You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own, and you know what you know.
And you are the one who’ll decide where you’ll go.
Oh the places you’ll go.
– Dr Seuss
Imagine the stories shoes would tell if they could talk. We’d hear about where they’ve been, who they’ve met along the way, what they have seen, what they had to do, how they were treated, and what they may have learnt during their short or long life with the different people that have worn them.
Susan Etcoff Fraerman’s Narrative Shoe series made me think about all this. Using several vintage shoe forms and embellishing them using traditional bead techniques she has created 14 different shoes, each with their own story. I loved these shoes. My favourites are the ballet shoes and the Hannah Banana shoe. These shoes made me think of: my daughters – the one that loves ballet and art, and the one that is crazy about shoes (and has been since she was a child) and she is now a designer; about my mother – the shoe gene is strong in her and we have joked that she is an up and coming Imelda Marcos although her shoe buying has definitely slowed down as she has aged (I must note I have inherited numerous pairs of shoes from her over the years); my father and his impeccably cared for array of shoes that he has had for years and years – they all still look like they were bought today; my uncle (my mum’s brother) and his love of seeking out shoe bargains; and all the other members of our family that I don’t know who are bound to have at the very minimum a slight interest in shoes (it’s in our genes so there’s no escaping it).
I looked at these shoes of mine sitting in our conservatory and imagined the story they would tell. What would they say? As I looked at them I noticed how worn down they were and I felt bad, as though I had neglected them, yet that is not the case. These are well-loved and well-worn shoes showing the signs of overuse and not abuse.
In fact these are well travelled shoes. I bought them two years ago in Austin, Texas. I found them in the bargain section of a discount shoe store regularly frequented by one of our friends. She is a hard core discount shopper but one with really high standards – you don’t buy rubbish, you look for real bargains, goods that would otherwise cost you heaps. Passing the “Amiel test” was a reasonably hard thing to achieve and these shoes managed to do that. They were a good price and they looked cute. She agreed on the purchase. From my perspective they were comfortable – very comfortable in fact, and that was a high priority for me. For some reason over the past few years my feet have been giving me trouble and I struggle to find shoes that I can wear for any period of time that don’t cause me pain – I can confirm now that these haven’t.
These shoes have travelled with me to numerous locations in these two years including another trip to the USA where we visited Denver, Austin and San Antonio. I have worn out the heels because I have been using them all the time while driving the car. Despite the way they look there is still a fair amount of life in these shoes.
I feel so thankful that I have feet prepared to carry me around all day and every day with minimal complaint. I am also thankful that I am able to buy shoes to wear. My feet are so much happier because I can do this. The ultimate luxury though for me is being able to go barefoot – no shoes, just me, my feet and the ground underneath. Happy feet make for a happy me.
Manifesto
04. Every day the ordinary can be the extraordinary.
20. Every day say thank you.
29. Every day eat, drink, rest, work, exercise, play, love, create for your own good. And the good of others.
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2 Comments
You forgot about Valentin and his amazing sneaker collection!
You are so right – how could I have forgotten Valentin and his shoe passion. I remember we gave him those see through plastic shoe boxes for his 21st birthday. It was so unusual for a man to love a gift like that. From memory I also think Liona is a bit of a shoe buff. I tell you it is genetic. Did you love the beaded ballet shoes (and the other beaded shoes)?