my ideal shoes

[cimorene]

If I had these I would love them and caress them and call them George and wear them every day that it wasn't raining or snowing or below freezing.

My love affair with red patent Mary Janes goes back to age six, I think, when I first fell hard for a style that they sold at Wal-Mart. They had short flat heels - 100% regular little girls' dress shoes, but red of course, with little tiny heart-shaped cutouts round the toes. I wore those practically every day, with every hideously mismatched outfit (because my mom let me pick them myself), and they fell apart or were outgrown. I went through three pairs in two years before they stopped carrying them, I'm sure.

Red mary janes are my ultimate perfect shoe, no lie. I wouldn't pay £55 for them, but you can read their entry at Shoewawa and check out the source, Jones bootmaker (it's British), if you like. I'm confident I'll eventually find a good pair again.

Comments

[lexandros.livejournal.com]

If you did have those shoes, I'd be very tempted to steal them. Only I wouldn't because, you know, that would be wrong, and they'd be too small for me anyway. I think those shoes would make even my ankles look shapely.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Really? You're not any taller than me! I wear a 40, usually.

I did see some flat shiny red mjs at Wiklund the other day, but they ween't on the top of my to-buy list since it's, you know, blizzarding out and one wouldn't be able to wear them yet.

[lexandros.livejournal.com]

You're a 40, too? Heh, I guess I'm just used to always having bigger feet than most of my friends. But I promise I won't be stealing your shiny new shoes if you ever do get that pair! ;)

Oh, I know. I've been browsing for new shoes lately, but it feels so useless buying a pair of nice shoes, when you can't even wear them outside yet. Finnish winters. *sigh*

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Well, I did get those red rainboots... and then it went and snowed. >:[

I've only spent that much on shoes, oh, four times in my life? And I just can't bring myself to do it when I know I can get red mary janes for much cheaper even if they wouldn't be as fabulous. *sigh* But I really want them. Look how exquisite!

[claire.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I'm a 40/41, and I make no promises about not stealing them if you buy them.

I mean, I am no girly girl, but those might have won me over.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Yeah. But I'm just too frugal. Even if I had that much money I wouldn't buy them. Instead I buy THESE. (http://www.schuhstore.co.uk/item_main_frameset.asp?s_ref=130338)

[farwing.livejournal.com]

Those are very cute. They have some very similar shoes here:

http://www.aerosoles.com/product1.asp?P=ROMANCE

I guess they aren't Mary Janes, (but T-straps are cousins to Mary Janes) and it looks like they don't ship outside of the US or Canada but...I have tried on this shoe and it was very comfy and cute. I thinking of getting them in dark grey and black once I've paid bills. I can't quite imagine myself in red shoes, for some reason. It's probably a significant character flaw.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Being Aerosoles, they're probably more comfortable, but I do think those are a much less attractive shoe. The shape is a little clunky and awkward, and a slightly shorter heel would blend better with the retro feel they're going for there. Aerosoles can be very hit or miss this way with their pumps and dress shoes. And T-straps can be tricky - they have a definite retro feel, and by themselves look cuter than mary janes, but they also tend to look better without a foot in them than with, unlike mary janes, which are almost universally flattering. If you observe people and their shoes carefully, that high-ish ankle strap, even without the centre strap, makes many people's feet look weird and knobby.

The colour's also much less playful. I think it makes the mistake of waffling, as comfort brands often do, between conservative and trendy/youthful in a way that ends somewhere unfortunate - maroon, in this case, which isn't actually a good compromise between red and brown and would often look odd where you usually wear a brown shoe or a red one. Bright red, otoh, can often go with an outfit even if it doesn't match it, because it makes a statement.

[farwing.livejournal.com]

Heh. You're probably right, and I see what you mean about the color not being bold and funky enough. I'm just happy because they make shoes in 5 and 5.5, which is apparently what my shoe size is now, when it used to be a 6. I guess shoe sizes have shifted in the last several years, so finding shoes that fit me has been a bitch. *shrug* I'm just so used to shoes not fitting me anymore that I've sort of fallen in love with shoes that do.

[bexless.livejournal.com]

Jones the bootmaker are a really great company in terms of service, too. I had a pair of beaded pink flats I adored from them, and they broke a couple times and Jones paid for them to be repaired and had them shipped directly back to my house both times :)

[cimness.livejournal.com]

They're clearly fabulous. Damn you Brits and your shoe selection anyway. *wistful sigh*