Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

After I delved into the subject of shoes last week, ZILLA decided we were not anywhere close to finished revealing ourselves to the blogging public. So, I present the Triptych Photo Meme consisting of an image of the pair of shoes you wear most often, the pair you own but wear the least, and the pair that reveals the most secret part of you.

The rubber garden shoe is the shoe I wear most often. As you can see, it is well used and retains much of my garden and barnyard on the sole and inside the shoe. I should just wear a boot, but these slide on and off easily. I actually have two pairs of garden shoes and alternate between the two depending on which is muddy or wet. I don't like to put my feet into wet slimy shoes. Both pairs are kept at my back doorsteps, unless The Yellow Dog decides to take them for a walk.


I've had these boots 20 years and though I have never worn them much, I haven't been able to get rid of them and I don't know why. The only other pair of shoes for which I have had such a sentimental attachment is the kelly green pair of pumps that perfectly matched the green in the dress I wore to leave my wedding. They were completely impractical because I owned nothing else green. Nevertheless, I continued to pack and move those shoes for years. I still have them though they are not in my closet. Maybe this boot should have been saved for the revelation shoe. I seem to be revealing an inability to let go of old shoes and, possibly, parts of myself. Now that I think of it, I also have a pair of forest green suede pumps and matching purse that I bought 15 years ago.



This is the pair of shoes I purchased last week. It is a compromise shoe and compromise is what I am all about these days so this is my revelation shoe. I prefer, like ZILLA and Frankie, to be bare footed. I have always been that way. My mother struggled to get me to wear shoes. In my kindergarten class group picture, preserved for eternity in the yearbook, I am barefooted. I'm sure my mother who purchased nice leather Mary Janes was horrified to see that picture. Now, with things the way they are, I'm sure my bare feet would not be allowed, but then, as soon as mother was out of sight the shoes were history. I find that I can no longer tolerate the whims of the fashion industry. I want comfort, but don't want to embarrass by friends and family by showing up with bare feet or in my Birks so I compromise. Sometimes, the compromise shoe has a higher heel, sometimes it is more pumpish, but always a compromise. Having been taught to be a true Southern woman and all that entails, I will continue to find a balance between style, comfort, and utility, because I cannot help caring what people think.

Now, the friends who know me in the flesh are saying, "Where are the Birkenstocks?" Having Birkenstocks in 4 or 5 styles, including garden clogs should be recognized somewhere. They are compromise, too, though a much more vocal compromise.

To keep this thing a true triptych let's tag in threes:
ZILLA because this was her idea and I want to see those great shoes.
Mother Crone because she seems to have a closet full of really cool shoes.
Natalie because I know she is obsessed with shoes and I want to drag her away from her stressful work.

If anyone is in a crunch for someone to tag, I want to see mull-berry's super stylish matte silver flip-flops and Jove's Doc Marten Mary Janes