So I am 26 years old and since I was 13, I've been wearing a size 2-3 in shoes. Yes, I have to shop in the kids' section. The lowest size for adult women is usually 5- on rare occasions, 4.
I've gone all the way up to a 3 1/2 once, but that was just the style of the shoe.
And no, kid shoes are not cheaper than adult shoes.
So when buying shoes, if I want something cheap and sensible, it's nearly impossible to find. Because kids' shoes are often bedecked in ridiculous glitter, sequins, rhinestones, and various cartoon characters like Dora or Powerpuff Girls or these days, Shrek. If it isn't bedazzled, it's an atrocious blend of bright neon colors, or have fringe or weird decals on them.
So, I am a little obsessed with shoes, but not in the way most women are. I hate shoes. Maybe I am a little jealous of the fancy and elaborate shoes most other women my age can wear. Hell, I'm jealous of the simple and plain shoes most women my age can wear. All I want is a simple shoe that doesn't have things dangling off them, and won't cause seizures. That's all. Anyway.
So when I was a kid, I used to keep myself entertained on subway rides by counting black shoes versus white shoes. Every so often was the rare brown shoe. Because 10+ years ago, there just wasn't that much of a variety of shoes that the average New Yorker would wear. These days though, it is a veritable feast for the eyes in color and style.
And so my new shoe game for the subway is counting the varieties of shoes I see.
My favorite variety is the death trap shoe. It is a shoe so ridiculous in style and shape, that one misstep is sure to cause death. If not death, torn ligaments, for sure. It is a shoe usually with a spike heel, baring much foot flesh, and being attached to the foot by the thinnest of leather or plastic straps. Often the straps are stupidly wound repeatedly around the delicate ankle, ensuring that should the wearer of the shoe lose her balance, the ankle will surely go a separate way than the shoe and the rest of the body.
My second favorite variety to spot is the wholly impractical shoe. It is the type of shoe that I could live with pretty much anywhere else, but for the streets of Manhattan, are ridiculous. They sometimes have spike heels, but could also land in that category by simply being flimsy. Flip flops are seriously for the home and the beach. A walk to the grocery store. Not for walking around all day in a city of 16 million other feet that will smash your toes and step on the back of the flop. Thin soles annoy me. A couple of years ago, I took off a pair of sneakers I was wearing and found 2 large thumbtacks embedded in them. When the hell did I walk through a thumbtack mine? No idea. But seriously, there is all kinds of dangerous crap on the streets, not including the broken glass, pebbles, and splinters. I would cover my feet in steel if I could before I left my house.
Anyway, I'll cover some other things about shoes and women that bug me later.
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