapers and TV stations like stories on new "trends".

Now that I've broken the ice, I'm going to be heeling more. Maybe some other men in my city will get the courage to do it too.

One of the reasons I posted my full picture was so that others could show it to their spouses and significant others. They can tell their SO: "Here's a normal looking guy in heels and he looks pretty sharp." Note that I phrased that as a positive statement. I avoid saying. "Here's a guy in heels and he doesn't look fem." Terms with negative images/conotations plant the negative image in the listener's mind. Instead, I choose to plant the positive image: "He looks sharp."

__________________
Bluetango

So many shoes and only two feet.