Heels for beginners

[Wesley]

The new lady in life wants to teach me to walk in heels. . .NEVER have I done that! Anyone want to share info on the learning curve?

How long did it take to learn? Ways not to break neck? Ankle??

Fitting advise? This is new territory for me! I am a bit intimidated!

Wesely

[Kelly]

Oh Fun. Ok, the first thing is to remember the mantra you see all over the haven: Baby Steps. In lots of ways.

Way 1. Don't over do it in the beginning. Meaning short instruction/practice session. Work the length of time up with experience. Reason is there are muscles, tendons, and ligaments that need to stretch out and get use to being exercised in a different way. [Along these lines I sat in a chair watching a movie on TV wearing heels that were way too high for me at the time with my feet planted on the floor. Relaxed as much as I could. That help get the everything stretched out.]

Way 2. Start small. A kitten heel if you can find one your size is best. Add an half inch or full inch after a lot of practice.

Way 3. Start on a hard surface get use to it before graduating to a carpeted room and definitely out into the outside world.

Way 4. When practicing on stairs make sure you have a had rail right there to grab.

There are all kinds of youtub sessions to watch. Problem with them is that you will get conflicting instruction, but look at the reasoning behind the instruction to understand what they are trying to get across. Watch a bunch of them and kinda aggregate what is being said. After watching, go to a mall or coffee shop or any place where there are going to be a lot of women walking in heals and watch what they are doing.

After that practice, practice, practice. I had a set of two inch wedges that I actually started wearing when I went places like errands and such. Keeping in mind posture, size of steps, and simply striding naturally. Only a couple of hours when out of the house. Really helped confidence. [By the way, I did the en drab and never so much as got a second look!].

Kelly

[Rhanda]

One of the tricks that worked for me is to wear your highest heels to do your grocery shopping. walking behind the shopping cart gives you some balance support and the time is about right. Don't worry about being noticed by anyone but small children. You can easily disarm them by smiling and saying "Hy there. How are you?" This has always worked for me an I live in just about the most red necked area in the USA.

Rhanda

[Eileen (SO)]

First question, Wesley, is how old are you? Younger legs adapt easier. Are you doing spikey heels or pumps? A wider heel will help keep balance.
It's been so long since I first started wearing heels, it's hard to give best advice other than what I've lately shared with husband and girlfriends. Stretching out muscles and tendons helps. Don't start with really high heels. 3-4" should do fine. I would suggest walks on carpet to start to prevent slippage. Keep your knees straight. A newbie with heels will tend the bend the knees to reduce leg fatigue not yet used to the new foot angle. Bent knees throws off your posture and quickly tires your back.

Imagine a rope around your waist, pulling you forward. This posture will keep your shoulders back, knees straight, and help make your hips move more feminine. Elbows in and wrist turned out and smaller steps. You'll be walking in heels in no time.
You will suddenly be quite aware of every little pavement defect. Take advantage of a helpful arm or rail offered, especially on stairs. Oh, stairs. Turn your feet to get all of the foot on the tread.

Eileen

[Wesley]

Eileen,

I am 50 something years old. . Started dressing about 40 years ago. . give or take. Physical condition. . . well, I could certainly lose a few pounds, but taken to recreational walking again. . Torn ACL ligament. . . Probably not the most auspicious beginning for wearing heels. .

No plans for HIGH heels. . Suspect I will stick to 2 inch or lower. Have not chatted with the other half about what she has in mind, but I suspect (pray) it won't be that high (4" and up).

I suspect you are right in that I need to start stretching tendons and muscles.

About the only tip I am aware of at this point is to step with the Ball of your foot. Your analogy of being pulled by a rope around my waist is a good one. I would envision it being similar to demi point in ballet. Soft Ballet shoes I am well familiar with. . Keds I am familiar with. . Heels is gonna be a whole new ball game.

Kelly and Rhanda, thank you for your tips as well. . Small steps, small excursions. . I can see the the advantage of sitting with feet in heels to help stretch and acclimatize. Still, this will be a daunting adventure. .

It would be SO nice if there was still a crossdressers group in the Oklahoma city area. . .

Are any brands/manufacturers better than others for heels? I had planned on starting with lower wide base heels. . (training heels?) Any other info?

BTW, I started a heading under Fashion and Beauty called SHOE SIZE EXCHANGE. . wherein the idea is to list your customary male shoe size and list womens bands and sizing that fits. .

If someone would care to post their information about heel sizes it would be MOST HELPFUL!

Thanks much for your time. I will watch for any other posts.

Wesley

[Deidre Taylor]

How does one walk in heels? One foot ahead of another you silly girl!

Seriously, I have been wearing heels since I was 14 so it is just natural to me. All the tips here are excellent. The only way to learn to walk in heels is practice. Most young girls start out slowly with 1" heels and work their way up. It is a matter of balance and taking shorter sure strides, just observe women as they walk in heels. You said the lady in your life wants you to wear heels, watch her as she walks in heels versus flats and you will see the difference. Get used to them at home, both inside and outside before you venture into public.

Practice, practice, and then practice some more and let us know how you are progressing.

[Eileen (SO)]

Wesley,

Even at the advanced age of 50+, (I'm looking at 60 pretty soon) You should be able to wear 2-3" heels no problem. Aren't most cowboy boots at least 1-1/2" to start with? Okay, I'm guilty of stereotyping, not all Okies wear cowboy boots, my bad.
You're not wearing heels all day, and breaking in your legs half an inch at a time seems costly. Most young ladies after an evening out kick off their heels from pain, vowing to never wear them again. Until the next week.

You can't land heel first, dainty steps only. More so with higher heels or spikes. I keep this following link as a handy reference. Play around with the cursor for different perspectives.

http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Eileen

[Sarah Beth]

My first pair of heels were 5" stilettos because at the time I thought that's what I was supposed to wear. Oh the education we get as we go along. The first thing I found out was it wasn't a good idea to put on heels for the first time in the bedroom with the deep pile carpeting. I almost feel on my face it was like standing up in a bucket of jello. I moved out to the dinning room and hardwood floor. Then it was just practice and practice some more. It really didn't take all that long before I go used to it and oh the sound of those heel's on the hardwood floor. Such a lovely sound.

I should also mention that I found it easier to walk in heels if I put one foot in front of the other and not the spraddle legged walk in cowboy boots that I was used to. I smaller steps, as I think was already mentioned by some here. I had to learn not to do the macho cowboy strut and take the dainty steps of my woman within.

By the way I can walk on the carpet in the bedroom in heels now very nicely and I hardly ever have to use the dresser for a crutch.

[Karen Ski]

My first pair of heels were 5" stilettos because at the time I thought that's what I was supposed to wear.

I think many girls make that mistake Sarah Beth. I remember back when platforms first came out I bought a pair. They were black with a 2" wood platform and a 6" heel. I had worn heels before, 3 and 4", so I never gave them a thought. Put them on, stood up, took a step, and then to my face! Even after many years of wearing heels of varying height I find that after a couple of days in flats or low heels it takes a step or two to retrain my mind if I put on something with a high heel.

As someone said young girls start out with lower heels and graduate to the killer CFM's we see today. Don't know you have to do 1/3" increments as someone suggested but I would say start with some 2" heels then go up to 3" and then 4" and so on depending on how high you want to go. Don't graduate until you have mastered a given height on all surfaces such as tiled floors, carpet, concrete, and even softer surfaces outside. It takes time but the way heels make us walk oh so feminine and how nice they make legs and butts look they are worth it!