Feet, Toes and Shoes

Wednesday has come and is nearly gone. Thursday is normally pedicure day, but I guess my toes were sucked a bit more than usual this week and it couldn't wait till tomorrow! Pedicures focus on the feet and toes and of course a good technician gives some attention to the calf. For me those are just the building blocks for my obsession which is SHOES. It's also fashion week here in NY, so everywhere you go someone is buzzing over who is showing what in their collection. The latest fashion for the season interests me, but really, it's all about the shoes.

I have always had a love affair with shoes. Bare feet and bare legs don't do it for me and the shoes themselves aren't enough to make me drool. It's about the complete package - how the right shoe can make the foot and leg a thing of great beauty. I've had this obsession for a very long time.

My first part time job was babysitting. It was a neighborhood of all new construction and there was a shortage of older girls, so I started young. It was a much needed occupation so my parent's neighbors could escape the boredom of their middle class suburban existence. I started babysitting the neighbor's children when I was in 6th grade. While other gals were taking their loot to the mall to buy records (CDs didn't exist yet) I was shopping for shoes! I had a host of totally impractical shoes for a person my age but it didn't matter, I knew that I looked hot and that I felt powerful in those shoes.

That obsession continued through HS but didn't truly go into high gear until I could drive. It was then that my love of shoes spread to the love of stockings, but we'll save that obsession for another day.

Where is this all going? Salvatore Ferragamo died before I was born, but his mark on shoe fashion cannot be disputed. I knew his name long before I knew the extent that his work would impact my life. I thought all girls dreamed of owning a pair of Ferragamo's. A new book Walking Dreams recently hit the shelves and is a must read for anyone with a shoe or foot fetish. This book explores the life and work of this renowned shoe designer. This is the man that dared to play with new and unique materials and who introduced the stiletto heel! Where would we be without that heel?