Ode to my Pumas
Have you ever been attached to a handbag or a pair of shoes or jeans? You know, the one you used all the time and were with you for years in all kinds of situations? I have one of those. They are good friends but have decided to retire. As silly as it is, I am blogging about those shoes because they actually meant something to me. They meant that I could be cute and comfortable. I plan on doing lots of walking in the near future taking Merryweather to discover NYC.
My current tennis shoes have decided to retire. I'm not sure at what precise moment it happened but a couple of days ago the way back from the grocery store made it feel like I was walking barefoot. I took one look at them, they looked at me and said, "Find some shoe younger, with a thicker soul, and more capable of carrying you around." They are right. I have worn their poor souls down.
I'll never forget the day I ordered them on Amazon.com. I had been living in Italy for about a year and had worn my way through two pairs of fashion sneakers in a year breaking both of them. It was time for something resistant and able to walk 4 miles a day (my usual treck to town and back. Heck those were the days! I was able to eat fried everything and stay skinny due to my 20 mile a week walking average. ) I remember wanting some shoes that still looked young, didn't say "Orthopedic support", and could match with cute outfits. Pumas could do all of those! The day I opened them I was so happy to see they were made of soft suede, which I didn't know was water repellent! The suede has kept my feet dry during many a rain shower.
Since then, they have lifted my body on at least 300 miles if I were to count all the days I walked in Italy to the grocery store, the library, the embassy. I counted on those cute grey and purple Pumas when I was getting married. I knew the light shoes would be easy to slip on and off at the airport going through security gates. The day before my wedding they paddled around the beautiful church with me. The day after my wedding they flew to NYC for a honeymoon then back to Italy. Not too long ago I wore them every day when packing to move from Italy to NJ. I never had to worry or fuss about which shoes to wear: my Pumas were it! Last year when we visited Rome I must have walked 50 miles in them. It rained, it stormed, the gladiators ground trembled and my Puma's kept my tootsies dry. Last October we went to NYC and again, it rained, it poured over Manhattan. The sky was angry. My pumas looked up at me and said, "Enough." My feet which had always stayed dry during rainstorms were suddenly soggy and sloshy in the Manhattan grimy rain. It was gross.
.
But I couldn't give them up! Those shoes had seen me through countries, continents, my wedding, a move and they were like friends I could count on! Alas, they were done
So I spent some days flipping through the internet looking for stylish sneakers. I saw J.Crew had finally made the fashion discovery of selling (gasp) men's shoes in women's sizes. Men's shoes and sweaters are much better made than women's and they usually cost less. My Keen sandals (another historic pair of shoes going on 10 years but still strong as Heman) are men's in sensible navy blue and they are adorbable with summer dresses, float in the water, and have a steel toe to protect you. Awesome shoes that last forever. Other menswear I own are my Birkenstocks (they play on both teams) and my all time favorite wool fair-isle sweater is a size large from JCPenny. So there, men's clothes and shoes are marvelously more comforable than women's. Coco Chanel has a lot to say about that, in fact, and much of her inspiration came from rejecting the idea of having women in corsets and freeing those bellies by letting women wear clothes that were comfortable. She is the great inventor of the cardigan! And were, would librarians, professors and nerds be without cardigans? Mr. Rodgers wouldn't even have been in my life if he didn't wear his cardigan.
Moving along, so J. Crew made this discovery about women's sneakers and I said, "Time to move along in life." Choosing a new pair of sneakers to carry you through the next 3-4 years is major! It is like deciding a friend who will be up to going out with you every single time you want to go out, rain or shine, long walks or short. In all fairness to my sex I checked out the women's section in the shoe section first. None of the neon colors spoke to me. One said, "I'll exercise with you but won't match with your jeans." Another said, "You can forget about pairing me with a t-shirt dress." Another said, "We can be a short-term fashion fling, if you like." I shook my head at them and walked over to the boy's section (in Jersey pronounced Bouys like the water navigation floating device) There they were. Perfect vintage style Nike's that sung, "I'll stand by you! I'll stand by you. Won't let no other shoe hurt you. I'll stand by you."
I am looking forward to my new "favorite" pair of adventure sneakers. As for my Pumas? I will keep them around as an emergency back-up. They were there for many rainy days and you never know when you need a shoe friend to count on.
Dear Pumas,
Thanks for taking me to all of these places and keeping me comfortable while I got to know so many places, cultures and got married.
My current tennis shoes have decided to retire. I'm not sure at what precise moment it happened but a couple of days ago the way back from the grocery store made it feel like I was walking barefoot. I took one look at them, they looked at me and said, "Find some shoe younger, with a thicker soul, and more capable of carrying you around." They are right. I have worn their poor souls down.
I'll never forget the day I ordered them on Amazon.com. I had been living in Italy for about a year and had worn my way through two pairs of fashion sneakers in a year breaking both of them. It was time for something resistant and able to walk 4 miles a day (my usual treck to town and back. Heck those were the days! I was able to eat fried everything and stay skinny due to my 20 mile a week walking average. ) I remember wanting some shoes that still looked young, didn't say "Orthopedic support", and could match with cute outfits. Pumas could do all of those! The day I opened them I was so happy to see they were made of soft suede, which I didn't know was water repellent! The suede has kept my feet dry during many a rain shower.
Since then, they have lifted my body on at least 300 miles if I were to count all the days I walked in Italy to the grocery store, the library, the embassy. I counted on those cute grey and purple Pumas when I was getting married. I knew the light shoes would be easy to slip on and off at the airport going through security gates. The day before my wedding they paddled around the beautiful church with me. The day after my wedding they flew to NYC for a honeymoon then back to Italy. Not too long ago I wore them every day when packing to move from Italy to NJ. I never had to worry or fuss about which shoes to wear: my Pumas were it! Last year when we visited Rome I must have walked 50 miles in them. It rained, it stormed, the gladiators ground trembled and my Puma's kept my tootsies dry. Last October we went to NYC and again, it rained, it poured over Manhattan. The sky was angry. My pumas looked up at me and said, "Enough." My feet which had always stayed dry during rainstorms were suddenly soggy and sloshy in the Manhattan grimy rain. It was gross.
.
So I spent some days flipping through the internet looking for stylish sneakers. I saw J.Crew had finally made the fashion discovery of selling (gasp) men's shoes in women's sizes. Men's shoes and sweaters are much better made than women's and they usually cost less. My Keen sandals (another historic pair of shoes going on 10 years but still strong as Heman) are men's in sensible navy blue and they are adorbable with summer dresses, float in the water, and have a steel toe to protect you. Awesome shoes that last forever. Other menswear I own are my Birkenstocks (they play on both teams) and my all time favorite wool fair-isle sweater is a size large from JCPenny. So there, men's clothes and shoes are marvelously more comforable than women's. Coco Chanel has a lot to say about that, in fact, and much of her inspiration came from rejecting the idea of having women in corsets and freeing those bellies by letting women wear clothes that were comfortable. She is the great inventor of the cardigan! And were, would librarians, professors and nerds be without cardigans? Mr. Rodgers wouldn't even have been in my life if he didn't wear his cardigan.
 |
| Leadership step one: get a good cardigan |
Moving along, so J. Crew made this discovery about women's sneakers and I said, "Time to move along in life." Choosing a new pair of sneakers to carry you through the next 3-4 years is major! It is like deciding a friend who will be up to going out with you every single time you want to go out, rain or shine, long walks or short. In all fairness to my sex I checked out the women's section in the shoe section first. None of the neon colors spoke to me. One said, "I'll exercise with you but won't match with your jeans." Another said, "You can forget about pairing me with a t-shirt dress." Another said, "We can be a short-term fashion fling, if you like." I shook my head at them and walked over to the boy's section (in Jersey pronounced Bouys like the water navigation floating device) There they were. Perfect vintage style Nike's that sung, "I'll stand by you! I'll stand by you. Won't let no other shoe hurt you. I'll stand by you."
I am looking forward to my new "favorite" pair of adventure sneakers. As for my Pumas? I will keep them around as an emergency back-up. They were there for many rainy days and you never know when you need a shoe friend to count on.
Dear Pumas,
Thanks for taking me to all of these places and keeping me comfortable while I got to know so many places, cultures and got married.
 |
| I can't wait to see the places me and my next shoes will go! |
The end.
 |
| <3 |
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