My Greatest Fear!

[Rebecca Jayne]

Falling down stairs, anytime, dressed or not, but especially when i have on high heels.

I love to dress up, casual wear to Professional attire, all the time, every day. I love to wear heels, 3" and sometimes 4", 5", mostly 3". I wear a size 16 woman's shoe which is just short of the length of a railroad freight car. Stairs, with and without carpeting are not deep enough, 'cept when I'm barefoot, and that's not often.

I just measured my shoe 12 1/2" toe to heel spike.
Stair 10" front to back built with a 2 X 12.

So you can see my delema I have to be very careful on stairs, I have to walk at a 45 degree angle and hold on to the handrailing always, makes for a slow graceful decent.

[sherri52]

I have to be carefull and I'm only a 13-14 womens depending on style. Open toe I might get away with a 12 but we still have to be careful of the stairs.

[Karren H]

I'd buy a single story ranch!! Safety first ya know!!

[joank]

Why not go down at an angle using the rail. By the way, I have fallen twice this year and at my age it's not fun no matter how you are dressed. Both falls could have been real bad so I have become much more cautious.

[JennyS.]

A year and a half ago, I was carrying a load of laundry down my stairs just before work (in drab). The heel of my shoe (not 'heels') caught the edge of the carpet and sort of pinned my left foot to the step below. It all happened so fast.... And I went down fast too. Broke my left ankle. Nowadays, I'm VERY careful on the stairs and NEVER let my little one play on them, either.

Be careful, ladies. Being laid up in bed with a broken ankle is no fun at all.

[DanielleLee]

Not to be Captain Obvious here.... but wouldn't it just make sense and wait until you get downstairs, to put on your heels? :D

[Sam-antha]

Somehow, size is not important, with heels the handrail is for me a necessary must. Unless of course the stairs are of the type that you can get your heel onto when you are going up. You know the Scarlet O'Hara design.
Karren will have to practise the O'hara stairs away from home it seems. lol

~Samm

[kellycan27]

I wear a size 8 woman's shoe and have slipped on stairs as well..I bounced down half the staircase, luckily I landed on my fanny so the only injury that I sustained was a sore butt. Since then I am ever vigilant where stairs are concerned. Now that I think about it, I am probably what some would describe as a klutz... I have ended up on my rear more than a couple of times while wearing heels. :heehee:
Kelly

Take it slow and hold that handrail!

[PhillyGuy2Girl]

I'm 6'3" so I only wear flats or at the most 1" heels so I don't need to be taller. Even in the 1" heels, I can walk pretty good but when I use the stairs,I'm alway careful and hold on the handrail.I don't and can't afford to miss time from work. In male mode,I wear a size 10 and half or an 11 but in women's shoes, I can take a 11W or 12W depending on the style. I have small feet for a guy my height but big feet for a woman.


Felicity

[Hope]

as you are hearing - this isn't at all uncommon.

Watch women, even ones with small shoes descend a flight of stairs in heels - they do the same thing.

[sterling12]

Did I read This Post correctly? I think what you fear is The Consequences after you have fallen, if that event ever happens.

Ambulance? A Trip To The Hospital with a broken leg? Doing That Trip in your frillies, and then discovery? Isn't that what you fear?

For what it's worth, a good friend did that very thing about a year ago, she only fell about a foot and a half, but broke her femur. (likely osteoporosis involved in this incident.) It was handled very professionally, they had the clothes that didn't get cut up by The Ambulance Crew, safely bagged up and put away long before The Wife arrived. People who work in The Medical Field TEND to be empathetic!

Peace and Love, Joanie

[Phyliss]

Strange that this subject should appear today.

Earlier this afternoon I was loading my pickup and as I climbed out of the bed I missed my footing and did a nice slapstick pratfall. Nothing injured except my pride and some dirty jeans having landed in the mud.
I was amazed at myself for thinking on the way down, "OMG I'm gonna break something and won't be able to wear heels"
Not was I gonna get hurt or where am I gonna land, but I'm worried about being able to wear heels. The mind can think real fast when it has to.

My house is a split entry style or sometimes called a raised ranch, so it has a flight of steps. Yes I do hold the handrail and turn myself at 45 deg to go down. I notice that even if I'm wearing plain old flat shoes in boy mode I still turn myself as if I was wearing heels.

[Persephone]

Not to be Captain Obvious here.... but wouldn't it just make sense and wait until you get downstairs, to put on your heels? :D

Interesting thought! But I haven't seen many GG's doing it that way.


Strange that this subject should appear today.

Earlier this afternoon I was loading my pickup and as I climbed out of the bed I missed my footing and did a nice slapstick pratfall. Nothing injured except my pride and some dirty jeans having landed in the mud.
I was amazed at myself for thinking on the way down, "OMG I'm gonna break something and won't be able to wear heels"
Not was I gonna get hurt or where am I gonna land, but I'm worried about being able to wear heels. The mind can think real fast when it has to.

Wow! Sorry to hear about your fall today, Phyllis! Hope that you aren't sore tomorrow. I can *t*o*t*a*l*l*y* understand your thoughts on the way down!

Hugs,
Persephone.

[kathleensatin]

My greatest fear is being caught. Especially by someone who does not understand.

I have been caught twice, by a girlfriend and my wife, both who belittled me and thought I needed psychotherapy.

Kathleen

[Fab Karen]

Hold your feet at an angle, so your toes are aiming towards the railing. Also in boy shoes I can go down steps fairly fast this way.

[StacyCD]

It really doesn't matter whether you are a gg or a part-timer, going down stairs wearing heels can be dangerous. It's not a lot different than wearing heels on ice. Physics is physics and gravity can be no fun! Be careful out there!

[Diane Smith]

About a year and a half ago, walking into my nail salon for a pedicure appointment, my feet slipped on a wet patch on the floor and I fell down backwards, hard, landing flat on my back on the concrete floor. No broken bones, but I had to cancel that appointment because I couldn't sit upright, and I spent a couple of days in bed letting my bruised back mend. Yes, I was wearing 5" heels at the time.

The funny part is that I clearly remember thinking, as I was going down, "I hope I don't break a nail!" And I didn't ... but it severely "knocked the wind out of me," and probably came darned close to breaking my back or a shoulder instead. It's amazing how the mind works in moments of trauma!

- Diane

[kellycan27]

About a year and a half ago, walking into my nail salon for a pedicure appointment, my feet slipped on a wet patch on the floor and I fell down backwards, hard, landing flat on my back on the concrete floor. No broken bones, but I had to cancel that appointment because I couldn't sit upright, and I spent a couple of days in bed letting my bruised back mend. Yes, I was wearing 5" heels at the time.

The funny part is that I clearly remember thinking, as I was going down, "I hope I don't break a nail!" And I didn't ... but it severely "knocked the wind out of me," and probably came darned close to breaking my back or a shoulder instead. It's amazing how the mind works in moments of trauma!

- Diane

Had you broken a nail......... you'll have to admit that you were in the right place..lol. Glad you weren't seriously injured.

Kelly

[tinalynn]

My size 8 heels are fairly easy on steps, but going down does take some caution - especially if the steps are not carpeted. Heels require a different mindset about walking in general. Walk slower, take smaller steps, and be sure of your footing on slick surfaces. You simply cannot balance as well on two little areas of contact vs your entire foot.

Honestly, though, I don't know that most GGs are any better at wearing heels than some of us because we probably wear them more often. I know that I can walk in 4" heels better than all of the girls I work with, except maybe 2 or 3 that wear heels every day. EVERY day. (I'm sure the GGs here will call me out on this! :) )

[Frédérique]

My Greatest Fear!
Falling down stairs, anytime, dressed or not, but especially when i have on high heels.

This is the main reason why I don’t wear heels. My house has many steep, carpeted stairways that would easily trip me up. If I fell down the stairs right outside the door to my studio, I would tumble out a window and wind up in the garden, my skirt over my head. I often fantasize about my sister finding me like that, a confusing state of affairs to be sure! :eek: I’ll stick with flats, thanks…

[dennisGTS]

Before we moved off-post to our own house, we lived in a 2 story duplex in on-post housing. I was often afraid, myself, going down the stairs in heels. I ended up ruining 2 pairs of heels (breaking off the heel itself) slipping and falling down the stairs. Both times I had caught myself from severe injury because I was holding on the the stair rail. I couldn't imagine an ambulance coming to my aid while I was in full CD attire on a military base...that would be very akward...

[Rebecca Jayne]

About a year and a half ago, walking into my nail salon for a pedicure appointment, my feet slipped on a wet patch on the floor and I fell down backwards, hard, landing flat on my back on the concrete floor. No broken bones, but I had to cancel that appointment because I couldn't sit upright, and I spent a couple of days in bed letting my bruised back mend. Yes, I was wearing 5" heels at the time.

The funny part is that I clearly remember thinking, as I was going down, "I hope I don't break a nail!" And I didn't ... but it severely "knocked the wind out of me," and probably came darned close to breaking my back or a shoulder instead. It's amazing how the mind works in moments of trauma!

- Diane

Isn't is funny how we think in that split second.
I hate bruising my tailbone that one hurts and you can't get comfortable anywhere.

[Sammy777]

As far as going down stairs - Doing it at a 45 degree angle is best no matter what type of shoes you are wearing. In fact, with some practice, you can run downstairs in sneakers [or flats] that way without a hitch :D




About a year and a half ago, walking into my nail salon for a pedicure appointment, my feet slipped on a wet patch on the floor and I fell down backwards, hard, landing flat on my back on the concrete floor.

Glad you were not injured -if not except for your pride, lol

Here is a tip -
When/if you ever find yourself falling backwards and headed to the floor.
Don't do what most do - try to lessen the blow with your hands.

You are better off doing 2 things:
Tilting your head slightly forward [So it doesn't hit first]
Bringing your arms forward, or even crossed in front of you slightly.
[This rounds out your shoulders, so they don't hit first either]
This will make you land squarely and wholely on you back.
You may get the wind knocked out of you, but nothing will get busted up, lol.

Trust me, This was learned through several years of snowboarding and falling at speeds up to 30 mph [or faster, lol]