These boots were made for walking
The beauty of fine footwear
October 17, 2006
Angela Wiebe
Rounded toe. Fine leather construction. Kitten heel. $59.99.
I had to have them.
It didn’t matter that I already had seven variations of black high-heeled shoes in my closet at home. These size-eight beauties were the last ones left, and were practically screaming my name amidst the chaos of the Winners store in downtown Vancouver.
Quickly making my purchase, I stepped back out onto Robson St. with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. It didn’t matter that I was exhausted with deadlines to meet and papers to write – I had a new pair of shoes.
An excessive collection of footwear may seem frivolous and unnecessary to some, but I have been in love with shoes for 10 years now.
When I slipped my foot into my first pair of heeled shoes in grade nine, I instantly fell in love with the newfound footwear, and was more than willing to stop sporting runners and Velcro sandals.
This was 1997, when chunky-heeled sandals and boots were in fashion, so I managed to scrape together enough money to buy a couple of pairs from Payless. While they weren’t the most beautiful shoes, my first high-heels made me feel feminine, grown up, and pretty. I soon traded my regular wardrobe of battered runners and sweatshirts for high heels and skirts.
So deep was my new love for the footwear that I walked to and from school in heels, blistering and cutting open my feet almost every single day. As winter rolled around, my classmates never failed to find me in my open-toed numbers through rain, sleet, or snow. My toes were frozen and numb, but I never admitted to anyone that I was cold.
In fashion magazines, I found a catalogue of information about the copious variations of high heel – kitten, pump, stiletto, slingback, mule, sandal, mary jane, wedge – and decorated my high school planners with a different shoe for every day of the year.
I soon moved on from Payless, and started regularly paying over $100 for new additions to my collection, while earning just $7.15 an hour at my after-school job.
While some may say I was crazy to commit so much to something that was invented to help get people travel with greater ease, I see shoes as being so much more than that.
Shoes are (potential) works of art, allowing interaction with the piece rather than mere admiration of it in a museum or an art gallery. The fact that a bit of cloth or leather, some thread, and a buckle or laces can have so many variations is astounding. The options are endless.
Shoes are also integral to fashion trends, often getting as much attention on the red carpet as fanciful frocks and dazzling diamonds do. Current designers like Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutin have become household names by outfitting Hollywood’s most elite feet.
Shoes are also magical in that they turn something that many consider not so attractive into something beautiful. A well-crafted pair of shoes should not be an addition to a woman’s foot, but an extension of it.
Although I no longer put up with blistering heels and frigid toes like I did 10 years ago, I find that each time I buy a pair of new shoes, I’m reminded of the early days of my love affair with footwear. Sporting my new purchase the next day, I can’t help but look down and smile. They make me feel feminine, grown up, and pretty all over again.
Now you go...
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