SHOES!

Some friends complimented me on my comfy summer sandals.
Um... are you sure? These are my old lady sandals!

They're Naturalizers - the brand my mom wears.

(wow! I never noticed how flat and big and ugly my feet look in these shoes until I took this picture. Uhh.)



I only bought them (and two other pair of Naturalizers) last summer. I was having a problem with my hip and my doc told me to ditch the heels for a while.

As I explained this to my friends - with vivid details of whining about having to shelve all my three inch heels - one girl interjected,

"You're the only person I know who would complain about NOT wearing heels."

1) Uh. How many women do you know?
&
2) Clearly, I live in Colorado now!

I looked at the feet around me. All six tootsies were bedecked with flip flops. (er - aren't those for the shower? Or maybe getting the mail?) Oh. and excuse me. Not flip flops. Chacos.
$80 flip flops with arch support. Are you kidding me?

I would never spend $60 - $80 on shoes that I feel I couldn't wear out of the house!
Okay, I could wear 'em with yoga pants. All my other pants would drag on the ground. 3 inch heels required for all of them!

My attitude toward athletic shoes is similar. $60 - $120 for shoes limited to one category of clothing?!!! Workout clothes.

Please. With my shopping habits (TJMaxx, Department Store clearance racks) that's like 5 pairs of heels that would go with everything!

Everything:
Jeans
Slacks
Skirts
Dresses &
Shorts



Yeah... everything. Work, church, parties, shopping. All very practical.

Now that I live in Colorado, I actually need athletic shoes. And as I'm learning... not just one pair. One pair for the gym - cross trainers I guess, so that I can suck at my attempts at tennis.
And another pair for trail hiking. It is the mountains after all.

I hate shopping for athletic shoes. I'd rather have a root canal than shop for athletic shoes. I've had a root canal. Not so bad. I don't see the big deal.

Athletic shoes? Ugh. No.

They're so uncomfortable. It seems I lost my arch after years of wearing cute shoes. Now shoes with arch support feel as if though there's a boiled egg in my shoe. If the arch feels okay then something else feels terribly wrong, tight or bumpy. Ugh.

But, a hot pair of heels - they're always just right.
It is a fact that I can run just as fast and probably more gracefully in three inch heels than I can in a pair of sneakers.

But I will acquiesce - that the gym, the tennis court and mountain trails are really no place for high heels. And to be honest, my heels wouldn't go with those outfits anyway.


An Aside: Colorado is so much more casual than other places/cities. It's all Columbia trail pants and t-shirts and fleece all the time.
When I first moved here, and went to the mountains with my girlfriends... I took normal 'going out clothes' along for evenings. Everyone told me I was too dressed up for those rugged, rustic bars. And it's true. Guys here dig on girls who can rock the jeans - t-shirt - tennis shoe look.
Well... skinny, flat-chested girls like me can't really work it in that outfit! My friend who moved away from Denver before I moved here warned me it would be like this! She couldn't take it either!
And... after viewing Sex and the City last night with my other girlfriends... all dressed to kill... one of them noted that NO ONE in Satc EVER wore jeans (or sneakers I might add).
I rest my case.

The Return of Great Style?

Once upon a time there was a catalogue filled with the most beautiful clothes made of soft sweet fabrics and colors in flattering comfortable cuts - that both my mom and I adored!

That was quite a feat circa 1989-1991 - to find clothing that mom and I agreed on! But Tweeds Inc managed it! They had cute, sassy - yet classic looks for me - and tall sizing for mom - a priority for she with long legs and arms - always tricky to fit.

Mom and I would pour over the pages, and pick out a few items so we could share shipping. I was in college by then - the first time we didn't share an address.

Recently, my mom - she who is not Internet savvy - asked me to search for some clothing catalogues featuring 'Tall' sizing and sign her up on their mailing lists. That's my task for today - since reminded me of the request in our last phone conversation.

The Tweeds catalogue mysteriously disappeared. I still have a few issues tucked away. Sometimes I take them out and fantasize about clothing so rich and creamy and soft.
I remember those pages were the first where I saw clothing colors described as 'Eggplant', 'Grass' and 'Wheat'. Their take on a t-shirt was so original and classic and flattering that added shipping costs were justifiable! I loved everything Tweeds. Comparable to many of the items found at today's Anthropology - but not as heavily priced - eek!

Again today... I searched the Internet for possible links to Tweeds. All I find are past articles of the company's demise. Not a lot of information there either.

Yet - I am encouraged. On trips to TJMaxx in the past 8 months... I've found a few items with the Tweeds label. Be still my heart. It's the same tell-tale classic styling and great fabrics. These can't be clothes from some warehouse that closed 15 years ago - can they? I take it as an indication that Tweeds is nurturing a comeback - and these items on the rack at TJMaxx are harbingers of great styling - about to be reintroduced to the masses.

May we bow our heads in prayer - of hope and thanksgiving...

Does anyone have insider skinny of a come-back? Anyone?

Meanwhile... any recommendations for catalogues for Tall women like my mom - that might even feature large shoe sizes? I hooked Mom up with Eddi* Bau*r - J J!ll- Ch!cos and Co!dwater Cr**k. Every other tall size provider seemed to cater to 20-something clubbers! How strange - manufactures seem to think that tall women shrink down to 5'7" once they reach age 65. No wonder my mom and her sisters have such a rough time with pants!