First Shoe Memory

My love of shoes can be traced back to a pair of blue patent Mary Janes. The closest matches I found on Google were these "Maloles" (above) ($295 at Piperlime) and these "Pour La Victoires" (below) ($154 at Zappos). Yet unlike these contemporary Mary Janes, unless my memory is playing tricks, mine had a multi-cutout pattern, including a triangle behind the strap on the outside of the foot. The next time I get out my family albums, I'll scour the shoes. In the meantime, these Peacock (Aqua) Alice Crocs ($34.99 at shop.crocs.com) represent a less serious aspect of my first shoes. I don't remember if blue was ever a favorite color of mine; it certainly isn't now. But I know I put them in a prime spot on the floor of my closet so I'd see them first every time I looked in. And the peep-toe patent heeled Mary Janes from Chadwick's ($24.99 on sale)? I would never wear them now, seeing as I am not a high-heel wearer, but they would have been perfect for dress-up.

Own: LOVE My Kamiks

While my mother was getting her hair cut next door, I wandered in to the Curtis Family Shoe Store, a tiny place in Ellesworth, Maine. It was July of 2007 and I was not looking for rain boots. Not because of the summery weather, but because I was a rain boot snob. Even after 20 years in Boston, where rain boots were required unless you wanted wet feet and ruined shoes, I refused to buy LLBean duck boots — the standard issue rain boot for New Englanders. Duck boots are not stylish in any way, shape, or form. Despite what this Fashiontribes poster says.

Then I spied these Daisy Pink Kamiks. Their sherberty pinks and oranges channeled Emilio Pucci, the jet-setting Florence fashion designer known for bold kaleidoscopic prints (and Capri pants). Pucci’s daughter Laudomia has been involved in updating the brand since Pucci's death in 1992, which must explain Pucci’s footwear collection, and the Pucci pumps and rain boots I found on Zappos!


Luckily for my pocketbook, I prefer my $55 Kamiks to the Puccis (pumps $270; boots $154). Apparently, so do a few celebrity mother-daughter pairs. Orange Daisy wearers allegedly include Courtney Cox and daughter Coco, Brooke Shields and daughters Rowan and Grier, Kelly Ripa and Lola, Gywneth Paltrow and Apple. Pink Daisy wearers include Reese Witherspoon and Eva.

Introduced to the USA in March 2007, Montreal-based Kamik rain boots are made of recyclable synthetic rubber, and because of a new technology have clearer graphics with no distortion or front seam that otherwise ruins the boots' design. When asked about the rain-boot stink factor, I’d have to say that mine are stink-free. Kamiks are made with soft Polartec lining and removable Kaxeric antibacterial insoles. But to be honest, unlike some teens I hear about, I mostly wear mine when it rains.

Real Shoe Crush: Tsubo's Lara

Three times (and counting), as if they were puppies in a pet store, I've visited these Tsubos at Nahas Leather at 65 Charles Street (their store at 285 Hanover didn't have them). Each time I try the Laras on, I'm shocked by how comfortable their rubber soles are. Not only are they sexier than anything else I own, the Laras pass my idiosyncratic test: I could definitely ride my bike in them.



So what's stopping me? A) The $110 price, which is feasible but not until I check out all my regular shoe stores to make sure I'm not missing these on sale or something better for less. B) The open-toe manicure issue. How many disapproving looks am I going to get if I don't keep my toes polished up? I rarely do finger- or toenail polish, much less deal with maintenance once I do. C) The tan color is slightly too large in a 39, whereas the black 39 fit perfectly — but do I really need another pair of black shoes?

Fantasy Shoe Crush: Paul Green's Violet

How do you know when your job is riding you raw? Could it be the late nights where you and the cleaning lady are keeping one another awake with a little karaoke? The real sign for me is when I start craving shoes, with complete and total disregard for price, which is how I found myself on Newbury Street at Footstock, a store featuring very high-end comfort shoes. Last summer, I successfully resisted a $300+ pair of Jakezas, black wedge Mary Jane Mephistos (now on sale for $200+, and still resistible).


I slipped into Paul Green's Violet metallic sandals and told Jason, the salesman, that I couldn't take my eyes off of them! I know that metallics are everywhere, but these looked like little pieces of modern art. Like mini-homages to Anish Kapoor's 2006 S-Curve sculpture now at the ICA. I've always been aware of the brand, having seen them in high-end places like Neiman's or Sak's. But aside from Zappos' blurb that mentions Paul Green's proprietary hand-built lasts, obsession with a perfect blend of style AND comfort, and the fact that their boxes say the shoes are made in an Austrian factory with Austrian sizing and terminology (although the logo says Munich), I had trouble finding information on the company or the folks behind it.

Since Jason didn't have them in my size and had to get them from his other store, the only thing I bought were some $6 Hue peds -- "micro net liners with cotton sole." As I walked out, my head began to clear and I realized A) I wasn't even looking for sandals, B) in summer, most women wear flip flops, which do not cost $200 (except Mephisto's popular Babatas), and C) the Violets really do not fit my lifestyle. They need someone who will take them to art galleries, the French Riviera, someone's yacht party. Not biking around JP!