FastFreddy2

Returned the [in my view] overpriced Peacock shoes today ..... And bought a second pair of the Internationale shoes for £6. Both styles have a heel height of 4 1/2", though the Peacocks felt higher. [Good or poor design?] Will be wearing a pair for a while tomorrow, all being well. Reason for edit: Messed up the second link.

Had a busy start to the day, helping to serve and clear up, 44 large English breakfasts to a group of visiting international guests to a Round Table. [Members Group, usually tied to a specific town.] It was very hot, and I must surely have lost a couple of pounds in weight. Decided to conclude yesterdays 'window' shop by going to another town. This time it was Luton. Seems my market stall holder friend [older Asian lady] has finally given up selling shoes, and probably retired at last. She'll be missed. Went to Peacocks and saw some block heeled courts. Had a bow on the front [that I guess could be removed] and were £25 for PU shoes. Bit pricey I thought, but they looked high. Reason for going the Luton, was the SELECT store, and the Internationale store. SELECT for a further attempt at getting those boots mentioned earlier, and Internationale for some courts I'd seen in Stevenage last week while out with Mrs Freddy. [stevenage only had size 7.] In SELECT, their shoe range was poor. No chance to find those boots, which was disappointing. Tried on some shoes in BHS. These were girls shoes in a 'trainer' style, and some ordinary low heeled (girls) ankle boots. The casual shoe went for £29 and while it fitted, it could have fitted better. No sale (yet). The other boot was okay, and might have been a goer but it was over £50 and could not be repaired when it wore. I'd rather buy a better shoe for that money, even if it means waiting to get the better shoe in a sale? At Internationale. there was plenty of platform shoes on offer, and at reasonable prices too, and two pairs in the style I was after. But as with Stevenage, only the wrong size. Walking back to the car via Peacocks, I decided not to go home empty handed again, and bought the overpriced shoes. Driving homeward, I thought I would try the Stevenage Internationale again. I had rung earlier in the week to get a size check done, and had been told they only had size 7, not the size 8 I would probably need. I thought I might buy the 7 and try them later [when my very hot feet had cooled]. At the store, I had to trawl through a fairly large [and literally top] shelf full of shoes joined as pairs by thread. Before I found the 7's I was looking for, I found an 8!!! Ressssssssult. Got my £12.99 ready at the cash desk, only to find the shoes are in a sale and got rung up at £6. After driving home, I tried on both pairs of shoes. Both fitted, though the Peacock courts were short on toe-box, and large on heel. The round toe stiletto's from Internationale, which were the same high height, fitted like the proverbial glove. [And £19 cheaper than the Peacock shoes....] Pictures to follow. @Ludovic. I've started a thread about ALDO elsewhere. [Link here ] We've maybe a different attitude to sales staff and selling in retail stores over here. Anyone pushing for a sale or seeming disingenuous, is likely to switch off the buying interest. ALDO in the UK always seem a bit pushy, and I'd suggest the attention you had would be just about perfect for me. ie. Help if I want it, to be left alone if I don't. Compared to the KG/Kurt Geiger/Carvela group, ALDO are very favourably priced, though I have never paid full price for any style from either group that I've kept. KG boots are typically bought during the Winter/Spring sales. ALDO typically 3 to 4 months after the style initially becomes available. Though I did have to wait more than a year for one particular style to be discounted..... [i've the patience of a Saint when it comes to saving money. ] Reason for edit: Link added.

Been really bored with things recently. Not been the full ticket with so much sadness around, and also feels like my life has been all work and no play for too long. Went 'window' shoe shopping today. Had planned to go wearing heels, but decided against at the last minute as the first venue was Camden, a place well known for its poor quality paving.... Background to this is the ALDO Outlet store, and SELECT clothes stores have both provided bargain priced and interesting styles at their stores in Camden. Not been to either for a while, so with half an excuse to go, I went. ALDO has been revamped, and it is a much more pleasant place to shop. Nothing there to buy today, but it was a much better experience with more styles on display, and more room to get around them. SELECT proved to be a bit of a temptation I had to miss. They had some VERY high heeled slouch style calf length boots for £20. I tried the 7, but needed a size 8 they didn't have. Disappointed, I went from Camden to Brent Cross. Nearly tried on some block heeled fully enclosed shoes at TopShop, but the school-girl in front of me kept the assistant so busy I left. [Thinking I would come back later, but time ran out to do this.] Miss Selfridge. Nothing. Went to New Look. Nothing there. Office. Nothing there. Marks and Spencer ..... Finally got to try on some high heeled boots fitted. £59 was bit steep for me, though they were quite comfortable. Dune, nothing. Fenwicks with Kurt Geiger, Pied a Terre, Nine West and others ..... Nothing. Zara, found a couple of style to try on. One fitted moderately well, but was suede, and again £60 a pair...... ALDO (retail). Nothing of interest. [Though have my eye on a pair from their on-line Sale.] Popped into SELECT at Boreham Wood, no boots there in the style I'd seen earlier. So ...... Had an afternoon's entertainment shoe shopping, but no money spent. Bargain! .....

I don't think anyone is going to feel confident, nor be competent in a vehicle they feel is too large for them to drive safely. I'm not keen on large cars either, but that's because I like smaller more efficient styles. My personal experience is that most [not all] women/girls prefer smaller cars. That said, two in my family run Land Rovers and a third runs a fairly large 5 seat 5 door hatchback. Mrs F prefers small vehicles like me [even smaller actually] and while she is licensed to drive a geared car, prefers to drive an auto. Mrs F has worn the red dress as our recently bereaved close family friend wanted bright colours at her funeral. It's not my favourite style, but it did the job and Mrs F likes it very much. It went well with a jacket, which was needed later when it cooled down. [The 'Wake' was in a marquee because of the wet weather we've had here recently.] Unusually, I did get Mrs F to read this thread, with a view to her responding to some of your queries directly. As I expected, she has little interest in these Forums, preferring to converse with people she might know and has met personally. I'd suggest it wouldn't be appropriate for me to either take further questions to her, or about her. Doesn't seem fair for me to 'second guess' an answer, even if after all these years, I should know how she feels about most things. .....

Welcome aboard. You've posted a couple of times, which is great as so many join and never write anything. I hope you continue to make the time to post. How was it you found us? I have to apologise for my curiosity, I'm so pleasantly surprised we have a girl's voice here. [As it were.] ......

And looked great too, if you don't mind me saying. Nice to see some fresh pictures here.

Thanks for confirmation. Still don't understand why the "Voters" doesn't match the quantity of votes?

This [old] thread got bumped today. Not understanding why - no new posts - I thought it might be someone may have voted, and that voting had raised the thread? Curious to if this was right, I looked at the voters. Sure enough, a new member had voted, and the numbers show that. But when you look to see who voted to produce the total figures, the numbers and name quantities don't match? On balance, it looks like the figures are correct. [The benchmark for this being 1 female vote, I think from new member Eoneleg.] But this isn't what I see when I check who has voted? .... Reason for edit: Unintentionally included quote of earlier post.

And maybe, with experience, to protect the heels of the shoes? I hadn't thought to mention it, but when I drive in heels [getting my ankles used to their new walking position], I use an old towel folded in the footwell to ensure the back of the shoes don't get scuffed. Yes, thanks. And starting to look like we saw most of the 2011 British summer that weekend. I might have some piccies and a short video to post. Most of the images were poor quality [on the fly] street shots, and the video in low light at night. But it might still be possible to get gist of the evenings 'shoe' entertainment. .....

Right ...... 5th time lucky? Browsing shoes [as one does] I noticed some similarities in styles when this thread got 'bumped' the other day. I had hoped to show this using links [less work for me], but after an hour or so of trying yesterday, it became obvious that easier route wasn't workable. So ..... ASOS Abraham verses Kurt Geiger Verity. ASOS Timbad verses Kurt Geiger Arnold. [Well, perhaps not that similar. ] Prices of course, waaaaay different.

Yes, though she has not been driving for anything like as long as I have. Mrs F keeps some flat shoes [called a 'deck shoe' here,] in the car to wear while driving. .....

Delete. Even pasting the whole URL won't work so it's not a parsing problem .... Maybe Kurt Geiger doesn't want links to its site from unauthorised 3rd parties, like 'shopping' search engines? Had that problem compounded by dropped phone line to them, and then the 0845 number stopped working altogether, so never got to the bottom of it. ASOS hosted site then started slowing down [never fast at the best of times.] Sorry all, but I've given up, for today at least.

Delete. Spent an hour trying to include links with no success. Something wrong somewhere.

I guess you'd maybe want to wear heels a bit more, but at least you get to wear them sometime? It sounds like your wife, while not encouraging you to be adventurous, at least has some empathy for your desire. This is to me, a sign of a good person, and probably a good relationship. Always welcome news.

I think young drivers aren't usually anything like as careful as insurance companies would like them to be. Statistically, young drivers are significantly more likely to have accidents, rather like yourself? Heels may have contributed to your incident, but my experience suggests wearing heels doesn't inhibit good or sensible driving. I have in the past, driven through the West End of London many times wearing heels. It has a traffic system and congestion problems unmatched by most cities in the Western World. So far, no driving problems except a parking ticket. If you need your own transport, you will have to persist in your driving. If you think flat shoes are safer [as does your instructor] it would seem prudent advice to follow surely? When you are both more competent and more confident, a return to driving in heels might be a temptation you may no longer need to resist. I will pass on your good wishes to Mrs F, thank you.

Had been to Cardiff a couple of years ago to attend a Wedding Reception. Had made time to go into the centre to have a browse, and spent some money on shoes. Liked it a lot, so wanted to go back, and eventually did.... Would like to be in a position to say I'd left all my 'men's' shoes at home..... But the prospect of driving for [up to] 3 hours in heels didn't seem prudent. I wore regular clothes and shoes for the bulk of the journey, changing into longer jeans and my HD boots, about a mile or two outside the city. First job was to get booked into the hotel, wearing heels. Did this, but the room wasn't ready. Left the car outside the hotel, and only having to cross the road ,went shoe shopping ...... For about 6 hours. Had lunch out, and walked for what seemed miles. I can tell you, Cardiff is the King of Shopping Cities. Went to most of the big name stores, including my favourite, House of Fraser. I bought nothing, Mrs Freddy spied a couple of things, but initially didn't spend any money on clothes or shoes either. [Though she did try to buy a 'sale' style of Carvela shoes in about 3 different stores!] Mrs Freddy did find a dress in John Lewis she liked, walking back through the store while returning to our hotel. On sale from what I remember was a prohibitively expensive amount of money, to something that might be considered merely expensive. A bright red number, so vivid that it would get her noticed wherever she planned to wear it. It was a warm sunny weekend, and it's some of the reason we went that particular one. I'd say the heat, especially outside, made every 100 yards walked seem like 200 yards. And in 4" heels too. Finally back at the hotel they tried to put us into a greenhouse, a sealed room with the curtains left open all day, that without aircon was just too hot to bear. We got a cooler room, then unpacked and showered up..... I felt it was not a great situation as wearing heels and being a complainer might draw attention? As it turned out, things went well at the hotel afterwards regardless. Had a change of clothes and put on cooler fresh heels. This time out, my fav Faith pair. Less discreet because they have a thinner heel [not stiletto] but more easily seen by anyone taking a second glance. We left the hotel at around 9pm, but it was still sunny and bright outside. Walking around the centre to find a restaurant was stimulating. Quite a few people were sitting around along our route enjoying the pleasant evening, and I made sure I didn't look backwards to get embarrassed if my heels were spotted. I found that walking out as a couple, meant we were pretty much ignored. We got to a restaurant quite soon, and sat at a seat with a view. The bench we sat on next to each other faced toward the bar counter, and just about every employee got a clear view of my footwear anytime they looked out from the bar... We stayed for a couple of hours and managed to sink a bottle of wine with our meal. The restaurant was a Prezzo and I can report the food was excellent, and the staff exemplary. When it came time to leave, and we were just about the last to go ..... I had to walk up some open stairs while staff ate close by. Having had a drink [and I usually manage about 3 bottles of beer a year], I was too merry to care if anyone noticed my footwear. We paid and left a respectable tip. Believe me, the staff there were wonderful. As we left, just about everyone wished us well and waved. [And that's before they picked up the money we'd left.] Outside, things were busy. We knew the place would be buzzing, but hadn't expected what we saw. Possibly thousands of people outside, walking between bars, to/from clubs ..... From the High Heel Appreciation point of view, I can report I found myself in HH Paradise. Mrs Freddy possibly got a bit fed up with my jaw dragging along the pavement .... But I just didn't feel the need to be that discreet about my gawping. Most folk were just to drunk to notice anything. I only wish I'd had a better video camera to record what I could see. We walked back to the hotel, only a couple of hundred yards away. Herself got a wrap as the air had chilled, and I put on some slightly higher heels. We then returned to the bars ....... Sadly, by the time we returned, drink, a largish meal, and a long day had started to take its toll. We were tired, and after only 15 minutes, decided we wouldn't go into a bar for an even later night, but went back to the hotel taking the long route as to enjoy the warmish midnight air. Once back we were shortly in bed and fast asleep..... Next day, we rose and went for brekkie in the hotel. We shared the breakfast room with between 20 and 30 other customers and it was obvious there were several stag and hen parties there. I was again wearing my HD boots, and while sitting these could be seen. At the time I was too weary to care . ... We both had a decent amount of food, then checked out. The car stayed in the hotel car park, while we went for a visit to Cardiff Bay by bus. It was another hot sunny day, and the breeze of the bay was welcome. I got a little sun burned, despite only being out in the Sun for an hour or two. There was a food festival that weekend, and the place was heaving. Lots going on..... I'm not sure if it was the heat, or the bird poop that got deposited on my shoulder while we sat in the bay, but we got back to the city in mid afternoon. I guess the prospect of the journey home through Sunday traffic wasn't a great help either. As it turned out, the journey was quite uneventful, save some slow traffic toward the M4/M25 junction. To drive home I changed into my flat shoes again, and I can tell you, it was a welcome relief. I suppose it's a fair assumption that your feet can become 'conditioned' to wearing heels, and for shorter periods [4-6 hours] mine are. But I've seldom spent so much continuous time in heels, and never in such hot weather while wearing them. I'd say about 14 hours on Saturday, and 6 or 7 hours on Sunday? Much of that time walking too, with only eating time allowing my feet to cool/calm down. It was a great weekend though. I want to do it again, and I hope to before the weather gets too bad. In terms of a High Heel meeting place, this has got to be one of the best opportunities for an evening out heel watching. Reason for edit: Typo's ~ spelling ~ grammar. .....

Going in at the weekend, especially on a Sunday is good from the the heeling point of view. People get up later, so fewer people around. I can park closer to the front entrance and in winter the dark mornings allow me to come and go wearing heels. Was in at my part time job last Sunday. Beavering away, there was a load banging on the outside window. I looked up to see the main owner looking in, motioning me to open the front door. [Him out walking without his keys.] I let him in for a chat. As I'm between 'working heels', I had regular mens shoes on. Usually a disappointment, but not that day ....... Cat nearly pulled itself out of the bag ....... ....

It continues to be postponed. Finding time to write up the Cardiff trip also eludes me. [Though the longer it's left the less detail I'll recall.] Got a birthday coming up, and that's going to be a day to wear heels if ever there's going to be one. Some of my current problem is I'm spending a lot more time amongst other people who know me and my family quite well. While I'm tempted to 'blab', [as imprudent as that may subsequently be], I continue to be find having a dual taste in footwear something of a struggle on some days. Sure I'm resolved to it, but enjoy it? Not sure I'll ever let the cat out of the bag, but the thought of doing so provides many hours of pleasant mental fantasies for me. .....

Ah, ankle boots. I pretty much like to look at most styles of heels. For myself, slim feet means I can't wear sandals. [None I've found anyway.] Longer boots [knee and thigh] look like Wellington boots on, due to my fairly skinny legs. Consequently, it's court shoes or ankle boots. And lots of them. I wear ankle boots as much as I can when I'm out and about. Some of my posts have links to pictures and videos of these. Do you wear your heels in the house, or do you wear them out? ....

Needing to make some room [unbelievably] in the new larger house .... I realised I must finally get around to selling off or giving away some of the vast Freddy shoe collection...... 2 pairs gone to the great shoe graveyard ........ One of which were my 'everyday' ankle boots. [ASOS brand mentioned earlier]. 3 pairs gone to help charities ...... Only about 30 pairs to photograph and get on Ebay.... Already I hit a hurdle ...... Looking to replace the ASOS boots for the part time job, I've discovered 3 pairs that function but need to be moved on. My motivation to do this just isn't great though...... 1 pair Faith ankle boots. Leather, and sized 8, but are undoubtedly a 9. [sizing poor, so these will have to go.] 1 pair Faith ankle boots. Leather and sized 8. Good fit, but with slight platform and bit of a retro vibe to them. Older style maybe? 1 pair Next ankle boots. Leather and sized 8. Good fit, maybe even generous. Very slightly long in shape, Just not sure I like them ..... While there are reasons to move them on, I still seem to be struggling, and I need to move them on really. The whole reason for digging these out, was to find myself an 'everyday' pair of heels to keep my heel wearing habit going. These failed the initial test so the next move should be straight forward. For some [probably blokey type] reason it isn't...... Until these are gone, I don't want to add to the query list by trawling any deeper into the collection. Stalemate? Watch this space! ..... .....

Hello Ludovic, and welcome. Do you have a preferred style? Shoes, boots, or sandals perhaps?

Was back in the Liquidation store last week. Was there to browse for bargains, as the discounts there are usually quite good. [Always worth a look.] I've had luck at Wood Green with Select and Matalan, but the reason to go for me, is the ALDO store. I did find a shoe I wanted to try. A style picked out by my walking companion earlier in the day. Walking into the fairly quiet shop alone, and after picking up the shoe to try on, I was again approached by the [Polish] manageress. "Can I help you?" This said while I've a got the <girls> shoe in my hand, and I'm walking past her - or trying to anyhow. "No thanks, I'm okay, thank you." I replied with a <slightly nervous> smile. Well ..... I got a look that said I'd insulted her family? I'm fairly sure she watched me try the shoe on in the corner of her eye, and she certainly looked around just as I took the shoe off. I put it back on the shelf, and left. To be honest, this is the woman I know to be unfazed by my footwear habits, and maybe not engaging her wouldn't be her first choice. But..... Unusually I had a sock on, and the 41 I tried didn't fit. I'm never happy trying on a 42 at the best of times and I'm sure the 42 [if they had one] would have fitted, but would I have wanted to take it back later, with all the grief involved in doing that? Better for me to return wearing some of my own hosiery grade ankle socks to try the 41..... Anyway, ALDO still one of the best stores to visit.

From the shoe buying point of view, things are a little dire. I guess a sign of the times. Fewer styles and lower quantities made because margins are thinner and sales low. ie. Folk tightening their belts..... That said, I did have a bit of a result with one style/pair recently, but need to write that up too. Been a bit busy recently ..... A close family friends mother has been ill, and I've done all I can to help fill in. Sadly, she passed at the weekend, though it wasn't entirely unexpected. Maybe things will start going back into the old routine, in a week or so. Might find myself with both time and inclination to get some new threads written up.