Why shoes?

I was asked (again) the other day by a guy, "Why do you love shoes so much?"

It is a question I have been asked a lot and normally by men. The answer is simple.........

They make me fall in love over and over.

I love nothing better than a pre-season preview of upcoming styles that will be available for the season. Seeing the colours, styles, heels, fabrics, embellishments make me smile instantly. Clothes have a similar effect but shoes just take it to a whole new level. A shoe makes your outfit feel complete. When I put on a pair of heels, I'm ready to take on the world. (well maybe not the world, but a good night out)

Don't get me wrong, I so love a good pair of Converse and don't get me started on Havaianas as they are my go to when I really don't want to wear shoes but have to.

Over the years I have had some amazing pairs of shoes. They have been beautiful to look at and possibly painful to wear. Yet the pain is nothing when another girl comes up and comments on your shoes. You see girls aren't always so forthcoming with the compliments, especially if it's a stranger.
I have bonded with girls in nightclub toilets over shoes. Ok maybe alcohol was involved as well but it was the shoes that introduced us.

I remember as a kid, being allowed to dress up in mum's clothes. Mum always had the latest fashions, but walking around in her shoes was more fun. Put on those heels and you immediately felt grown up. I would dream about where I would wear them when I was older.

Shoes are less discriminating than clothes. Unlike the latest clothing fashion, the latest shoes have better chance of always fitting your feet and looking good. And unlike clothing, there are certain shoes that a lady of my age can wear that a 19yo can't quite carry off. Whilst they may look good in them, they just don't have the wordly confidence to "wear" them the way they deserved to be.

A while ago there was a discussion on Fifi & Jules about whether wearing leopard print was trashy. If my memory serves me, I remember Fifi responding that she in fact was wearing leopard print shoes that day. Whilst the boys thought leopard print makes woman look cheap. 20 years ago, if I had of worn leopard print, I may well have agreed with the boys, but now I love a pair of leopard print shoes with a black outfit. Those shoes have made a possibly boring outfit, just a bit more exciting.

The shoes make the outfit!

Imagine a gorgeous bride wearing a stunning Vera Wang and then peaking out from underneath were a pair of plain boring black t-bars. Most people would be thinking, why is she wearing them? It has ruined the whole look.
How many times in the 90's were we not allowed into nightclubs because 1 of our group wasn't wearing the right shoes? I remember when Blundstone were the in thing to wear (i kid you not) and we would go to the nightclub in our 501's, Chambray shirts with our Blundstones on. Sometimes you would be allowed in, other times you were not. Everybody was wearing them and whilst they were deemed as fashion at the time, they still weren't classy enough for some clubs. They were a godsend to wear on a big night though, dance all night and never have sore feet.

When I was a young teenager, I had bought a pair of red desert boots. I was so eager to show them off, that I deliberately wore them to netball training instead of my runners. That made for the longest 90 mins of my life but I loved the compliments I received. Of course Netball is a winter sport, we trained at night and suede doesn't hold up so well in the rain but hey I looked good and it only took a few washes to get the red out of my white socks.

Shoes invoke memories for me, like smells, food and music does for others. So if it means I have to buy more shoes to create more memories, then point me in the direction of the latest heels and I'm on my way!