Shoe Fetish

I am a fervent shoe admirer. I don’t like to think of shoes solely for their use which is to cover and protect the foot as one travels from one point to the next. Rather I am enamored by a shoe’s uncanny ability to transform a slow morning, lift one’s spirits or convey a very precise message without necessarily saying it aloud (case in point: the quintessential “f*#@@!!! you” shoe).



I am not designer-impaired although running across a lovely designer pair on sale never fails to make my heart skip a beat. My favorite trophies include apple red Kate Spade flats at 80% off, a Pucci wedge at 60% off and buttery soft leather Sonya Rykiel boots at the amazing sale price of 995 pesos.



As they say, there is comfort in beauty, so I don’t mind traipsing around the metro in sky high, graceful architectural wonders. But what really gets me are those badly designed, badly constructed, designer rip-offs. For example, I don’t understand why our local fashion rags keep featuring Janylin. Clearly the people behind that store have no intellectual integrity, liberally copying styles from other legitimate brands. I have bought some Janylin shoes in the past and they pinched my toes and wreaked havoc on my ankles. I have sworn to never again buy shoes from that place. And just so you know their shoes don’t come cheap too.



My heel got caught between wooden planks once and resulted in a muscle spasm. My doctor banned me from heels for a while which started my little love affair with flats which remains to this day. My most recent favorite is a pair of satin ballet slippers from T in Rockwell. It has a print of mauve English roses interspersed with leopard spots. I love the fact that the shoe couldn’t seem to make up its mind if it was naughty or nice. More often than not I find that T comes up with the most darling ballet flats.

Just recently Blair Mitch was “diagnosed pregnant” which means that I have to start building an arsenal of flats, tiny kitten heels and flip flops. A friend immediately offered that pregnant ladies’ feet grow a size and ½ bigger and that she wanted my shiny, cherry red, pointy shoes pronto.

What a big dilemma for I am a verified shoe hoarder. I keep and collect pairs – including those that I have only worn once, or have not worn at all! It’s a little like art, you buy pieces solely for appreciation. I know that fellow shoe enthusiasts can relate. It’s going to be a real hard sell for me to part with my babies anytime soon. But since she’s a really good friend, I might reconsider, just this once.



It is not coincidental that a beautiful glass slipper proved pivotal in the popular fairy tale Cinderella. Because shoes are never really just shoes. They are like signatures - extensions of ourselves.