Shyheels

I wonder if it isn't a chicken and egg situation. It is very difficult if not impossible to buy knee boots or OTK boots in men's sizes. And at any rate none of the knee boots in the shops are marketed to men and labels are a significant barrier. If tall boots were more widely available in men's sizings, and marketed accordingly, I would bet the take up would be high - especially for boots without heels or with low "standard" heels. The difference in warmth, comfort, dryness and styling is quite marked - noticeable and appreciated the first time one wears them. And few passers-by notice this break with traditional gendered styling and even fewer comment - the only comments I had were "like your boots". I really think this is a style that could e reclaimed.

I thought I would generate a new thread as part of an effort to get this forum moving again. I've spent the past three weeks in South America on assignment (a couple days yet to go) and have been mainly up in some jungle-clad hills along a steamy coast in the wet season. I've been wearing a pair of classic lace-up motorcycle dispatch rider boots (WWI-era) over my jeans every day. To the extent I receive comments at all, they have been overwhelmingly positive - not a single bad word actually. And the practicality of these boots on an assignment like this so easy to see. My trousers stay clean, the boots are very sturdy and I never get chigger bites on my ankles. And they look good when I am in town. And as these boots were also custom made, they were extremely comfortable to wear on long days - even given the hot weather. Now, I'm not likely to have to worry about chigger bites in England, by the practicality of a pair of knee boots would be the same. I've really appreciated the warmth around my ankles and knees when I've worn my other brown knee boots around town back home - and again without ever drawing so much as praised eyebrow. I am certain that knee boots for men is a look that can be retrieved with little risk or effort. Especially as these have low heels - nothing threatening.

Indeed. Funnily enough on HHP one of the threads has veered into discussing the idea of their being a blog where guys can discuss wearing heels in a way that is presentable to their better halves without all the extreme/fetish stuff that interests a portion of HHP members. Nobody ever thinks of this place, which could be exactly that. It has become a kind of spiralling vortex - they don't post here because its moribund and its moribund because they (or anybody) doesn't post. And so it goes. I'm certainly happy to post and generate new topics.

Yes, I know you have tried to widen the content. The weird thing is that some of the people who say the site is dead never bother responding to anything, let alone starting a new thread, on any topic. With only a couple of people who ever bother responding or starting a thread it is simply impossible for the forum to survive,or be revived.

Yes, it would be nice if there were more life in this forum. It doesn't all have to be about heels and fashion either. Or tales of venturing out in daring footwear. I have tried to respond whenever I see a new post and have posted new topics myself - but all have withered on the vine, after a post or two. I disagree that the departure of some of those longstanding members you refer to at HHP was a bad thing. At least one of them was posting (regularly) highly inappropriate images and venturing far beyond what one would want or expect to read in what is ostensibly a fashion forum. A couple of the others were moderators who went rogue in a big way. On the subject of footwear, I am in a rural pocket of South America at the moment, on assignment, and wearing some excellent vintage knee-high lace-up dispatch rider boots which, aside from being stylish town, provide wonderful projection from mud and rain and chigger bites on the ankles when I am in the jungle. Gotta love 'em.

I’m a big fan. I’ve got some suede boots from them and the quality of the suede is amazing. Really thick and luxurious. Definitely worth the money.

My boots are from Jean Gaborit - a small French firm that specialises in tall boots (equestrian, field, fashion, vintage, you name it) They are more expensive, to be sure, but the leather and workmanship is top-notch, the fit is superb (they make more than a dozen measurements of your feet, calves and ankles) and everything is hand made at their workshop in France. You can specify the leather, colour, height - right down to the centimetre. I would much rather have a single pair of lovely boots that will last a lifetime and fit perfectly than a dozen indifferent pairs. They are well worth a look.

I’ve a pair of heavy grey suede otk boots with an almond toe and 3” Cuban heels which I like very much, and look nice. They are pull-ons and slouch a little, but that actually works well. Worn outside of dark skinny jeans they work well, especially with a dark jumper and coat. My only concern with them is wearing suede out in bad weather. Heels certainly add an element of interest to a pair of boots, a bit of dash. Given some of the changes on society and fashion that are occurring these days, I can certainly see an opening for tall boots for men. Having adoptee this look I’ve found more advantages that merely style. How nice it is to have warn ankles and calves, and to keep the lower parts of ones trousers clean if mud and slush and rain.

I've always had a fondness for knee and otk boots - with or without heels - but its took me ages before I finally grasped the idea that if I wanted to wear them, I could, regardless of convention. Having made that mental lear - in my fifties! - I've now got several pair of low-heeled riding style boots which I wear a lot during the winter. I wear them over skinny jeans and from all I can see, although guys do not usually wear tall boots, virtually nobody gives it a second thought. In a couple of years of wearing them around everywhere I have only two comments - one from a woman, one from a guy and both were highly complimentary and wanting to know where I got them. Paired with jeans and a jumper or jacket, it is quite a nice, but unexceptional look. It seems to me that knee boots on men is a fashion that really could come back with just a little nudge. Heels might be ambitious, but rekindling the log-lapsed fashion for riding style knee boots for men seems to me to be very attainable. What do you think?

Yes, I like Topshop’s ankle boots but none come in sizes anywhere near large enough for me. No, I don’t care much for the clumpy boots worn by the model. The trousers arrived today and I like them a lot. They pair nicely with loose fitting jumpers and my black Shoes of Prey ankle boots with the 3,5 inch Cuban heels. They are quite simple and elegant - a pity the company went under 18 months ago. I also wear vinyl trousers - I already have a pair of Topshop’s Jamie jeans in black vinyl - with loose hoodies and colourful Converse sneakers. Sort of a boho rock festival look, I suppose, but since I work in my own office I can set the dress code. One thing I do not like is vinyl jeans worn in any sort of fetishy context. Vinyl jeans do not need to look kinky or trashy. Just pair them up with something that tones down the edginess

I've ordered myself a pair of these straight legged vinyl "Editor" jeans from Topshop to pair up with loose fitting jumpers and ankle boots. I've always liked the counterpoint of textures in fashion - in this case the sleekness of the vinyl with softer natural textures of wool. I think it sets up a nice frisson in styles and tones down the edginess of vinyl. https://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/black-vinyl-editor-jeans-9445533

Sounds unpleasant, but there’d be no point in giving up your boots. If the swelling had not abated would you be planning to go barefoot the rest of your life? It might have meant buying new boots, in larger, wider sizes - an expensive hassle - but you’d have had to buy new footwear anyway. Thankfully you appear to have dodge that bullet.

Same here too. I’d be happy to contribute if there was any prospect of anyone responding in the same month that I post... Yes, HHP has its fruitcakes but in the main is a pretty nice forum. Nowhere near as active - not by a million miles - as the cycling forum to which I contribute but lively enough that one gets a sense of community with the small but active groups of regulars. Hopefully we can kickstart something like that here.

Evidently the forum is not going to liven up...

Amazon is good about that. I won’t buy anything electronic from them though as there is such a high rate of fake/pirate/grey market stuff there.

Generally that is the case. It would be nice if this forum could liven up. I typically wear boots - I've never been into shoes of any sort and have pretty much lived in hiking boots ever since university days, many years ago. I always danced knee boots but never dared take the step until a few years ago. I like them both with and without heels, although most of my knee and OTK boots are flat-to-low-heeled. I wear them out and about all winter. Love 'em!

It would be nice if this forum could reactivate. I have made efforts in the past though to resume posting, but got little response. I’m willing to try again if there is any interest by others in doin* the same

I am struggling to see anything positive about this latest rant, chasing off a rare poster for not following Freddie’s arbitrary rules - who the hell made him moderator? - and on a forum that is virtually dead anyway. What does it matter if the guy posted something that Freddie feels is irrelevant or draws attention away from Freddie? His over the top response is just another of many reasons why this forum is dead on its feet, and those that visit don’t stay.

My how time flies. Is it September already?

Good bye

Good lord. Can anyone seriously wonder why this forum is moribund?

In point of fact US surveys show that reading is rising especially among millennials - with print proving more popular than digital. You may not read - I gather you don’t - but many people do. Most, in fact. And Puffer is quite right - few employers are looking for Jack the Lad types.

Few people read books? Perhaps in your world. In the broader world book sales are actually booming.

Tom Cruise is one who, I believe, wears height increasing footwear. The style would obviously depend on the character he is playing, or his own personal taste if he wears them as a regular thing off the set.

Indeed the self publishing routine on Amazon and on Kindle Unlimited is dire. The majority of it is extremely amateurish and poorly edited - if they've had any editing or proofreading at all. There is a much darker side too as described in this feature in the Guardian today https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/28/plagiarism-book-stuffing-clickfarms-the-rotten-side-of-self-publishing I have learned to avoid books that are listed on Kindle Unlimited or anthem that appears self published. It's really a shame because good writers have in the past made their start via the self-publishing route. But nowadays they are all swamped by drivel and distinguishing the oats from the chaff is too big a hassle. I had never read Lynda LaPlante until the other week when I picked up one of her novels on the 99p special deal - Bella Mafia. I quite liked it. I had heard of her, but had never read one of her novels and took advantage of the low price to get acquainted. I like my Kindle Paperwhite very much - it has been a lifesaver on long flights. Now I can take several hundred noels wit me and be certain that I'll have something I like to read with me. David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars was a boy I had been meaning to read for years now and which I picked up for 99p and enjoyed quite a bit, although the flashbacks became rather trying after a while. I could see the point of them, in the story, but I can't help but think that they could have been reduced in number with a bit more thought given to story structure.