by Christina Lianos
My Ode to Shoes
Shoes shoes I love shoes
You chase away my moody blues
In every colour, in many hues
Shoes shoes, I love yous
I don’t know exactly when my love affair with shoes began, but I do fondly remember sneaking my mother’s white patent 3 inch clogs to slip on at school in fifth grade… 1978 disco diva that I thought I was – though in retrospect, pretty laughable teetering around school like a dork.
I knew I truly had an addiction when in my twenties, my collection reached 200 pairs! I had shoes that were never, ever worn! And when I moved to Athens in the early 90s, well… the entire collection followed me. I carted them around like a lovelorn imbecile… on planes, trains and automobiles. My first NYC apartment was selected for the sole reason that it had an aptly built closet with perfectly aligned shelves for my precious shoes. No mind to the fact I was paying a bloody premium to live there. I just had to forego food and other essentials. Didn’t matter because I looked gooooood.
I love shoes and I don’t hesitate to admit it. Is it rational? Probably not, but who cares?!?! They make me happy -buying them, wearing them… and a girl can truly never have enough. How many times have I toiled to find the perfect outfit for an occasion? But I never had to struggle to find the perfect shoe.
I personally LOVE my Loubi’s with the signature red soles. Back in those glory days of uncommitted freedom, I lusted for them… I shopped for them, in London, Paris, New York, at Bergdorf’s in SoHo… Anywhere and everywhere with total and complete wreckless abandon.
And I am thankful that I did, because a decade later they’re there for me when I need them. And while the need to clothe, feed and educate my kids has put a drasted damper on my wallet, I can still look and lust and fondly reminisce.
I cannot tell you exactly what it is about shoes that makes me giddy but I suspect most of you can agree to most of these.
Top Ten Reasons to Love Shoes
10. Oh the places you’ll go! Oh the places you’ve been. Trusted and true they’re always there with you!!
9. One Shoe, Two Shoe, Red Shoe, Blue Shoe. You can never have too many and the more you have, the less you’ll wear them out!
8. They can stand the abuse better than any man I know. They make great weapons and torture devices! And the best part? You can walk all over them and they’ll still be there in the morning!
7. You can have a love affair with hundreds of them… It’s safe, socially acceptable and they’ll still love you in the morning. And more importantly, they don’t mind!
6. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours – perfect for the fickle gal. They suit our every mood, they make you feel strong or sexy or cute or sporty or playful and they never ever worry about performance. They’re there to please you and they always deliver.
5. They’re pretty, they’re sexy, they’re hot! And they almost always look good from the moment you slip them on. Let’s face it, most of them make our legs look longer, slimmer and sexier!
4. They look good from every angle… especially when they’re up 😉
3. They make us feel like a girl again, even though we do house chores and carpool all week or scrub toilets and snotty noses… slip the right pair on and meowwwwwwwww
2. They’re always there for us, they comfort us, they soothe us and most importantly… they’re less fattening than ice-cream and chocolate.
1. You can still fit into them, even on fat days!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, I do love my shoes!!!
Shopping tips: Go to 6pm.com… great deals! Sign up for Amazon.com email alerts. They have great promos from time to time but you need to act quickly. I’ve missed out on AMAZING deals simply because I went back later in the day to buy and the prices were up again. Got these coral and pearl peep toe pumps for less than a shot of sake and sushi tray!
Christina Lianos is mom of three daughter and loves to give her advice on life, love, children and everything in between all with anectodal pairings of practicality and all things Fantsi!