Friday, March 28, 2008

Shoes tell.....


Hank's post about nurses salaries being based on what they wear (see yesterday's comments) falls into the "as if we needed any further proof" category. Have you ever noticed how differently you can be treated based on what shoes you are wearing?


I'm in the habit of wearing black New Balance athletic shoes when I have a lot of running around (no pun intended) to do in NYC. I made the mistake of wearing them to a new hair salon - my colorist has just moved and whither she goest - and I'm convinced that they treated me badly because I looked like what in NYC is referred to as "bridge and tunnel."

The flip side of that was when I brought pointy, ankle strap shoes to a work thing and got looks that suggested "my god, there's a woman in there!"
What do your shoes say about you?

10 comments:

  1. Great post!

    My closets say I have too many. I do love shoes, but I am often unkind to them: inevitably I wear brocade-covered pumps when it's forecast to rain in an hour. I will trot down the hall in 3 1/2 inch stilettos (in carpet,not good on the heels AT ALL). My shoes probably say "she loves great shoes, but boy she's thoughtless in 'em."

    And I am.

    My very favorite pair of shoes of all (right now) is a pair of pink Timberland short hiking-style boots. Pink suede, yep, with an ivory sole. In winter/early spring, I tend to wear them with black cargo pants and a white, grey, or ivory turtleneck sweater. This is what I wear when I want to get work done--whether clean out the studio or bang out a draft chapter. I once heard one of my students say, "Uh oh -- get out of the way: she's got her pink boots on!"

    I always said when my book sold I'd buy a pair of Jimmy Choo or Prada shoes. It did and I did (Prada), and while I love their looks, they are not fun to wear. Not painful, they just don't make me feel like my steps throw any sparks.

    The pink hiking boots do. }:>

    There's a great exhibition of period/historical shoes at the Boston Museum of Art just now, by the way, if you want to visit how women were tastefully uncomfortable three centuries ago.

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  2. This is so funny. I just bought some new shoes on vacation the other day. I'm not a big shoe person, mostly because I'd rather go barefoot any day.

    But...I found these shoes.

    They're a pair of those sort of clogs/sort of slip-ons, by Merrell. So they've got a great thick sole, not to mention they're lined with fleece. SO COMFORTABLE. And I skipped the dull beige & brown and went for the green. I love them.

    But...even at 45, I had one of those moments. Can I REALLY wear these outside the house? Aren't they kind of like slippers? What would Stacy and Clinton say?

    In the long run, I scolded myself for acting 16 and wore them proudly to pick my son up from school. He didn't try and hide in a paper bag from embarrassment, so I figure the shoes at least passed that test!

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  3. I wants Hank's shoes...she's got THE most adorable high high heels, ultra feminine footwear that look like shoes Betty Boop would wear. And this is the year of the high high heel. (Last year was the year of the ginormous handbag, and I have a big red hobo bag to prove it.) Those Merrels are comfy, but oh do they date one.

    My current favorite shoes are a pair of ECCO sneakers styled like Mary Jane's, beige/blue/black with a strap. Comfy comfy. The perfect walking shoe. And my daughters like them.

    - Hallie

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  4. Well, Hallie, I can't resist. My shoes never show on TV. So they're like my little secret. But thanks.

    I just got some newies that are high heeled peep-toes, part tangerine suede and part fuschia suede. Go wth everything.

    True story. When my producer Mary went on her first shopping trip with Andy, her eventually-to-be husband, they made a stop in the crowded shoe department of Bloomingdales or somewhere.

    Mary picked up a pair of black sandals.

    Andy said: why are you looking at black sandals? You already have a pair of black sandals!

    According to Mary, every woman in the entire shoe department burst out laughing.

    (Black fabric flat sandals, black leather flat sandals, patent black flat sandals with toe-flower, chunky-heeled linen fabric sandals, stretchy medium heeled sandals, faux croco thin strapped stiletto sandals, black patent basic-heel town-sandals, risky over-decorated one-time only black spiky sandals, black patent stletto ankle-strap sandals...I could, sadly, go on...)

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  5. This morning I remembered that wonderful moment in Chocolat, when Vianne the chocolatier's daughter, Anouk, wails "Why can't you wear black shoes, like the other mothers?" -- this to the stunning, enigmatic Juliette Binoche, in her 50s New Look full skirts and fuschia babydoll pumps.

    Vianne made hot chocolate, and she had some great shoes.

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  6. My current faves are superpointy short black cowboy boots. No one would dare to mess with me when I've got those babies on.
    I have a wonderful pair of Chanel quilted black velvet heels that I probably haven't worn for 10 years but I just love having them in the closet..alongside my lime green Crocs.

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  7. OK, I now have to go digging through my vast files for the epic poem I wrote about shoes when I was 22 and unemployed. After four years of slouching around in college, I had to dress up several days a week for interviews and the shoes at the time were either chunky high heels or wedges. When I find it, I'll post it on my blog.

    Right now my shoes say, "This woman has either no fashion sense or a torn medial miniscus." They both happen to be true. I'm working on adding more fashionable flats to my wardrobe. The other option is to go with the signature odd footwear. I lived all winter in my brown hiking boots, so maybe I'll go for a cool color like Susannah's or those sneakers Hallie has.

    Question: How do female detectives really dress on the job, including might-have-to-chase-a-bad-guy-today-or-visit-a-millionaire footwear?

    Mo

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  8. I remember Helen Mirren,in Prime Suspect, often wearing a sort of low pump at the office and then switching to slip-on ankle-high wellies in the car when she was headed to a body down in the field, which in England was invariably muddy.


    The female detectives I've worked with always seem to be in trousers with jackets and a very sensible, but somewhat formal shoe. I see a lot of the dressier Joseph Seibels (like the "Taylor" or "Tanya" styles) and some Clark's in the field, too.

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  9. This is a painful subject for me because I've got chronic plantar fasciitis. And I've tried everything! So I'm reduced to hiking boots with orthotics in them or Birkenstock sandals. Neither really "finishes" an outfit, if you know what I mean...

    Roberta

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  10. Roberta, I feel your pain. While I don't have a medical condition, I do have ugly-stepsister-feet. Size 9-10 and triple E wide. *Sigh* That said, like Hallie, I noticed Hank's fabulous shoe collection (I also thought Betty Boop!) and desperately wanted a pair of pretty pumps. Well, after 18 months of searching, I found the perfect pair this weekend. I'm in love. Of course that meant I had to buy the bag to match... and don't get me started on bags.

    Amy

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