Feeling Feminine?[hmmm]

I can't say I've ever noticed in myself or my daughter or any of my friends that wear them. I suppose it depends on whether or not one is used to walking in high heels.

I can also run in them

Stansg well I find it does. Very cheap ones from amazon

Holly my misshapen feet are partly congenital and mainly arthritis. I wore corrective shoes when young and always had properly fitted shoes.
Please do not make generalisations!

hollydaze the podiatric surgeon who operated on my foot says that's bunkum!

Galen - it was in response to those who said high heels damage your feet. If that wasn't clear then I will apologise but we had been talking about high heels and foot damage so I didn't feel the need to state the obvious.

suebailey1 - if that was the case, then every woman who has ever worn high heels would have misshapen/problematic feet but they don't, ergo: it can't just be the shoes - there has to be another factor. Are the heels so high that you are walking on your toes? If so, then the shoes are not right for your feet. Very overweight women shouldn't wear high heels as it can cause metatarsal damage. Morton's neuroma can be caused by wearing shoes that are too narrow in the toe (as had been the fashion for some years).

I am 57, worn high heels since I was about 15, I have no corns, no bunions, no misshapen toes, no fallen arches. In fact, I was offered a job in a chiripodists on the strength of the shape and condition of my feet!

Wow! What would you have been required to do Holly? Show your perfect feet off to the clients? Can't imagine what they had in mind for you!!

holly you did write "if you have misshapen feet or toes" and qualified it further with "from wearing shoes ..." which made it clear.

What HollyDaze actually said was:

"If you have misshapen/damaged feet from shoes, it's because you wore shoes that were too narrow or too small for your feet."

She was obviously referring to foot problems caused by shoes, which is why I don't understand Galen's apparent anger.

janeainsworth I'm here just read all the posts,(been sort of childminding all week)
I am a jeans and t-shirt sort of person but must have make-up and my hair looking good,you can be feminine and dress casually with comfort just add a slouchy scarf if you want & chunky jewellery and if not it's not the end of the world as long as you are happy with what you are wearing.
As to high heels the last time worn by me was DS2s wedding very blingy OTT heels which took 4 weeks to practice in before I made it to the Venue,I do have a small heel on my trusty boots apart from them all my shoes are ballerina's.
I am at my most feminine when going to bed as I do like nice nighties and underwear always have done but that will be too much information for here,saying that I do own a couple of onesies that come out when the weather is chilly and I fancy a day in doors,but still the hair & make-up is in place,don't want to put the love of my life off do I.

My initial reaction to the word feminine related to appearance makes me think of an eye fluttering young women of the Jane Austen era, in their delicate fabric dresses. Prone to fainting at the slightest emotional upset and getting themselves ready for any marriage proposal coming their way.

Why that image sticks In my mind I don't know.

What a lovely discription Nellie takes me back to when I was reading the Novels when I was about 8/9 yrs old.

I can safely say I have never thought to myself 'Oh, I feel feminine today' on rare occasions I might think I look quiet presentable for an overweight 60 yr old with thin flyaway hair

Nonu wears.high.heels.in.Mauritius??? I have now heard it all. Ladies...some of us are made for display and some of us for doing. Thankfully we have a mix. I would much rather read a book, walk the dogs than have a pedicure etc and i prefer swimming than wearing heels in Mauritius (?). However i have a sister who dies gardening in heels and would spend her hols in spa rather than diving the coral reef.

Only just got to this thread. I had brothers and one sister and she was the odd one out. I have sons so it was a surprise to me when a few years ago I said to my assistant, 'I'm not the least bit feminine' and she replied that I was the most feminine person she knew. It really surprised me as I had never thought of me that way. When I told DH he said I was pretty but that doesn't mean much as I suspect he hasn't looked at me for years.

I wear very high heels, often with narrow trousers and I love them. I am one of the people who can walk properly in them and don't look uncomfortable. My first pair were 59/11p from Dolcis. I have always bought ones which fit and I still have very good feet. Since flats have been fashionable I have some of them too but don't wear as often. My favourites are red ones, probably because my father wouldn't let me have them because they were only worn by bad girls!

A physio told me some years ago that with my scoliosis and lopsidedness I should never wear flat shoes and, whether or not subsequent physios have agreed, I am taking his word as gospel!

'You cant beat a classic LBD- elegant, simple, classic.' I have never worn an LBD in my whole life, black is just about the most unflattering colour I can wear. It makes me look as if I am attending a funeral as the corpse. So I live a very content LBD free life!

What I am detecting in this conversation about femininity is the idea that high heels, frilly nighties and so on are prerequisites for looking or feeling feminine.
Many years ago I saw a documentary about, for want of whatever the current term is, men who were abut to have or had had had sex change surgery/therapy. One person interviewed made a great thing about wearing "feminine" earrings, lipstick, matching handbags and shoes, "feminine" clothing and I felt that he/she was looking at the outside and not the inside of a woman. In a way it reminded me of little girls who wear Mummy's high heels and clip clop round the bedroom "being a lady".
I still think femininity is to do with what is inside a person and not the external accoutrements.

I had to look up LBD. Of course I knew the expression then but can you tell it's not in my everyday vocabulary? Nor has one ever been in my wardrobe though I do wear black a fair bit – it can be a good backdrop for other colours.

Do we have any chiropodists or podiatrists on board at GN? I've heard it said that men have far fewer foot problems, especially in old age, than women do. If true, I wonder why that would be?

I feel my best(not feminine but 'chic'est) in a lbs with my hair nicely up and of course :-
My pearls

Lbd! Damm iPad is probably right about the lbs! But didn't need to point them out!

I have always walked about barefoot whenever possible - I reckon that I suffer from claustrophobia of the toes . As everyone takes their shoes off when they enter a house in New Zealand, I have obviously come to the right place. However, I have been known to wear high heels when "dressed up" but am happiest in flat sandals when outdoors. I hate it when the weather begins to get cold and I have to wear "real" shoes - and socks!

I have never considered whether I look feminine. I am inclined to agree with bags. I am a woman - that'll do.

I had noticed that about men who would rather be women. They seem to go for the Dolly Parton look. It is a mistake, as they often have the height and build of the man they once were, and can look more like Dany LaRue. That said, perhaps these are they ones that are recognisable? The ones who go for the "ordinary woman" look go unnoticed.

High heels do affect the way you stand and walk (and run) as they make you move your hips differently and inevitably, wiggle! That is why men prefer them (to see not to wear!) and why "killer heels" are also known as "f**k me" shoes so maybe it is just as well you can run in yours! ! !

Elegran During the days of blouses with Margaret Thatcher bows, M & S noted a sizeable increase in their sales owing to their appeal to cross dressers. I don't think they used that information in their advertisements though.

I have noticed that many, but by no means all, cross dressers seem to dress in a style that caricatures the extremes of how women dress rather than reflecting what ordinary women wear. Transgender people seem always to be comfortably natural in their changed gender.