a little collection

i've managed to cut down on the amount of shoes i own over the years. but there are still those that i can't part with; either because they're too pretty or because, who knows, one day i may actually wear them. some of the flats i do get quite some action from; but not so much in the summer when it's just hot, or i know that i'll be walking on cobblestones a lot. here's a snapshot of my girly shoes which excludes my birkenstock "entirely too comfy, but somehow still dowdy" shoes. oh, and i've got big feet, like grandma big, so the fact that i have this many pairs that fit is something.

and my favorite pair, aethstetically speaking, are these grey velvet platforms. they make my size 40 foot look like an itty bitty size 5. i've dubbed them my "ode to david bowie" shoes; one day i'll make a shelf for them and display them on the wall.

girl colors and boy colors

i actually love pinks and blues. i didn't always, though. during my teenage years i absolutely hated pink; be it magenta, baby pink, rose, or any other name. i just kept thinking it was so stereotypical and very insulting to the female species; all i could see was the limitations that this one color imposed.
then one day i bought a pair of light pink kitten heeled pointed shoes, i was 22. they were soft like butta. they quickly became my favorite shoes, and i've had them for 5 years. i'll still wear them on occasion, but the poor dears are beginning to show their age even though they've been resoled once.

those one pair of shoes opened my eyes to a whole array of hues, to see them not as a wall but as a way to embrace and enjoy the creativity that the spectrum gives us. never see color as a limit, regardless of what society deems it. how you represent the color is what is important, be strong and hold up your love, dare to embrace it!

not just for me

my narae also has a new pair of shoes. it took much longer to find her a pair. you would think that making such small shoes would lend itself to a world of creativity; stuff that's just not possible, or plausible for flesh and blood feet. sadly, that is not the case.

most shoes available to the abjd connoisseur are usually clunky, gothic, boring, and/or limited to a palette of black, white, red, and brown. one that fits the narrower feet of the narae, is above average, and not having a trace of black or white (sole not counting), would seem to be in the realm of impossible. therefore, having found the beautiful shoes she is now wearing is very exciting! her first pair, wow. only took me two years. this awe-inspiring article of essentiality came from the wonderful cobbler at dale rae designs. there will be more purchases in the future.

there's this thing about shoes...

i perhaps purchase one pair a year. at first it was because they were pretty and were kitten heels, which made them feminine and mostly comfy. then there were the pairs that looked really good (or, rather, made my legs look really good), which were not as comfy but still tolerable for an hour or four. there is even one pair that is more like 3 dimensional art that belongs on a column rather than on my feet (my ode-to-david-bowie ysl shoes). but now, i've come to a point in my life where i expect more out of shoes; i want them to be very comfortable and pretty. i want them to make my feet feel like i'm wearing birkenstocks, but look like i've grown up and am not afraid to be a woman.
when i went on my trip, i was on a mission. i would not buy anything unless it jumped out and screamed my name. also, there was a list drawn up, narrowed, and ultimately limited to four things that i had to find:

1. elbow length knitted gloves
2. various shades of purple knee or thigh highs
3. a larger tote-like bag
4. shoes

i found many a fingerless knitted gauntlet, but somehow none satisfied. i came across a skein of softest baby alpaca hand painted chunky yarn and knew that this would become my gauntlets. they are currently undergoing that process and are quite soft and warm. after trying on so many gloves and mittens and gauntlets, i figured that it was indeed a soft, cozy, warm thing to cover my wrist and forearm that i was really after (i don't think i own more than one or two long-sleeved anythings; 3/4 sleeve, yes, long-sleeve, no). so, scratch off no. 1.

there were plenty of purple stockings to be had, but alas only one pair of purple thigh highs; and they were too precious and delicate to put up with the amount of abuse hosiery usually gets. the hunt for no. 2 goes on.
the larger tote was found at a booth, revolution of the heart, under the burnside bridge in portland at a local crafts fair they have there every saturday. it is tres cute. the buttons i added when i got home. finally a use for at least some of my collecting. no. 3, found.


now, about the shoes. my travelling companion says i visited around 16 shoe stores between portland and seattle, but i rather think it was closer to eight (and that's counting the ones that had other stuff, like clothes). the pair i eventually found, were at a mano, in seattle. i thought that perhaps i wanted boots, as i had oxford heels in mind when i was looking and trying on. i was also willing to try on shoes that at first appearance were not something i would usually go for. i knew that the ones i would love would have to be a pair that were unexpected and outside of my comfort zone.
well, on the second day in seattle i popped into a mano, as it was on my list, and tried on three pairs before i came to the pair that were instantly comfortable on my travel sore feet. there was plenty of toe room, no rubbing, no tight "ouchie, that'll be a blister in 2o mins." feelings. i was in love. they're a dark olive green (something new for me, i usually never go for the darker shades of shoes), and had a 2 inch heel which definitely does not feel like it, and are made by tn_29. as my mother said when i showed them to her, "they look like the shoes of the 1940's-comfy." they are also impeccably put together; with a little metal toe tap on the sole, nails to attach the upper to the sole and actual room in the upturned toe-box.

well, three out of four is not bad at all.