A Walk on the Wild Side

I guess we all have weaknesses, things that we accumulate or collect that we don’t need or go completely overboard with.   For me…..it’s shoes.

I love shoes.  When I married my husband we had some help moving to our first apartment.  I remember one of the first things my new father-in-law said to me was “Why would ANYBODY have this many pairs of shoes?”  It was a legitimate question after making dozens of trips to the U-Haul with big boxes of shoe boxes. 

At times I’ve had more, and sometimes it’s less, but I probably have never had fewer than a hundred fifty pairs of shoes at any one time.   When I retired a few years ago I sold a bunch of clothes (I’m a clothes horse, too) and took literally dozens of pairs of shoes to a donation center.   I didn’t think I needed high heels any longer because I planned to adopt a blue jeans lifestyle from here on out.   The “best laid plans” and all that……

Today someone commented on a gal’s shoes when she came into the office.   They were high, high, high, and pointed to an armor piercing sharpness.  I don’t have any of those shoes left, but I’ve worn my share over the years.  I still admire high heels on women….just not this woman any longer. 

I realized I’m sort of “out of the fashion loop” these days, so I went to some websites to look at fashionable footwear in the year of 2012.  Evidently a lot has changed since I gave up high heels, and this is one fashion loop I’m glad to be out of.

The fashion websites and magazines are full of clunky, ugly, Frankenstein shoes!   When did this happen?  They look torturously uncomfortable, and I wonder what men think of these ugly things?   Prince Charming would NOT have gone door to door looking for the girl who wore one of these things….would he?

These shoes threaten to cripple a woman, and the videos are full of runway models teetering along on these ugly shoes, only to fall on stage like a tree felled in the forest.   What are we thinking, ladies?

It puts me in mind of the barbaric practice of foot binding in China. That little fashion trend began in the 10th century sometime during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and ended over a thousand years later.  This fashion sanctioned torture was practiced on young girls usually six years of age and younger. Feet were wrapped in tight bandages and broken so they couldn’t grow. Foot binding was generally practiced by wealthy families; it was a sign of beauty and wealth.

Eventually foot binding moved from wealthy city families to women in the countryside, where women realized they could marry into money by having these prized three inch feet. For centuries women suffered terrible pain in the hopes of having a better future by meeting this insane fashion standard.

You know gals, if we go along with this and plunk down our money we’re only encouraging the designers.   Besides, you want to be able to be barefoot and fashionable too, don’t you?   I say give up the ugly shoes and talk to your plastic surgeon………

                               Now ladies,  THAT’S fashion.

                                               Life is Good