Shoenogomy

I remember the first time I noticed shoes. Not just any shoes. Red shoes. Amento's Shoe Store. Wayne, New Jersey, circa 1968. Red patent leather dress shoes. Right then and there, I knew, I was destined to be a shoe-holic. Shoes were not just for covering your feet as you strolled from point A to point B.

My mother's attempts to coax me into trying on a sensible pair of white Keds or black Mary Jane's went unheeded. From this point on, only red shoes would touch these feet. A birthday photo of me in a beautiful pink moire party dress brings a giggle to my lips when I notice the bright red patent, 1970s style platform shoes stooped on the swingset. At that time, I obviously ignored my fashion rule, "Choose your shoes first and the outfit will follow!"

Other kids may have gotten excitement from the promise of a balloon or a lollipop or even a ride on the mechanical pony after an excursion for school shoes. Not me. The scent of the leather and the cold metal of the foot measuring device against my foot was enough. (I checked and there is no clever name for such apparatus. Maybe I do have work ahead of me!)

Shoes, when you get down to it, are a metaphor for life's experiences. I have had lots of shoe crushes which continue to this day. Very rarely do they go unrequited and they have seldom disappointed. The excitement I get when I have reached the cash register with a wad of cash or credit card and a box of seductive shoes is very heady. The addition of online shoe shopping or what I like to call shoe porn has made this experience only more exhilarating. The search option should be available for our romantic lives. Size, color, heel height, very captivating stuff, especially for someone with a size 11 foot who loves high heels.

There have been times when, desperate for a shoe fix, I have sauntered into a shoe store and said, "Do you have ANYTHING in a size 11 in black?" Happily, online shoe shopping and Nordstrom's have allowed me to be much more discriminating but have also led to a rather alluring diversion of my own making. Fantasy shoe shopping. "Sex in the City," Manolo's, and Christian Louboutin may have brought eroticism back to the shoe world but fantasy shopping brings this to a whole other level!