Senior ladies, do you ever think back on some of the glorious shoes you had, back in the day?
I'm thinking now of a pair I had in the mid-1950s. They had 4-inch heels, were black patent leather, and the front of them was decorated with some kind of black-and-white zebra type leather. Oh my, that was about as stylish as I ever could become (I thought.) Then there was another pair -- I.Miller wedgies in a beautiful bronze color, with gold studs in the wedgie heels....ah, memories. What were your favorites/
mydearsie2013-07-28T17:16:23Z
Favorite Answer
When pointed toe shoes were first popular in the 50's, I bought a beautiful pair of black lace heels. I wore these with a black lace dress. Still have the photo and it brings back wonderful memories of wearing the shoes and a great looking dress on a date that night.
I later gave the dress to my sister-in-law, but I kept the shoes. In my memory, they will always be my favorites.
I'm not really into shoes but oddly I do remember some of my past shoes--maybe because I agonized over finding shoes I liked that felt good on my feet. I had a pair of brown shoes that had these punch-outs and a strap and a clunky heel (about 1/5") that I used to wear to school--but then my sister had to go and buy the exact same shoes (was bad enough everyone already thought we were twins). I had a pair of black flats in high school with this subtle white stitching. In college I basically wore cheap sandals from India or clogs even in winter (I believe I had no nerve ending from my thighs down--I wore mini skirts in winter too, without tights or pantihose--burrrrrr). In college I had a pair of navy platform shoes (kind of classy) and a pair of black suede platforms for dress up, and a brown pair of spectator platforms. I wanted a pair of Frye boots but couldn't afford them. Oh, and moccasins, the kinds with the fringe and no sole (well the sole was made from the same leather as the uppers). I know when I was little, I always wanted a pair of patent leather shoes witht he convertible strap (you could wear it with the strap or bend the strap back so it hugged your heel so you looked like you had slip on shoes. And white Keds. Once I started working, I remember buying shoes with 2.5" heels--really nice shoes, but I had such a hard time walking in them and they hurt my feet so badly I would only wear them in the office but put on sneakers once I left work. Oh, I had the nices glove leather ankle boots, Arche, that I wish they still sold--they were so soft and comfy, had a rubber sole so you didn't make any noise. I ways imagined Robin Hood would have worn something like this. I had a whole collection of boots or all colors. Had a pair of magenta slip ons (wonder what ever happened to them). Always wanted a pair of white go-go boots but never got them. My favorite shoes have always been cloth, like sneakers that you wear forever and they begin to wear near the toes--those are always the best.
Oh, those awful high heels & pointed toes that we wore. What a pain, but I wore them. Had lower "stack heels" for everyday. Good riddance to all of those. Clip-on bows? Also dreadful. The metal clips would rub the tops of the toes something awful. Could stand them for about 2 hrs.at church. Ditto for the pointed toes.
The stack heels must have been too tight. By the time I finished college, had spurs on the back of my heels & couldn't wear enclosed shoes at all for maybe 20 yrs. Fortunately, I moved to California where I could wear backless sandals & moccasins. I've always been a tenderfoot & have to search out ones with soft backs or else tennis shoes.
Favorite ones I'd like to bring back: T-strap flats in chartreuse suede, felt like soft glove leather, mid-to-late 60's, more rounded than before, soft as leather, & they went with all my summer dresses. They weren't really, really bright. They were a little muted & pretty. They were great except for rainy days, when I dragged out the "stack heel" type of leather heels.
Mainly wore black sandals with Bermuda shorts or a couple of pairs of mini-length culottes, which was pretty much it for casual wear. I like the sandals, too, with the thong between the toe, but with backs, too. I wore those for years.
Back when I was young I use to have some really pretty spike heals and flats. I too had some pretty patent leather spikes and a besutiful white spikes with a leather rose on them. As I have aged, I wear shoes more for comfort. Sandals and tennis shoes unless I go out and then I wear some pretty flats. I would topple over in spikes now as my balance isn't so good.
Back in the day, shoe stores used "sample" shoes to put on display. All sample shoes were size 4½ to allow a greater number of shoes on display tables. At the end of the season, what were they to do with these teeny-tiny shoes?
AHA! I wore size 4½ so I could buy end-of-season shoes for a fraction of their original price. The expensive styles (Etienne Aigner, Red Cross) cost me 50-75¢ while the lesser brands cost me 25¢ a pair.
I had over 65 pairs of shoes when I graduated from HS! I could afford to match a lot of purses since I spent so little for the shoes.