The first item of women's clothing I ever wore were a pair of my mother's nylon stockings. I recall looking in the floor-length mirror mounted on the inside of her closet door and admiring my pre-puberty hairless legs believing that they looked just like women's legs!
With my mother's closet door wide open, I noticed the stack of shoe boxes on the closet floor and I suddenly felt motivated to try on a pair of her high heel pumps. I opened a random box and found a pair in a floral fabric with a 3-inch heel. I slipped on the heels and they fit perfectly.
I looked in the mirror and the combination of nylons and high heels was exhilarating! Not only did my legs look like women's legs, but now they looked shapely and sexy, too!
I have been a big fan of high heels ever since. When en femme, I seldom wear anything else on my feet. Unless the occasion absolutely screams for flats, I wear heels.
Once upon a time, I thought that at 6-feet-2, wearing heels would make it more difficult to pass. But I came to the realization that if I can pass at 6-foot-2 wearing flats, then I can pass at 6-foot-6 wearing 4-inch heels.
I love wearing heels. They make my legs look more shapely and more importantly, I feel more feminine, more lady-like wearing heels. I know it’s my late-1950s/early-1960s socialization that makes me feel this way, but that's me and I'm not changing shoe styles at this late date.
Genetic females often compliment me about my proficiency in walking in heels and ask if it was difficult learning how. Truth is that I took to heels like Daisy Duck took to heels.
As a child, my mother often mentioned that I walked on my tiptoes. I assumed that walking on my tiptoes was not the way a male was supposed to walk, but nobody ever taught me the “correct” way to walk. So I took the path of least resistance and continued to walk on my tiptoes.
I believe that my penchant for walking on my tiptoes made walking in high heels a natural thing to do. True or not, from day one, I never had a problem walking in heels.
Heels hurt. I have high heels that begin hurting as soon as I slipped them on and I have heels that I can wear all day with little or no pain. I discovered that the height of the heel is not critical as far as pain is concerned. Some of my most comfortable shoes have 4-inch stiletto heels. Go figure!
Wearing heels makes my femulation complete. Despite the pain, I will never give up wearing heels; you will have to remove my high heels from my cold, dead feet.
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| Wearing Ann Taylor |
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| Jeremy Lloyd descends the staircase in the fabulous drag ball scene from the 1971 British film Lady Chatterly Versus Fanny Hill also known as The Games Lovers Play. |
I swear the comfort factor is 100% about fit. If the shoes fit right, they are less likely to hurt. 4" stiletto heels that fit are more comfortable that 1" blocks that are too tight, etc.
ReplyDeleteHi Fiona, I was going to reply something similar. I've worn and gotten rid of low heels that killed my feet. But I have a pair of 4" stilettos with toes so pointy they appear to be some sort of torture device that I am able to wear for hours. Go figure!
Deleteand don't insist "I am a size 9" or the like,. Some shoes, maybe take the 10. some are 9. Get the fit!
DeleteLike you, I tended to walk on my tiptoes. I had to learn to make sure my heels hit the ground when I walk. So, it's easy for me to wear high heels. Very few women wear heels anymore, something I see on Sunday mornings.
ReplyDeleteJohn
You forgot at the end of your high heel article to end with ' and so it goes ' .!
ReplyDeleteBras, hosiery and heels are the building blocks of our wardrobe. In fact, I wandered into H&M to check out the sale racks and left with a low heeled slingback with a 3 inch heel and stay ups. The Stana short leopard prints were all XS so no go on that. Hugs Brenda
ReplyDeleteThe first time I dressed up I was still a 12 year old boy with hairless legs. I'd donned one of mom's panty girdles and a pair of nylons along with a pleated chiffon skirt. It felt so good. I remember gazing at my "girlish" and dreamed of dressing up more, but it being my first time I only dared leave on those items for a dozen or so minutes
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing back that memory.
Sheila
"I will never give up wearing heels; you will have to remove my high heels from my cold, dead feet." That makes so much more sense than the Charleston Heston version.
ReplyDeleteI buy my lingerie in pairs too,
Trying to recall if I've ever seen Daisy Duck in heels. - LOL JJ
ReplyDeleteI always felt that being able to gracefully walk in heels was one of the milestones of my CD journey. I laugh now when I think back at how intimidating my first pair of 2" heels seemed! But with a strong desire to wear higher heels and plenty of practice, I sometimes look at the killer pointy stilettos in my closet and can't believe how comfortable I am in themðŸ‘
ReplyDeleteSometimes when at the local mall my wife and I have encountered couples congregating on prom night. It seems like it is a local ritual for a lot of the young women to meet and show off their gowns. I have to chuckle when it seems like some of the girls have never worn heels before prom day as they stumble worse than a cross dresser wearing heels for the first time. The biggest problem I have as a size 12 guy is the toe box on many heels and the man-made materials. Unless the toe box is wide enough to accommodate my wide feet, it can be tortuous to wear a pointed toe. Ouch! For my evening strolls on concrete sidewalks my go-to footwear is a low rise wedge with a rubberize sole. Many of the women who work in an office environment carry their office heels in a tote and walk to the office in an athletic shoe. That may seem crazy but the downtown streets have a steep incline from the parking garages to the main drag (no pun intended).
ReplyDelete