Jelly had an interesting post the other day about her favorite shoes. It was so much fun to read and to look at her photos. She suggested that others do a similar post. At first I thought I'd be the wrong person to do this - my favorite footwear is very practical, either lace ups or slippers. But as I started looking around in my closets, I thought I'd do a footwear retrospective. Here goes.
Boring stuff first, my black all purpose lace ups. I would wear these shoes most days except in summer. Obviously I don't wear skirts or dresses very often. Number one consideration for me is that my feet are comfortable. I had enough years of wearing stupid high heels which are bad for your feet and back.
When I'm at home I am usually to be found in the latest incarnation of my beloved red velvet slippers. When I was working I would sometimes celebrate my days off by having a Slipper Day, when I would stay at home the entire day and not put on street shoes. Wearing my slippers all day meant that I was having a real day off.
For the rare occasion when fancier shoes are called for, I wear these low heeled shoes on the right. They are getting old and rather loose now, so I think it's time for me to replace the sheeps wool inserts. These inserts caused a bit of interest the last time I went through a security check at the airport - I think the security guard was wishing she had a pair for herself. They keep your feet cool in summer and warm in winter.
The white loafers on the left are winners as they are made in the Indian moccasin style so can be worn without nylons and allow the feet to breathe.
When I can be bothered to put them on, I wear these ancient clogs when I take the wash out to the clothesline. I bought them in Germany in the 1960s when clogs were all the rage.
Up at our bush block I wear gum boots - keeps the mosquitoes away from the ankles, keeps the feet and legs warm as well as dry.
For special event footwear, here are my wedding boots which went beautifully with the ethnic influenced dress my sister made for me.
While I was looking for those boots and panicking that I might have thrown them out, I came across my folk dance shoes, which I had forgotten all about. When I was at uni I spent a lot of time folk dancing. These shoes are from what used to be called Yugoslavia. That was some tough leather to take all that use, but they were comfortable and flexible for dancing.
Still on dance shoes, there were also pointe shoes from my ballet years (between the ages of 26 and 38 - I was always a late starter!). Unfortunately I didn't save a pair, but here's me wearing them.
About 1980 I discovered Italian shoes, specifically Bruno Magli shoes. These were the first of two pairs I bought, on sale for $100. That was a hell of a lot of money for shoes in those days, but they served me well and are timeless. I might just wear them again!
The second pair of Bruno Magli shoes I bought however were not so successful. I loved the look of them in the shop window, lusted after them on a daily basis until I finally gave in and bought them. But they were not so comfortable - read my lips: high heels are not comfortable. I still love the look of them. I'm thinking of displaying them on a timber wall.
Finally, my beloved hiking boots, which have been my faithful walking companions since 1969. I wrote about them in a
post in February 2006.
I hope you enjoyed this retrospective. Let me know if you do a similar post. Don't forget to visit
Jelly's post, and
Tanya has also produced a very interesting footwear display.
At some stage I must have mentioned that I met the Man Who Cooks at International House at the University of California in Berkeley. This is a hall of residence for U.S. and international students and "its mission is to foster intercultural respect, understanding, lifelong friendships and leadership skills for the promotion of a more tolerant and peaceful world." Well, the Man Who Cooks and I certainly did our bit for trans Pacific relations. He brought me back to Australia and here I've been ever since.
