How can you walk in those shoes? I love those shoes! Where did you get those shoes? Let me try on those shoes? Big girl shoes. Kicking butt shoes. Catch me shoes. Working shoes. Painful shoes. Big shoes to fill. Size ten.
What goes through the mind of a shoe designer? What goes through the mind of a woman shoe buyer? It is as intimate as buying under-garments.Dad was a size fourteen and mom a size eight. Average that and it is me. Shoes of an authoritarian, a farmer's daughter, a middle-class hard worker that believes in the value of keeping your word and following through on things that you start.
Leaving your shoes at the front door. Japanese that way. Thai in respect. Montessori in the idea that the floors are clean enough to enjoy.
Teacher's shoes. Coach's shoes.
Shoes of a friend that is sometimes able to cheer, sometimes able to help and sometimes just standing still being there.
Shoes of the soft places, slippers...warm not just with socks but cozy and practical.
Running shoes...keeping the pace. Trying not to trip and scuff up the place.
Mountaineering shoes, going where no woman has gone before. Daring that next step.
High heels, giving that added height, factoring a boost to the view of self and life.
Boots, thick and tough, guarding the ankle and shin from kicks and snake bites. Added support for the wobbly moments while standing on the edge of a decision and a journey.
Red ruby slippers, clicking together to make it back home...'cause there's no place like home.
Black four inch heels that make the scene, gussy up any outfit, define the jean. Not a cougar shoe but a classic at any age. Classy at 20 something and at 40 something all the rage.
Stocking feet, socks or just barefoot. Like the barometer of a woman, it defines her mood.
Flip-flops to cool my jets.
Cushioned insoles to lighten my step.
Battle gear all battle worn, respectfully kept in a place of its own.
Line them up. There you will find, my wings and and my armor at any given time. In my closet, near my door, some of them are strewn Friday night on the floor. Stories in each, miles apart, each one has a place in my heart. Journey and adventures, sorrows and joys, shoes mark the moments like toys to boys!
Mind those toes, they bear all your weight, once you destroy them it will effect your gait. Keep them warm and gaurded in shoes, parade them around when you have the blues. Take them to task when making the hours pass. Those toes are worth millions to you when in green grass.
My daughters try them on, fill them at some, taking moments to prance around and dream of the stuff. Someday they will know that it is the shoe that makes the outfit, but the woman that defines the shoe!
