Chuck Taylors

I have always had a shoe fetish. Shoes and purses and are the one clothing item that always fit me. That means that I don't have a hard time finding them, the cute ones usually fit, and that I don't grow out of them.

For the most part, I have so many pair of shoes that I don't really wear them out, that is unless I wear them to work. At work we have strict "shoe rules." Some areas can't wear open toed anything. I can wear open toes, but I always have to wear socks or pantyhose. This eliminates lots of shoe choices for me at work. Thong styles, flip flops, etc just don't work out. Then there are backless shoes, which I love, but have you ever walked in backless shoes with nylons? Uh, not good. Pantyhose make your feet slick, so shoes like that tend to not stay on your feet. I hate pantyhose. Also at work it's nice to have shoes that have softer soles, the less falling down you do, and the less noise you make on the floors, which is a real plus in healthcare.

I also tend to do lots of crawling around (under desks, but not like you think...) and unplugging and setting up PC's and printers and things. And with walking, it's nice to have comfortable shoes. But I don't want to be wearing grandma shoes, so I am always on the quest for specific shoes. My sister Liz and I both work in healthcare and we have similar taste and qualifications for shoes. We also wear about the same size, although my feet are just a smidge smaller than hers. So often times she will say "I saw some shoes that were **perfect** and I was going to buy us each a pair..." but usually they don't have more than one pair on our size, IF they even have one in our size... because size 9's and 10's seem to go the quickest.... I believe because that's the most popular size.

When I was at Target, I saw the cutest pink and white golf shoes. Then I pulled my size out of the box and I was like "Geez!" Clown shoes. They always put the size 6 on display. And they look so cute. In a size 6. Then you get a 9 or 10 and you are like WHOA!

So I have just officially considered both of my black dress shoes for work (Loafers and heels) to be trashed. They are stinky (another problem with nylons), the insoles are coming out of them, they are scuffed and they are coming apart. The heels I don't even know where I found them. I have only found one pair that fit like them in about 4 years, and they were out of black ones, and only had tan ones, which I promptly bought, but almost never wear because I don't wear much tan. So Today I started my quest for replacement shoes. I always start at Payless. But lately Payless has had CRAP-Ola shoes. And I always shop online, because every single freakin time I go to the store, all the cute shoes are "gone" in my size. Every single time.

So I spent HOURS going through my "narrowed down search" of 38 pages of shoes in my size and color preference on eBay. I found a few, but nothing that fit ALL my criteria. So I decided to check Payless, and I'll be a monkey's uncle if they don't have some cute new shoes! It's about time! So I ordered 3 pair, two for work and another pair of backless canvas tennis shoes that I wear in the summer each year. Now I wait for them to arrive at the store and try them on and hope they are comfortable. I don't want them to have that ''ankle pinch" thing or the pins and needles in the ball of my foot because the heels are too high. I like the heels that are mid-height and chunky, and have kind of a 1940's retro look to the toe, a squared toe with rounded edges. They are the most comfy and so adorable, especially when they have little straps or bows. I have four pair at home, but the one is worn out, the other is too high heeled to wear to work, and one pair is a half-size too small. That just leaves the tan pair that I don't have anything to match. Except one sweater.

I always see cute shoes at Kohl's, but they almost NEVER have any in my size. And I am not the only person who thinks that. Frustrating. That's where I got the "tan" ones that make me so happy.

So I also bought a new pair of loafers, the pair I have now has a neat zipper across the top, but they are all worn out, they look like hell and they aren't comfy so much anymore.

I also looked at pink shoes on eBay. I am tempted to buy another pair of Chuck Taylors. In high school I had about 7 pair at once, and I got rid of all of them when I moved in with my husband, because they were looking pretty rough. One pair was actually from the 1950's. I went to Manlius High School, and in the 50's they used to have Chuck Taylors as the basketball shoes. They were cream. So when I was in high school and the coach saw us all wearing them again, he took us into the old equipment room and there on the shelves were all sizes of cream chuck taylor High Tops, new in their 1950's style boxes. He sold them to us really cheap- and that pair I kept and still have. Ahh, nostalgia. Small town High Schools. When I was in High School that's when they came out with the new Chuck Talyor's. Evan had a pair that were white with Navy and I had a pair that were white with Navy and Red so they were Red White and Blue. I loved those shoes.

Well, now that my shoe shopping is done, I hope they fit and I am happy. Because I hate it when I can't find the shoe that I want for work. It's frustrating. And if I compromise, I will never wear them, and the old ones won't get properly retired.

Did you know you can design your own Chuck Taylor's Now?

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