Fancy Shoes + Comfort. Can They Coexist?

I have a love-hate relationship with shoes. I don’t know why I’ve purchased so many shoes that look great but can’t coexist with my feet. Blister discomfort after an hour is just the worst. Yet, if you look at my husband’s side of the closet, he has less than a handful of quite boring black, brown, or (in a good season) cordovan shoes that are basically the same. Drab. However, he has no issues with comfort. I feel like there’s a million dollar business out there where comfort coexists with style, woman style. I mean, what would a simple black dress be without the pop of a fun shoe?

My youngest daughter is getting married in November. She is the last of our 4 children to be married, and this is the last time I will be a mother of importance. My history of shoe selection for my three other kids’ weddings has been abysmal.

My first daughter’s wedding included gold, two sizes too small sling back stiletto heels with blingy pineapples that pressed into my big toes with each step. I was lucky to make it down the aisle without falling. With my son’s wedding, I had very fancy shoes, but ended up wearing an orthopedic boot in the aftermath of breaking my ankle. No, I was not wearing gold stiletto heels at the time of my fall, rather I was wearing tennis shoes. Go figure. Apparently walking under any circumstance is a hazard for me. For my other son’s wedding, I thought I had comfortable shoes, but fresh out of the box is just not smart. Every wedding, I’ve ended up in flip flops the minute the dance music began.

This time, I was determined to find a pair of really comfortable shoes. However, the love-hate relationship with shoes continued to be a conundrum.

I spent weeks testing shoe options. Free shipping combined with a fabulous UPS driver is ideal for an anti-shopper like me. Boxes were delivered, then just as quickly returned. Finally, I found shoes with potential. Unlike Goldilocks, these shoes weren’t just right, but I had faith in our ability to get to know one another. I committed to a solution: wear these shoes so much that they will feel like (almost) velvet on my feet.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been wearing this pair quite frequently while at home. I know the goal is to make these shoes one with my feet, but I’m finding the process empowering. I mean, wearing blingy block heels while folding laundry begs for a Motown playlist with Supreme style moves while pairing socks. Dinner preparation becomes culinary art when done in high heels. I mean, I think fancy shoes make an extra pinch of red pepper flakes appropriate even on a mundane Monday.

I’ve been enjoying the glamour at home so much that sometimes I forget I have ornament in my step. Recently, I ventured out to get the mail. Halfway down the driveway I caught myself. Exercise attire and baseball cap certainly did not coordinate with my ornate sparkly shoes. Yet, I was too far gone in my journey to the mailbox. This day, fashion proudly met the mail. I mean, even as I type, I’m loving the view just beyond my varicose-veined ankles.

The day of my daughter’s wedding, I’m quite certain my husband will not have any shoe issues. I hope I don’t, but I know my shoes will be much more interesting than his. I’ll bring my flip

flops just in case, but I know I’ll have enough history in these shoes to bring abundant joy and swanky attitude to my daughter’s most special day.

Photo by Marcus Lewis on Unsplash