Tacchi Alti

I've bitten the bullet and ordered some male elevator heels. Yuk, boring, styleless, etc. etc. I know, but actually this site is heels4men so perhaps they're more appropriate than most shoes discussed here. Please say yes... The point is, my wife tolerates my heel wearing but maintains that I should wear styles I'm happy for everyone to see me wearing. So these will come out with business suits, for church, etc. I told her they were expensive but she commented they were probably not more than the aggregate for shoes I've bought but rarely wear. The heel height is nearly four inches. I bought them from a store in the USA. They're in the country - I know this as I've just had a bill from UPS. I expect VAT but not their rip-off brokerage charge which comes to almost the same amount as the VAT. I suppose I'll just have to swallow hard and pay it, but it puts me off buying anything else from the USA, and the carriage charges are horrific in themselves compared to those over here. Is ordinary post better in this regard?

I have a theory that a lot of today's male heel wearers were growing up during the time of unisex clothes and shoes. I was a teenager when flares and platforms were in - most boys wore heels of some sort, and some of the girls wore delightful high heels - not just clumpy platforms. Perhaps my love for wedges stems from that, but a couple of girls used to walk to school in very high stilettos. It always made my tongue hang out and made me wobble on my bike... I've always pined for those days. For some reason the male heels have never come back although a lot of female fashions have been revived over the intervening period.

Well, you've sunk the train, Freddie, but what has knackered parts of the body and mind got to do with last-minute meetings? Actually, re bunions, misaligned toes, etc., they're not necessarily the result of wearing high heels but rather badly fitting shoes, which can easily be flat. There's also the question of how well people look after their feet.

I'm sure you could sharpen your stilettos so that they'd grip on the slippery surface... Or just put an anti-slip coating on the bits you'd be likely to come a cropper on! I love the idea of living on a boat - static or otherwise - but there are practical difficulties, not least receiving post if you're not on a permanent mooring! After all, you need an easy way of receiving your new heels. There are about a dozen or so houseboats in the tidal estuary near us - mostly rusting wrecks which must be damp and cold inside, especially as they're nicely settled into the deep mud and are not in the water most of the time. The inhabitants seem to be a race apart, from my experience, but that's not surprising.

I suppose in the context of property prices in central London that is still cheap, particularly with such a comparatively pleasant view. I left the London area 20 years ago and have no wish to return, even if I could afford it.

Zzzzzzz ;-) Vista.... Total horror. I endured it for a few days, finding it impossible to do what once had been simple things with XP, and then relaced it with good old XP, which is still my OS of choice. Actually, I have to run XP on one computer as an essential program we use was written in Access 97, and it simply will not run in anything later. Microsoft's own program will not work in its XP emulator on later OSs. I won a pair of Fly wedge sandals on Ebay and am wearing them right now. Not the height of style but discreet and quiet. Four inch heels, one inch platforms. I had a bit of a run-in with my wife about all the heels I have, and she asked again how many of them I'd be prepared to wear with close friends/ family around... A bit of difficulty answering that! However, she says she's happy for me to wear men's shoes with built-up heels (elevator shoes), as it's a question with me not just of liking heels but of finding them beneficial to my back. Horrible styleless things, but maybe the way forward to keep erindors happy with my heel wearing, even if I get just one pair. I've told her they're expensive, but she said probably no more expensive than me keeping on buying more shoes that I wouldn't wear with family and friends around. She has a point there, and at least it gets over the 'women's shoes' sticking point with her. Any recommendations in that line? Doing an internet search I was actually quite surprised how many companies sell them.

Well I've just got these off Ebay. Not elegant but as close as I can find to a masculine style with a 4 inch heel. I'll be interested to see how much attention they get.

Interesting, and the comments weren't knee-jerk 'gay', 'pervert,' 'yuk,' etc. Gentle teasing and even envy at his aptitude.

I'm thinking that we're probably in touch by phone every two to three months. We've had more general chat in the past about her not being able to wear heels because of weak ankles, and she wears boots all the year round to support them. Funnily enough her boots weren't dissimilar to my shoes in style - just heels around an inch. She actually made a random comment while they were taking us to the coach station that the person who invented trainers must have become a millionaire, but I didn't know how that might have developed into other shoe-related subjects, and we were about to get out of the car anyway. I'd wait for them to say something to me, not thrust the subject on them, as it might be a bit embarrassing to them.

Only if the right opportunity presented itself. I'm hardly likely to phone them out of the blue and ask what they thought of my heels!

Someone might mention it sometime I suppose... The couple we were with are more outspoken than most so I might get feedback from or via them.

Which group?

I wore my heels with casual clothes for travelling and at our friends' house but just two inch Cuban heel men's shoes with suit and tie for the funeral itself. I changed back into casual clothes and heels later and went out for a meal with our friends before they took us to the bus station. I know they saw the heels as I'm wearing them with chinos which don't quite cover them, and no doubt others at the restaurant did too as you can't hide the heels while you're sitting down. I wonder what they are saying to each other about it...

My 4 inch wedges in Asda the other day

I expect her mother knows by now, so it will be widely known. Should I care? My wife says that if I'm to wear heels I shouldn't wear anything I wouldn't want friends and family to see! Is that a challenge? ;-) My wife "reluctantly tolerates" my heels but accompanies me while I'm wearing them. She prefers me in boots but realises this weather it's too hot for them. She was reasonably OK with my wedge sandals for our flight, and I wore them last evening to get a takeaway and then go for a walk and sit out in the countryside. Tonight we need to take a coach to Scotland, and we'll be with friends up there for the day (funeral). I intend wearing heels, then changing at the friends' house into suit and black tie, with lower heels (2 inch cuban heel shoes) then changing again before we come home overnight again. Probably my black Oxfords will be best for arriving at our friends' place in, but my sandals would be much cooler for travelling. Will I be allowed both????

Hmm. Look where they took him... Start-rite perhaps, but he couldn't fix himself later. I was with my wife yesterday and wearing my 4 inch wedge (Ebay) sandals. Guess what - a flat tyre right outside the place she went for treatment. Several people saw my heels - not difficult when you're lying full length trying to persuade the spare wheel to drop from its cradle, or kneel to change the wheel - including the therapist who came out to see if she was OK. No comments, but I'd have been very surprised given my form so far. I wonder if she'll mention it to my wife next time she goes there, or whether my wife will mention it to her. Yesterday was also a first in that I wore my 4 inch oxfords with both my brothers around. I doubt they noticed but my sister-in-law certainly did, and my niece. I wonder whether my ears should be glowing.

My new hairstyle... I love wedges but it's extremely difficult to get anything these days without a platform. I don't mind platforms, and love the feel of walking in them, but I think they make the shoe/sandal look more feminine than I want.

I love those mules - I'd wear them as slippers - and often I take sandals a size smaller than shoes, but I think the reaction from erindors would be 'ANOTHER pair of shoes', especially as they're stilettos. We're having a bit of an argument at the moment (happens every now and again) about why I don't wear them with family/close friends around, if I wear them in public all the time. Should I call her bluff? We 'agreed' I should have only shoes I'm happy to wear in public and with people I know around, so stilettos are a nono so far as she's concerned. Other times she tells me I should take them off because our son (eg) is about to call round. Mind you, I don't think he'd notice ballet boots... My other son has seen them - I know he's glanced at them several times, and they were pretty obvious once when I drove him to the station. I've worn my concealed heels many times with him and his girlfriend around, but my other heels only occasionally when he's been there without her. However, she's one of the most open girls around (a really lovely girl, with an amazing sense of humour), and she has at least 40 pairs of heels. I saw a lot of them when I helped my son and her move to a new flat a few weeks ago, and we've had conversations about shoes. Just a matter of time, I hope...

It always annoys me when women remove their heels! They have a choice what to wear, unlike us unless we just go for it, so if they don't like heels why wear them? Another reason for me keeping mine on is trouser length! If I wear heel-length trousers they look silly with flats. While I'm still in rant mode, I think most women have no clue how to choose heels, let alone walk in them. They get something that doesn't fit properly, they can't walk in heels anyway, and they blame everything but themselves, and have a nice pity party with all the other heelless wonders.

Ah c'mon, I'm only size A cup size... Thanks for the compliment on my legs! Much cooler today, so I suppose you might be doing the outdoor jobs, although it sounds as though a thunderstorm is brewing here (south coast). I'm currently wearing these in the office but will change into shoes to go shopping later! I need longer trousers for these, but I don't think many people WOULDN'T notice me wearing them even with floor-length boot-cut jeans, as they definitely modify the way I walk.

Give me between 10 and 25 degrees C. I'd prefer higher to lower, so this heatwave was lovely although I'm glad I was able to dress to suit it. I pity people who are cooped up in an office, in business dress, in this weather. The temperature is much cooler today - I even wore 4-inch lace-up shoes rather than sandals.

The 'last minute' thread seems to be getting less minute by the minute, so I thought I'd start another! It's HOT here! By some standards not at all hot but in the UK we often get humid heat, which is sweltering! I thought I'd have a change from my wedges for relaxing at home, so have got these out of the wardrobe. Any comments on suitability for streetwear? They have 4.5 inch block heels about 1.5 inches wide. No comments on my held-in paunch, please!

Ah, I'll remember that for next time... This is the first time I've been able to log in for over a week. Last night away now, and heels on the plane again tomorrow. I'm a bit dissatisfied with them, though - M&S Footgloves, and the tear-shape pad at the top of the footbed (under my heel) has come adrift. I had to get some superglue and stick it back on!. I hope it's OK for the journey home. Also, I was really annoyed in that when I was on the escalator the stair rose behind my foot and gouged a great bit out of the back of one of the heels. I've patched it as well as I can for now but I'm wondering whether that stair would have gouged a bit out of my foot if I'd been wearing flat sandals!

Certainly not my favourite airline! No queues here fortunately, and Security was a breeze. I think the guy manning the belt was intrigued by my wedges I had to put in a tray... I'm sure several people have noticed them, especially as a couple of times the hems have caught under my heel, but I really couldn't care less! They're preventing backache. I know I'd rather have a few stares than suffer all the time I'm standing and walking around.