Shoe Fetish

The blessed boots that loved me throughout the cold, cold winter. They fold down at the top over jeans and look oh-so-cool. By the way, if you've been living somewhere with a real winter, I really hope you wear boots. I never wore boots in Utah. And I hated winter because my feet were always cold and my pant-legs were always soaking and freezing the rest of me. Boots. Boots. Boots.

Most females that I know love shoes.

It starts out young, often the first object of obsession (it sure was/is with Cadence). I, myself, have a love for footwear, although any other shoe-loving woman would probably have a hard time guessing it, with my lack of footwear-awesomeness-abundance. In spite of my average-sized mound of shoes, I remember when I first moved in to Roman Gardens Apts. in Provo some guy saw me moving my stuff in by myself and just started helping me out of good will. He laughed out loud when he took my armful of stuff and realized it was a laundry basket full of shoes.

My shoe closet, the gold-tones department. Okay, it's Mariah Carey's. But do you look at it and think, "man, too many"? I don't, I just think, "someday..." (and then the rest of that song pops into my mind..."oooh, someday, the one you gave away will be the only one you're looking for..." Mariah, you were so good back then.)

And Spencer thinks that I am a shoe glutton, by the way. My shoes fit on a couple of shelves. I don't even get credit from him for not acting on my love of shoes as often as I want (every day). In fact, over the years and over the many moves we've had, I've parted with many a pair that I've loved in days passed.

Why do we love shoes so much? They come in so many colors, shapes, sizes. A good pair of shoes can alter an outfit in any direction you choose (depending on the pair you choose). A good pair of shoes can make my legs look long and thin (which they are not), can make my style look impeccable (also not), and can make me look in control (is this an illusion?).

Jessica Simpson knows how I like it. Drool.... (I know they are old, but I still love them. And still don't own them.)

Shoes are the life-blood of an outfit, and we all know an outfit is an opportunity to paint ourselves. You know, use our own selves as a palette for our artistic expression.
At the Field Museum of Natural History here in Chicago there is an exhibit that inspires and entrances me:

(The caption above says, "women's shoes for bound feet, China, early 20th century)

This tasty number is a real test of your love for footwear. Do I love shoes enough to try walking in these? Maybe...

These are the shoes that saved my back and feet during my second pregnancy (thanks to Spencer for painting my toenails just before my delivery):

Due to the lifesaving comfort of these flips I suddenly found that they matched everything. They were worn everyday from the day I bought them until a few days after baby.

And these are the shoes that Spencer bought for me after we had a really really big fight (it was an emotional blow-out, not really about anything real) one night.

Hot, right? Everytime I wear them I remember how much that gesture meant to me. By way of mention, I made him my special homemade Georgia Peach Pie, which he loves. It's the equivalent of hot shoes, for him. And yes, Mer and Elisabeth, it did have a heart in the middle.

Cadence, as I mentioned before, loves shoes, too. She delights in picking out her own shoes each day. She loves to pick out MY shoes, too. Until recently, if we were ever in a home where there was a pile of shoes by the door, she would HAVE to try on each pair, and then she would walk around wearing the best pair. These are a pair of wedges that she picked out herself and just had to have. I loved them and was not about to say no to them. Besides, I have a pair almost exactly like them.


So, what is your shoe collection like? Is it a mound, a mountain, a mountain chain? We all deserve to have a pair to complement any outfit. At least I hope to deserve that, someday. And is it bad if I encourage a healthy shoe fetish in my daughters? I mean, it's a worthy obsession, if you ask me. :)