Shoes & Boys

Just as there are good shoes, there are good boys. And just as there are bad shoes, there are bad boys. When it comes to shoes and boys, choices can sometimes be difficult, and when we’re so very picky about what goes on our feet, heaven knows how most of us manage to settle for a mere mortal man at all.

There are very few females in the known universe who don’t get a kick out of shoes. (Get it? Kick? Shoes?…never mind) Everything about the shoe experience is wondrous. Buying shoes, looking at shoes, deciding on shoes, the list goes on. And for those of us infected with the shoe obsession, those who don’t quite understand it might as well be from another planet.

But for those of us who do get it, we get it in every aspect of our lives. There are few things that compare to that new shoe feeling, and the absolute glee that accompanies the purchase of a magnificent pair of stilettos, pumps or designer label clogs. Shoes can make or break your outfit, your mood, your whole day.

In fact, shoes are a lot like boys.

Just like some boys, there are the fabulous shoes you have to have the instant you see them. They may not fit quite right, and they may not really go with anything else you own, but there’s something about them you have to have. They quite possibly have come from a store you don’t usually frequent, but that you know, on occasion, will present you with an amazing find. You may tire of these shoes within a couple of weeks, or it might take a couple of months, but ultimately no matter how good they look, and no matter how hard you try to break them in, they will continue to hurt your feet, and you will end up leaving them behind for a better pair.

Then there are the old faithful shoes. These shoes tend to be reserved for work, or lunch with your parents. Just like you are with your best male friend, who you once thought you could marry but now realize you couldn’t even bring yourself to snog, you are totally comfortable in these shoes and they’ve seen you at your worst. Although the old faithfuls are still lovely shoes, they don’t really excite you, and you know that when you finally take that trip to Paris, they will not be packed. 

And then, there is the ultimate pair. The Louis Vuittons, the Manolo Blahniks, the Jimmy Choos, the G&L Handmade Shoes. These are the worth waiting for shoes and if necessary, you will live only on crackers for a month in order to purchase them. Everything about them makes you swoon. These shoes have style. These shoes are made from exquisite leather and fabrics. And once you find them, you realize they go just as well with your jeans as your favourite dress. These shoes lift your spirits every time you put them on, and you could even be accused of strutting when you are seen out in public with them.  Like so many who find the “one” in their perfect man, you don’t get bored of these shoes, and your friends wish they’d seen them first.

But thankfully, there is one similarity that shoes and boys do not share. Thankfully, we can have as many pairs of wonderful shoes as we like stuffed into our cupboards, and we can (and often do) wear as many fabulous pairs as possible in a 24-hour period without raising too many eyebrows.

So realistically, shoes are actually better than boys.  And just like Nancy Sinatra warned the men of the world all those years ago, our shoes are made for walking, and unless boys live up to the Manolo standard we deserve, walking all over men is exactly what our fine footwear will do.