Wednesday, September 21, 2011

the heartache of buying shoes

For most women, buying shoes is fun.  They look forward to it and even plan whole days around it with girlfriends.  They get excited about the new styles coming out and think about which color they should buy.  I am not one of those women.  I loathe shoe shopping.  Zappos has made my life a million times better, but it is still almost impossible for me to buy a shoe that will fit me comfortably.  I wear size 11ish wide, sometimes double wide.  For a 5'11" woman, I think that is probably a good size.  To be honest, it is the wide that gets me in trouble these days.

Well, my poor Lilly is already, at 3 years-old, suffering the same fate.  All she wants, more than anything, is a pair of those light up twinkle toes Sketchers.  We were in a shoe store today and she just wanted them in the worst way.  I let her try on a size slightly larger than she wears.  They could not even get past the toes.  Stride Rite was selling a similar sneaker and they carried it in wide.  They are sold out.  Damn.

I know that for myself I have to buy my shoes as soon as I see them online or in the stores.  There is no waiting for sales when you have a wide foot.  I now know that I cannot wait for Lilly's shoes either.  I am hoping I can find a pair maybe at the outlet.  I completely know that I am making up for my own childhood (and adult) shoe issues, but I must buy her a pair of light up sneakers or mary janes.  At least I have awareness, right?

edited to add:  My childhood shoe woes come from the lack of selection for me.  I ended up wearing boys/mens shoes a lot.  My poor mom tried her darnedest but they just did not come in my size.

1 comment:

Vinnie Cappiello said...

I want Lilly to have the Twinkle Toes in the worst possible way. Every time the commercial comes on, she asks me if I will buy them for her. If only it was that easy, she has no idea. I am really hoping that we can find a shoe that is similar for her, because she really deserves to have a pair. It makes me sad when I think about it.