Ten Years Ago Today

November 10, 1995 was a watershed day in my life. Not because that was the day on which Kate and Ron were married, but because it was the last time I wore nice shoes. They were black suede, Liz Claiborne pumps with a fairly high heel and they were the most expensive shoes I had ever bought. I wore them throughout the ceremony, I wore them in the receiving line, but somewhere around the salad course I took them off (having had the foresight to bring other shoes with me.) I looked at some wedding photos today. I am smiling. I do not seem to be in pain. But something told me that my days of fancy shoes were over.

For the past ten years I have walked in comfort in shoes which are for the most part unattractive, but which accommodate my spreading feet and various protuberances which are now part of my foot structure. For fancier events I actually found a pair of black fabric shoes which work because they had lots of straps and room for my feet to spread. But this weekend I am attending a wedding in Chicago and decided it was time to buy some new shoes. What a performance that was. Eventually I found and purchased a pair of German shoes. The workmanship is wonderful, the leather is soft and the cost was phenomenal. I am delighted with them, though there is a part of me which regrets that I will never be part of the world of Manolo Blahnik. If I hadn’t spent my money on these shoes, perhaps I could have drawn comfort from Eric Boman’s new book Blahnik by Boman: Shoes, Photographs, Conversation.

This seems a good time to introduce you to my new best friend, Lady Bracknell . In her post of November 9, she laments the paucity of “wide-fitting orthopaedic shoes in a variety of attractive styles and funky colors.” However, one doesn’t have to read much of “The Perorations of Lady Bracknell” to realize she wouldn’t be delighted with a pair of shoes emanating from Germany.

I leave you with two more ideas for accessories. The BBC News is anxious to introduce us to the heated bra, while MIT has an insidious line of aluminum foil helmets. Enjoy.