Sallyacious

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June 30, 2008

Shoe Shopping (Or Why I Can't Have Nice Things)

One of the reasons this place makes me crazy is the direct result of the tininess and isolation. There is not a single upscale clothing store. Not. One. There are many, many versions of Hot Topic & The Buckle, even an Old Navy, but not one Nordstrom or Barneys or equivalent. We do have a Macy's, but, well, let me give you an example of how useful our Macy's is.

Last week, I finally destroyed my purse enough that I needed another one. My clever habit of stuffing as much as possible into the little tiny bag took its toll and I ripped out the bottom. I have a bag that works, is slightly larger and has enough space to hold my kindle too, so I figured I'd just transfer everything there. It's not as wee as my last purse, but, as I said, my kindle fits, whereas the last bag was really just a wallet with a strap.

That being said, I needed a new wallet. There are exactly two stores here in town where I might find such a beast: Macy's and Ross. Of course I went to Ross first, but nothing really sang out to me. I figured I'd head to Macy's just to see if they had anything before settling for the best thing I could find at Ross. (As luck would have it, I did find the perfect wallet at Macy's and bought it despite the price because I figured, if my last purse hung in there for 10 years, I could probably get at least as much out of the wallet, and $4.50 a year was a bargain for a wallet I fell in love with on sight.)

Anyway, I figured while I was in there, I ought to see what kind of dresses they have for this wedding I'm getting ready to attend in Chicago. So I wandered through all of their adult female clothing sections to see. Do you know what they have? Polyester dresses shaped like sacks, with spaghetti straps and wild pink and brown (or blue and green) splotchy/swirly designs lifted straight from the 1960's. OR cotton skirts. That's it. Not really wedding-type attire. In fact, there was not a single fancy-type dress in the entire store. And there are no other options for me in this town. Because Walmart, Christopher and Banks and Old Navy are not going to cut it. (And yes, I did go into Ross and check there. More of the same, thanks.) All of the clothes are for hip young things to attend their best friends' weddings and bridal showers, not for grownups to attend the fancy evening do's of their grownup peers.

I did actually find something in my own closet that will work beautifully, despite the multiple (and seemingly contradictory) requirements of fancy wedding, packable outfit--read small and light and relatively un-crease-y--and possible thunderstorms with a four-block walk to my hotel. But I still needed shoes. Because my beloved Michael Kors pumps, though the right color & a very sexy style, are not summery enough. And my Tevas are just not quite right with a silk sheath.

So I got to endure the agony of looking for something nice all over again.

You may not know this about me, but when it comes to footwear, I have a whole bunch of requirements that must be met.
★ I have size ten feet. Size. Ten. Guess how many cutecutecute shoes that look adorable in a six look adorable in a ten. (And for special bonus points, guess how many of the styles of shoes available in a six also come in a ten.)
★ I have a great deal of hatred for anything between my toes. Which eliminates anything remotely flip-floppy (I have more class than to wear a pair of flipflops to a wedding, anyway, thankyouverymuch.)
★ I have feet that are very wide at the ball and very narrow at the heel. So the cute little strappy straps tend to make my feet look fat. They aren't, but they look it in strappy sandals.

My first choice, given all these insane demands, is usually Zappos. But I only figured out what I was wearing yesterday. And I leave for Chicago on Thursday. Which means no time for shipping shoes to me. Plus, I really don't feel like getting another pair of really expensive shoes right now. (Well, I feel like it, I just don't think it's very responsible of me, given all of the traveling I'm doing this summer and all of the money I'm not earning.) So off I went to the mall.

After visits to Payless, Famous Footwear, The Buckle, Ross & Macy's Shoes (my only options) I did end up with a cute pair of black peep-toe slingbacks that are actually quite sexy and were 40% off. (I cannot find a picture of them online but--duh, let me just take a picture of them for you.)

(Yes, I know it's a terrible photograph, I was in a hurry.)

See? Sexy. Appropriate. And the buckle--which you can't see--has little black sparklies. Inexpensive enough that I don't feel guilty about buying them to fit a wardrobe gap I rarely notice or about how well they do or don't travel, as long as they get to Chicago in one piece. Also, I think they are going to look damn fine with deep purple toenails peeking out at the toe.

But. They were the ONLY pair in the entire city that would have worked for what I needed. Oh, there were plenty of appropriately cute shoes, but none in my size. And there were plenty of shoes in my size, but none of them were the right style for an evening wedding in the summer. I'm sorry, but I'm not wearing a pair of platform slides with wide black patent leather straps and cork soles with my rust-colored silk dress. Nor am I wearing a pair of gold and black come-fuck-me pumps with a stilleto heel and a pointy toe.

There are things about living here that have been good for me. The very isolation and scarcity of diversions that I bitch about so much has demanded that I go deep within myself to find answers there, rather than relying on the rest of the world to solve my problems for me. I'm a better artist because I have had to explore new forms of expression to keep myself from going mad. I've got a stronger CV than I might have because of the teaching I'm doing here.

However. I am more than ready at this point to take all of the things I've learned and apply them somewhere that has access to galleries, restaurants and real shoe stores. Eleven months and counting.

Posted by sally at June 30, 2008 12:55 PM

Comments

Posted by: HeatherK at July 2, 2008 08:15 AM

Posted by: Sallyacious at July 2, 2008 03:51 PM

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