"Date Shoes"

When it comes to high heels there are three types of girls:

1.)    The girls who can pull off high heels effortlessly.

2.)    The girls who can pull off high heels for a few hours then walk limp around complaining. 

3.)    The girls who refuse to try.

Obviously, high heels are not natural. I often hear girls say that high heels are a “man-made invention made to emphasize women’s breasts and ass, and to make it harder for us to run away.” I partly agree but on the other hand the women who say that are the ones that wear them.  

When people walk it’s usually heel, toe, lift, repeat. When women wear high heels, suddenly its toe, toe, toe, toe. We’re tip-toeing around, so strides are shorter and balance is off.

I personally believe that high heels are really about self-confidence. My philosophy about high heels is that it really takes practice, patience and confidence. Walking in heels is like learning to walk all over again, so it takes practice. It takes patience because it doesn't happen overnight. It takes confidence because there's no such thing as walking around meekly in heels. 

Whether it’s a 5 inch stiletto or a 1 inch kitty heel, high heels have a crazy power over women (and men... but that’s a different story). In a matter of moments, women feel sexy, taller and poised. One moment they’re a short, average girl and then put them in a hot pair of heels and now they’re a tall, beautiful woman.

I love heels. I lost count a while ago of how many I own. I want to say I own around 10 pairs, but that may be an underestimation. My favorite pair of heels are my “date shoes.” They’re about 4 inches tall and pretty much go with any outfit since they’re nude colored. (When buying heels, nude or black are your best bet because they go with anything.) 

I got these shoes at Payless last year. Payless had always been a problem for me. When you’re a bargain queen, shoe addict, Payless is dangerous. Like an alcoholic going into a liquor store. I was with my boyfriend and I purposely left my wallet in the car. I told him,

“If I bring it in there, I know I’ll buy something, but if I leave it in here I have a better chance of keeping my money.”

Like usual, he didn’t believe me. I didn’t believe me either, but it’s a strategy I’ve tried without success. I usually find myself running back to the car, without announcing it to whoever I’m with, or asking them to borrow money. I have found some of my favorite shoes when I’m not looking for them. Similar to my viewpoint on relationships, the best ones come when you’re not searching. When I go looking for shoes, I usually end up bag-less…okay, so if you’ve read my other blog posts you might know by now I might be fudging the truth, just a little…

We get to Payless, I’m wallet-less and I tell myself that we’re here just for him. Jake needs winter boots. I don’t need shoes. I don’t need shoes. I don’t NEED shoes. But I want shoes. Boy, do I WANT shoes.

I find my date shoes in a matter of minutes, even though I try to stay clear of my shoe size aisle. I sneak over anyway when Jake isn’t looking and I try to just “window shop” but I couldn’t pass these shoes up. Little peep toes, little flower cut outs, and laces? Adorable.

But, I don’t have my wallet.

“Hey babyyyyy, do you love me?”

“You want shoes, don’t you?”

And that’s when I just smile really big and bat my eyelashes a lot.

There was a buy one get one half off sale going on and Jake ended up buying his winter boots and then my date shoes for me and not letting me pay him back either. I knew he truly loved me when he supports my shoe obsession. So now I love to wear these on dates with him because it reminds me of how sweet he is, and it reminds him that I look good in heels. 

Cheetalicious: “The Bargain Queen”

In the last couple of years, I’ve watched the animal print trend grow to the point of obsession for girls. 


Everything from zebra, to leopard, to cheetah, to giraffe, to tiger is found on every possible item a girl could need. Coats, backpacks, purses, socks, shirts, pillows, car seats, shower curtains, bras, sweaters, and shoes, of course. Something about animal print really gets girls excited. Maybe it’s because it looks exotic. Maybe it’s just because it looks fashionable.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a fiend for animal print too. I have my fair share of clothes, room accessories and obviously shoes, of some type of animal print. I think it might be a rule in a girls handbook somewhere that if they love it, they must walk in it. Rule number one. 

I have cheetah print boots and cheetah print heels. (I am aware that cheetah and leopard print are easily confused and I am a professional at mixing them up…so let’s just call them cheetah for the sake of the name of my shoes). My heels are currently at my mom’s house so I found a picture of the brand online.

I found my cheetalicious heels at a second hand store in Plattsburgh NY. 

My rules for second hand stores are simple:

           1.)    If you find your exact size, you’ve hit the jackpot.

           2.)    If you don’t, and you love it anyway, you make it work.

I have, on numerous occasions, purchased shoes that are too big and clothes that are too small. Whenever I go to a second hand store, I usually come out of the dressing room sucking in my stomach and dragging my feet in heels. I ask my mom, or my best friend Shevawn,

“How do I look?”

“Like you’re in pain.”

One of my many mottos when it comes to fashion is “beauty before comfort.” Though, I don’t tend to always follow my own advice seeing how I often wear jeggings (the magical stretchy jeans) or boots on a typical day. But since you don’t get to dress like that every day, when it comes to being pretty and having somewhere to go, you need to look good, so you suffer through.

So, my cheetalicious heels are size 7 and a half. Either I am hoping for a miraculous foot growth or I’m wearing tights, a pair of low socks, shoe cushions on the bottom of the shoe and foot sizers inside to make them fit. They’re cute and they were $5.00. I make them work.

I found my cheetalicious boots at Old Navy. I admit that I had seen the boots on a co-worker earlier in the day, asked her where she got them, and immediately jumped in my car after work with my mom and drove to the mall. They were on sale, I needed to act fast.

On a side note, I love spending little money. Regardless of how many pairs of shoes I have, almost all of them have been on sale, been used or been majorly marked down. I hate spending full price for something and mostly everything I own was on clearance when I bought it. As far as I’m considered, clearance is all the good stuff that everyone missed. Although I’ve had to rummage through bins, or push people aside, I always get a good deal. The best part is that no one can tell either. I save money and face.

My mom doesn’t mind helping me find good deals either. We go shopping a lot together and she and my step-dad call me the “bargain queen.”

We literally jogged to the back of Old Navy where all the clearance once, and found the section of boots. They were marked down to $9.00 and 50% off of the ticketed price. $4.50 for animal print boots?!

“I hope they have my size!” I yelled to my mom as I booked it across Old Navy.

I ran to the racks and started throwing boots aside to get to the cheetah print boots. Only two pairs left. First pair, size 11/12. Second pair, size 5/6.

“Meant to be, bargain queen!” my mom said when she caught up to me. 

"Hello Rain Boots"

I have never owned rain boots until college.


Whenever it rained I guess I just toughed it out. When I finally bought rain boots it was like a whole new world…I could walk through puddles! I could walk on water! No more side stepping and looking for puddles in the dips of concrete to avoid the dreaded soggy socks.


I may also have a slight obsession with Hello Kitty. The weird thing is that I never liked Hello Kitty when I was younger, I actually thought it was for babies. When I grew up I got strangely obsessed with it and to this day I'm not exactly sure why. Seeing Hello Kitty merchandise in stores immediately turns me into an eight year old girl with a squealing baby voice. My mom and I can’t get through Target without me stopping more than three times to admire Hello Kitty things.


But they really do have anything Hello Kitty at Target: pajama pants, posters, hair clips, t-shirts, purses, duct tape, and microwaves...I’m not even kidding.

I had been searching for the perfect rain boots for a while. I’m not attracted to polka dots, stripes, plaid or boring solid colors when it comes to rain boots. I’m definitely not into paisley. I wanted something that screamed. I wanted a ferocious animal print or ones that had a vintage design. I’ve never been very tame with my shoe selection.

I found the Hello Kitty boots at Sears. I never shop there, but my friend Shevawn and I were walking through on the way to the car. I swear, I’m like a hound dog when it comes to Hello Kitty stuff and I sniffed the boots out from at least 3 aisles over. I stopped Shevawn in her tracks and screamed “HELLO KITTY RAIN BOOTS!” She rolled her eyes and followed me over. She used to get annoyed when I would detour for Hello Kitty memorabilia, but now she plays into it, pointing out things when I miss them. In fact, for Christmas this year she got me several Hello Kitty things, so she’s finally accepted it.

As I got closer, I realized there were only 3 pairs left. Please have my size, please have my size, please have my size. Size 11….size 9…SIZE 6! I don’t think I even tried them on or looked at the price tag.

I have never been so excited for it to rain.

Whenever I wear my rain boots, I always think of this one situation that I still wonder what would have happened if it had ended differently…

One day on campus, I used a bathroom that was way out of my normal route and that’s usually empty. It was a rainy, gray day so naturally, I was wearing my Hello Kitty boots. I went in, got into a stall and heard someone come in after me. Oh c’mon, can’t a girl get a few minutes? Not only did I have to share a dorm room bathroom with twelve other girls but now I had to share this one too? This was supposed to be the desolate bathroom.

The girl came in and went into the stall directly next to me, of course. She placed her backpack and metal lunch box on the ground and HELLO, it was a Hello Kitty. So without thinking I say, a little too loud, “I love Hello Kitty! That lunch box is so cute!”

Silence.

Then a quiet voice says, “Thanks. I love your rain boots. Where did you get them?”

“I actually got them at Sears.”

At this point, I’m fully aware of the fact that I have never seen this person. And that I am having a discussion with her about Hello Kitty underneath a bathroom stall in the campus center. It’s not that I have a problem discussing with someone I’ve never met, but the fact that we were in a bathroom suddenly made me feel really uncomfortable. Mostly it was the fact that we were going to come face to face in a couple minutes while washing hands. Why didn’t I just wait until then to tell her that her lunch box was cute?

Upon hearing her flush, I panicked. I exited the stall without ever even going to the bathroom and speedily washed my hands. As I was drying them and walking toward the door, I heard her come out of the stall and I didn’t look back. In fact, I booked it out the door and fast walked down the hallway until I felt I was far enough to slow down.

I don’t really know why I panicked or why I didn’t just wait to smile at her while washing hands or why I didn’t just stay hidden behind my stall. I’m sure she felt as weird about the situation as I did and I’m sure I made it weirder by literally running out of there.

I guess it was the fact that I had started the conversation beneath the bathroom stall about our mutual love for Hello Kitty. 

"Eskimo Boots"

One of the first things my mother said when I told her I had been accepted to Oswego State University was, “make sure you get some tough winter boots.” 


Being located on the shore of Lake Ontario, SUNY Oswego is notorious for their extreme winters including heavy snow, intense wind and bitter cold. Knowing my flimsy, yet very in, UGGS wouldn’t be able to handle the snow, my mother sent my boyfriend, Jake, and I to go searching for winter boots in July.

“Look for traction,” she said. “Make sure they’re warm.”

Obviously.

When we went to the shoe store, I was wearing shorts in the summer heat. I hadn’t thought of that, and now the boots were going to look funny against my naked skin. I’d just have to look at solely my feet…right.


It's usually not hard for me to fall in love with shoes. I believe I have a serious addiction when it comes to shoes and I have a full closet of shoes to prove it (plus some under the bed, some at my mother's house and some currently being shipped). The problem is that I'm a size 5 1/2 or a 6, and there is almost always my size on sale since not a lot of people have small feet. I also fall in love too easily, but that's another story... 

When Jake and I arrived at the shoe store I first tried on work boots with a rubber exterior. I liked them until Jake told me that his balding father had ones “sort of like that.”

I tried on puffy boots that reminded me of a winter jacket I had when I was a kid. My feet looked huge…keep in mind they’re size 6.

When I found my “Eskimo boots” I wasn’t immediately in love with them. I mean…fuzzy pom poms? But I felt the fluffy fur on the top of the boot and the thickness of the material on the side and they looked pretty durable. The traction on the bottom looked legit. I figured I’d at least try them on. You really never know until you try them on.

They came almost up to my knees. They fit snugly against my foot and up my leg. I noticed they also had a slight wedge to them as I strutted between the aisles of shoes.

“What do you think?” I asked Jake.

“I think the pom poms are sexy,” he said, smiling widely.

Can pom poms be sexy?

I looked at them in the awkwardly angled foot mirror that they always have in shoe stores. They looked like big, hairy feet. But man, were they warm. And sexy? Were they sexy? I don’t know if I’d say sexy, I thought as I looked at my reflection in the full length mirror. Short jean shorts, a yellow tank top and Eskimo boots. More like weather incompetent.

Now, as a junior at Oswego State who lives off campus, I am grateful for my warm Eskimo boots. As I walk up to my car and clear it off, my feet are sturdy on the icy driveway and my toes aren’t frozen. I can walk through the 3 feet of snow in our front yard to take out the trash and not be afraid I’ll leave a shoe behind. I no longer fear damp socks because although the bottom of the boots appear soaking wet, my feet are dry when I walk to class.

As I ride the bus to campus today, I am the last one on and so I have to stand. I grip onto the bar that I can’t reach. But I’m not worried. I’m wearing the Eskimo boots and my feet don’t budge. I watch a girl almost spill her coffee around a turn but I am steady against the bus’ shakiness.

My Eskimo boots have been the perfect winter boots to get me through the horrors of an Oswego winter. I have found them to be the perfect combination against wind, snow, ice, rain and wobbly buses. Plus they have fluffy pom poms that bounce when you walk.