Blue Suede Shoes

I wiggled my toes, as they poked out the top.
"Mummy, what are my shoes called again?"
"Suede."
"suuueeeeeedddddeeee" i said slowly, running my fingertips over the soft material, watching the shade of navy change as i rubbed it in different directions. They were a bit too tight and the buckle nipped against my ankle but i liked how the straps wove in and out of eachother, across my tiny feet. I thought of my grandmother, who wouldn't run out to fetch the post in anything less than an elegant pair of heels. I remembered my Saturday visits to her house and how she would sit in the morning with a dressing gown and heated rollers, accessorised with the perfect Mary Janes. She would build her outfit from the feet up, standing tall in front of her mirror fronted wardrobes, checking every inch of her pristine camel trench coat for any wrinkles, dust or cat-hair.



And when we left the house and ventured into town, everyone would see her; red lips, immaculately dressed, back arched and glamour entact. And i was among those in awe, watching as her shiny patent heels hit the pavements with a rythmic "clip, clop", not a step out of place. She was the epitome of woman, with style, grace and kindness that shone from the inside out.

When i received my first pair of Louboutins, she was the first person i thought of. I touched the black suede just like i did as a child and grazed the smooth red sole with my palm. These were grown up shoes, the kind that every eight year old girl dreams of, twirling and posing with her grandmother in front of the mirror.



As a new documentary named "God save our shoes" is announced, i've been thinking about our deep seated entanglement with heels.

My mum, for instance, buys them more often than groceries and prides each new addition like the birth of a baby. When she opens the built-in-wardrobe it's a sick record of achievement, that catalogues her life and memories; a family photo album, if you please...but free of cheesy grins and poodle perms.

Perhaps it's because your feet stay the same size; no matter how much cake you stuff in your face, feet don't get love handles. And with height comes elongation and the impression of a leaner, more slender silhouette and, thus, 6 inch heels = instant weight loss. Furthermore, shoes are the easiest way to step into fantasy mode, instantaneously they can alter your height, posture, mood and character. You might start the day as a stressed out frumpy mess, shoving toast in your children's faces, trying to get them to school in time, but slip on your black stilettos and you're a business woman; sharp, straight-laced and ready for action. It's our superman costume...with the pants underneath.

Penelope Cruz says, "I have never been able to study a new role until, alongside the director, we choose the shoes which the woman we are about to bring to the screen will be wearing. Everything starts down there."






However, in times of economic loss, shoe sales have managed to ascend, proving that our fetish cuts much deeper than just aesthetic pleasure, variety and style. Not only is the neurotransmitter dopamine released during the purchase of a new pair, but many shoe fanatics experience an adrenaline rush, exhilarating the same area of the brain that many collector's access when they add a coveted item to their compilation; whether it be stamps, coins, cards or, in our case, shoes.

With further regards to our biology, we can also identify that feet, filled with nerve endings, are one of the most sensitive parts of the body and may even be physically stimulated in the perfect kitten heels. There are primal attributions too; a woman not only appears taller and therefore more powerful, but with an arched back and lifted buttocks, she adopts prowess that imitates an animalistic mating stance. This idea is additionally supported by the fact that, the part of our brain that deals with our genitals, lies right next to the part that deals with our feet.

Shoes are not just an accessory or an addiction advocated by the morals of Carrie Bradshaw, this is a sacred affinity that outlives forgotten love affairs, bad hair days and the ever changing seasons. From walking in our mother's heals to boxing away the pair you wore on your wedding day; shoes sooth and hold memories that span our lives, documenting our existence but in the most stylish of ways.