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2006-04-11 - 10:08 p.m.

4/11/06

1. Did anybody tape last week's episode of "Heist", on a VHS videotape, and if so, would you be willing to mail it to me? I know most of you do Tivo AND that the show is being canceled but I'm asking anyway, for a friend. (I'll pay for shipping or buy you something off your wish list, your choice.)

2. I ordered two pairs of shoes from Zappos that I am insanely in love with.

Etienne Aigner "Befit":

BCBGirls "Pascaly":

I figured, you know, round-toe flats! They'll be comfy! I can walk for miles in them!

NOT.

They fit my foot, in the sense that they are the right size and my toes aren't trying to break out of them. But I usually buy Aerosoles or some other kind of supersoft-leather, flexible-soled shoe. I am befuddled that these shoes, which cost roughly $80 apiece and are made by brands I THOUGHT were reputable, feel like they are made of thin steel, not fabric and leather. They have leather soles, too. The leather is incredibly stiff.

However, I love them so much that I really, really, REALLY do not want to return them, but I don't want them to decorate my closet either; I want to WEAR them. Generally I've heard, "If they don't feel good in the store, they'll never feel good" and there's no such thing as a "break-in period". But that advice seems to be geared toward people trying to squeeze their feet into shoes that are too small or not the right shape for their feet (i.e. a fit issue, not a materials-stiffness issue). And I know that when you buy a baseball mitt, it's stiff as a board and you have to "break it in" so that you can actually, like, open and close it to catch a ball.

What has your personal experience been with leather soles and shoes? Do they eventually loosen up as you wear them? Or should I put the pictures in my wishbook and send them back (and cry all evening)?


My irritation with the shoe issue in my previous entry reminded me of some stuff I wrote awhile back but didn't post.

Last year when Kit and John were visiting, we went out for a walk and to eat dinner and I shoved a bunch of stuff into one of my bags, including a bottle of water and my ubiquitous peanut butter sandwich. The bag had small straps that were really meant to be worn on the forearm or in the hand, but I was tired of carrying it that way and put it over my shoulder and rested my upper arm on it. Since the bag was full, it made my arm stick out at an odd angle. John observed this and said, "Isn't that uncomfortable?" I said, "No, if it were, I wouldn't do it." And he said something about suffering for fashion.

But I don't do that. I'm too old for that. I gave up on suffering for fashion a long time ago. When I say "It's better to look good than to feel good," what I really mean is, "My tummy hurts today but at least I look good," not that I'm hurting myself in order to look good. In fact, one of the most annoying things about my fashion obsession is how many pretty things I have to pass over because I refuse to be uncomfortable. I really resent this sometimes. For example:

- I walk everywhere, and don't wear shoes in the house, so I've quit buying any shoes with heels that are higher than 1.5" and aren't chunky. This makes me very sad. I only get to wear pretty shoes if I go to a family party or something. But then there's the fact that I can't keep my feet warm in the winter, so I can only wear pretty heels if the weather is warm. Basically I live in boots in the winter and flat sandals in the summer.

- In the winter, I can't wear three-quarter-sleeve sweaters or sweaters that are too thin, although those are my favorite kinds of sweaters. I also can't wear skirts. I could wear a long skirt with longjohns underneath, but that makes me feel like a sausage, which I don't like, so ... no skirts.

And then there is how there are looks I love that don't work on my figure. This is also a source of frustration:

- I love empire-waist tops. But I have a long torso, which means that I can't wear empire-waist shirts because the waist seam ends up going across my nipplage. That looks stupid.

- I am crazy about sweatercoats, but they make me look completely shapeless and dumpy. Camille speculates that the thick fabric just "fills in" the spaces between curves on curvy women, so they really only look good on model-type figures.

- Cropped pants. I think they are really cute, and they're a nice alternative for shorts when it's not too hot, plus I only have to shave halfway (my upper legs HATE being shaved but the calves are OK with it). Unfortunately, they make your legs look short, and my legs are too short to begin with, and the low rise that these pants invariable come with just aggravates the problem. Although I am getting pretty close to saying, "FINE! I *AM* SHORT!" and buy a pair or two anyway.

What really pisses me off, though, is the shoes. This makes me really, really mad. The idea of a shoe with the dual qualities of being super-cute AND super-comfortable does not seem to occur to shoe manufacturers. Either you get a clunky ugly unstylish comfy shoe or sneaker, or you get an adorable shoe that hurts your feet. There is no middle ground. It makes absolutely no sense to me. There is no reason I can see for the cute creative shoes in my previous entry not to be made with supple leathers, a padded footbed, and a flexible rubber sole. Use the same materials as Easy Spirit but use some IMAGINATION too!

The only thing I can figure is that we're a culture that doesn't walk much, so there's no need for comfy shoes, or else people who like pretty shoes are all masochists.


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