365 True Things: 8/Shoes

I sometimes wish I had more shoes—of a particular sort. Nice-looking black leather, somewhat elegant, with a low (or no) heel—because I'm not the high-heeled type. Something I can wear with jeans and a nice shirt and look like I have some idea how to dress. Which I don't, and Google seems to know it: when I search for "elegant but casual black shoes," I realize that whatever is in my mind's eye simply doesn't exist. Widen search: "comfortable but elegant" (because of course comfort is paramount). But apparently Google understands neither of those adjectives.

Or, it's telling me that I live in a dream world and I should just stick with my clogs and stop fussing.

My favorite pair of black shoes reminds me of—I'm not sure what decade, but definitely not this one. They are leather, and they have heels, as well as laces. They're actually pretty comfortable—Clarks Indigos, and Clarks, you know, makes "Shoes designed for living." Can't live if you can't walk. And I think they're pretty classy, but I guess that's true only in a throwback kind of way. They're like a cross between schoolmarm and Miss Moneypenny.

One day several years ago, a man getting into his car stopped, got out again, approached me, and said, "Ma'am? I just want to say, those are powerful shoes. My mama taught me to pay attention to shoes. And those... are... powerful."

I guess I'm looking for powerful shoes that have a more modern air.

But mostly? I live in high-top Keens hiking boots, a pair of rapidly deteriorating brown Merrell clogs (one darker than the other because I managed to spill cooking oil on it), Mizumo running shoes (mostly white with a little orange, at once deliberate—part of the decoration—and the remnant of a visit to red-dirt Kauai a few years ago), Chaco flipflops, and when I'm climbing, mint green La Sportiva Mythos rock shoes. I even have some Crocs (two pair: red and sage green, the red a little larger and more comfortable), and I like to wear them. I am not ashamed to say that. And then there are my fluffy brown Acorn slippers.

When I wish I had those elegant but comfortable black leather shoes to make me look "decent," I turn to my Merrell Barefoots: they're flat-soled and have a strap and make me feel like a little girl, plus they're just a tad too small. But they're better than hiking boots.