Blog-a-day May: Day One: Mary Janes

Mary-Janes

What is the matter with Mary Jane?

She’s crying with all her might and main,

And she won’t eat her dinner—rice pudding again—

What is the matter with Mary Jane?

Rice Pudding   A.A.Milne

I've had it in my head for a while.
I want shoes.

This is not something I do very often. There are a lot of women out there who really LOVE shoes and own hundreds of pairs. I'm not one of them. I don't need shoes like a lot of women. I need thongs and trainers. I like comfortable boots in winter - but I don't need shoes.

Some women have a thing for handbags too. Some expensive underwear.

Okay, I have a bit of a thing for high end red lipstick.

For the last few weeks I've got it in my head that I want, and sort of need a new pair of shoes for work.

The navy block heels I've had for nearly twenty years - god bless Marks and Spencer.

The kitten heels I've worn for years are about to die.

The Steve Madden pumps that an old manager gave me are just a fraction too high to wear out of the office.

The other heels I possess make me walk like a bad tranny.

So I need some shoes.

You can see my reasoning.

The other thing, maybe its the Dr Blake influence or the fact that I've always wanted some - I was on the look out for a pair of mid heeled Mary Janes.

"Mary Janes?"

Women's shoes, often with a heel and always with a strap over the foot. They're a bit 50s and can be a bit sensible. The other things I was looking for in these shoes - a block, tapered heel, not too high, so that I can walk in them for more than a city block. Also, I was looking for a shoe with a leather sock. No vinyl sock for me, my feet sweat enough as it is. Leather breathes.


Have you any idea how hard it is to find Mary Janes in Melbourne at the moment?

Five shoe shoe shops later finally, something that fit the bill. I did have to compromise on the strap, which fastens with a bit of discrete velcro. (Velcro is for bogans, I told the lady) But with a 3 cm heel, rounded toe and leather inner, I fell for them. They were reasonably priced too.

They're now mine.

The perfect sensible heel for work.

I just find it strange that unless you're wearing flats, there appears to be no sensible shoes in shoe stores any more. The footwear industry appears to want women to have back, leg and muscular problems for the rest of their lives going by the heels that our out there.It's ridiculous.

Who says that functional, comfortable shoes have to be ugly?

Or more to the point, why does fashion dictate that we're supposed to wear these stupid, uncomfortable, health risks on our feet?

It's always struck me as unfair that men can have three or four pairs of shoes, comfortable, go with anything, easily repaired when needed - and women don't.

Also, why is it, you hit forty and there is nothing in the stores that are remotely sensible, comfortable and attractive when it comes to footwear? Comfortable shouldn't be ugly.

Ah well, that was today's adventure.