Suz 10N

I know, I know, I've been neglecting you all shamefully. I'm a bad person. But I always have shoes on my mind. Having not posted in so long, I've got a lot of thoughts saved up.

One thing that bothered me all summer is the construction of closed toe shoes. Pumps in particular. Now, I know, many of you don't wear pumps in the summer. You like your perfectly polished tootsies to be free. I understand. But sometimes, the toes can't be showing. That's when I pull out the pumps. I have a pair of red 3" heels that I love. I also have a pair of black round toe 2.5" pumps that I like a lot. In both cases, I find it disconcerting to put them on, and realize as I walk down the halls of my office that I squeak. Loudly. SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK. People can hear me coming. Do you know where that sound is coming from? Not the leather of the shoes. Not the sole. It comes from my polished toenails rubbing against the inside top of the shoe as I walk. This is a dilemma! Polished and groomed toes are most important, but so is gliding silently down the hall. What to do? I have come upon a solution. I line the tops of my pumps with moleskin. Voila! (or walla as I've seen some unfortunates spell it) Problem solved. I can once again glide gracefully through my day.

Speaking of my day, the recent end of one is something worth sharing. Early last week, I was walking up Park Avenue on my way to the E train at 53rd & Madison. Of course, I was checking people out. As my eyes shot back and forth, looking for something interesting to see, they stopped short upon spying a Manolo bag. Oh, to be that woman, walking down the street with a pair of the holiest of holies slung over her shoulder! What is she wearing? You expect her to look as fabulous as the shoes in her bag. Er, well, no. She was tall, willowly, and had no ass. She did, however, have a crack as wide as the Grand Canyon. How do I know? Because she was wearing a pair of chartreuse raw silk pants, and they were being sucked into it. And what wasn't being sucked into a national park was hanging awkwardly off her hips. It was the strangest thing I've seen. I can't recall what else she was wearing because I was so morbidly fascinated by her atomic wedgie.

I followed her down the street, reaching for my cell phone. This was important. I had to make the call. Not 911, although her wedgie could be construed as a medical emergency. I called the proper authorities. Liesl. Who had the nerve to be unavailable.

The only conclusion I can draw from this experience that there were no Manolos in that bag. She had the bag, but was probably carrying leftovers from her lunch in it.

Today's shoe:

Manolo Blahnik Satin and Lace Pump

Liesl, 7N

One of my former students came running up to me today outside of class to tell me that he had seen someone wearing a pair of Crocs and had thought of me. He told me it made him laugh to see someone so misguided. I asked my current students if they knew about Crocs and when I described them they all exclaimed in horror over those "plastic" shoes. I have such good students.

This whole exchange with my students got me to thinking about the power of influence. If I am able to influence my students enough to get them to not wear Crocs, what could we all do? Imagine! If you, you reading this blog, were to convince just one person not to wear Crocs we could rid the world of their plasticky badness within, oh... a year? Yes, I think that's possible.

I challenge you, shoe loves everywhere, take this pledge:

I, (your name), do solemnly pledge to convince at least one person to stop wearing or never to wear the plastic monstrosities known as Crocs. I will show people who wear these "shoes" the error of their ways and help them to see the wisdom of wearing pretty shoes. This, I do pledge for the remainder of my days of reason.

Nova seculorum ordo!

Today's favorite shoe:

Bettye Muller

Liesl, 7N

Here's a question: should our shoes match our hair color? I was thinking about this the other day when I realized that I do not have any pink shoes. I have black, green, blue, beige, and red but no pink. I have red hair and I don't like the way red and pink look together so I wonder if I have unconsciously shied away from pink shoes that would clash with my hair.

I have been looking at wigs lately and had decided on getting a pink wig. Do you think I should get a pair of fabulous pink shoes to match? I think so. Actually, I think I might need several different shades of pink to go with the varying shades of the wig. No! this is not just an excuse to get new shoes.

OK, maybe it is.

Today's favorite shoe:

Christian Louboutin

Liesl, 7N

I have a shoe conundrum. I have written about the fact that I believe it is tacky to have matching purses and shoes; where do we draw the line, though? Here's the problem: I was wearing this sandal yesterday with a black skirt and black top. When I was choosing my jewelry I decided on a leather and silver bracelet and a white shell and silver necklace. With me so far? good. The question is, if you have bling on your shoes, should it match your jewelry?

I hate yellow gold and silver together; I think it looks cheap for some reason. I do make an exception for my ever present, never take it off, medical ID bracelet. But, that isn't jewelry. Anyway, the shoes I was wearing have brown jewel tones that absolutely did not match my leather and silver jewelry; should it have? I honestly do not know.

I suppose the real question is: are shoes separate from the rest of your outfit? No, not really. But they do provide an avenue to bring in something unexpected to your look. Unless that unexpected thing is in the form of Crocs or white pumps. That's a bad unexpected instead of a dash of fabulous. In the end, I think my jewelry should have been of the same kind as the bling on my shoes. Live and learn, right?

I think I may need to experiment with this idea some more. Oh! that means I need new shoes. Dang!

Today's favorite shoe:

Vigotti "Dixie"

Liesl, 7N

I had a very bad experience the other day and I am afraid I am scarred for life. I have waited to blog about it because I was hoping I could get some perspective on it and be able to write about it with little emotion. That perspective has not come and I am still shaking from the experience. Please, read no further if you have delicate sensibilities.

I went to Nordstroms with my mom; she wanted to buy me a pair of shoes but I could not find anything I wanted. Oh sure, there were some fabulous shoes that I liked quite a bit, but none of those fit and the ones that did fit were not the ones I wanted. I have been searching for a shoe support group in the area but have come up empty; what else can I do to get over this trauma? Someone suggested valium and I think that's a good option but I don't have any. Someone else suggested an ascetic retreat but that person was clearly insane; you can't do yoga in a loincloth and Manolos. Someone else suggested that I voluntarily commit myself for a few days "rest," but have you seen the shoes they make the patients wear when they are "resting?" Nuh uh, not for me. I was at a loss; what was I to do?

I finally figured it out: Neimans.

Today's favorite shoe:

Gucci Flat

Liesl, 7N

I went to Northpark Mall last night. This is the mall I grew up going to and it remains my favorite mall in all the world. Yes, I've been to the Mall of America. Anyway, there are many shoe stores at Northpark and there is a Nine West just down from the Lush store, the place I was headed. As I was walking by, slowly to peruse the shoes in the window, I stopped and saw this boot. I stood outside of the store with my mouth agape staring at that boot. One of the saleswomen came out and said, "fabulous isn't it?" I shouted "NO!" and jumped back. Have you ever been so full of emotion that you start talking in that high pitched voice that only rare breeds of iguanas can hear? And of course, when you speak like that you also have to speak so fast that your words run together. Well, that was me, last night, in the middle of Northpark Mall. HOWCANYOUSELLSOMETHINGSOUGLY! MAKEITSTOP! MAKEITSTOP! MAKEITSTOP!

And then? I ran away. Literally. I ran away from the ugliest shoe on the planet. My friend found me huddled on a bench muttering to myself. My friend wisely led me to Neimans where my nose led me right to the shoe section where I was able to spend some time with my true friends, Manolo, Choo and Louboutin. They calmed me right down.

I think some retail therapy is in order, don't you?

Today's favorite shoe:

Constanca Basto "Lombarda"