High Heels WTF is it about

yy the lonely clip clop of a woman walking home from the pub at 3am.

There is also the sound of high heels on some surfaces. They can be so loud that the sound can make some women self-conscious in a negative way.

I don't own any shoes that give me blisters, and I wear heels a lot. It's not normal!

Indeed. Womenz have the clothes right, menz have the shoes right - we should get together and compare notes!

Annie, I agree with you about menz clothes. They are so dull, the colours are yawnsville. I think I would find the lack of choice very frustrating.

However, menz have it right regarding shoes. If DH bought a pair of shoes that gave him blisters he would immediately take them back, but if it was me I would accept that as normal. I am sure shoes can look nice without crippling me but shoes manufacturers don't seem to care.

Yes I sometimes think the same about ties, they really don't look comfortable, especially in hot weather. I know my DP hates wearing them. Though probably not as painful and restricting as women's shoes can be sometimes!

And workplaces do tend to be getting less formal in that regard, when I worked in banking it was pretty much all business casual (except for meetings with external clients and similar), so no ties or jackets required. I was still the only woman in flat shoes though...

Now I know we're not supposed to do 'what about the menz?' on these threads, but I think the same thing about suits and ties. Why do men inflict them on themselves? They're really not comfortable and how boring that everyone looks exactly the same!

Now I've worn ties and I've worn high hells heels, and ties are by far the lesser of the two evils. But, why do business folk all wear matching uncomfortable clothes in order to look professional? Who started the whole mad idea and why do people keep on wearing them?

Madness....

I can't wear stiletto type heels over 2 inches but I frequently wear 4-5 inch wedge heels and find them fine to walk/dance in. I do quite like the sexy curve of the arch on high heels but there's no way I would wear any shoe that crippled me, I think I would feel too vulnerable if I wasn't able to fight/run if I needed to. Not that I'm paranoid or anything!

Plus I have congenital hip dysplasia and one leg is shorter than the other so I struggle to walk in most shoes sometimes.

I like being small. well, actually, even if I didn't tis not a lot that can be done, is there ?
5'2'' and heels doesn't actually make much difference. I would have to wear 4 inch platforms to be normal sized.

These women who are fully made up 24/7 and wear heels always= V Beckham bunions, are the entreme.
You can't tar all women, who ocassionally wear heels, or god-forbid-a tiny bit of eyeshadow, with the same mascara brush.

I don't need to wear heels to look men in the eye. I am 5'11". When I wear heels, I'm taller than most of the men I come across. I think feeling odd about being taller than your partner in heels isn't more laudable than wearing the shoes you want (for whatever sociocultural reason...).

My housemate (her again...) spends every night out moaning because she has a bunion "arthritis" and her heels hurt her feet. Flats have been suggested, and she was utterly outraged at the notion. I think she sees it as a badge of honour that even though she's in pain she still wears heels and is 'glamorous'. Personally, I have a few pairs of heels that I love. Sometimes, when we go out, I wear them. Sometimes, I can't be bothered to deal with them so I don't. I don't see that it's worth getting worked up over. (I don't mean this thread, I mean people like my housemate.)

Said housemate also drove me to the dr this week when I was really ill, and was horrified that I wasn't going to put make up on beforehand because I was "very pale"! Normally I do wear a little bit of make up, and more if we're going out in the evening etc, but I didn't see any need to put it on just to go to the dr. Why would I? But as much as it does my head in having to put up with her all the time, it does make me sad that, for some reason, she feels the need to always be 'perfect' in how she looks, and to conform to some sort of ideal that even if it's achievable, takes up so much of her time and causes her pain.

(Having said that, until she stops telling people she has arthritis, she's getting no foot-pain-related sympathy from me!)

Sorry, that was in regard to wearing make up.

Sent too soon.

Anyway I was just going to say that actually I'm not in the least afraid of letting the world see what what I really look like, as suggested by one poster....
No - I just like to convince the world that I think enough of myself to take the time out to look nice, and take care over my appearance.

If you appear as though YOU think you're worth a little me time - everyone else will think you are too.

I am not orange, I do not have spider's legs for lashes, but yeah...I think it's nice to care how you look.

Bingo, I do think women need to.
No woman should dress the same in their 20's as they do in their 30's, or 40's or 50's.
You don't want to be over dressed, mutton dressed as lamb. You want to look good at the age you are.
And that probably means not having peroxide blonde etc etc at 60, like you may have done wehn you are 20.
I'm generalising, but can't you get my point?
You do need to take more care as you get older.
some Girls when I was 15 were using sun in and olive oil to sunbathe.
When your 30 and 40 you need to use a good SPF and a good moisturiser, and think about what colours flatter your skin as you age.
That does require more attention, than getting up when your 15 and just going out.

I don't wear heels. Ever. Nuff said.

However, I DO put on make up every day - just eyeliner, mascara and a little shadow.

No, Alex I am definitely not gorgeous. But that is o.k. Its not a problem.

sallow ? I mean all skin ages and loses colour and vitality. Not sure if thats true if you have lovely olive skin, but english skin does. My mums skin has. She is 60 and can look lovely. She says it takes a bit more work than it did when she was in her 20's. When she was late 20's she was living in cyprus , with 3 small children,and looked tanned and naturally lovely, without a spek of anyhting.

it doesn't matter alex, if it doesn't matter to you

I expect you have more pressing things to think about, and rightfully so

the point is, if it makes some women feel better to put make-up on, that is their choice

I feel better when I do

it's no reflection on anyone else

AF - I look tired because I am tired. It comes with having three children and doing physio with ds2 (he has hypotonia) and carrying him everywhere. I just don't think it matters if I look tired.

The culture we live in attaches far more importance to how women look than it does to men therefore beauty ideals stuff including fashion is a feminist issue. Men don't tend to worry about the colour of their skin, they don''t get judged as person based on it either. There isn't a negative association with men getting older either that requires them to make more effort as they age or in order to look professional.

i wear el naturalista clogs in the summer (i have lots of different colours) and mukluks in the winter.

my boss is desperate to give me a full makeover, but she knows she has no chance. at all. she hates that i refuse to congratulate her on her two hours in the gym and skin tight low cut high heeled made up daily ritual. if she wants to do that, fine. but i don't. she then takes her shoes off at work (because they hurt) but still laughs at mine. (my work shoes are black dansko clogs ) hey ho.

on thursday she gave me a lift home and said 'what i love about you is that you don't give a shit'. not quite the look i was going for...

needless to say, i don't do make-up either.

i'm 5'2" and dh is a foot taller. he does roll his eyes at my choice of footwear occasionally...

my skin has gone more sallow as I am getting older

kinda pale and tired-looking

I look like death without make-up, tbh

sallow ?

Sorry, what do you mean by 'shallow coloured skin'? Does that mean pale?

I have a slightly dark colour to my skin (olive, really), I've never thought about skin getting lighter, but then mine hasn't so far.