Never thought I'd be writing about height insoles on the internet, but someone asked me about it and figured I'd share what happened. I'm 5'6", 32, and I work as a graphic designer in Leeds. Being short's never really bothered me that much - or at least that's what I told myself - until I matched with someone on Hinge who was 5'8".

We'd been chatting for about two weeks. Really got on well, proper good banter, seemed like we had loads in common. Then she suggested we meet for drinks at a bar in town. I said yeah obviously, but then I looked at her profile again and clocked that she'd put her height in her bio. 5'8". Which meant she'd definitely be taller than me, probably more so if she wore heels or boots or whatever. I know it shouldn't matter, but it got in my head.

I'd seen ads for Inchmaxxers before - those height increasing insoles that are supposed to make you a couple inches taller. Always thought it was a bit desperate, if I'm honest. But the date was on the Friday and it was already Tuesday, so I thought sod it and ordered a pair online. They arrived Thursday morning, which was cutting it fine.

Tried them on that evening with my black Adidas Sambas - the shoes I was planning to wear. First time putting them in, I did it wrong and my heel was sitting way too high in the shoe. Looked proper obvious. Took them out, watched a video on YouTube about how to fit them properly, tried again. Better. Walked around my flat for about twenty minutes. Calves were killing me after ten minutes, like I'd been walking uphill. Felt strange but not painful. Looked in the mirror. Couldn't really tell from the outside, but I definitely felt taller.

Day of the date, I was bricking it. Not about meeting her - I was actually quite excited about that - but about the insoles. What if she noticed? What if I walked weird? What if they squeaked or made a noise when I walked? I know that sounds ridiculous but that's genuinely what I was thinking on the bus into town.

Got to the bar about ten minutes early. She was already there, sat at a table near the window. I walked over and we hugged hello. She was wearing flat ankle boots, so we were pretty much the same height, maybe I was slightly taller. Felt good, not gonna lie. Sat down and ordered drinks. We chatted for about an hour, everything was going well, and I'd completely forgotten about the insoles.

Then I shifted in my seat and felt the left one move slightly in my shoe. Not loads, but enough that I noticed. Spent the next five minutes paranoid that it was going to slip out or that my foot would end up sitting weird and she'd notice I was suddenly shorter. Tried to adjust it by pressing my foot down without being obvious about it. She didn't notice. It sorted itself out.

We ended up staying for three drinks, then went for food at a pizza place down the road. Had to walk about ten minutes to get there and I was convinced the whole time that she could tell something was off about how I was walking. She couldn't. We talked the entire way there, she laughed at something I said, everything felt normal. When we got to the restaurant and sat down, I was so relieved to be off my feet.

Date went well. We kissed at the end when I walked her to the taxi rank. Saw her again the following week - didn't wear the insoles that time because we were going to the cinema and I thought there was no point. She's the same height as me in flat shoes, turns out. We've been seeing each other for about two months now. She still doesn't know I wore shoe lifts for men on our first date. Don't think I'll tell her, not because I'm embarrassed exactly, but because it just doesn't seem relevant anymore.

I've worn the Inchmaxxers a few times since then. Wore them to a wedding last month where I knew there'd be loads of photos. Wore them when I met her parents for the first time - her dad's about 6'1" and I didn't want to feel like a kid standing next to him. Both times, nobody said anything. My feet hurt a bit by the end of the night at the wedding because I was wearing them for about eight hours straight, but it was manageable.

Do they make a difference? I mean, yeah, a bit. I'm not suddenly tall, but I don't feel quite as short. It's subtle. The main thing for me was just not spending the entire first date thinking about the height difference and feeling self-conscious about it. Whether that's because the insoles actually helped or because they just made me feel more confident, I don't really know. Probably a bit of both.

Would I wear them again? For certain situations, yeah. First impressions, photos, situations where I know I'm going to feel a bit sensitive about my height. Day to day? Probably not. Can't be bothered most of the time. But having them as an option is useful. They're discreet enough that nobody's going to notice unless they're literally inspecting your shoes, and even then you'd have to know what you're looking for.

The funny thing is, I told my best mate about it after the third date when I knew things were going somewhere. He laughed, said I was an idiot for stressing about it. Then he asked where I got them from. He's 5'7" and his girlfriend's 5'9". So there you go.