Sunday, January 17, 2010

Shoe Stories



I am in love. With shoes. My closet is chock full of pumps, boots, and shiny flats. Every time I see a shoe store I get the urge to yank my car over and partake in the rapture of finding that new pair. Maybe I need a twelve STEP program. It’s about the only materialistic thing I have a problem with and I rationalize this because, by gosh, these shoes DO take me places.

Obviously I’m not alone with this addiction. Go to any shoe store and you’ll catch mysterious women, buzzing around footwear blooming from boxes like sun lit peonies’, then flung and scattered, scattered and flung in a frenzied picking. I once tried on a pair of red heels at Target and a woman next to me oohed and awed until discovering they were the last pair in her size eight. Her creamy complexion then flamed and her eyes turned flinty. For fear of being maimed, I sheepishly handed the pumps over. I mean, if I get thrown in the slammer for brawling over shoes, it’ll be a pair of Jimmy Choo’s.

So, I’ve tried on glossy black pumps and envisioned myself in that silky blue dress, sauntering down New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue, cell phone humming and shopping bags winking and swinging in the sun. A green pair of flats have easily transported me to a pub in Ireland, having a loud conversation with a bloke about the virtues of Irish whiskey. Well, maybe not that. Quite possibly I’d be corralling sheep in a field that I’d inadvertently let out to picnic underneath a birch tree.

Recently I was clearing out my closet (finally) and had every pair of shoes I owned scattered like chunky confetti on the bathroom floor. One of my daughters peeked in.

Daughter said, “Gosh, mom, you have a ton of shoes.”

My tone was defensive. “Say what?”

She added, “Nothing.” Her eyes gleamed, sudden like. “Oh, can I borrow those black flats?”

“Mm hmm.”

With three girls who also adore shoes, I've learned to be quite thrifty. None have cost me much over twenty dollars and most, much less. Did I mention I had a shoe addiction?

CLASSIC BLACK PUMPS: This pair has taken me to weddings, where chocolate fountains drip like silky rain. And tiered raspberry filled vanilla cake can never have too much butter cream icing.



WET TURQUIOSE FLATS: I’ve walked down dirt roads of Louisiana history in these; explored plantations along the Cane River and those outside of New Orleans, Baton Rough, and St. Francisville. I also went deep into the swamps and held a baby gator and stroked a river rats head while wearing these. Yes, I did. Laissez les bon temps rouler!



PLAID BOOTS: Plenty of Texas two-stepping in this pair, music loud, dance floor slick with sawdust. I’ve danced in these at the Garner State Park pavilion, too, under a full moon bright as a lit cigarette end,jukebox blaring Ring Of Fire by good ole Johnny Cash. As you can see, they are well loved.



BLUE COMFY FLATS: These are taking care of business shoes-volunteer work, grocery shopping, doctor visits, running kiddo around kind of stuff.



LUCKY SLIPPERS: Got these for Christmas and I anticipate they’ll take me down many hills and valleys of inspiration in the story telling arena. Comfy is the name when I’m at home with my mind on writing. Writers can stay in PJ’s and slippers if we choose and barring a knock at the door and the occasional raised eyebrow of the UPS man, nobody need know we’ve been creating little worlds of our own. Don’t you adore that?



Yes, I have a compulsion for shoes. I admit it. How about you?

17 comments:

  1. I love shoes too. I can't imagine a woman that doesn't. But...I don't have many, because I don't like to shop. And I have narrow feet. And I'm too busy buying for my children when I do shop.
    My days of having stylish, colorful shoes like yours will return.
    Nice post. :)

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  2. I've never met a woman yet who didn't love shoes. I'm not much of a shopper either but shoes stores seem to find me! It is the one shopping gig the girls and I love to go on.

    Yes, your shiny heel days will return. Until then, enjoy those little ones! Thanks for stopping in, Anita.

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  4. I love shoes too! I'm not much for wearing the high heels anymore. Comfy, happy feet are my mantra now days. But that doesn't mean I don't like looking at beautiful shoes, oh I DO. Jimmy Choo. Manolo Blahnik. Fine Italian. Oh, yes my Precious, I do love you.

    I think 12 STEP Program is most appropriate for shoe addicts. Maybe one would have to take 12 steps in a pair of shoes and then give them away to needy person.

    You have a beautiful shoe collection. And, such cute, tiny feet. If you ever get arrested, call me. I'll post your bail

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  5. Dorraine,

    They are all adorable and sexy shoes. But they cannot be in that price range. If they are, you're a lucky shopper. You should see the price tag of my last purchase. It was a plain black flat shoes. Nothing fancy, but I needed it pronto. I would never buy shoes in Japan again.

    Nowadays, I only buy tennis shoes in the U.S. I used to be a shopholics, so I still have other shoes to last my lifetime. Wait a minute. That's sad, isn't it? I got to do something about that soon.

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  6. Know exactly what you're saying about wearing heels, Ronda. I've managed to find some that don't kill my feet. I don't know why I love wearing them so much. Must harken back to my ballroom days. We were requried to wear them to teach.

    Glad you liked the shoes and thanks for the footie compliment. Hey, if you ever need to borrow a pair, eh, I got the goods!

    And good to know you've got my back!:-)

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  7. Oh but they are in that price range, Keiko. The flats were around eight bucks. The black pumps a little extra but not much.

    I'm a wheeling and dealing kind of woman!

    I've never been to Japan but it sounds like an expensive place for shoe shopping. When you've got to have them, though, you've got to have them.

    We all have far more than we need in this country. Odds are, I'll be giving shoes away. Gasp!

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  8. Yep. I'm a shoe lover, too. Specifically, boots and sandals. Can't get enough of them. Love that top pic, btw. Bold and beautiful. :)

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  9. Love the adventures you've had in shoes. :) It makes me wonder what my characters' shoes are like? Great prompt!

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  10. Figured you were, Lydia. I'd love to see pics of everyone's favorite pair. I never miss spotting a pretty shoe.

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  11. Thanks, Stacy. When I hear the saying "walk a mile in my shoes" I always wonder where the heck they've walked. Hmmm, what kind of shoes do those characters wear? May be a decent peek into a personality.

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  12. Dorraine,

    To do good shopping, we have to keep shopping to find good products at good price. It takes time and some skills. I'm out of practice. The only store I go to nowadays is UniQlo. They're very reasonable and pretty good quality. The store branched out to the U.S. Maybe you have it in Texas.

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  13. Hi Dorraine,

    I once cleaned out my closet only to discover I had close to 100 pairs of shoes. Many were dear old and scuffed, like a raggedy stuffed animal and after realizing I probably would never be able to replace them exactly, tossed them out. Several pairs I gave to friends with the same shoe size and about a dozen nice pairs went to the Salvation Army, just around the corner from my workplace.

    One day, curiosity got the best of me and I popped in to see if they had displayed any of my fancy high heels. There on a shelf were my red snake skin 3" heels with a $2.00 sticker on them. I swear, I almost bought them back.

    Wonder if they have those 12-step meetings up here.

    Love,

    Karen

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  14. I've never heard of UniQlo. That doesn't mean we don't have them here. I'm not a shopper per se but always manage to find shoes in my little area.

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  15. Well, hey, Karen. Great to see you. Did you really have 100 pair? I now crown you Ms. Midwestern Imelda Marcos! I think she had around 3,000 pairs of shoes.

    Geeze, we must be related! But really, I'm not doing too bad with my shoe collection after all.

    Wowser, red snake skin! How did you manage to part with those? I would have whipped out that two bucks and had them back.

    You could start your own twelve step program. Like Ronda said, take twelve steps in the shoes and then give them away.

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  16. What a fun post! I love the pics. Right now, I'm really into (winter) boots and my most recent acquisition is a fluffy white pair complete with little pompoms. They're adorable, but right after I bought them I realized I must be crazy trying to wear white boots out there right now.

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  17. I'll bet you do have quite a boot collection. In snow and cold those come in handy. Fluffy. White. Pompoms. The combination sounds charming.

    Really, I have no need for boots here. Wait, what am I saying? I'm from Texas!

    Thanks, Yvette.

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