77 Pairs of Shoes

Number 77

2011-04-02T07:24:00.003+11:00

Many years ago I was bitten by a bug. A bug that is exuberant with wordless expression, physical violence and simple acute joy. These four pairs are leftovers from dreams past. They are in pretty good condition given what dancers put their shoes and themselves through - brute force wrapped in beauty.

I was never able to follow through completely - injury took that possibility away - but I fill with gratitude for the time I did have in a studio and on a stage. There was blood, there was sweat, there were tears. I loved it all.

There are people in my life who share this bug or have seen parts of it in my life. Thank you to you all. You know who you are and I know the little smile that is creeping across your face as you think back over everything we have done together. I am smiling back!

Today, I keep my bug at bay by avoiding it. Nevertheless, it is a fundamental part of who I am and it is impossible to excise this part of my life from myself. It will always be my heart, my soul and myself.

Thank you for reading. I have loved writing this blog and embarrassing myself into acknowledging that I have a distinct shoe problem. It's been a good lesson in gluttony! I wonder if I will ever learn.....

x

77'th Shoe Eve

2011-04-01T06:44:00.006+11:00

So, this is the long and the pink of it: three shoes, 24 hours and lots of questions. I've had to cram in the last few pairs of shoes because tomorrow I leave the country and technology behind for a short while.

Squished together before you I present a long legged favourite of mine: witchey-poo meets Paris (not Hilton). She is a soft black suede that sits just above the knee and dips down at the back. She's so simple, she's sexy. I like an understated twinkle in my boot's eye. The salmon flat was an accident - a remedy to a shopping trip gone blistered. The pink bootie is delicious.

In 24 hours I will reveal my last shoe, Mistress 77, and then I will leave. Mistress 77 is my heart. She is my insides and myself. I hope you like her.

I will miss you once you meet her and this blog is complete. Thank you for reading.

Australia

2011-03-31T06:41:00.000+11:00

Well, what can I say? I can't legitimately call myself an Australian resident without one pair of well worn Uggs.

x

Cream coloured pony

2011-03-30T06:30:00.002+11:00

These boots blow my mind. From their pony hairs to the laser etching, I am drawn in. High on heeled happiness. The only aspect that snaps me out of my trance is the clunky heel. Truthfully though, I'm not sure how any other heel would work. They are supposed to be a play on cowgirl so it is probable that anything else would be confusing or lack authenticity.

So, I calm the twist in my stomach and go back to the cream dream. It's amore, for sure.

x

Michael Jackson

2011-03-29T06:04:00.002+11:00

Hands up who doesn't know how to grab their bits and screech "oWwww!"? Today's boots are black, tomorrow's are white. I couldn't help but make the Michael Jackson connection.

My darling hearted friend Marianne and her brother, Mikey do a great MJ rendition. They clearly practiced a lot. All their moves are slick and their "oWwww!"'s, perfection. Best of all you can see the "kids" in their eyes.

3 brown boots and a wedding steak

2011-03-28T06:35:00.068+11:00

There is something deeply cosy about brown. To me it is the colour of warmth and love. In Anne of Green Gables, the dress Matthew buys for newly homed orphan Anne is a rich chocolate brown that makes her radiate with gratitude and humility.

Before Queen Victoria f*cked weddings up for the western bridal population, brown was a favoured colour for brides. She started the trend that blindly prevails today and is embraced by people who are failed by it. It was only after Queen Victoria wore white that the (non) colour took off as first choice for bridal colour. The assertion that white has anything to do with virtue is a nonsense and historically incorrect. I can't help but laugh at the blindness with which white is worn at weddings. I am a stickler for thought, I do need to chill out and I realise that other people don't see the world the same way I do, but the way I am made means I would lack integrity and find it terribly difficult to forgive myself if I made a blind choice.

I find wedding cakes hilarious, for example. Few people ever appear to asks themselves "why?", they just blindly trot on ahead, presumably because bride.com told them to do so. The world according to sheep. Wedding cakes also have a long tradition, but I guarantee you the vast majority of brides have zero clue. I like wedding cakes but what happens if the bridal couple are more savoury than sweet type people? How about cutting a wedding steak?

I have digressed into my own insanity. I think these things, for sure, but I can also take a deep breath, get out of my own mind and shake it off. Shaken...... Each of these boots has their own character. I love that the feminine cowboy boots have their own detachable bling, that the middle pair slouch warmly and the pair to the left are so soft it makes me squeak with happiness every time I put them on (even though they are heel-less amputees).

x

three by three

2011-03-27T13:43:00.000+11:00

In six days I am leaving the Southern Hemisphere on a shoe buying mission cleverly disguised as a trip to the US and Europe to visit friends. Actually, I was only supposed to be going to NYC to visit my absolute darling friend Ruth who I miss very much and can't wait to spend time with. Then, all of a sudden this and that came up and now my trip has turned into an "around the world". Ce la vie. I'll just have to go back to NYC to see Ruth again soon.

In order to get through my shoes to the mystical number 77 I have to triple up. I hope you understand. Perhaps when I return from my travels I will have another 77 to speak and dream about.

Apologies for the quality of the photo. My camera simply wasn't playing ball today. The photo depicts three very different types of shoe: one peep toed bootie with lazer cut out decoration, pink wedged sandals from Brazil and a peep toed pump with sweet cut leather. Makes me think of goldie locks and the three bears (Daddy was clearly a cross dresser).

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Just do it

2011-03-26T10:14:00.000+11:00

I wonder who at Nike came up with that slogan and how they were rewarded. It would seem a crime if they weren't starfished by water in some exotic location ad infinitum after a brain wave like that.

Creativity is a very interesting thing. It sets people apart and inspires others to action.

I know many creative people across many spheres of creativity. Some of them are rewarded for their creativity and some are not. It's imponderable. Though if I was to ponder I would say that the value is arbitrary and tends to be based on mass thought rather than merit. To my mind, this borders on tragedy.

x

Another Brazil story....

2011-03-25T06:35:00.040+11:00

These blue sweetums go with the oddly similar pair of black sweetums that I spoke about earlier in this shoe odyssey. I adore each of them. I couldn't decide between them - who could pick a favourite star in the sky? So, I bought them both. Piggy.

The first time I wore them was out in Lagoa, Florianopolis. It was steamy hot and we thought it would be a brilliant idea to go to a samba club and get even warmer. The samba clubs of Brazil are unanimously fabulous. My view is probably compromised a little - I was in Brazil for such a short time I didn't have time to be anything but dazzled by it.

Even so, I can't imagine ever being bored by the place. It's like eating, drinking and breathing fun all day long. These shoes in the samba club in Lagoa were no exception. They carried me all night long until I could be carried no more and we dragged ourselves home, happy and barefoot with shoes in hand.

x

Pretty Parisian

2011-03-24T06:30:00.002+11:00

An April or two ago I went to Paris for "that birthday". There was no way I wanted to be in the Southern hemisphere when turning 30.

The decades are hard. I remember being terribly forlorn the day I turned 10. When my Mother asked me why I was so sad on my birthday I replied "because yesterday was the last day I would ever be one figure old. The next time anything this big happens I'll be turning 100!"

This time, instead of Mummy's cuddles for comfort on such a momentous occasion I turned to shoes in the streets of Paris. These were my choice.

x

The start of the silly

2011-03-23T07:49:00.000+11:00

It's going to be 30 degrees in Sydney today. A toasty warm Autumn day and as I'm nearing the end of my shoe odyssey my choices of shoe are getting smaller and smaller.

So, today I've gone a little conservative and started with a vaguely wearable in warm weather bootie. What I am concerned about are the 30 degree days where my only choice is a big thick long wooly boot!! Amusing times ahead...

A pointless rant.

2011-03-22T06:04:00.000+11:00

Today's shoes have nothing to do with what I am about to rave on about. They are pretty though don't you think?

I have come up against some funny attitudes recently and my reaction to them has reminded me that intolerance is my weakness. I try to curb it but I do fail from time to time.

In my defence, I'm only intolerant of stupid people. Hmmmm that probably means I'm intolerant in general. But for heaven's sake, there really are a lot of stupid people out there! Now that I say that I'm making myself laugh because it feels like I'm in the middle of an Edina Monsoon rant.

To me a stupid person is someone who lacks compassion, who cannot see beyond themselves and focuses on negative things to their own, and sometimes those around them's detriment. To me the smartest person in the world is one who loves with honest grace. This aspect is probably the part that makes me stupid too. My intolerance lacks the very grace I wish for.

Tomorrow is a new day. Perhaps I will learn then.

x

Rave girl loves the DJ

2011-03-21T06:34:00.021+11:00

Every so often I notice that the years are ticking by. This observation is especially acute when a really good trance or drum and bass DJ crosses my path. I can't help myself but push my way to the front and go into a zone of dance so familiar and so dear to my soul that the truth of it's retro vibe is embarrassing.

I'm the girl who snuck out of my parents home to go to raves mid week then held my eyes open with determination at school the next day. I'm also the girl who dated the DJ, has a power femme look and no matter how "proper" I become my stomach still does a flip flop when I hear the music I have loved so much for so long.

I moved city for University. Sadly, the city I moved to, Christchurch, was more into beer drinking songs than worshipping at the altar of DJ all night long. It was misery for my retro hippy soul. But, to put a positive spin on an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation I did find out exactly how much I loved the DJ. Absence made my heart grow fonder.

The last outing for these shoes was at D-Edge, a brilliant club in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Check it out: www.d-edge.com.br/

We had only arrived in Brazil hours earlier and frankly I felt awful after the long journey from Australia. But the second I heard that sound, the retro hippy chick in me forgot my tiredness, ditched my friends, ran to the front and danced the awful away.

It's funny because I've obviously found my Woodstock. Trance is my flower power. In years to come, I will be the wrinkled woman who embarrasses her kids by still running for the DJ every time she hears those tunes.

x

Number 58

2011-03-20T09:36:00.000+11:00

This is shoe number 58 - brilliant turquoise cloaked in satin. 20 to go. I think.

x

The silliest boys in Sydney

2011-03-19T18:40:00.001+11:00

These rose gold beauties have put in some big hours and long distances for me over the years. I bought them in a little shop in Christchurch that is now smashed to pieces on one of my jaunts to New Zealand years ago.

At first I wasn't convinced but they crept up on me and over time I grew to adore them. We have been to many parties, dinners, clubs, boats and even my work place together. We've sipped cocktails by candle light, thrown bread to the ducks and kicked some of the silliest boys in Sydney to the kerb.

On one particular night when we were out dancing at a Latin club a particularly silly and drunk Sydney boy decided he liked me and my rose gold shoe companions. Fabulous. Not being sure how to politely tell this very strong, clearly very determined silly drunk Sydney boy how to naff off I agreed to one dance. The dance was more of a shove here and there that threw my rose gold and I a little off balance.

Brad, a very dear rose gold coloured friend of mine, equally strong and equally determined saw my and my ladies' plight. Brad saved the day and the silly drunk Sydney boy soon found himself on a dirty smudgy blackened kerbside, the light of rose gold nowhere to be seen. Rose gold ought never be sullied by the silliness of Sydney boys.

x

Uggs are not sexy

2011-03-18T06:41:00.064+11:00

I read an article earlier this week about the founder of Jimmy Choo shoes, Tamara Mellon. The article credited her with making Ugg boots sexy by whacking a stiletto on the back. I own a pair of Uggs (sans JC heel), I love them with PJs, chocolate and red wine in winter but I could never see them as alluring or seductive simply because someone with a following bangs a heel on the back of them.

I don't care if you are Tamara Mellon; Uggs aren't sexy and can't be made so. That's just not possible in my book. They are at best cute and cosy, and at their worst, trashy. The heeled Uggs released by Jimmy Choo look like a mistake. A round peg in a square hole.

Perhaps it's because I'm not a Jimmy Choo kind of a gal. When it comes to luxury shoes I'm more of a Sergio Rossi meets Hugo Boss meets away with the fairies type. Ms Mellon clearly makes beautiful shoes but I am yet to find a pair that I connect with. Naturally, I'm keeping an open mind. Tomorrow is another shopping day so you never know.

These clunkers somehow remind me of the Jimmy Choo Ugg but they don't offend me the way the Ugg heels do. They are an attempt at casual chic though I think they come off a little chunky. Actually, it's the chunkiness that both repulses and draws me in. Intellectually I don't get them but the simple fact is I just like them. I'm looking forward to putting these contradictions on today.

x

My pain is your gain

2011-03-17T06:44:00.001+11:00

I have a killer headache. Even looking at this screen is enough to make me wince. Touch wood it's not the beginning of a migraine.

To make up for my inability to type here are two fun shoes that represent two fun people: Daniela and Ruth, you know who you are and what you did.

Ankle straps look weird, I know. My apologies. Hopefully I'll be back on form after a good night's rest (and loads of drugs).

Love
E x

Happy retirement

2011-03-16T06:05:00.067+11:00

Ah, these old ducks bring back memories.......

I was obsessed with a heavy woollen muddy forest green dress. It has bell sleeves, a plunging V-neck and was cut on the bias so swung about my legs like a breeze. I loved it. I spent hours dreaming about what I would wear with it. I imagined myself sashaying down halls, my hair bouncing behind me and this dress swinging heavily.

The designer had produced an entire range in varying depths of this opulent colour and I coveted the jacket. A huge suede and faux fur trimmed jacket with a single button. It is delicious. The whole look is very Eddie Sedgewick. Old school goes glam.

I would sit and dream about me, this dress and jacket striding decisively. Where? I have no clue. However, the shoe I conjured in this vision could not be found anywhere. I wanted an ankle boot with a structured stiletto heel and open finish across the arch. These did not fit the bill but they worked with the outfit magnificently and I have loved them for a long time.

Ironically, when I bought them I thought it was a concession because I hadn't been able to find what I dreamed of. Yet out of the dress, the jacket and the shoes, I have worn the shoes to death whereas the others I have not. Happy retirement, my loves.

x

Flower delirium

2011-03-15T06:05:00.038+11:00

Right, so this pair falls into several embarrassing categories:

- They were purchased in an online shopping frenzy and travelled from the other side of the earth at my electronic request.
- I waited on the edge of my seat for them to arrive. Willing time to pass faster so that they would arrive.
- I was judged (deservedly so) by the mail room guy and reception ladies.
- I lost interest moments after receiving them.
- They have lain dormant in my wardrobe for many moons.
- I have never worn them.

I think I should be do some kind of penance for my sins of lust and gluttony. Perhaps there is some sort of community service I can do to make up for my wastefulness. All that money spent and attention diverted for me to cast them aside.

I am a naughty naughty girl.

x

Slingback sadness

2011-03-14T07:46:00.004+11:00

Sigh. I struggle to wear sling backs. My feet simply shrug them off as I walk. It's terribly sad because slingbacks can open the connection between beautifully adorned foot and elegant leg. What is not so elegant is a women struggling to keep the damned things on and stopping every few steps to pull the strap back up.

Silly shoemakers. I'm all for loveliness, even with a price, but come on - make something I can freakin' walk a decent distance in!! I couldn't even get from the cab to restaurant table in these. They remain static in their beauty. The moment motion is involved, forget it.

I have held on to these ladies for years and years and years with the hope that one day I'll actually be able to keep them on my feet. Alas, it's not going to happen. To eBay they must go.

x

Little Miss Melbourne Sunday

2011-03-13T07:45:00.000+11:00

Like flat shoes, these are another example of me trying on for size something that doesn't really fit. I bought these when I was living in Melbourne a few years ago. They were a conscious choice to try the city and its style on for size. Didn't work.

I enjoy these shoes but they're simply not quite me. I'm glad I spent some time in Melbourne and in these shoes - who knows, if I went back maybe it would be different. Although looking at these shoes I know that it would not. They are a nice little change that I'm happy to wear every so often but would not wear again.

x

A pair of pairs

2011-03-12T08:09:00.077+11:00

I doubled up to make up for yesterday. It's a double double really because before you I present two pairs of the same two, one in pink, one in black. I do the same with cardigans. At one point in time I recall owning a yellow, red, two black, two white and one pink - ALL the same cardigan. What am I, the rainbow flag of apparel?

When acquisition mode hits, sense and reason really are replaced by lust for pretty things. Where did this lust come from? Is this some kind of primal urge to create beauty around ourselves? To attract a lover perhaps? I know that's not why I love beautiful things, I just love them but.... Ohhhhhh, penny just dropped. This must be the explanation for "Soccer Mom" haircuts, something I loathe with as much force as my loathing for sneakers with jeans.

I have never been able to get my head around how (some, and it is only some) beautiful vibrant women suddenly become frumps on marrying or having children. I've met women who are younger than me but look at least 10 years older and had once been lovely. It's like a light has gone out and I have never understood why. Is it because they've "got the goods", as they see it? Weird mindset.

I loathe the Soccer Mom haircut because it so often seems to be found on women who have lost themselves. Maybe I'm projecting because if I cut my hair that way or lost my joy in dress ups to the extent that I stopped taking pride in my appearance, then something would be very wrong. I would be lost. Maybe that's not true for everyone. There is definitely a risk that my view is judgmental and naive but I think there is at least a grain of truth in my line of thinking for the minority of the population who sport this doo.

I know loads of beautiful women who have continued to celebrate their femininity post marriage and babies by adorning themselves like happy women should. To me, it's part of being female to celebrate it outwardly and happily. Bring on the lust.

x

Shoegasm and sins of acquisition

2011-03-11T06:44:00.013+11:00

I broke the rules. I bought these shoes and I haven't justified the other 77 yet! Given my generally disinterested attitude to the rules of any game, I think I've done quite well not to break any until now.

Well, now that I'm confessing I do have some other disclosures to make. Let's write a list, at least this way I can get it all off my chest and you can be confident that going forward my shoes and I are above board:

- the day I discovered I owned 77 pairs of shoes I had earlier given 30 or so other pairs to charity
- the 77 does not include gym shoes or beach shoes
- one day I didn't wear the shoes I said I would. To be fair, it was because when I put them on I discovered they needed re-heeling
- I'm not wearing these shoes today, I just wanted to show them to you

That's it. End of confession. Defiant I continue.......

These shoes are utterly magnificent. My pupils dilated and heart rate increased the second I saw them. They are worthy of even the pickiest devotee's shoegasm. Wow. I wish you could see them in person because they are like nothing I have ever worn. Exquisite. It's a kind of beauty that aches.

My sin was worth it.

x

The pointy end

2011-03-10T06:41:00.006+11:00

I can't believe it, there are only another 20 or so shoes to go and the journey through the bottom of my closet is complete!

To date, I have largely steered clear of boots and heavy shoes during the inital phase of this shoe odyssey. Being Sydney and summer-time I've favoured open toed and light shoes.

Hmmmm being Sydney and now autumn-time it's still hot, yet I have many many boots and heavy shoes to come! These kids aren't so bad but some interesting fashion choices await. I'm up for the challenge - winter boots on 30 degree days here I come!

x

People of Walmart

2011-03-09T06:36:00.064+11:00

Yesterday I was sent an email that showed shoppers at Walmart in the US. It was funny but it was also appalling. The unsuspecting shoppers are ridiculed as freaks. Evidently, there is a website devoted to these pictures where they are ridiculed as such. I'll let you google it yourself...

On seeing the photos I can't help but ask "why?". I hardly know what to say I'm so flabbergasted with what I saw. It's terribly terribly sad and something that those communities appear to perpetuate by mutually reinforcing hideously unhealthy ways of living.

These people are a long way down the "Wall-E" track of living. It's a great movie, I highly recommend you watch it and you'll see what I mean.

I am heading to Texas in April where I imagine I will meet many of these types of people. In fact, I've set myself a challenge of making it as far through a Texan Steak as possible, which I understand is an inhuman task though bizarrely is achieved by most of the population. Gladly, I suspect I will fail.

You will not see these shoes on a Walmart shopper!

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