The Island Shoe Girl's Blog

Where shoes meet sand…

To Love a Shoe Girl September 27, 2009

Filed under: Love Me, Love My Shoes — theislandshoegirl @ 11:00 am
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How can you not love a shoe girl in these Issac Mizarahi heels? Photo by Jean Thornton

How can you not love a shoe girl in these Issac Mizarahi heels? Photo by Jean Thornton

It can be nearly impossible to love a shoe girl in any form—be it a romantic love, a friendship love, or even a family love.  We are complicated creatures who have let our dreams run wild and had the good fortune (as well as the curse) of having those dreams come true.  We know that ankles can be adorned with rhinestones and bows.  We believe that toes should be wrapped in ribbons of satin and silk.  And we can be taken to new heights on delicate pedestals with pointed silver caps. 

Shoe girls believe in magic.  We think that mystery is a part of every day life and want to be just as mystifying as what the next shoe box holds.  The entire world becomes a shoe store to us; every where we look another example of imagination at work in ways we never thought could come to life.  Amazing feats of engineering that would baffle the architects of the greatest buildings of our time are standard expectations for a shoe girl. 

A shoe girl never stops searching for the next great shoe.  We fall silent in awe as we discover a new configuration of sole, arch, and heels that make us wonder just what next season’s pumps and platforms may bring.  The moment our minds seem satisfied with the shoe that fits, we are dreaming of the next, knowing it must be better since this one is more wonderful than the last.   We believe, like children believe in shooting stars and birthday wishes, that the next great shoe will come just as all the ones before it.

Our hearts are as big as our shoe closets and, just when we think it is full, we find a little more room.  Shoe girls remember their first pair of shoes just like they recall their second, the thirty-fifth, and the one hundred and seventeenth.  Like a faded corsage from a prom date, we keep the memories of what those shoes meant to us long after the event.  Whether the shoes were making us Cinderella, super heroes, or intelligent young minds accepting diplomas—each pair is a part of our own complicated history.

We are never satisfied with just being practical and often find that one pair is never enough… of course sometimes six pairs are not enough either!  It is easy to see us as self-centered or consumed with the joy of unwrapping a new pair of boots in early autumn.  But just the same we celebrate that every moment has a shoe and every shoe should have its moment.  Those new boots are destined for strolling through newly fallen leaves.  Strappy sandals are for summer weddings and dancing with good friends.  Sometimes a pair that celebrates the smallest accomplishment will lead to bigger moments in the future.

There are many things that could be criticized about a shoe girl, but there is usually much more that can be admired.  She may not always have the shoe or the answer for every situation; however, no one will try harder to find either one.  We are girls on a journey in stacked heels and spike stilettos; we are not always sure where our shoes are taking us, but we are blazing ahead at full tilt. 

Yes, a shoe girl can be hard to love.  But if you get the chance to love a shoe girl, she will probably love you just as passionately as she loves her shoes.  She will make sure you are protected from the elements and dangers of the world.  A shoe girl will believe in you whole-heartedly even when it seems your goals are impossible.  While others may think you have peaked, a good shoe girl will gently ask what’s next.  She will think of all the perfect moments you share and remember the imperfect ones with rose-colored glasses.

As frustrating and infuriating as a shoe girl may be to love, she is like that new pair of amazing heels that you just have to have even if she pinches a little and costs a lot.  All shoe girls know that pairs are a good thing and no single shoe can walk smoothly alone.  As much as we may try to do it all on our own, we understand the need for a match.  With that in mind we cautiously open our shoe closets and invite others along for the ride.  As difficult as we shoe girls are to love, it is even more impossible not to love us.

 

Clearance Rack Groceries September 20, 2009

Filed under: Common Sense in Unsensible Shoes — theislandshoegirl @ 11:46 am
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These Calvin Klein heels were a clearance rack find that are beyond fabulous. Photo Jean Thornton

These Calvin Klein heels were a clearance rack find that are beyond fabulous. Photo Jean Thornton

During a recent phone call to my cousin, I was detailing my latest handbag purchase from Coach.  It was my fourth bag in three months; all were purchased on sale, and all for prices so low I could not justify passing them by.  This is my secret shopping confessional, as an expensive new handbag has become a recession dirty deed.  My cousin not only understands my shopping guilt, she feels it too as she confesses her own recent Coach purchase.  Should I feel bad for buying this new piece of delightful arm candy—and the new wallet inside—while others are facing job loss? 

Later, I cruise through the grocery store with this new treasure at my side; I love it so much I won’t let it touch the grocery cart.  As I determine the best value jar of peanut butter, I catch myself weighing pennies verses name brands.  It occurs to me that I am willing to price cut my own diet and nutrition in exchange for labels and luxury when it comes to my fashion diet.  I cannot recall the last time I bought a steak, but I can tell you when that Dolce and Gabbana online sale starts! 

I am one of the many across the United States cutting back on groceries, cruising on almost-empty gas tanks, and sitting in the dark to try and pad my wallet (again it is a really cute Coach wallet).  I have always been a budget girl.  I like knowing exactly where my bottom line is and how to hold it.  I set saving goals each month and make sure to reach them.  My credit score is great and shocks most bankers who look from it to my shoes and try to figure out how my salary, those shoes, and that credit rating can coexist together.  Their face reads plaids mixed with animal print as they struggle to rationalize the combination.   

It is with great pride that I can point to what I have achieved financially as an example that anyone can do it.  I also have to give credit to my parents and their fiscally minded approach to parenting us.  But it does make me wonder: as girl raised without an unending cash flow from mom and dad, how did I end up with such designer tastes?

I am very sure that not everyone in the world immediately presses themselves against the Banana Republic store window and sings “Hello Dolly” to the new wrap dress displayed with a stunning gold heel.  I am basing this on the fact that I do not see anyone else except my partner in shopping crime suction-cupped with me, like matching Garfield cats in the back of a Buick.  Only after we start getting strange looks from other passers-by do we pry ourselves off and begin a debate over whether we can justify the purchase.  It usually ends with the same logic—wait for the clearance rack.

Once an item hits the clearance rack, all arguments for not buying it fly out the window.  You see, if you put “% off” next to anything, it suddenly becomes equally better by that same amount.  For example, the beautiful black patent leather Steve Madden heels I just bought at 70% off magically became 70% more fabulous than their original level of fabulousness.  That is why it is easier to walk away from 20% off that Ralph Lauren dress because the level of fabulous has not increased to the point of it being unbearable not to buy it!  A general rule of thumb is that anything over 60% off is unstoppable and credit cards need to be applied.

So my proposal is that the rest of the retail world take a clue from sample sales and knock down their prices.  When the stock market tumbles, do not proclaim it a bad day; instead announce that Wall Street is having a mid-season sale with prices so low you would be a fool to walk away.  Perhaps a buy two mutual funds, get the third for free (of equal or lesser value of course).  Soon the investment report will be as exciting as the celebrity gossip update when you’re checking out the latest craze… overseas’ markets!

It’s all about how you market the markdown that makes those items fly off the shelf.  Are those fresh fruits and vegetables about to spoil?  I say it’s a “make room for new produce” sale.  Mark those slightly squishy Squashes down and watch those deals walk out the door!   Buy in the off-season for great savings; it’s like buying a bathing suit in December for next summer’s pool days.   So apply the same logic and stock up on pumpkin filling in July for next Thanksgiving’s pie.  If this trend catches on, maybe we can get the electric company to jump on the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) band wagon!  Who would not love to get July’s electric bill for free when cranking up the AC to beat the summer heat?

Let’s face it, women will never give up their designer names and luxurious leather soles for a gallon of milk; but if that milk is part of the grocery red line clearance section, you just might be able to justify purchasing both.  Just because the budget is a little tighter does not mean that you have to cut all the fun from life or all the nutrition from your diet.  The key is shopping smarter and embracing the discounts as they come along.  Hey, even my name-brand pure breed Jack Russell dog was bought on discount from the local animal shelter; sure he is slightly used but every bit as loveable.

 

Shoe Girl Meets Island September 13, 2009

Filed under: Its All About the Shoes — theislandshoegirl @ 11:07 am
How does a shoe girl balance island living in a pair of Manolos? One step at a time. Photo by Jean Thornton

How does a shoe girl balance island living in a pair of Manolos? One step at a time. Photo by Jean Thornton

Once upon a time, in the far, far away land of Ohio, the Island Shoe Girl began her life in the most ordinary of ways.   With 10 toes and 10 fingers, I was just your average baby girl for the first few years.  It wasn’t until about the age of three that I became a shoe girl when my Mom bought me a pair of black patent leather Mary Jane shoes.   Paired with my lacy ankle socks I thought I had found the perfect style and I was in love with my look.  That very same day I saw the ad in the Sunday paper showing white patent leather Mary Jane shoes!  I fell in love for the SECOND time in my short life, and I immediately began to justify the need for a pair in each color, convinced my three year old life would be tragic without them.  My parents gave in and a shoe girl was born. 

As I grew, so did my love of shoes and the amount of time spent admiring their graceful forms in fashion magazines.  From Jellies in every color to pairs of kitten heels, the more mature I got, the more mature the shoes got.  Silver tap shoes for recitals were replaced by high heels for high school dances.  I endured a painful big toe reconstruction surgery and months on crutches for the joy of cramming my foot into closed toe pumps!  By the time college came around, my school girl crush on shoes had blossomed into a love affair that required a shelving system.  While studying the human mind and its ability to form addictions in graduate school I was also beginning to understand my own shoe addiction and what it was about those fabulous heels that brought on must-have urges to buy more and more shoes. 

I discovered at an early age that shoes are just simply shoes for countless people; they go on feet and protect toes from the outside world.  Many prefer them to be low to the ground and require comfort in their fit.  For me shoes are the perfect mix of fantasy and reality, an impractical yet vital need at the same time. When a person sees an amazingly perfect pencil thin stiletto it baffles their mind to understand how anyone can walk on them.  And it rightfully should baffle their minds!  It takes a skill and grace that requires years to master completely.  If it is mastered, the image of a woman in stunning heels is one of true mystique and wonder.  Yes, it is this thought makes my heart melt when I dream of the day when the red soles of Christian Louboutin booties are under my feet. 

 While I was falling in love with shoes I was also coming to the sad realization that I would have to pay for these fabulous creations.  And that is when I feel in love with another mix of fantasy and reality—Key West, Florida.    A strange twist of internet fate brought my well-heeled feet to an island 1400 miles away from the only streets they had ever known in Ohio and introduced them to the challenge of walking in sand.     A funny thing happened as I was shaking the sand out of my pumps; I discovered that as much as I loved shoes, I also loved helping others.  An unexpected internship at a homeless shelter had a girl who mainly noticed shoe soles taking a hard look at human souls. Something clicked and I knew that this was the future for me and my shoes.  So without much hesitation I moved away from the malls and shoe stores of Ohio to the small shops and flip flop vendors of Key West.                                                                          

Just like the mystery of shoes, my life became a jumble of costumes and make-believe in everyday events.  Key West can be viewed as paradise found, yet so many others have lost themselves and find the streets, beaches and mangroves as their homes.  Helping the homeless maybe an admirable life choice, but accomplishing it in designer heels creates a different spin on my Mother Teresa ways.  I believe that while looking for the beauty of human souls, you can also share the beauty of luxury soles. 

And that is how a shoe girl found a life on an island.  But just because you love shoes and you live on an island that does not necessarily make you The Island Shoe Girl.  No, that title has another story behind it and it has just as much fantasy and reality involved.  But it all began with a perfectly normal little girl who fell in love with two pairs of shoes in the same day and kept right on going.

 

What A Shoe Girl Wants September 6, 2009

Filed under: Its All About the Shoes — theislandshoegirl @ 11:36 am
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The ultiment fun girl Betsy Johnson puts a little fun in my step with these fabulous cherry patch-work wedges.

The absolute fun girl Betsy Johnson puts a little fun in my step with these fabulous cherry patch-work wedges. Photo by Jean Thornton

In 1984 I heard some of the most life shaping words, “Girls just want to have fun,” when Cyndi Lauper danced across my parents’ television with orange hair and a flare for wild fashion.  I was at the tender age of three and danced along with her in my mom’s heels, a leotard, sunglasses, and panties with ruffles on the butt while drinking juice from a wine glass.  I was not your typical child and I was learning not from PBS but from MTV.  The lesson I was learning was a simple one: girls just want to have fun.  And I was having fun.  I was “working” half days at preschool, going shopping with my mom, and taking my favorite stuffed animals with me wherever I went. 

I was a shoe girl from the start, requesting a pair of patent leather Mary Jane’s in every color as soon as I could speak.  By the time my baby teeth were falling out I had moved past the tooth fairy and started negotiating new Jelly shoes and other fashionable items that cost more than a quarter in exchange for a front tooth.  My poor mom was once told by my ballet instructor that I should be put in dance class with some faster moves…I was shaking my butt too much for the music that accompanied the graceful non-bouncing dance style.  It was a bad sign of things to come in my future.

More than two decades later not much has changed.  Cyndi Lauper is on my MP3 player and I still have ruffles on my butt; only now I am in my own heels and I drink wine from those elegant glasses.  I still try to negotiate shopping trips from my dad, although his resistance has grown stronger.  I am pretty sure I can still re-enact any Madonna video from the 80’s.  And I can still say I am having fun. 

To me it all seems pretty clear cut what most girls and I want out of life.  We want to have fun.  We want to shake our butts a little.  We want to wear lacy socks and actually I am kind of hoping the lacy headband bow comes back.  I know I cannot speak for every female, but I am sure most would agree it is just that simple.  Girls just want to have fun.

As basic as it seems, I still find myself banging my head against the figurative wall when it comes to getting guys to understand this simple notion.  Yes, there are very complicated women out there screwing it up for the rest of us, but sometimes I think men are making it harder than it has to be.  Look at the guy who said, “He’s just not that into you.”  Simple, right?  Wrong.  It must be more complicated because he has written a book, had a television talk show, and even a movie spun out of it!  I say honest things all day long and all I get is an understanding smile. 

So let me break it down for all of the guys out there who are convinced that dating has to be difficult.  Just let her have fun.   There!  It’s that simple, not even enough for a movie trailer let alone a full-length feature.  

Perhaps I should expand slightly.   I do not need fancy dinners or events; in fact, that can be kind of boring and put too much pressure on anyone to “fit in” or be equally fancy.  Sitting in a silent restaurant with the sinking suspicion that the servers are listening in to our conversation kills the romance quickly.  As a girl who over dresses for every event, I have just as much fun dressing up for the bar as I do for an over-the-top display.    Seriously, take me and my heels out to the bar any night of the week.  Not the fancy one, the one with a barrel full of peanuts and a popcorn machine with a questionable history of cleanliness.  I want to sit at the bar and play the jukebox or at least be able to bribe the bartender to turn the radio to my favorite station.  Give me a long neck bottle so I can peel off the label.  I do not want to pair wines with a main course or eat a four-course meal that consists of two slices of tomato and a piece of cheese.  I am hungry; feed me real food! 

The truth of the situation is that every girl likes a night where she is treated like a princess and made to feel like a lady, but those nights are not reality.  Living in fantasies can only last so long and often leaves you wanting to get back to a more down-to-earth style of life.  The reality is that, like everyone else, a girl needs to relax sometimes and just be part of the crowd.  She wants to toss peanut shells on the floor and maybe even play a game of dice.  She just wants to have fun.

After all, Cyndi Lauper may have summed it up best when she said, “Some boys take a beautiful girl and hide her away from the rest of the world.  I want to be the one to walk in the sun.  Girls they want to have fun.”  Hey, we are all at our best when surrounded by friends.  I may only be a star with my friends but it’s where I shine the brightest because I can truly be myself and have fun.  Any guy who wants this shoe girl can not be afraid to share my world and hopefully walk in the sun with me.

At the end of the day I am still the girl dancing in high heels who shakes her butt a little too much.  But at least I am finding what I want and that is to have fun.  And it truly is just that simple.

 

 
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