This is not the original blog topic for today but must be addressed here and now! Like fountain pens, I have a strong affection that some think borders on obsession with shoes. They are in fact my third favorite thing behind # 1 reading and # 2 my fountain pens. I am not especially fond of sandals yet have close to 20 pair. Go figure.
C will be so proud of me that I used my blog to express myself (or vent) even though she knows my intended blog was Priority vs. Preoccupied. However, I digress and here goes.
I do have my favorites in the line of shoes brands which is equally as important to me as fountain pens. Keep in mind that I have well over 100 pairs so no sympathy is expected for the remarks to follow.
Shoes can be fashionable and comfortable as evidenced by Nine West, Bandolino, Enzo Angiolini, Chinese Laundry, Stuart Weitzman, Steve Madden and now even Life Stride or Mootsie Tootsie.
As you probably have guessed these are my personal favorites. However I was tempted by an absolutely beautiful pair of black pumps two years ago and we all know that multiples of the same are a given. It was a brand that was recommended to me and this pair displayed the magic word "Sale" which should really have read "Buyers Beware" and included a warning label.
My sisters and I had completed a full 12+ hour day of fun-filled holiday shopping and I just had to try on these bankers black pair of heels that were calling my name. They actually felt good and one would think that after that many hours in the upright position moving gingerly through the Woodlands Mall and taking into consideration some possible swelling that buying the next half-size made sense. Yes, I actually listened to a shoe salesman and for that I ask your forgiveness.
They are not the "rich Corinthian leather" made a household word years ago by Ricardo Montalban but they are leather and anyway the kind he suggested was for sitting on or admiring on a dashboard. Again I digress. The label clearly (still) shows leather and alas they were made in China (what isn't these days) and my husband says that in itself should have been my first clue when my first complaint was registered with him many months ago.
I am convinced there is a naked elephant somewhere in China because of the "leather" used to make these shoes. Leather should be soft, somewhat supple or reasonably so and forgiving of ones feet plus include that smell/fragrance/aroma/scent that only fine leather can gift to any woman. Just like banks, all things are not equal regardless of what it says in the fine print.
After two years of attempting to break in these shoes, I am the one that is broken in a figure of speech. I do not give up easily particularly when it comes to shoes and my shoes are probably appreciated more than some people appreciate friends, family or a man his car. During lunch I literally "threw" these into my car and tenderly collected my favorite pair of black pumps.
The moral of this saga is "I have purchased my first and last pair of shoes by Alfani". They are not foot friendly.
By the way, the shoes that I carry in my car for foot emergencies like today are made by Chinese Laundry. I have purchased this particular style twice in black and once in navy. I do not, repeat do not, wait for a sale for this particlar shoe or even that brand. If I see it, like it, then they go in my shopping bag or are protectively cradled in my arms to the cash register.
I am of Dutch heritage and we have been called "square headed". I wonder if that translates to feet as well which really speaks volumes for those wooden shoes.
