Anyone not like platform/clear heels for yourself?

adAstra started this discussion · 8/25/2012

I have noted with increasing curiosity that while most of us are not exotic dancers and do not appreciate the assumption that we are just because we pole, lots of us tend to choose heels associated with stripping. I see lots of the sky-high platformed heels and lots of lucite, which I've always heard called "stripper heels." Here's what I came up with, and correct me if I'm wrong: it is impowering to wear heels referred to as "stripper heels" because (1) they are associated with total sexyness and (2) we can transform their meaning based on who we are rather than what people would assume we are. I love this idea! I don't personally like thick platforms on myself or clear heels, but when I see them on you ladies you could not look more bold and strong. I do wear really tall heels compared to those around me (around 4 1/2") without platforms or with a small platform which my classmates and co-workers call "stripper heels." They make my stride stronger and I love the authoritative click. I was wondering, what do you love about your heels? Am I right about why we love our platform heels or what other reasons do you love wearing them? Or is there anyone that doesn't particularly like the typical platform heel?

52 replies

Eden Body · 8/25/2012
I was not into high heels before I started researching pole dancing. The more I researched and saw videos of girls dancing in heels the more I wanted to try it. I thought it added something to the dance. I also like to see people dance barefoot. At first I was not really into the clear heels but they're the only pole shoes that fit my very narrow feet. When I tried them on I actually liked the way they looked on me. The platforms are fun for me because I'm so used to being such a plain jane. I made a decision on May 23, 2012 (the day I joined studio Veena) that Pole dancing would be a way to step outside of my usual safe, comfortable and conservative yet limited box. I really don't care if they're called stripper shoes.....I like the way I look and feel in them........I know pole dance is great for fitness and it has it's fair share of stigmas.... but it was the sexy side of pole dance that spoke to me first.
kasanya · 8/25/2012
I can think of two really practical reasons why ladies prefer poling in "stripper heels" rather than regular heels. The first is that these shoes are designed for dancing. You're not going to snap the heel off of one because there's a metal rod in there. They also have a rubber grip on the sole so you don't slip on hard surfaces. The second is that there's a lot of moves (mostly floorwork) that are simply easier to execute when you have a platform to slide on rather than your toes. On the less practical side, I'm sure many ladies choose stripper heels because 1) that's just what people are supposed to wear when pole dancing and 2) they definitely do make you feel sexy as hell. I especially love the stripper heels with the clear platforms, because they make your legs look sooooo long without adding any visual weight to your foot. (If you're not sure what that means, check out any video with a girl dancing in 7 inch black platforms. It looks like she has bricks on her feet.)
ronia · 8/25/2012
In the beginning I wasn't into heels at all. I preferred dancing barefoot, it felt more natural to me. But recently I discovered that heels make you move differently and more sexy and I want to explore that side of pole dancing too. It will be something different for me. So I just ordered my first pair of Pleasers (clear platform of course :) ). Can't wait until they get here so I can try them!
calipolepixie · 8/26/2012
In the beginning, I wasn't into wearing platform heels, then I loved dancing with them as much as possible. Now I am back to preferring to dance barefoot lol. In fact, I just realized that I haven't practiced poling in my platform heels in a couple of months! Yikes! I definitely think that dancing in platform heels adds to the sexiness of a pole performance though, the two just "go" together beautifully. And I feel and dance differently when I wear platform heels, I become a different person, a vixen if you will :) It's an amazingly sexy & liberating feeling.
luvlee · 8/26/2012
I will tell you what. I started poling to wear the shoes!!! Lol! Then I got serious and could not even wear them during practice. So, sometimes I wear them now, but they hinder me in some moves. I have always wore clear shoes though. Just not 6 inch ones. I had a Cinderella themed wedding and wore these beautiful clear 4 inch heels w silver and Australian crystals.
LillyBilly · 8/26/2012
I like high heels because I like the aesthetics of them, but I hate dancting in "stripper heels". They are too big and heavy in my opinion, and they prevent you from doing nice footwork (pointe). I prefer to dance in ballroom heels - they are lighter and have a soft sole, so I can still point my feet. I like wearing stripper heels when I go out, though :)
CapFeb · 8/26/2012
As an exotic dancer, I would have to say that I like stripper heels in certain situations. If you can actively pole in a room with high ceilings, go for it! If you're like me and 5'10" (making you approximately 6'Godzilla") you end up kicking the ceiling , which is not classy or sexy at all. That's inverting from the ground, by the way :< If you haven't worked up to inverting, then I guess everything is all fine and dandy! There are certain moves that I can't imagine doing in heels (Special K, but Chelle Hefner apparently tackled that one. I still can't quite get my brain around that.) But I'm sure with enough practice you can do anything.
glitterqueen · 8/26/2012
I like to wear the hells because, as my instructor pointed out "they add to the workout and they're sexier than ankle weights". And I really do notice a difference in how sore my legs are on the days I wear them versus the days I don't :)
Empty · 8/26/2012
I bring my black 6" Pleasers to class every week and the teacher has only asked me to wear them once. No one else in class has a pair, although the teacher offers hers, no one takes them. She tends to use them for when she wants to make videos or take pictures. We mainly dance barefoot. So I cant really say if I prefer one over the other just yet. I'm aiming to get a nice new pair. Perhaps they'll look better on me and I'll be more prone to wear them.
Veena · 8/26/2012
I do videos and take photos in heels and barefoot. I don't practice much in heels but I love to wear them in videos......IF it fits the song.
Monicasaerialadventures · 8/26/2012
I normally pole barefoot, but everyonce in a while I enjoy putting on my black pleaser 8 inch heels, I love how they make my legs look and i feel so sexy
x falcon 3 0 x · 8/26/2012
I love dancing in my 6" platform stilettos! Boots, too! It's a bit empowering for me cuz I'm a vertically challenged midget with an extreme case of short woman's syndrome 🌸 (I almost always wear platform heels when I get the chance, dancing or not). I refer to my pole shoes as 'stripper shoes' or just flat out 'shoes'. I'm not above strippers. But the shoes do not automatically add a sexy element to the dance...flashback to the first few times I danced in them. I wear my 'stripper shoes' when I feel like it, but I have to say that I dance more freely without them.
JeHanne · 8/27/2012
I love dancing in platform heels and wear them for multiple reasons. Some cosmetic ones are I feel that they lengthen the lines of the leg and create instant sex appeal. Tons of colors, styles, lengths... the variety is dizzying and I love that. I also wear them to execute moves like heel slides and pirouttes (protect my feet). Protecting my feet is a biggie. I danced barefoot a few days ago and tore my left foot so now I have two throbbing torn areas that I'm working on healing up. :( Ouch. I get so angry when that happens. I like the additional benefits like improving ankle strength and that while in them I focus more on core stabalization and balance. I could barely walk when I first put a pair on... I remember calling myself a 'drunk baby giraffe'. Even though I couldn't really do anything in them... I fell in love with them immediately. I do not feel there is a right or wrong here, it is all about what you want to do at that time and what makes you feel the most expressive about your dance in that moment. I can say that I am captivated by heels.
Eden Body · 8/27/2012
Ouch JeHanne, hope you heal up real soon. lol @ drunk baby giraffe:-)
Dancing Paws · 8/27/2012
I like the clear platforms, just not the clear straps. I think they make my feet look ugly. I like heels because they make my legs looks better 😉 My friend makes fun of me when I wear heels. She says I walk like Peggy Bundy. 😕
luvlee · 8/27/2012
Yeah. That is another thing. I get sore feet from dancing on the carpet. The shoes help protect from all that. I do put packing tape on my shoes so I can wear them on the carpet.
Trixie Kicks · 8/27/2012
I started liking heels more when I learned floor work (slides) that required them. I use them sometimes, but other times I like to dance barefoot or in leg warmers :)
nilla · 8/29/2012
This thread makes me want to try dancing in heels again! I think I've tried it like 3 times in my living room but it didn't work out, probably because I was on carpet that caught the heel a lot. I do think a pole walk and pirouette look amazing in any kind of heel, but floorwork and anything off the ground (climbs, inversions, ect) looks better/sexier in bare feet to me. I actually don't like the look of the iconic stripper heel most of the time. There have been videos where, due to the skill of the dancer it looked good to me, but the super tall platforms often look like hooves to me (especially if the dancer is flexing their feet at all), and the plastic clear ones look less like hooves, but the plastic aspect turns me off. I loved the red shoes Jenyne wore in her routine for the World Pole Champ 2010 Zurich competition. I thought those were really beautiful and sexy. I'd love to try dancing in something like that. I can understand how most dressy heels that I like probably wouldn't be as functional though. It seems like the stripper heels are really made to hold up wear-and-tear wise, and the plastic straps probably help with grip. I have heard some say that they like pole dancing in heels because then they don't have to worry about pointing their feet because the heel does it for them, which is so not true. I see so many flexed feet in heels, and I think a heel actually makes any flex in the foot more noticeable and awkward. Everybody has to start somewhere though and I'm sure I'll have issues with flexed feet in heels when I try it!
SpyralBound · 8/30/2012
For me, it's about balance. I just can't balance myself well in tall heels, especially stiletto heels. I put them on and instantly become an awkward baby giraffe. Just standing and walking is difficult, never mind dancing, and especially never mind any moves where I put all the weight on one foot, like a slow pirouette or a shoulder slide. Or bending down. Or squatting. All of this is 100x harder in heels, for me, so I almost never dance in them. But I don't have a lot of practice in heels (just normal heels) anyway. They're a strictly special-occasion shoe for me. My feet, ankles and calves are not used to them and will start to ache very soon after putting them on. Even if I'm just sitting, my feet seem to hate being constricted into that Barbie-foot position. I am way more comfortable and secure dancing barefoot, and better at dealing with carpet burn than at moving in heels. Honestly I barely notice the sensation of the carpet while I'm dancing, but I do have eczema on the soles of both feet and if the skin is cracked from that, walking on carpet is like stepping on razor blades.
JhennD · 8/31/2012
Agreed completely with JeHanne. Our studio's instructor said in our 101classes, like any sport atheletes need their own gear to make them perform better, It would be better to start practicing in heels than be awesome barefoot, THEN try dancing, inverting, walking, sliding down splits ; all while pointed toes (cos pointed toes flexes glutes =yummy) and feel like you're starting all over, since it is a different game. In casual 'real life' I SUCK at heels even wedges. I like to blame everything from height, weak knees, my love for my teeth, huge feet, for my lack of heel skills. So I was nervous about my first dance shoes, I got Pleasers, Dolly (I call them my training heels) and they worked great, they broke and in good timing, I truly wanted the 7" sexy platforms. From scared wobbly, to 5" Dolly, 7" Adore. I love black due to it can match whatever I exercise in. But I like the silly colourful ones of Mottiff (?) I want glitter or rhinestone crusted heels but fear chipping, like the black platforms - UGLY; or scratching pole or popping off and sticking on/in my skin (actually have pits on my feet, legs, knees from rhinestones popping off from others shoes. So I have grown to love my platforms, but unless I'm dancing and stripping at home I don't call them stripper shoes. I think because dancer shoes have grip and pretty much are not declined, which regular stillettos are (steep decline) I can sexy strut in my platforms. I like all colours but clear seem to last longer because they don't appeared chipped. Sexy ankle weights, yup; another sexy accessory/gear (like those needed booty shorts) oh yea; something to play with or add as a personal touch-style, you betcha! Climbing guard and assistant to invert poses and grabs, sticks on hot sweaty sessions, thank goodness. Now my next adventure are strapless heels. And keeping pointed toes down when I split slide down. Barefoot, only when learning invert moves. I have (hopefully not) perm scars on top of feet from climbing -holding mistakes. What's the buzz about platform boots, haven't been able to 'master' confidence in them. Sexy walk- I need to walk a tad bow-legged so they don't stick, and spins when grip aid on the pole get them messy. Any notes??
JhennD · 8/31/2012
Hooves haha kinda cute reference if you're long legged and clumsy. Me sometimes. Pankake- our studio has a fitness class that we do squats and exercise, piyo moves while wearing our heels. Gets some time to get used to. But dancing and transitions WAY easier since taking that class. We practice muscle flexing, flexibilty and getting to know your body position & reaction to a pose so being more fluid in the dancing classes.
JeHanne · 8/31/2012
Hooves... I love that look! JhennD, sounds like I'd get along great with your studio instructor! There are some dancers that decide to never wear heels or prefer the more organic/natural look of a bare foot, they are just as awsome as us heel lovin dancers. :) I call them 'platform heels' since to me that is what I see them as. Heels take a lot of practice, I've even fallen a few times and will likely fall again. I don't feel there is anything natural about balancing on any platform and then shifting your center of gravity and everything else while dancing. I guess I'm just a glutten for punishment. ;)
SpyralBound · 8/31/2012
I'm sure I could get better at moving & dancing in heels, it's just not someting I'm interested in trying or working towards, to be honest. I'm not upset or disappointed that I can't dance in heels - y'all can keep 'em. I'm not really a girly-girl and never have been, and to me personally, platform heels sort of represent the kind of femininity that doesn't ring true to who I am. In fact I'd say the fashion aspect of pole dance is more or less lost on me. I can appreciate a good outfit or pair of shoes on someone else but don't feel compelled to get all dolled up myself. Maybe it's just because I'm not really a performer in any sense - I have no interest in competitions and have only performed publicly once, and while I'd love to do it again, I'm not rushing out to find opportunities. So as long as pole remains something I do just for me at home or with friends, why bother with what's on my feet? (This all applies just to me personally - no judgment intended.)
JeHanne · 8/31/2012
I hear ya Pankake. We are all amazing pole lovers and dancers no matter what is on our feet. It is what is inside our heart and souls that make us shine when we take the stage. Regardless of that stage being our personal home pole space or a theatre.
PixiLouBell · 8/31/2012
i LOVE the look of my pink pleasers but i def prefer to pole barefoot :)

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