Shoe frustration...

[Zorba]

I'm intermittently searching for a new pair of heeled sandals for the EGA costume as my old pair are actually rotten: wife said "Get rid of these, get some new ones!" So who am I to argue, I ask?

Having a Hell of a time. Since this style is, of course, considered "Women's", I look for a women's size 13. They're out there. Finally found a pair on eBay that I like the looks of even though the heel is a bit higher than what I'm looking for. They have them in "Women's size 13", BUT when I follow their measurement guide, I come up with my male size! "Hecho en China" of course - a spot check shows this seems to be the case with other sellers/makers of Chinese shoes as well - follow their measurement guide, and come up with size 11 which is male size. I guess I could ask them for clarification, but I've found its best not to make mistakes ordering from eBay Chinese sellers.

I'm confused.

I've shopped a couple of the so-called "cross dresser's" websites (I *REALLY* dislike that term), but the styles found therein are almost all fetishistic and/or fugly - never mind grossly expensive! OR - I find something that is "just about right" and its out of stock or not available in my size. I'm looking for a 3 to 3.5" stiletto (the one mentioned above was just under 4 - which terrifies me - but I might give something like that a try in desperation - my old ones were 3 inchers) in a black "strappy sandal" type look. No damn platforms, I'm plenty tall enough as it is! An "ankle boot" look might work as well.

I'd love to buy them from Amazon, but Amazon's search engine has become so COMPLETELY useless in the last several years, that its a complete non-starter at this point. Any pointers/suggestions/sources would be appreciated...

 

[Shanazel]

I saw a pair of stilettos once. I can stand on the edge of a cliff without much trouble, but the view from high heels scares the hell out of me.

Good luck. I wear a ten, and it's hard enough to find shoes in my size.

 

[Zorba]

I saw a pair of stilettos once. I can stand on the edge of a cliff without much trouble, but the view from high heels scares the hell out of me.

Good luck. I wear a ten, and it's hard enough to find shoes in my size.

I'm OK in three inchers, and think I could get a better heel shape at 3-1/2, but don't really want to go taller than that. It was comical learning how to walk in the threes years back, but now I can even dance in them. Push come to shove, I'd do fours if I just "had to", but no taller. Fives, sixes, and even taller with platforms, uh-uh! One of my California dance sisters wore 6 inch pumps daily!

My BD teacher here won't wear anything taller than twos, and kvetches about that. I keep telling her "Lebanese style, Lebanese style..." to which she replies, "Right after YOU do a Turkish Drop!"

 

[Shanazel]

I wore ballet slippers when I had to dance on suspicious surfaces, but other than that I always danced barefoot. I'm just an old-fashioned Arkansas-bred girl who never wore shoes until she was thirteen and then only to school in the winter. When I was a CLA, I wore heels to court and hated every single second I had to have them on my feet. Heels are to me what neckties are to you.

 

[Zorba]

Heels are to me what neckties are to you.

As soon as there's a requirement or expectation, all fun goes out the window. But these are just for the Brolita costume, not for dancing although I find its easier to dance in heels than it is to walk in them! Plus, if I ever find myself in a Lebanese class, I'll be prepared.

I don't blame you for hating the things if someone made you wear them - just like a necktie (or a #%^*@$&* smartphone for that matter) - I'd push back too! Same goes for the corset that's part of that costume. Its not something I'd wanna wear every day, although it really isn't particularly uncomfortable if its tight enough.

I have to laugh - my poor wife. She's never worn a corset, so last Halloween when she was helping me into the outfit, she was clueless - and it had been several years so she forgot. She pulled and yanked on laces and got them as tight as she could, and goggled when I said "Ok, that's a good initial snug-up - now its time to really start hauling on things!". That involves my body weight pulling against a doorknob and her using the corset hook multiple times. Even then, while it was "tight enough", it could have been a bit tighter - "tight is right". One of my dance sisters years back did it best. She planted a foot on the small of my back and hauled away!

 

[Shanazel]

My main objection to wearing heels was the pain they cause by throwing my weight forward onto my metatarsal bones and joints. Oy. I do not like pain. Over the years I've met people who wear heels despite pain from the same because heels were fashionable, made their legs look better, etc. One woman told me she always bought the smallest size shoe she could squeeze her foot into. I found this out when we went for a walk one day and she had to stop every half block to take first one foot, then the other out of her flats to momentarily stop the ache. To top it off, this woman was a professional lifelong waitress, on her feet all day long in too-small shoes. I do not grok what is more admirable about wearing a size 6 than a size 7.5. I wear a freaking size ten.

 

[Zorba]

My main objection to wearing heels was the pain they cause by throwing my weight forward onto my metatarsal bones and joints. Oy. I do not like pain. Over the years I've met people who wear heels despite pain from the same because heels were fashionable, made their legs look better, etc. One woman told me she always bought the smallest size shoe she could squeeze her foot into. I found this out when we went for a walk one day and she had to stop every half block to take first one foot, then the other out of her flats to momentarily stop the ache. To top it off, this woman was a professional lifelong waitress, on her feet all day long in too-small shoes. I do not grok what is more admirable about wearing a size 6 than a size 7.5. I wear a freaking size ten.

Too small is horrid. My wife's in a size 9.5, and she wouldn't be caught dead in the wrong size - or heels for that matter. There is certainly nothing comfortable about wearing heels - my calves sang soprano the first several times, and will still ache if I'm in them for a long time. Worse are the blisters if I'm not careful - or even if I am. Which is why I insist on shoes that fit correctly to start with.

The only time I ever wore heels outside of the Brolita outfit was a couple of years ago when I had leg surgery. I couldn't fully flex my right foot for a couple of days, so the heels went on. Wife thought I looked ridiculous in 3 inch heels with shorts, "For God's sake, go put on a skirt with those!". I have a picture around here somewhere, let me see if I can find it...



In the meantime, the search continues.

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Have you tried ebay? Although I don't go there if I can help it. I'm guessing bellydance.com and misbellydance.com can't help either? Or rmaybe if you find flat sandals you can go to a shoemaker and have heels put on? I use only two pairs of shoes if I dance in heels and both are not from dancer sites, they're just so comfortable that they made the transition. Good luck.

 

[Zorba]

Yea, I have been on eBay - that's where I found the sizing confusion. Their measuring guide results in male shoe sizes! As these are all coming from China, I hesitate to "roll the dice"...