As many of you may know I'm a fairly down to earth practical sort of gal. My mother was the same, in fact possibly even more so, she was a real no frills woman if ever there was one.

So it should come as no surprise that I don't often get glammed up or very often do heels. I leave that to my already 6 footed partner so that I end up nearly a foot shorter and snuggled securely into her! When I do formal it's very much elegant but practical and tastefully understated.

Anyway I've always had this thing about purple and the other day someone gave me a gorgeous pair of purple boots. Only problem, they had 4 inch semi stiletto heels which is like three inches more that I would usually wear.

Well they lay in my wardrobe for several weeks taunting me until yesterday I could resist no longer. I put them on and proceeded to go out. Big mistake! I haven't worn heels like that since I was in my early twenties, so apart from the obvious fact that I was initially tottering and wallowing like a drunken drag queen on her first outing  my feet are now killing me! 

So my question for those of you who wear heels every day and even work in them is HOW on earth do you do it? I might even ask why you do it too! One night of high heeled glam was quite enough to send me scurrying back to my usual practical shoes. 

Hi Jenny

Your post made me smile I've done thins a few times to luck really not to have really hurt myself to with losing balance and all that it would have been a shame to go from a really nice pair of heels to an orthopaedic boot/cast thingy what I did was start from the start and condition my feet ankles leg's and posture to wearing heels again as I love the way my body moves when I'm wearing heels but after a bad fall in the past (not heel relater strangely enough) I had to stop and start walking from the beginning so heels were a no no for a while.

There's all sorts of tips out there but the ones that worked for me were

1 wear the new shoes around the house until you get use to them
2 have shoes that are the right size
3 stretch out your calfs and ankles while sitting regularly to

those three really helped me out I hope they do the same for you to

Jess xx

I LOVE!! High heel boots . I'm in my twenties so I dunnno, but I can wear em and walk,run in heels and it not bother me. I have 5' & 6' inch heels and it's really not a bother.

Quote from: rejennyrated on March 21, 2010, 07:04:43 AMSo my question for those of you who wear heels every day and even work in them is HOW on earth do you do it? I might even ask why you do it too!

Before transitioning I used to swim 2-3 times a week.  Part of the workout consisted of 500 meters kickboard.  I was in my early 50's at the time and could walk in heels pretty much all day.

Once my "blossoming" became too obvious and the men's locker room too uncomfortable, I stopped my workouts.  Wearing the same heels today, I can only last a couple of hours.

As to the why - same reason any woman wears heels, they make our legs look better! 

Love em,   I am rarely without a pair on my feet.  The trick is to give your feet rest.   When sitting at your desk at work slip your heels out.   Literally, take the weight off.

I feel that when I wear flats, my feet and legs resemble a golf club.   Much better to have a heel and elongate the calf.   My highest pare are about 4 1/2 inches and I find them easier to walk than in some shoes with a lower heel.   It's all about size and design

Heels are wonderful...My only problem is...I'm 6'3....So I stay with flats...However I did just buy me a pr of silver sandals with maybe a 1 inch heel...

Hello Jenny,
I wear heels maybe three days a week, usually 2-3" or so, usually to work and if I go out. I love flats but many outfits just look better with heels. I've found that over time the balls of my feet and the outer edges of my feet just get used to wearing them and get used to having so much weight on them. As long as the shoe itself is already broken in, it isn't unbearable or anything. The two weeks it takes to break them in is no fun. If you wore heels more often your feet would probably get used to them. Of course, no matter what, it will still feel great to come home and take them off Meghan

I love heels,  I wear them whenever I am in a dress, even sun-dresses.  When I have a new pair I wear them around the house so I can get use to them and then they become part of the shoe wardrobe,

Hi Girls,

I do love the idea of women in heels. I used to wear them a bit more when I was younger, but apart from that escapade I haven't done so for a long while now.

Beside which I just love watching my partner in them, and I sort of feel that by not wearing them myself I emphasise the delightful differences between us.

Like you all say, I guess it's a case of practise makes the feet aclimatise to something like that. Sadly I don't think I'll be having another go. The boots were a perfect fit for my size 7 feet... but wearing them just involved too much pain!

In future I'm going to stick to my 1.5 inch heeled court shoes - elegant but sensible, which is me all over! Alison can continue to enjoy being frivolous glam one of the pair!

As for the way they make a woman move... well let's just say that there are two ways to enjoy that particular effect Personally I'm quite happy to watch!

Im a bit late in this thread, but I replyed twice in this thread https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,8059.msg428973.html#msg428973  any advice regarding bunions, I don't consider it off topic, heels and bunions are the 1 subject, thanks....
p

High heel boots are more comfortable to walk than high heel sandals, because boots support our ankles. When wearing heels, just avoid big bags to carry. As I sometimes wear heels during business trips, I tend to carry a heavy bag, causing pain in my foot after walking 1 hour so more: https://www.susans.org/forums/MGalleryItem.php?id=2039
I realized why ladies carry small hand bags on heels. And, at least to me, wearing stiletto is like performing acrobatic feat in public. It is just thrilling, and of course so many people watch my performance, which is already additionally accentuated by my 6-foot height.

Also, boots should fit near prefectly to your feet.

My 4-inch ankle boots I like to wear in winter: https://www.susans.org/forums/MGalleryItem.php?id=1963
The boots are very comfortable to wear. As they were worn out, last month I had them repaired at < $3.

Barbie~~

I don't bother with heels these days! I used to when I was younger but now I prefer my feet to be more comfortable.

I wear heels almost every day - skirt, jeans, whatever - but I stick with ones no higher than about 2½".  (I'm 5' 9½", so that puts me at 6' - definitely not the tallest woman in town.) 

I have a pair of 4" heels I found in a thrift store that are really cute.  I've stood in them but have always been afraid of taking a step in them.  They sit in the closet with the store tag still on.  (They're also open-toed, so I need to let the snow outside melt anyway.)  One of these days I'll get brave enough to walk in them.

- Kate

Quote from: K8 on March 31, 2010, 05:57:42 PM
I wear heels almost every day - skirt, jeans, whatever - but I stick with ones no higher than about 2½".  (I'm 5' 9½", so that puts me at 6' - definitely not the tallest woman in town.) 

I have a pair of 4" heels I found in a thrift store that are really cute.  I've stood in them but have always been afraid of taking a step in them.  They sit in the closet with the store tag still on.  (They're also open-toed, so I need to let the snow outside melt anyway.)  One of these days I'll get brave enough to walk in them.

- Kate

I'm 5' 7" but I never want to draw attention to myself.  A lot of women around here are about 5' 5" or less, so they are not as tall as I am. I also feel I'm a bit old to wear any kind of sufficient heel. I prefer flat heels on boots but still like attractive and feminine footware.

3 inch heels is max for me, heels make legs look lovelier without a doubt.

I used to post of a chatroom where one of the TVs swore to having 6inch heels and being able to drive and walk in them. he was also one of those who photoshop celebs faces onto own pix.

valeriedances...you need to practice in the heels for when some nice guy takes that outstretched hand and drags you onto the dance floor...

I definitely love heels... I don't have any flats because I feel they make my feet look big, and anything under 2.5 inches has the same effect.  So all my heels are 2.5 and up.  My latest pair is actually 4.75 inches(!) and they're surprisingly comfortable:

http://www.cutesygirl.com/Anne_Michelle_Symphony26_Platform_Pumps-PID37012-MID354392.aspx

(it says 4.25 on the page, but that's for size 7, not size 10 )

Great shoes!  I need another pair.  I love them.  And I have great support with anklestraps.

Then again I want to learn ballet. Hm... dance with a man or float across the floor like a fairy, tough decision.
[/quote]
Lovely lady like you won't be a wall flower when you do get to dancing.
there is a small old fashioned ballroom in my town ..complete with glitter ball...when I finally get surgery I'll go...popped in a couple of times in male about 20 years ago...nice relaxed evening...dance shoes fit like a dream and support so nice with 3 inch heels...
seaside resort Blackpool has huge ballroom in the Tower and a weeeknd there is also on the agenda when I get surgery and my court case brings a big shower of cash.
heres Blackpool:
http://www.theblackpooltower.co.uk/ballroom.php

Quote from: Valeriedances on April 04, 2010, 03:59:43 PM
Then again I want to learn ballet. Hm... dance with a man or float across the floor like a fairy, tough decision.

I did ballroom and ballet both when I was an *almost* schoolgirl. (amazingly there was a boy who was prepared to dance with me back then - I often wish I could thank him now) So in ballroom I only know how to follow - and I do that very badly!

Mind you ballet takes a LOT of athleticism to do well. My step-sister was a principle dancer with one of the biggest UK ballet companies when I was growing up and she was really good. Danced all of the major roles. With competition like that in the family any dance aspirations that I might have had had NO chance!

I wonder if having a slightly larger foot size is a help to those of you who have them for foot comfort in heels. My feet are only size 6 1/2 or 7 - so logicallly allthat weight ends up pressing down on a much smaller area of flesh. Personally I think my biggest obstacle is my weight these days. Back in the day when I did wear heels I was only about 11 stone at the most. These days it's more like 15 stone. If I could lose at least a couple of stone it would help a lot.