The (Other) Love of My Life

I just realized the other day that since we've gotten engaged, I've purchased several pairs of shoes. Until then, I hadn't bought many shoes, but I've really ramped it up in the past few months. I have some theories about the spike 0f shoe purchases and I'm sure John could agree with one.

John has always marveled at the number of shoes I have in my closet. He thinks it's an extravagance and completely unnecessary, but I really feel that shoes are the ultimate accessory; they can spice things up or just be practical. To him, my few pairs of black shoes are an abundant array, but it's the unique shoes that really have him questioning if I have a mild addiction. Admittedly, these yellow raw silk wedges were an impulse buy. Luckily for me, these statement shoes were only $20 and I've managed to wear them twice.

For those who are familiar with my shoe wardrobe, these rays of sunshine are a close second to my favorite shoes: my Cruella de Vil shoes. I have a pair of dalmatian print pumps that I bought a few years ago. They have a black velvet narrow heel and a small burgundy bow. I love those shoes! My feet hurt after wearing them and I suspect that a podiatrist would urge me to give them up, but honestly, they are just too cute.

As far back as I can remember, I have always loved shoes. I cannot remember a time when I didn't view them as important. When I was in grade school, my parents called me Imelda because I had more shoes than my mother. After that christening, I guess I felt I had to live up to the name. I tell myself and others that I would never have a room dedicated to shoes like Mrs. Marcos, but if I had the space in a house, anything is possible. All this to say that the large shoe wardrobe is normal for me and came as a surprise to me when John shared his differing opinion.

One day, I was dealing with outfit trauma and consequently was running late for church (shocker, huh?). I couldn't find the right shoes to go with my outfit. I had my shoes strewn about the room and to him, there was a sea of black items that all looked equally adequate. A pair of black pointy mules, my square toe pumps that I tend to reserve for serious occasions, strappy heels which are best in the evening, a pair of ankle strap heels which are my go-to black shoes, and my black slides. Ideally, my brown loafers would have been black and we could have left at that point. I was stuck on loafers while John pointed to a pair and I would have to explain to him why those shoes just wouldn't do. He suggested that I wear my boots but I was wearing cropped pants and the style of boot I have just doesn't lend itself to that. I am pretty sure he rolled his eyes more than once. In the interest of time, I think I ended up changing the whole outfit just so we could get to church.

A conversation easily started while I put away each pair later that afternoon. John was just shocked that with "all those shoes" I couldn't find something that would have sufficed. "All you need", he told me, "is like four pairs of shoes." And his total included my running shoes! While he sat in the room, I scanned my closet and looked at each box and wondered which ones I would have to set aside to maintain the sized collection he believed was appropriate. It was a task that proved impossible for my imagination. Right then, I did something utterly stupid and shared with him the deal my friend's brother made with his wife.

Like John, Jeremy believed in having a few pairs of shoes and with limited closet space in their first apartment, Jeremy and his wife had a deal. For every pair of shoes that she bought, an existing pair had to be given up. This way, she would buy what she needed whether that need was real or imaginary. Seeing the stacks of shoes in my closet, John laughed and said that for me, he would have to impose a rule where I expunged TWO pairs for each new pair that entered the married closet. John is insistent that I agreed to his variation of this deal, but that is entirely not correct. I don't think I could even agree on a one-to-one exchange and much less two!

As the date nears where we have shared closet space, John is very interested in my shoe purchases. I've even heard some rumblings about how his rule should cover any purchases made during the engagement. Oh goodness, no!

Perhaps this sudden surge of shoe shopping is due to the impending nuptials and the fear that John would ask me to cut ties with one of my dear babies. Or perhaps it was all induced by the hype that is the Sex and the City movie and the need to have something fashionable.

Personally, I prefer the second theory. If you agree with the first one, please don't tell John.