If The Shoe Fits

Liesl, 7N

Seventeen years ago I was just leaving Dallas to spend the summer in Tours, France. I was going to live with a family and immerse myself in the language at the Institut de Touraine. That also happened to be the summer of the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day. I really don't have words enough to describe the party in Paris that year. As always, my summer was about shoes as much as anything else.

I was with a group from SMU in a study abroad program; we spent the first week in Paris just having fun and touring the city. I had left for Paris with two pairs of shoes because I knew I wanted to buy shoes and clothes there rather than bring a huge suitcase with me. Unfortunately, the walking shoes I brought were woefully inadequate and I didn't have time to search for shoes in the first week we spent in Paris. I ended up borrowing another girl's Keds and tooling around Paris looking like a bobbysoxer. That was OK for the time being; I would have time for shoes later.

When we left Paris and moved to Tours we went our separate ways to separate families and were free to spend our time doing whatever we pleased. On the first day in Tours I headed to the Place (one of the oldest in France) to look around in shops and get the feel for Tours, a lovely old town. As I was strolling through the Place I spotted something in a shoe store window: a pair of bright red ballet flats with bright red satin laces. I immediately knew that I had to have those shoes. Unfortunately, they were $200 and that was too rich for my student's budget. All summer I cajoled and pleaded with my mother long distance to let me use her Amex to buy those shoes. Finally, as the summer was ending she relented and I rushed to the store to buy them. They were Fiorucci and they were fabulous.

I never wore those shoes. I finally broke down, twelve years later and took them to the Goodwill. It was a huge mistake and I regret it to this day. I was moving from Los Angeles to Lubbock (gack!) and trying to start anew. Trust me ladies, giving away your little pieces of fabulous to the Goodwill is never the way to start over. Never.

Today's Favorite Shoe:

Jimmy Choo