Let's Talk Shoes

I used to have a little thing about shoes*. Because my friends had a thing for shoes, too, and because we are thrifty, we stumbled onto a shoe store that was relocating**. Instead of moving the inventory, they decided to liquidate their shoe stock. Long story short, you could buy one pair at regular price and each subsequent pair was $2.00.

$2.00.

Let that sink in for a minute.

This event was legendary in our little town, and there was a good bit of chaos in the store itself. The store would rope off sections to restock, and the inventory was always shifting due to high demand. Basically, the store looked like a pack of wild animals had ransacked the shoes at all times. It's hard to describe, but I distinctly recall one of the managers taking a microphone and admonishing the crowd, "Ladies. LADIES! Do not destroy the shoes! We will have to close the store if you cannot maintain control." There was also some occasional reconnaissance work to cross through the roped-off areas to secure shoes - a  maneuver verboten by store management.  This can only be chalked up to our being much younger and nervier and just the general vibe of the mid-90's. (I blame those pesky kids on Friends. They emboldened us.)

Anyrate. So we went twice a day every day for two weeks - once during our lunch hour and again after work. I bought a lot of shoes during that period (because - HELLO - two dollars per pair). Truthfully, I don't remember how many were purchased, but I will confess to accidentally buying the same pair twice. Boots, chunky loafers, kicky sandals -- we nabbed them all! We bought A LOT of shoes. Although this will sound shallow, we were deliriously happy. When I moved a few years later, the movers were really amused by the footwear collection. I wore those shoes for years, and it took me about ten years to deplete the inventory.***

That experience, as exhilarating as it was, cured my shoe obsession. Skip would tell you my closet does not evidence such a cure, but the shoe thing is appreciably curbed. There is a much more tempered approach to footwear these days, a careful deliberation if you will. So when I see something like the flats trend, I watch carefully. Gone is the mental note-taking to grab a pair of flats the next time we are out. Also, flats have never been my jam... I eye them warily to say the least. I remember reading the time-tested advice to purchase a duplicate pair of pants when they are on sale so that they could be hemmed to accommodate flats or heals. "Who wears flats?" I would always think. Certainly not anyone who is 5'2" (ahem).

This year I was keeping an open mind. Flats are on trend, I am solidly into a new decade of life, and I have young children. If not now, when? So Tuesday, when William George and I were on an errand marathon (errandathon?), I tried on all manner of flats while we were meandering through a few shoe departments. I blame the 75 degree weather and the fact that none of them (probably 10 different styles) worked and were uncomfortable (although I thought the word on flats was comfort). I tried to make it work.

But so this happened instead:

#tothineownselfbetrue #wedgesaremyflats

This is a nice, transitional shoe for spring. They are truly comfortable, and I love them.

Maybe next time, flats****.

*I'm all about the handbag now.

**A close friend performed some flawless detective work during a job interview to find out about this odd sale. If that isn't commitment to footwear, I don't know what is.

***Technically, there is a lone pair of Steve Madden, platform loafers lurking around here somewhere. I'm much too nostalgic to discard them.

****Maybe in another decade?