I went shoe shopping last week to get three pairs of attractive, reasonably comfortable pumps in neutralish colors (black, nude and red). It was such a frustrating experience. Admittedly, I’m not that into shoes. Coming up, Daddy took us to one store (down in the Maxwell Street Market), two times per year (spring and fall), for function appropriate shoes (‘church shoes’, ‘school shoes’ , ‘gym shoes’ and weather wear). To this day, I buy shoes only as needed and do not browse stores or styles often. Shopping last week was surprising. Store after store was filled with towering platform and stiletto styles that would look at home spinning around a pole.
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| Photo courtesy of www.christianslouboutinshoessales.com |
I’m ~ 5’10” and enjoy my height, but I’m not feeling hitting 6’4” when I put on a pair of dress shoes. Beyond the amazon factor, I can’t help but wonder how in the world women walk in these shoes? Every pair I tried on had me walking like Wendy Williams. One misstep or accidental bump and I’m sure I would tip over. Since the shopping trip was based on need, after 3 days of searching, I settled and picked pretty pumps in the most reasonable height I could find – 4 ½ inch heels. Wore the black pair Thursday to a Women’s Council meeting held in a church annex with sloping, recently waxed floors. The shoes were cute cute cute and completed the outfit, (got several compliments), but I had to work entirely too hard to play off the challenge getting to the room without hitting the deck. I wore the nude pair the next day on date night with my hubby. The floors were easier to navigate, but the multiple flights of stairs in the parking garage got me. Between the 2 days, I probably had those shoes on a total of 7 hours but when I woke up the next day my legs were tight and sore like I had run several hours.
Extreme, (and hilarious), but I get their drift. To me, my toddling around in pretty, painful shoes ranks up there in level of ridiculousness with “I don’t exercise because I don’t want to mess up my hair.”
I’m sure there are some that can handle it. I’m not in that group. I love the ladylikeness of heels (reasonable heels). I’m also thankful that my current lifestyle includes heels for just a few hours one or maybe two days a week. Running jacks up my feet enough, I’m gonna pass on additional damage from fly super high heels. Not sure if it’s my age showing or wisdom that comes with age – but the hunt is on for the cute reasonable pump.